Don't ignore your husband....

Do you like being ignored?

So I think most women would tend to agree that they feel valued when they feel their partner listens to them, right? Sometimes we just need to vent a little, or express ourselves to a listening ear, in order to feel that 'release' of our day's pressure.

Michael and I were  recently at a marriage conference, and I have a question they shared, that I trust will inspire you to think about your own relationship:

How would you feel, if your husband did not speak to you for 3 days. How about 3 weeks? What would you do if your husband didn't say a word to you for 3 years?

Our men have needs girls. Let's just be honest. We would die if our husband ignored us and refused to talk to us for 3 weeks....but somehow we justify why it's ok to ignore his needs for that long.....or longer.

The speaker at the conference this weekend made a super cool  point. He said that women have girlfriends they can go to in order to be heard, and vent. We can release our pressure of life though outlets besides our husbands. Our husbands on the other hand, have no other outlet for their pressure of life, we are supposed to be their only outlet. They cant find another girl to meet their needs. 

Something that takes so little time, but it makes our man so happy. Hmm...

I understand there are often reasons why women or men hold intimacy back from each other. But don't you think it's worth the tough steps required to walk things out so everyone's needs can be met? Nobody said having a healthy marriage would be easy.  But marriage is after all made up of 2 really good forgivers. :)

Don't ignore your husband....and he'll want to meet your needs in return!

Fab Finds Shopping Today....

Used clothing for kids really is saving so much more than buying new!!!!

I bought 49 items of kids clothes, and it averaged $3.50 / piece!!! No sale i've seen can average that over that many items. 

I also was trying to find some cool stuff for the house that was not too expensive...well actually i was looking for cheap.

Here is what i found for the house! I was so excited i acutally cried when i showed mike.

I was pretty excited when i saw this at value village. I saw something on 'milion dollar decorators' liek this, only they purchased it for $40,000....so Alysia encouraged me to give it a try and take it back if I didnt like it...well no need -I LOVE IT!!! Oh and it wasnt 40k...it was $6!! I plan to put a black shelf under this. For now this is good enough. Until I find another deal on a shelf! ha ha

This is great. I love how it's smaller than a big one, so i can make a full pot just for me :) Just beautiuful. $5.99 Value village

For 3 years i have wanted new dishes. Our old ones are awesome and i love them, but wanted a change, and several of them have chips. So Sice the set we had was still fulfilling it's purpose, i could never really justify buying a new set. Every new set I liked was $80 for a 4pc set. This is an 8  pc set, and it cost only $29.99 at value village. That is a deal folks!!! And i love love love the gold smear on the edges.

Maybe having this beautiful fabric will inspire me to learn how the heck to use my sewing machine. I plan to use this for my kitchen window.

I hope today I inspired you to perhaps not always think you have to buy new to make things look new and nice!

Creative and Cheap ways to style your house....

I went to a garage sale on the way to our cottage this past weekend. I find the garage sales farther away from home are the best - they seem to have the most unique things!

This desk cost me $10.00 !! 2 picture frames in this pic we had already, and 2 I got given to me from the garage sales we went to, and 2 I paid .50 cents each for. That's what I call a deal!

My Plan is to fill the entire wall with antique looking frames.

Total Cost for this image: $11.00!

Three down...a lot more to go!

* Office
   - filing system
   - desk tidy and misc tidy
* Main floor pantry
* Basement Pantry
* Basement organization (I got michael to do htis, it involved lots of moving of boxes etc, so he spent 15 minutes downstairs and it looks great!) I'll go in another time and organize it even further. Cleaning can always be done in stages)
* Closet in living room
* Mud room closet
* My closet
* Spare room closet (baby clothes organized and labelled)
* Spare room
* Master bedroom
* Fridge (entire wipedown)
* Wash all hard floors
* Dust stairs
* Clean under sink / organize cleaning supplies(1. Cleared everything out. Cleaned surfaces with cleaner. Put things back in their homes. 3. Organized each cubby bin and threw out things i had cleaned last time and haven't used since. lol)
* Clean / Organize under ensuite bathroom sinks

So it may not look too perfect, but I organized the cleaning supplies based on how frequently I use them. By the way, i have a spot for overflow cleaning supplies. Everything that is unopened (sale items etc.) is in the pantry, out of the way of the every day.

Time to FINALLY clean my house!!!

So I was thinking the other day, that it would be cool to have my whole entire house cleaned. I mean every single room, every single closet, every single corner!! Now... it's not an absolute mess (well a couple of rooms are right now actually) but to be honest - I've been putting off major cleaning since I was 6 months pregnant with Landen. That's kind of when I shut down. And now Landen is 3 months old, and I really have no more excuses.

SOOOOOO here is my plan!!! I plan to clean each room, and do a mini blog on it and share it with the world! (well whoever wants to read) I'm not talking normal house cleaning like kitchen and bathrooms, I mean the hard core stuff that I've been putting off for a dog's age!

My hope is that you readers will follow along with the same (or similar) task I took on, and you'll do it too! WE CAN ALL CLEAN OUR HOUSES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM TOGETHER!!!

First thing to do is make a list of each room and area you can think of that you want cleaned. Writing down a list is so valuable because it inspires a different part of our brain than just trying to remember. Make it clear and obvious what your house goals are, we will keep referring back to the original list and crossing off the item we completed!

