The Hot Mom Challenge {Week 1 Update}

Well it's been a fun week.  Regan has asked me several times where we are going.  Which really hit home that before I would only really get dressed looking "Hot" when we were going to go somewhere.  Yesterday I got dressed in my workout clothes and we did a walking 5k on Main St, went to the fountain and park, but I came home showered and got dressed.  No waiting around this time.  It helped that Jack was totally passed out in the recliner and that Dora was on.  Otherwise I would have had to pop them in the shower with me.

I think my house is even cleaner.  If you have read my previous posts you know I'm a FlyBaby.  One of the things this has helped me to accomplish is having my house no more than 15 minutes from company ready.  It hit me this week that I wasn't company ready.  What's the point of having my house in order if I'm not?  It has felt great to be company ready this week.  Even though I really haven't gone anywhere and no one has come over. I have to go out today though so I'll be putting my "Hot Mom" to good use.

What does a Hot Mom look like you may be wondering?  Well my goal is to be classy hot and really more put together.  10 years ago it would have been to look scandalous hot.  My how times have changed.  I did get my finger and toes done.  The trick I think will be keeping them maintained.  I think I'm going to have to put my rubber gloves to use.

I hope you decide to join me!  You can read more about The Hot Mom Challenge here.  Now, Mister Rogers is almost over and so is blog time.  Jack tells me "thank you Mommy" when I put him on.   Melts my heart.  Happy Friday Hot Moms!

Valentine Slacker

I have been a serious slacker in the Valentine department this year.  We did a few crafts earlier in the month and that was it.  I didn't decorate my wreath or my house.  I even wrote out Ethan's Valentine cards.  His teacher never sent home a list, so he spelled all of the weird names for me and I wrote them for him while he was at basketball practice.  Kids have some weird names and even stranger spellings.  I did help Ellie make a fab mod podge tissue paper covered box but I didn't even take a picture of it.  

I am the homeroom mom for Ellie's class.  We are doing quite possibly the lamest craft ever.  The kids will put their picture sticker (aka the picture they use if you are a missing kid) on a paper doily and decorate it with glitter.  That's it.  Some other more enthusiastic mother is bringing cookies for them to decorate. I am the stick in the mud that insisted all the other snacks be healthy.  The last thing I want is my kids coming home pumped full of candy and sugar.  

Dale and I already celebrated last weekend by going to the ballet and out to dinner with friends so tonight we're having a normal dinner.  Regan spent yesterday throwing up and I spent it attempting to get caught up on all of the bodily fluid laundry.  My dad visited this last weekend and in the whirlwind of everything that was going on I got all off schedule and now I'm catching up on my routines.  The difference between now and say just a year ago is that I'm not stressed out about getting back on track and getting things clean.  I cannot begin to express my gratitude towards the FlyLady.   

What am I really looking forward to this Valentine's Day?  The clearance section at Hobby Lobby.  I just want some bad ass decorations at 90% off.  Maybe next year I will have the house perfectly decorated and we'll make handmade Valentine's...maybe.

Shrimp in the Crock Pot or Wok

Oh my!  I really had my doubts about this one.  Not only did they turn out really good, but we are going to experiment with the ingredients substituting fish, it was that tasty.  Everyone ate them up.  I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and she got it from The Pioneer Woman.  So here's my version.  Isn't that what cooking is all about?  Finding a recipe and making it your own?

Ingredients:

• 2lbs of raw shrimp (mine were peeled and frozen, thaw before you cook them)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 T of Tabasco sauce (I used 1)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper (PW uses much more and Slow Cooking uses 1 tsp) 
• 3 lemons, juiced
• 1 T basil (I used the stuff from my spice rack, but by all means use fresh if you can)

What you do:

If you make this in the crock pot- combine everything and cook for about 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes.  That's it.

If you make this in your wok- combine everything and cook on low for about 10-15 minutes or until done. 

I've made it both ways and both were delicious.  There is some major excitement over shrimp night.  I served mine over brown rice that had been cooked using some of the shrimp juice.  Oh my, it was delicious.  I also paired it with green beans and a baguette.  This recipe is a keeper.

