Amazing how time flies!!  Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  Crazy, I know!!

Well, I had a rather productive week, this week and it’s all due to my organization skills that I have put into play.  It’s nothing special, really, just a handy notepad and pen.  I have found that if I write all my projects down, I will actually get them accomplished. Imagine that?

I have read about many ways to organize and have purchased many planners because of it, but I still go back to my faithful pen and paper.  I have 3 blogs plus 2 others that I write for as well as special blog guest on some others, so it can get scary when trying to determine what to write about.

Thankfully, I am able to write my blog posts and post date them so I can have time to devote to my many other projects.  Yes, I am a bit obsessive and if you haven’t noticed, read some of my other posts. *giggle*

I am one that loves to keep busy and feel that if I am sitting I must be doing something, whether it is writing, reading to my children or folding laundry.  Thankfully I have done most of what was on my list for this week so I can actually relax this weekend.  Which of course is a rare occurrence.

If you haven’t noticed I love to write and share my experiences, because if I can help someone along the way with my quirkiness and obsessiveness, then I feel good.  Well, that is all for now, my kiddos are calling….

The Chronicles continue…

I had to share my proud mama moment!! I love all my children and I have 5 of them so that’s a lot of lovin’ going around…

But today I want to brag about my oldest son. His name is Skylar and he is 14. Sounds pretty normal so far but he is truly an amazing individual. He is a Christian and truly loves the Lord and is evident in all that he does. He is extremely intelligent, he has over a 4.0 average and is taking 10th grade classes at the moment.

I have home-schooled him since the age of 4. When he was 3 I had enrolled him in a local Christian Academy and after 1 week was told that I should get him tested. I was a bit confused, because wasn’t sure what they meant by that? To my surprise, he was tested academically and at age 3 was able to do work that a 6 and 7 year old was doing!! That’s when I knew that he was more than special:)

I have been challenging him ever since. He has never received a grade lower than an A and always puts in over 100% effort in all of his school work. But he not only devotes a lot of his time to academics, he devotes his time to church and kids. He is great with little kids and can speak to them with patience and kindness like I’ve never seen. Now, he is not so patient with his sisters, but that’s understandable.

He is also a vegetarian, yes, a vegetarian. Over a year ago, he decided that he didn’t like the way animals were treated and became a vegetarian and like everything else, he is devoted to his cause. He will not step on an ant in fear of what it may feel, yes, a bit strange I must admit but still admirable.

Skylar is also a great athlete, which leads me to more bragging:) He has been involved in sports since he was 4 years old, mainly baseball, soccer and karate. He has excelled in all 3, gained his 4 stage black belt and many other honors in karate. He excelled in soccer until the age of 12 and ultimately chose baseball as his main sport. He has been chosen for Allstars teams since the beginning. This is a team chosen by all the coaches within a division and he always manages to stand out. This was his last season of park baseball and once again was chosen to represent in Allstars for regional tournaments.

Yesterday, however was the most exciting day!! He is now playing American Legion Baseball for a local High School. My baby is playing for a High School team!! The proudest moment was seeing my child bat first in the line-up; a position only granted to one of the best hitters on the team! Wow, was I shocked to see him play, and he also is playing center field another prime position. You can imagine the way I felt. Seeing my baby playing with the ‘big’ boys. Only he is now considered one of the ‘big’ boys!!

I am so proud of him. He is very shy and has slowly been coming out of his shell. His new baseball coach made an effort to stop us and say what a great kid our son is and how excited he is that Skylar is on his team! Wow!! What a feeling!!

This is what we all strive for when parenting. We all hope and pray that we are doing everything right but never know until they grow up and start making their own decisions. I am very proud of all my children, but today was a day to brag on Skylar. My other children call him the ‘Holy Child’, because he seems to never do anything wrong. I will be the first to say that he is not that ‘holy’ but is a very good child. One that I am proud to say is my child for this short time here on earth. He has his moments like we all do, and definitely has a bad temper, but if he didn’t then he wouldn’t be ‘normal’.

Well, that’s a just a bit about my son, and the ‘proud mama’ moment I experienced. I always experience ‘proud mama’ moments, on a daily basis actually.

