The new year is a time for a clean slate. Fresh starts.  But as I look around my house, it’s anything but clean.  There are toys strewn about, the kitchen is full of dishes, little children’s artwork decorates the dining room table, and the hamper overflows.  This is the blessed life of a house full of children.  And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.  I consider myself a laid back housekeeper though.  I don’t find it necessary to have perfection.  A little dust doesn’t drive me crazy, and honestly dusting makes my allergies go crazy.  Coming from the home of a mother who cleans when it looks perfect everywhere, I’ve chosen a more laid back approach to life. However, with four children and a husband who works from home, we do need to get some chores done.  And as I’ve had children I’ve learned that dealing with small amounts everyday keeps a baseline “clean” level.  It helps to be able to pick up quickly. And everyone is happier when it’s cleaner in the house.  If you aren’t doing something everyday, then you are just running around like  a chicken one day when you loudly declare “I can’t TAKE IT ANYMORE! We are all CLEANING RIGHT NOW!”

Enter Motivated Moms.  I’ve used this calendar for several years now. I have at times fallen off the motivated wagon but Motivated Moms always makes it easy to jump right back on.  Reasons why I love this calendar:

• It has a daily list of chores.  Things such as laundry, making beds, feeding pets, and emptying trash cans.  Sure this is stuff that we do everyday but it feels good to check something off the list, and it helps remind me to get the laundry going early or the dishes.  They are also chores that I can assign to a child.  My 3 year old empties the bathroom trash cans.  He can also change kitchen towels.  The girls can help make beds.  Everybody makes the mess so everybody should be accountable for cleaning up.
• It includes things that I would never think of doing regularly.  Things like dusting the dining room light fixture or washing the windows in one room.  It gives you easy tasks that you can do quickly.  Just the other day it said “clean living room glass”.  I have no mirrors so I took the opportunity to wash the three windows in the living room.  It took me 30 minutes of time and it looks so nice.  And I know that the other rooms will come up eventually.
• It reminds me to set aside time to plan ahead for birthdays the next month.  It also reminds me to do those household chores like cleaning the dryer vent and changing batteries in the smoke detector.
• And most important of all, you are never behind.  Motivated Moms was written by a homeschooling mom.  She understands that there are days where you are “grounded” on the couch nursing a baby. Or there are days when the stomach virus has turned the house upside down.  Or days when you go out and end up staying out all day.  No sweat!  Just skip that day and pick up the next.  You aren’t “behind” with this cleaning schedule.  Promise!

There are many styles of the calendar to choose from.  I choose the page per day with bible scripture.  I’m able to scribble notes on it as needed, write in appointment reminders, write in what I’m planning for dinner, and anything else I shouldn’t forget.  I don’t worry about using a page of paper per day because at the end of the day I toss it in the drawer with the coloring books and it gets used again for decorating before being recycled.  I print one page per day.  You may want the half size to fit in a Franklin style planner.

So I switched over to the *new* blogger. I’m trying to be better at updating this blog and also my craft blog as that is what occupies a lot of my free time. I’ll probably get rid of the blogroll in favor of some google feed program that Erich pointed me towards. I use bloglines but some of my blogs don’t work with it. So I’ll be getting rid of the clutter of the blogroll as soon as I get some time online. Is everything else okay? Or do you think I should get rid of the flickr badge also?

Erich found this video and it makes me laugh every time I watch it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8922875251875301807&pr=goog-sl

http://pagentsprogress.com/?p=281

Hey, I just wanted to drop in to tell you that my laptop broke earlier this month. So that is why I’ve been MIA. Any computer time I’ve had has been brief and spent trying to keep up on the most important blog posts and email. My bloglines subscription has over 50 new feeds. It’s ridiculous.

We’re still here. I’m still pregnant. Bambina is doing well as is Magdalena. I’ll be back with a real update really soon. My laptop just came back yesterday and Erich is on vacation right now, so computer time is still a bit lacking right now.

