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This morning during my #speedclean I had Ryan help fold some laundry. His job was the dish towels. After a couple of towels he sighed (as if exhausted) and said, “I don’t want to do laundry anymore. It’s just the same thing over and over.”

I couldn’t help laughing at that one. Sometimes that’s how I feel too. Didn’t I JUST do laundry? Why are there SO many dirty clothes?

Speaking of laundry. This is the space in our house where a washer and dryer should go.

But we don’t have one. And so I pile junk there instead. Not having a washer and dryer is a major challenge for me with the laundry of three little kids, but we manage with a weekly trip to the laundromat. Three years ago we sold our house so my husband could go back to graduate school and the washer and dryer went with it. We opted to just use the laundromat while we were living in our small college campus apartment and planned to get one after graduation. But we still haven’t, six months later.  Unexpected expenses keep coming up now that we are back in “real life,” soooo, we continue to visit the laundromat.

I took a picture of the washer and dryer space to motivate me to participate in the 28 Day Organizing Challenge. Maybe I’ll get that space cleaned up and we’ll get a  washer and dryer to fill it! *crossing my fingers* You think it doesn’t look that bad? Well, you notice I didn’t show you the other side of the room. LOL. Accountability, my friends. But I’m not ready to strip down to my underwear just yet!

P.S. The adorable felties are coming to a grab bag near you. SOON!!

I love finding scenes like this thoughout the day:

Just little reminders of my kids at play and how their imaginations are developing .

A couple of years ago Ali Edwards wrote this on her blog: 

“Last year I began a tradition of chosing one word for myself each January – a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. Last year my word was something I wanted to bring into my life in a more tangible way. My word was play.

I thought a lot about play and what it means to me. I tried to incorporate it more into my everyday and on my adventures out in the crazy world. For me, it was a lot about living without fear – about being more open to experiences with an attitude of playfulness. The word play found its way onto many scrapbook pages and into many stories I told throughout the year.”

I’ve been fascinated with the idea of choosing one word and have had friends follow the tradition, but can’t say I’ve ever played along. But this year I decided to try it. It’s taken me a while to decide on my word. Almost a month. I guess I wanted something perfect, something I felt like I could whole-heartedly commit to.

I’ve decided this year my word is ACCOUNTABILITY.

I’m choosing accountability because I feel a lack of motivation in several areas of my life, and it seems without accountability I let too much go. Sometimes (and I’m thinking this is normal) it seems like daily life as a stay-at home mom can be monotonous. And I find myself getting dangerously lazy if I don’t have something–internal or external–pushing me to do my best in my role as a wife and mom, the job I have chosen.

For example, our youngest baby is almost five months now and I still have 15 pregnancy pounds left to lose. Considering that I gained 50+ while I was pregnant, 15 left is pretty good. But that’s just it. I get to a point in my life where I think, that’s “good enough” and then I don’t go all the way to the end. My pre-pregnancy clothes are fitting now (although maybe not as well as I’d like them to), so it’s hard for me to want to push to the end and lose that last 15. That’s where Weight Watchers comes in for me. Something about having to get up early every Saturday morning to go to a weigh-in meeting helps me stay accountable. Especially when I’m tempted to stuff myself with pizza and ice cream while we watch a movie on Friday night.

And with grocery shopping and meal preparation. My goal is to spend only $200 a month (this includes toiletries, but not diapers) and to make beans and rice every day this year. Sharing my weekly shopping trips and daily meal plans helps me stay accountable to my goals.

This year it’s about changing habits, finishing things, and staying motivated and accountable.

(Originally posted Jan. 6, 2009)

I’m a floors-kind of girl.

What I mean is, when I’m pressed for time and only have a minute to tidy up, my floors (or the dishes) are usually the first priority. If I have a freshly vacuumed carpet, swept/mopped floor (or clean sink), I feel productive and function better. I love sitting on the floor with the kids to play or read stories, and I almost never wear shoes in the house, so clean floors are a must.