On a personal note, I have a sick little one this week so posting will be few at best.  I will also probably get sick myself, as Jack just coughed in my ear for the second time. He's already coughed in my face at least 3 times I can remember.  This weekend I will be performing a one woman show of Tangled because that is his favorite movie and I don't care how many times we watch it if it makes his sick little self happy.  If you haven't checked out the FlyLady you should do it.  I can sit and watch Tangled all day long guilt free because my house is clean.  It's a miracle I tell ya!

It really is the little things, or I've lost my mind

I got excited over getting a stain out of my husband's shirt.  After my initial "Yes!" and internal high five I gave myself an "oh my goodness what has happened to you" dirty look.  I got all excited about shining my sink and mopping my floor last night.  Who is this person?  I'm either finding happiness in the little things or I have truly lost mind.  I'm not sure which it is yet.

I'm also a potty training ninja and after several dry nights I can finally say that Regan is officially potty trained.  Three down and one to go.  I think I can have Jack done by the end of the year.  He already tells me when he poops and will go sit on the toilet and then put some toilet paper in and flush.  2012 is the year to be diaper free!

And because I think this may be the cutest pictures ever here are my filthy kids.  They got into the fire pit and covered themselves in dirt and ashes while I went to the bathroom, seriously they did this in 30 seconds.  We don't have a lot of fires out there, but my husband dumps the ashes from the fireplace into the pit.  On the plus side they did get an early bath and went to bed early that night.  I'm sure my former self would have freaked out, but they are only kids once.  Oh and because my washing machine was empty and my laundry caught up I just tossed everything in the wash, thanks FlyLady!  An empty washer, another little thing or pure insanity.  We did have a talk about not doing it again though because once was enough!

The Lowdown on the FlyLady and how I took Control of my Life in 2011

I sound like a crazy person talking about CHAOS, Flying and Control Journals but, and its a big but, less than a week post Christmas and my house looks like parties and Christmas mayhem never happened.  While some parts of Christmas didn't go as smoothly as I wanted (I was up way too late wrapping presents) most of the celebrations we had were easy and carefree.  Thanksgiving and Ellie's Birthday were hands down the easiest and less stressed holidays/parties I've ever had.  I think that next year, Christmas will be just as easy.  It's all thanks to starting a House and Holiday Journal and working 15 minutes at a time.

If one of your goals for 2012 is to get organized, have a clean house, lose weight, eat healthier, etc, I really suggest looking up FlyLady.  It has truly revolutionized my house and my life.  I am pampering myself, I drink the amount of water I should, my house is never more than 15 minutes from company ready, I can spend more time doing things with my kids, crafting, sewing, I've lost over 32 lbs this year and I'm getting rid of the junk that had once taken over my closets, garage and house.

I have been labeled as a super mom before, I'm really not, I just FLY with FLYLADY.  I resisted having routines for myself for a long time and now that I've given in I couldn't be happier or less stressed.  It has even helped in my marriage.  My husband never complained when coming home to a messy house.  He even told me it wasn't a big deal, we had four kids after all.  But I wanted him to come home to a clean house, I wanted to have a clean house and this has given me the tools to do it.  And you know what?  He actually helps more, the kids help more and we do things together.

So scroll down and have a look at my Journals.  I call them my house and holiday journals.  My house journal is broken up into my Before Bed, Morning and After School Routines.  It also includes my Weekly Home Blessing, which is all of the things that I do each week throughout the week.  Next it has detailed Zone Cleaning, with very detailed things to do for each area of my house.  I schedule in days each week to do a Zone Mission and FlyLady sends out their own Zone Missions.  I also have a list of Kid Dashes.  These are things that my kids can do in 5 minutes or less.  I have them do 1 or so each day.  Once its been 5 minutes we stop.  They know I won't make them do more and they give it their all because I keep my word and stop when its time to stop.  In the front pocket of the binder I keep all of our current bills that are due and in the back pocket I keep important receipts or letters.  This way I always know what is due and when and I never have to search around the house to find it.  I also keep my recipes that I use often and my meal plan and shopping lists towards the back of the binder.