It’s amazing you, my readers but actually my friends, are so important to me and my well being. I haven’t met most of you, but feel so connected to you as we share the intimate details of our lives. And I just wanted to say, thanks. Thanks for sharing, listening, and for your input. I think we sometimes forget that we are dealing over the internet and not in a close knit group of friends, because at times that is how it feels. All of us chatting over our coffee or tea, nibbling on a cookie, and tuning into our friends. And you know it sucks when we get hurt in the process, but that is the nature of dealing with people IRL or online.

Over the last few days I’ve had the special treating of chatting via instant message systems and of speaking on the phone with Imacmom and Jane. And wow, wonderful ladies, who make my heart and soul sing with happiness, cause I’m so excited to “know” these wonderful people. It’s times like these when I feel life is just about as good as it gets.

So thank you all. And spread the love, please.

If there is someone on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

It’s national delurking week!

I would say I “know” about 60% of the people that stop in on this blog. So if you are in the 40% who I don’t “know” or who don’t comment, please leave me a comment!

Last post of the year. January marks three years of blogging for me. I feel like most of it has been baby centered, but my life in the past three years really has been baby centered.

This year has been such a trying time for me and yet, I’ve also had some of the greatest moments. I watched my baby learn to walk, start talking, enjoy her first mobile summer. She made friends, she developed her personality, she danced and sang and I was here to witness every single one of those moments. I’m lucky.

And in between all of the laughter and dancing, I grew as a mother. I realized how much I wanted more family. I struggled with infertility. I cryed, I screamed, I sat with despair in my eyes and wondered “why me?”

I spent the last half of my year driving forty minutes each way to the doctors office. I did this every other day for two weeks of each month. I was prodded, poked. I had ounces and ounces of precious blood drawn. I poked myself with needles, sometimes three times a day. I had vaginal ultrasounds. I prayed. With every passing day I looked forward to phone calls from nurses telling me my numbers. I learned about my body’s faults.

But I also learned how my body can nurture and that sometimes it can do things right. That even though it was hard to get pregnant, my body embraces pregnancy. It nurtures this baby. Yes, my body suffers through hyperemesis with my pregnancies, but that’s just a small price to pay. It’s all a small price, the pokes, the blood, the tears, it was all worth it for that baby who measures a tiny 4.5 inches and weighs only 2 ounces.

This past week or so I’ve marveled at how my body still takes care of my toddler and this unborn baby. I’ve cried when I sat down to nurse my toddler, not from pain, but from the realization that at that moment my body is nurturing my toddler and my unborn baby. They both sit in my lap, listening to my heart, and feeling my love surround them. And that is so unbelieveably awesome and such a giant thing to grasp in my tiny little mind.

It’s been a great year. And I know that next year will be just as wonderful. It will have just as many hard times I’m sure. And I’m positive I’ll complain. But I’ll also welcome our second baby into our lives. I’ll watch my baby girl become a big sister. I’ll watch her turn two. I’ll enjoy another summer with both my babies. Another anniversary with my Prince Charming will come. And it will be wonderful.

Happy New Year, may yours be filled with love, happiness, and all around good times.

I’m not incredibly fond of the two tickers on the page. Someone asked when I was going to put a pregnancy ticker up, and although I wanted to put one up immediately, I didn’t just want to kick Magdalena’s off, if you know what I mean.

I already had plans to get rid of Magdalena’s ticker on her 2nd birthday. That seems a good place to stop the ticker madness so to speak. But I had a ticker for Magdalena’s pregnancy, so it seems appropriate that this baby gets one to.

So until January, ya’ll will just have to live with two tickers. Then it will be back to one ticker. Can you guys handle that until January?

I’ve started using Live Journal for some more intimate posts. If you have a LJ username and would like to be able to read that journal, just leave your username in the comments. I do have veto rights, but there shouldn’t be any problems with 99% of your reading.