Here is my list:

* Office

     - filing system
     - desk tidy and misc tidy
* Main floor pantry

* Basement Pantry

* Basement organization
* Closet in living room
* Mud room closet
* My closet
* Spare room closet (baby clothes organized and labelled)

* Spare room

* Master bedroom
* Fridge (entire wipedown)
* Wash all hard floors
* Dust stairs
* Clean under sink / organize cleaning supplies
* Clean / Organize under ensuite bathroom sinks

I may add some more items as I notice more, but i think that'll do for now. Now make YOUR list! Let's stroke off items together! I'll go at a pace that allows for some breathing room so it's realistic for everyone. Nobody should be expected to use every spare second of the week. Even if we stroke 1 or 2 items off a week I'd consider that success!!

KK i have to get to work now! Lots to do!

Dont forget to put your list somewhere like your fridge or somewhere obvious so you see it all the time!

How to organize your DAY WITH CHAOTIC KIDS. (behaviour)

I'm not saying our kids are chaotic....just referring to the days when their behaviour is chaotic.

Ever wonder why your kids are just so needy some days? Or they just keep doing things that frustrate you to your limit? Well, i have found a fun way to master the environment in our house so that this doesnt happen (too often). Please keep in mind, i still have pretty crazy days, and my kids are quite consistant at frustrating me...or I'm consistant at getting frustrated rather. ha ha ha.
Anyways I have just noticed a definate difference when the following is practiced: Schedule!!!

Now everyone who knows me knows my kids sleep a lot. Let's not get into sleep patterns, because every kid is different with that. I'm focusing on schedule when kids are awake: (they dont bug you when they're sleeping after all)

I find kids respond well to consistancy. On days when i have work to get done (bookkeeping, cleaning etc), i find the kids are more 'off'. Of course the second we pick up the phone, or start doing something for us, they all of a sudden need us...and demand it I should say.

Basically this is what breaks up the day for the kids:


9:00-10:30 - Playtime - includes kids playing on their own, I read a story to them at some point, they have reading time on their own (just before snack at 10:30), clean up time. (This allows me to have time to tidy the main floor while they play. Yes i'm being efficient with my time, and being involved with them at times too. They do need to learn to play on their own without me, so it's healthy to let them be for a while)


10:30 - Snack time Knowing when snack time is everyday, gives you time to prepare mentally in advance what you will have. (making it easier to choose health over convenience) Example: at 10 i think "oh it's snack time in half an hour...ok we'll have apples today." Rather than letting kids decide when they think they're hungry, and bugging you constantly. I can easily say, "no sorry it's not snack time yet". It has to happen the same time everyday....oh and when I get sidetracked, they remind me that they want a snack. Their bodies know!

(this isnt our snack...pizza....this was supper one playdate haha)

11:00 - Craft time. Craft time: sometimes a real crafty craft - other days it's print a cool coloring sheet off the internet and have coloring time. Depends how much prep time I'm into. I find the kids are fine playing on their own before snack, it's the first time they've played all day with their toys, so all is well with the world. Then they are hungry, and bored I find things approaching the chaos zone, which is when most of the fighting happens between the girls (this is when they are now hungry for lunch, and their snack is forgotten) So hence Craft time at 11. It's a break, a distracton and a learning time. (today we made binoculars with 2 of our cousins!)

12:30 - Lunch In the mornings i decide what is for lunch each day, that way I'm not scrambling at 12:30. Some days I make double, and save it for the following day to minimize work. Also my rule to keep me happy: when mommy is cooking, stay out of the kitchen. They play while I prep any type of food. This makes it more of a fun experience for me. No kids at my heels begging for food! 1:30 - Quiet Time (nap) if your kids dont sleep, often parents have kids just enjoy quite time somewhere.

Not sure if this helps anyone out - share some feedback so i know where you're all at! :) Also - what types of organizing topics would be inspirational to you guys? If you dont share your thoughts i'll just keep sharing what I think works...and I could be wrong. So help me out! Thanks for reading!

Making space in your cupboards...

Does anyone reading this find it difficult to put things away where they belong, because there just isnt space to fit it where it actually belongs?

An idea to help with this: Go through your cupboards and closets and drawers (perhpas a little bit each day) and purge! Get rid of that bowl you've been meaning to give to your sister. Remove all of the items you dont acutally use, or arent really sure when you'll use again. If you're really not ok giving your 'non everyday' items away, then create a space far away from your living areas, (maybe in the basement on a shelf, or in the garage on an accessable shelf) where you can begin to move items to.

Similar to a pantry for food items, it's great to have a pantry for dishes and household items that you want to keep an eye on. You know how it goes, "out of sight, out of mind". I suggest shelving for these items, this way you always have a visual of what you have stored away, and you can continue to think aobut them and decide here and there whether to give something away or keep it.

This will create space in your 'everday' space, for the things you use more often.

In the pic here you'll see a couple of items I definately dont use everday, but i dont want to throwit out because i'm convinced someday i'll miss it. Notice it's on a shelf in the closet where it's not in my way. But I see it often, so I can still remember I own it.

Thanks for reading