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01 September 2014

4 Things I learned about selling a home (or not)


  We are quickly approaching what should have been our closing date, things fell through this go around and now we are going to be here until after the baby is born for sure. That changes a few things. Some things I have learned from this short experience won't be forgotten and will absolutely change how we do things here!

 1. WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!
I don't think this is really news to anyone who has had to pack stuff. It's amazing the amount of stuff we can collect. Things like sandals, cake pans and clothes!

I think I packed a little more than half of our stuff. It's been in our garage for weeks now. There are very very few things I wish I had out of those boxes. I think that is a good sign that I can let a lot of it go! I am tempted to just take all of the clothes out there to donate. I might need to wait until I am not pregnant and we get over this heat. But having so much of it packed has really made me realize even more than I did before that having so many options is not beneficial. It's just cluttering and wasting time!

2. Nothing is official until things are official
Things were going SO smoothly, maybe too smoothly.
Thankfully, we hadn't found a rental or a house in the area we want to be, so the only thing it has really affected was packing.


3. Some things really just can't be packed away until the day you move! 
 I tried to limit our school supplies, homework stations etc. and now that things are changing and we will be here until after school starts, we neeeeed that space! I am scrambling to get the important stuff back together. I never want homework to be a problem. I want our kids to love school and learning and work and not dread it! Having the things they will likely need at hand, ready to use without a hassle just helps immensely.

4. As much as I thought we were as organized as we could get.
We weren't! Not even close. I think the main part of that is that we have too much stuff.
I know for sure we aren't as organized as I imagined because I still can't find a pair of jeans I know I bought for Finn. It's around here somewhere, probably in a box of clothes he could be using right now! I have just a few weeks until my c-section and I am making it my mission to do as much as I can and getting as much excess out!

  I am working on #4 by taking a Facebook break (I KNOW it's a time suck for me), and I will have some alone time, say WHAT? That rarely happens! But for a few hours a few days a week, for 2 weeks I will have some time alone, where I can sort and organize and hopefully bust through the rest of the stuff inside. Anything in the garage we don't go looking for might just have to go!


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#1 Way We Make Mornings Smooth!

Alright, even though I said we were just going to wing things, the anxiety of unknown is getting to me a teeny bit and I feel like our breakfast schedule is something that needs to stick around!

I shared last year (or a few years before) here, and it's not really that different now. Just want to share a little more details about how we start our mornings!

We still use our Good Morning Basket
It has the kids chore packs, granola, brown sugar, and now vitamins along with our devotionals. 

Here is our weekly breakfast schedule!

Monday~Pancakes, fruit and sausage/bacon
I prefer to make our own pancakes, and add some vanilla protein powder to them! We have picky kids who don't really like a whole lot of protein items.

Tuesday~Oatmeal and Toppings
We pretty much always have some fruit for on top, kids occasionally get some peanut butter or chocolate chips on top too!

Wednesday~Yogurt and Fluff
fruit and granola on top. Each of our kids like theirs a little different!

Thursday~Waffles with Nut Butter
Last I shared, we were using a different brand. We are all big fans of Wild Friends Nut Butters!
There are other flavors too! My favorite is the chocolate sunflower seed!

Friday~Cereal and Fruit
By Friday we need an easy breakfast! Sometimes we just have scrambled eggs and toast or a mini bagel and fruit but cereal is the standby. I don't love giving the kids cereal and when we do it's usually boring with no sugar, chocolate or marshmallows. Not hard to convince them to have something else!
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18 July 2014

Changes!


Waaaaaiit, what? That is not my usual! I love structure and scheduled and predictability!


However, lately I have been finding myself leaning towards the wild and free. I'd like to blame it on this baby! I think this is going to be the most chill baby! I haven't felt much in the way of stress as far as getting stuff for baby, we are selling our house and I hadn't been stressing about that, none of this is my norm. I don't think I will ever abandon my scheduling tendencies 100% and I don't think I should. I figure if we stick to our structured and scheduled stuff, let's say 20% of the time, it will be a good balance of responsibility and fun! Actually letting us enjoy the spontaneity. I don't think I could enjoy a random beach trip nearly as much, knowing I had a heap of work undone. 
 I want to make sure we lead by example for our kids. All fun and no work is not responsible and surely won't get them far in life. We also want them to learn to enjoy their hard work.

So you might not recognize the crazy lady posting. I just am not feeling all this structure AND
We sold our house! That is great news, we close in a few weeks as long as the inspection and appraisal go well.  The other end of that is WE HAVE NO WHERE TO GO!
As I am sitting here today there are 2 houses for sale in the area we want to be in, 2!!
So we will likely be renting, you would think that would be easier right? Apparently not! It's not as easy as I thought to find a 3 bedroom (minimum) place to move to! Not to mention just 32 days after we close I am all scheduled for a C-section! Don't even get me started on how far behind I am in baby prep!


I have never been the type to rush into anything, or WING IT as they say. We are absolutely winging it and it has me a teeny bit emotional. I am not regretting listing/selling but I still have the occasional though of OHMYGOODNESSWHATHAVEWEDONE!

Our house is beautiful, has no issues, fits us great with room to grow. So WHY are we doing this?!

We just know this is not where we want to be for the rest of our lives, the market is good, we thought we would try and so far it has worked out well! Just trusting that this uncomfortable stage will turn into what we are hoping for.

So that is what is up here! Sorry if Meal Plan Monday was your favorite or you were really looking forward to some back to school posts. I think we will all be lucky if I cook a planned meal again before we move, and I have NO idea where/how/what I will be doing for school. I am sure we will get them there on time and dressed. Right now that is about all I can promise! Come follow me on pinterest and instagram. I am often up with calf cramps from 2-4AM and have plenty of time to pin stuff and I am sure there will be some baby grams!

Once we get settled in a new place (temporarily) and a new baby, I am sure I will have a lot more to share, and probably new obstacles as we downsize (by half!) and make things work.



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15 July 2014

Meal Plan Monday~ Week 29


I am just not ready for it to be Monday already!  Baseball is officially over for the year, that sure helps in the dinner situation! I think I might be starting to freak out about bay stuff finally, sure took a long time this go around!

Monday~Crock Pot Beef Roast

Tuesday~Enchilada Tater Tot Casserole
I am a little nervous about this one, trying from pinterest.

Wednesday~Spaghetti

Thursday~Chicken Stir Fry

Friday~Mini Pizza

Saturday~Pork Roast

Sunday~ Leftovers

It's a day late, and will probably change, I am moody and nothing sounds good after I cook it these days (yay pregnancy) and kids have VBS all week. 
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