So what, who cares?

Its been so long since I have written a blog I almost forgot I had one.  I have been unbelievable busy the last month or so and it shows on my face. 

Its been an exciting time here in our house as my daughter has become interested in many colleges and we have so far taken two very interesting trips.  We embarked on colleges in our city and she decided to look into two colleges that are complete opposites.  First we went to open house at Rhodes College, I have to say it was beautiful.  Not sure if its the correct fit for her she is a bit of a free spirit but the level of excitement from the current students was refreshing.  Next we went for a visit of Memphis College of Art, I loved the fact that the students were all so free and easy going.  It is two different ends of the spectrum but I believe that she will keep her eye out and find the correct fit for her.

I decided to jump on an opportunity and will be working from home full time starting October 20th.  It has been a long road of hoop jumping but it has been worth it.  I had traing for 4 weeks and it was very intense and very informative but mostly very ehausting.  I look forward to this new opportunity and have every intention of given it my full effort.

Our house has gone through some major changes, we have spent the last few weeks training our kids to be a little more independent and a lot more quiet.  I will have to work in a quiet environment and the children have to learn how to depend on each other while I am working.  Its going to take at least a few weeks to get it perfected but I have faith that it will all work out. 

More importantly I have given up my effort for a perfectly clean house.  It has been told to me in no uncertain terms that this perfection takes a group effort and since our group is mostly made up of little kids and sleeping husband its just not a reality.  I have decided that our children will be responsible for their rooms and will help with other rooms so they learn how to clean.  I had to take over the play room since they never could keep it clean and I was in need of an office.  I have my office in the den closet and they are allowed to pay in the den when I am not working but they are required to pick up their mess or they lose play time in that room.  My husband is now helping out alot more when he is home since he realized that an angry, grumpy, sleep deprived wife is no fun.  My teen is a work in progress, but I ask a lot of her in the way of babysitting so I give her a small break on the cleaning, but she does have a list of things for her to handle on a weekly basis. 

Without the added pressure of trying to be perfect I am starting to feel a lot better and actually sitting down and having a serious conversation with my hubby about how we can help each other was much needed and will continue to be a weekly thing.  We are using as much technology to help us keep in touch with each other and be able to discuss issues as they come up. 

For me the last and most important issue was time management.  I have evernote, dropbox, cozi, and Jing to help us keep in touch as a family.  With evernote and dropbox no matter where I am I am able to work on school work and pass budgets and important web pages to my hubby.  Cozi helps keep us all on a calendar that I can set up at one central spot and send out to all that are participating including my mother.  Jing is my favorite since it helped me keep notes in school without actually writing or typing.  I just click and save the images on my computer and its done.  Best of all I save it all on my dropbox which leaves space on my computer and lets me access it from my phone, ipad, laptop, and desktop.  So I hope to go back to blogging on a regular basis but with so much on my plate I guess I will have to see how things go.

Looking forward to bigger and better things.

Jayde

Crazy run in the family

This week has been really really crazy.  My husband was in a accident and although he is OK, my car is no longer with us.  It was not the way we wanted to start our week.  Since he no longer has a car and we don't have anyway to get him to work he no longer has a job.  We decided that this was a sign that it is time to pack up and return to the place we were before.  We have been looking for a way to get back to Memphis and I think this is it.  For some strange reason we decided that a move right away would be the best and we are actually moving before the 25 of the month.
 My head is swimming with all the things that need to be done and all the things that need to be packed.  I am under such a large amount of stress that it is not even funny.  During all this time we had to share the news with our kids, our little kids were thrilled, our teens not so much.  My oldest child had decided to stay in California and although I hate to leave him here I do respect his decision.  Our oldest daughter of course took the news pretty hard, but after a few days of pouting she is now understanding the reasons we are going and has accepted our choice.  Its not going to be easy to move a family of 7 across the country in less than 30 days especially since 4 of them are under the age of 6.
 I look forward to the change of scenery and hope that our lives get a lot better then they were here.  I have to say our move to Cali never really worked out well for our family and in hind sight I think it should have been a vacation and not a move.  I look forward to seeing my family and getting our lives started again.  So for now it time that I attack another room and try pack a few boxes before I start my homework. 

Feeling the Crunch

So as of Feb 3, I have implemented a chore rule in the house. My two oldest kids will have at least 2 choirs to do everyday and even my little ones will have something to do on a daily basis. Its gonna be some work to stick with the plan, but I think its best for all. I can not and should not run myself into the ground in order to try and keep this house running. Most of the time I am so tired by the end of the day that I just pass out and don't really enjoy the rest that sleep is suppose to bring. I have committed to a total clean of my house, but over the course of one months. I have a lot to do and a short time to do it in. This next baby is going to turn our house upside down and I hope to be able to ride the wave of chaos and not just survive but come out a winner. Working on a daily schedule is still in the works and I have even started meal planning for the week. Its a new year with lots of possibilities and I want to take advantage of all of them. Here is to new beginnings.

Happy New Year?

Its finally time to take down the Christmas decorations and put our ordinary lives back in order. It's one more week until the kids return to the drudgery of school and its time for my husband to start his new job. I will be a solo mommy again with 3 kids to deal with on a daily basis. My preschooler will need to be walked to school everyday and that means the other two get to go along for the ride as well. I am currently 11 weeks pregnant and we have no car so this should be loads of fun. It means that the cooking, cleaning, child care and all are resting on my shoulders; did I mention I am also a full time student. I have no fear of facing these task on my own, I know that its going to be a lot of work and I am actually looking forward to having my house back and doing my own thing. Don't get me wrong my husband tried to help out while he was laid off, but it really messed up my daily schedule and now I have the chance to get everything back on track. I am not crazy enough to think that it will be easy to deal with all by myself, but I am happy to give it a try. Its been a long year and I am very glad that it has finally come to an end. 2009 was to say the least a very interesting year, but I hope that 2010 will bring us some stability that we are all in need of.
Maybe this year I might even learn to ask for help...lol. Happy New Year may you have peace, love and friendship in the year to come.