The chronicles continue…

Have you ever felt like your plate was overflowing?? The plate being your life?? Being a mom of 5, which I also home school is hectic enough. But add in business owner, administrator of our Chiro office, online net worker, writer, mom and all the other hats we choose to load our selves down with, just makes me wanna scream!!

There, now I feel better, how about you?? Sometimes, I feel like I can do anything, and I really can..but at times I am just frustrated!!

So, I decided it was time to unload my overflowing plate of responsibilities. I started with my online social networks. I decided which ones I was very active in and stayed with those and eliminated the others. Wow, that felt good!!

Next I made a list of all the house hold chores and assigned each one to one of my many children. Allowing me, more time to do other household duties. That felt even better!!

Next, I decided to limit my time on the computer!! I know, it sounds crazy. But, if I set a timer, then I can actually get work accomplished and not surf the web and let my mind wander.. I am actually writing this with 3 minutes left on that handy dandy timer, so I am doing good.

As soon as I get my house hold chores accomplished I will tackle my menu for the coming week and start my grocery list with it. Wow, I will actually be ahead by 2 days!! This scheduling thing might actually work.

Unloading my plate is not easy and I know I will probably add more to it, when I have figured out this little system, but when I start feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, I will look back at this post and remember why I am frustrated. I must learn to delegate and all will be well; or so I’ve been told.

I am a very active person and feel like I must always be doing something, or I will go crazy. But, I just realized that I may still go crazy if I continue to keep going with out end, like the energizer bunny. Hmm, sound familiar??

Well, I am off to sort the laundry that is calling my name, but I feel much better now, how about you? When will you start to delegate some of those responsibilities and unload your overflowing plate? Start today and you will feel better and your family and friends will love you for it.

The chronicles continue…

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to keep a clean house with 5 children and 3 dogs!! First off, I’ll be the first to let you know that it is not easy but it is possible with some patience and organizational skills.

There are times when I go on a rampage and want everything spotless! That’s when my kids run to their rooms and hide under their beds! Those times are not very often, but I must admit they do happen. It can get frustrating to spend hours cleaning the floors, and polishing the furniture, washing and drying dishes, to have it all look a mess in a matter of seconds. My kids are like mini tornados!

So, what I do to keep my sanity is write out a schedule on Sundays for the entire week. This schedule will include the meals for the week as well. This plan has helped me tremendously because having a family of 7, with 4 very active children and many activities, would drive anyone crazy!

I usually will do the major cleaning on Friday mornings, while everyone is asleep, so I can enjoy my weekends. This will consist of sweeping and mopping all the floors ( I have wood floors), and cleaning the bathrooms. Mondays and Wednesday are laundry days, and I usually have my younger girls sort the laundry and place them in designated baskets in the laundry room. On Tuesdays I clean the kitchen, I usually will pick a specific area of the kitchen to clean each Tuesday, today was cabinets and refrigerator day, next week will be cleaning out the drawers and organizing the cabinets and shelves, etc. Thursdays I do touch up cleaning, usually dusting and cleaning the ceiling fans, and I wash the towels and sheets on this day as well. The weekends we usually just touch up, and make sure the house is not a complete mess for the following week.

My children help a lot as well; they don’t have much of a choice. They are responsible for keeping their rooms clean, as well as their beds made and drawers and closets organized. This is a weekly chore for them, because quite honestly they are piglets. I usually go in and monitor their cleaning and make sure they are not shoving everything under their beds…..

Keeping a clean house is a never ending job, but much easier to manage with a schedule and a little bit of discipline. It is also easier when you have help, but sometimes I would rather do it alone. Cleaning and organizing is a type of therapy for me and actually contributes to my sanity.

The Dr. Mommy Chronicles will continue….

I have a friend who is an organizing junkie, so I am posting this here to see what your organizing tips are..

Share your tips:

~Start copying here

The Organizing Tip Meme

To participate:

1. Post your favorite organizing tip on your blog and tag 3 other bloggers
2. Copy and paste everything shown here into the post
3. Add your link to the bottom of the list

More Great Organizing Tips:

1. http://lifefrommylaptop.com/2008/05/20/favorite-organizing-tip-meme/

2. http://drmommychronicles.com

3. http://cinnamonspicecrafts.blogspot.com

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My organizing tip: I like to use utensil trays in all the kitchen drawers to keep them organized.

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