My holiday journal serves for any holiday, birthday party or get together.  It's one place where I can put event details, shopping lists, decoration ideas and anything else related.  Once the event is over (like Christmas) I type up what worked, what didn't and what we liked about it or other fun details.  I also include any recipes that we used and want to use again.  For example, we used a new gingerbread recipe and I have it included with the Christmas details.  Next year I can see what worked and have all of those details ready for me.  I file them in chronological order placing each current event in the front and then when its over placing it in the back using clear sheet protectors.  I use the front and back pockets for gift receipts and party item purchase receipts.  I put some Michael's and Hobby Lobby receipts from my daughter's Christmas party at school, so glad I did because I have about $15 in supplies that we didn't use and now I have the receipts handy so I can make those returns.  In the past I would have just kept the items if I couldn't find the receipt with the excuse that I could surely use that craft item.  All that did was add to the clutter that was taking over my life, well not anymore!

My husband rolled his eyes when I started this.   Now he helps me shine my sink!

Yes its NYE and I have already done this! I didn't want to forget anything!

I know you're ready to FLY with me!  Take it on in 2012.  It all starts with BabySteps.  I don't follow what she says exactly, I have tailored it to fit me and my schedule and my life.  It really works!!!  Want help starting?  Comment below I would love to help you!

DIY: Brown Sugar and Epsom Salt Body Scrub

Santa brought me some Epsom Salt because he knew I wanted to make a few things, the first being some body scrub.  December is all about pampering yourself on FlyLady and I really wanted to make my own body scrub to save some green.  It turned out fantastic! The Epsom Salt I got was lavender scented which I thought would smell great but it doesn't to me.  Not to worry I used a few other things that smelled super yummy.  So if you are going to make this you might want to get plain Epsom Salt, I know I will be next time.  To offset the smell of not so great lavender I used Shea and Cocoa butter baby oil, brown sugar and vanilla.  It works amazing and smells pretty good, probably pretty great if you like lavender.

Here is my recipe:

You'll need about 5 minutes to whip this up and a plastic container with lid, spoon, tablespoon, teaspoon and 1/3 measuring cup.

1/3 cup Epsom Salt (mine was lavender scented but would be better with no scent)
1/3 cup Brown Sugar (light or dark doesn't matter)
4 tablespoons Baby Oil (I used the shea and cocoa butter kind)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Just wet a washcloth and scrub away.  This batch makes enough to scrub your whole body and I did my feet twice.  Please make it in a plastic container, it wouldn't really be pampering yourself if you dropped a glass container in the shower and then had to clean it up.  My body scrub is in this super duper, kid snack, princess container because that's how I roll.  After all the Christmas cleanup I need some pampering and you do too!

Yes that's one of those plastic baby spoons, now you know what to do with them!

Why yes I am a princess!

The cool thing about it is the lid that lifts up.

FYI: My husband loves this stuff.  He even asked me what it was and asked if I would keep using it because it smelled so good and he noticed how soft my skin was.  He oooohhhed me.  Mom tested and husband approved!

You might also like:

Epsom Salt Vanilla Mint Hand Scrub

The Aftermath

We're in it, the aftermath of 3 Christmases.  Which at first was really overwhelming Sunday night when we brought in the massive amount of things from the grandparents but with a bit of work and rearranging we are on the path to sanity again.

Thanks to the FlyLady we are cleaning things up 15 minutes at a time.  What would have taken me alone 30 or more minutes (like picking up the living room) only takes 15 minutes because I have willing kids, ready to help.  They know that I will only ask them to give their all for 15 minutes at a time and that when the timer goes off we will take a break.  All of us.  I'm on a break right now!  We made a list of the rooms that need to be cleaned up and we work on them, 15 minutes at a time, until they are done.  Sometimes we go back and forth between different ones and sometimes we work on the same one until its done.  If we finish one before the time is up, we get bonus free time.  It is amazing what can get done in so short a time.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed today with all of the CHAOS (another FlyLady term meaning Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) then set your timer and work 15 minutes at a time.  Then take a break (set the timer for that too!) so you don't get burnt out.  FlyLady has REVOLUTIONIZED my life and my house and while I'm still learning to FLY I am happier, healthier, skinnier and more organized than ever before.  Did I mention I have 4 kids....me now, compared to 2 kids, well I can't even compare it!  And there goes the timer, time to grab these kids and get at it!