Erich and I took Magdalena up to Michigan City, IN on Monday. Since it was a bank holiday, Erich had the day off and we were able to enjoy a little mini road trip. I went and picked up some things for Magdalena and Lili at the Hanna Anderson outlet store. Magdalena’s snowsuit was ordered from there also and should be here soon along with a playdress/daydress, leggings, and some pj’s. I’m uploading pictures on my flickr account. You need to be a friend to see the ones of Magdalena though. And for your viewing pleasure I’ll post a video for you here.

Magdalena had fun running in the sand barefoot. It was pretty windy out there but it was still nice. Erich said we couldn’t leave without letting Magdalena dip her toes in Lake Michigan. (brrr! That lake is cold!) She didn’t really enjoy the dipping, but she did enjoy chasing Daddy!

ETA: Everyone who left their LJ name has been added. You should be able to see me when you look at the manage friends screen. Manda, I’ve emailed you. Dianna, could you make sure I added the right name.

You are RACHEL RAY, host of “$40 a Day”
and “30-Minute Meals”. Youre zany,
just a little bit dorky, but you know your
stuff. You show quick and easy meals that dont
break your budget. You also love to travel,
and hunt for the most fun and the best deals.
You obviously love having fun and love showing
others how to have fun. Youre adventurous and
happy-go-lucky, yet way frugal and thrifty.
Good job!

Which Food Network Personality are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

3 things I bet aren’t in/on your

Fridge:

1) tylenol suppositories
2) a bunch of fertility drugs
3) a convection oven (on top of my fridge)

Desk:
1) a payoff notice for our car loan (we just refinanced)
2) a four keyboards
3) a bunch of syringes

Car:

1) syringe and needle (these treatments seem to be scattered across my life huh?)
2) cheerios (all over the floor)
3) knitting bag full of yarn and projects

I’m posting photos in batches over at Flickr. You have to be a friend to view my photos, so if you want to see them then leave a comment with your user name and I’ll add you as a contact. I hope you all understand why we’re doing this. With all of the talk about people ripping off photos and using them for gross purposes, Erich and I feel a bit safer behind closed doors so to speak. And it won’t be a problem as long as I know you. If you are a lurker, please leave a bit about yourself or direct me to your blog.

There will still be the occasional photo here, but the bulk will be at Flickr. I know you can’t get enough of my gorgeous daughter. Flickr accounts are free, so go on now, go sign up. **wink**

You would not believe how incredibly excited I am about this movie coming out! It is absolutely my favorite musical of all time! Have I ever told you guys that I was a vocal performance/music education major? Well, I was.

Because I wanna be like Julee.

Google your name in quotes with an “is” — ex.: “(your name) is” — pick your favorite ten responses and post them.

1)Suzanne is hitting the road this summer

2) Suzanne is able to paint a palpable picture of the status of corporate coaching, define critical issues and provide tips for successful execution of coaching initiatives.

3)First, Suzanne is definitely not a Korean name; it’s a Western or American name.

4)Suzanne is a natural teacher and believes her job is to facilitate others in becoming their own authority so they can heal their own lives and create a life with meaning and purpose.

5)Suzanne is a breeder of German Shepherd dogs, usually producing one litter per year.

6)Suzanne is currently unavailable for consultations (in person or by phone).

7) Suzanne is a highly sought after agent in the Santa Barbara and surrounding areas.

I love the fact that Suzanne is truly a poet not just a song smith.

9) ‘I Am Suzanne’ is an astonishing film, one of the most original movies I’ve ever seen … and yet it reminds me of several others.

10) Chez Suzanne is a cozy two bedroom apartment sitting at the foot of a tiny medieval hill village known for the ruins of the Marquis de Sade’s chateau. (this one is the coolest!)

I didn’t know it was possible to be this tired. I’m dragging! Oh My Word. I know I’ve been complaining a lot about it, but seriously, something has got to change.

And I’m incredibly annoyed by the majority of the population right now. This is really annoying the crap out of me. Along with just being generally annoyed with most people. I’m hoping that the exhaustion and irritation are signs of Something Very Good. But we won’t know for a while.

So since I am so whiney, tired, and irritable, I’m going to lay low for a few days. Look for me next Thursday. If I appear at other times, consider it a gift from me to you.