A couple of weeks ago The Black Diamond Company sent me this non-toxic, eco-friendly floor cleaning system, and I was giddy about the early Christmas present. My floors were getting pretty bad. I love the hardwood floors in this house, but I hate them at the same time. Vacuuming carpet is so much easier than sweeping and mopping for me.

But anyway, the holiday is over, guests have gone home, the tree is down, and as I mentioned, my floors were really dirty, so today was the day to try out the Black Diamond WOW. My kids hovered around mommy’s new present and wanted to help put it together. I assembled it quickly, and was thrilled that it was so sturdy. Seriously. I have some of those other assemble-together mop systems, and this one is much heavier duty. So that was a plus for me right off.

My four-year-old, Ryan, LOVES squirt bottles and always wants to “help” me clean squirt when I get out any cleaners, so he was thrilled when I said he could help. (The cleaner is non-toxic and claims to be safe for kids and pets.) So Ryan went along squirting, and I mopped. And I was quite impressed. My wood came out streak-free, as promised, and while it claimed to be for wood and laminate, I used the mop on the kitchen tile, and it worked great.

I think my favorite part was that it comes with a reuseable microfiber cleaning pad that I can just throw in the washer when I’m done cleaning. I hate having to buy the expensive disposible clothes and cleaners that come with those “other” mop systems.

Another bonus for me was that the cleaning pad was quite absorbant, so the floors weren’t wet after I mopped. Since the majority of our house has wood floors or tile it’s difficult to keep the kids off the floors while they dry. But I didn’t worry about it as I was using the Black Diamond, and they were running around while I mopped.

So there you go. Now I have clean floors, and I was impressed. I’ll definitely be using this again when the floors need a mopping…which will likely be tomorrow ’cause someone always manages to spill at least once a day.

Now for the best part! A giveaway! Black Diamond is giving away one of these awesome kits to my one of my blog readers! To enter, simply leave me a comment! If you don’t want to wait for the giveaway, they sell at Walmart and you can print a coupon here.

To get additional entries (leave me a separate comment for each one)

1. Subscribe to my newsletter (or let me know that you already do)
2. Subscribe to my blog (or let me know that you already do)
3. Purchase something from my store and leave me another comment with your order number. 
4. Blog about this giveaway (and give me the link in your comment)

Giveaway ends Friday, January 8th.

**Note: This blog entry was originally posted on my old blog, and comments and giveaway results can be found there.**

Ack, I told you my floors were dirty!

Disclaimer: The Black Diamond Company sent me this product and asked me to review it. I happily agreed, and my opinions are honest.

(Originally posted December 2009)

Mostly for the benefit of grandparents and far away family .

I can’t believe how fast she is growing!

(Originally posted December 2009)

Even though I try so hard not to, I’m one of those girls who gains a lot of weight when pregnant (like 40-50 lbs). While I’ve heard higher numbers from friends, this is quite a lot of extra weight for my 5′2″ frame. Each pregnancy has gone the same way. I lose steadily for the first six weeks after the baby is born, and then I plateau with 30+ lbs left to go. All of my babies are fall babies, which means each time I have hit that plateau right around Thanksgiving.

With my son (born in September) I joined Weight Watchers when he was 4 or 5 months and I was able to lose all that ”baby weight” by summer. With my next baby, my daughter, I started back on the Weight Watchers program on my own at home after Christmas and was able to lose all but about 10 lbs in a few months. 

After having my third baby it seems to be harder for me to lose, so I went ahead and joined Weight Watchers again. I find the support I get from going to the meetings and accountability I feel having to weigh in each week keeps me motivated.

I’m happy to report success this month, even with Thanksgiving in the middle! I have lost 8.8 lbs so far, have gone down a pants size, and my wedding ring fits again! So excited. It’s not Biggest Loser numbers or anything, but it’s a healthy weight loss for me considering I am nursing. 

P.S. I’m not endorsing Weight Watchers or anything, I’m just sharing what works for me .