Anti-Procrastination and Priorities

I want to preface this post by saying that I don't enjoy making myself look bad in front of my readers.  Nobody wants others to know all their faults, and I certainly don't plan on making a habit of letting you in on every single dark secret I have.  However, the purpose of this blog is to encourage ladies to be all that God wants them to be.  Sometimes that means sharing personal examples in hopes that you will learn from my mistakes and be motivated not to repeat them.

When I started this Anti-Procrastination challenge, it was with the intention of getting extra things done without worrying about whether or not every single dish was washed, every speck of dust gone, and every article of clothing folded beforehand.  There will always be more dishes to wash, dust to clean, and clothes to fold, and if I wait until all the “regular” stuff is done, I will never “get around to” other projects like organizing closets, washing the car, and doing craft projects.

However, there must be a proper balance between getting those Anti-Procrastination tasks done, and not allowing my house to be flat-out messy.

It honestly kind of bothers me when I see bloggers posting pictures of their messy houses that they neglected in favor of doing a DIY project.  They somehow feel the need to “keep it real” and show how messy their house is because they were too busy doing a craft project to clean.  I'm not talking about stuff the kids drug out while mommy was busy working or the mess made from actually working on the project or the dishes that were dirtied and left in the sink during the course of focusing on finishing the project.  Those things are completely understandable and normal.  I'm talking about out-and-out neglect to take care of first things first.  Unmade beds and a pile of dirty dishes from the day before are, in my opinion, things that should be taken care of before anything else is undertaken that day.  Most likely if you start a project with the house looking like that, it will still look like that at the end of the day when your husband comes home.  That's not a refreshing sight to him when he comes home from a long day at work.

I'm ashamed to say that was the sight my husband had to come home to yesterday.  It all started out kind of innocently.  Since I've been so weak and tired all the time, I've been trying to get the most important things done first before I run out of energy.  Yesterday was Wednesday, which meant that we had prayer meeting at night.  I decided to get everyone's clothes ready, pack the diaper bag, and figure out dinner first thing in the morning so I could make sure it all got done in time.

Well, I've had these plain t-shirts in my closet forever that I've been wanting to make-over into something cute.  They've been on my Anti-Procrastination list for the longest time, but I always have something else to do that's more important.  I got started on my day pretty early, and I felt like I had plenty of time, so I decided to whip one of those up.  I mean, why not?  That was part of getting my church clothes ready, and I'd be knocking out an Anti-Procrastination task at the same time.  And surely, it wouldn't take very long.

Well…ahem…naptime arrived, (yes, as in several hours later) and I was still in the middle of a battle of wills with my sewing machine.  I had stopped briefly to throw some lunch in front of the kids, but other than that nothing had gotten done.  Nobody's clothes were ready, dinner wasn't even thought of, and I had dishes on the counter that I had been planning to get to “after I got the church clothes ready”.

When my husband got home, I wanted to hide.  I was so embarrassed about the house (okay really it was just dirty dishes, but that makes my house feel filthy, especially since that's the first thing you see when you walk in my back door) and about the fact that we were now going to have to rush to get ready for church on time.  I tried for a frantic second to think of some way to get rid of all the mess and pretend I'd been doing what I should have been doing all day.

Instead I decided to be honest and fess up.  I told him I was sorry I hadn't used my time wisely.  I then thought through what needs to happen in order for that scenario not to play out again.

But, since this post is already running long, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to read the two simple strategies I came up with to help myself stay on track but still be able to get those Anti-Procrastination tasks done too.

In the meantime, why don't you tell me how you keep your homemaking priorities in order?  I'd love to hear about it!

Read Part Two here…

Awesome Deal on Coconut Oil

You all probably know by now that I love coconut oil and use it for a lot of different things. (Like my easy homemade granola.)

It can get a bit pricey, though, so I'm always on the lookout for the best deal.  I recently bought a gallon of it for what I thought was a great price.  It came out to about $.50 an ounce.

I just found it way cheaper than that!

Here's what you need to do if you want to get in the deal:

• Sign up for an account at Vitacost using my referral link.  You'll receive a coupon code for $10 off via email.
• Then, add four 16 ounce jars of Vitacost brand extra virgin coconut oil to your cart.  Since these are buy one get one half off, your total will come to $26.85 for all four jars.
• Check out, and be sure to use the $10 coupon you received in your email.
• Your total will be $16.85 and shipping will be free.  (Shipping is free when you spend at least $25 on Vitacost brand products, and as far as I know the $25 should be calculated before your coupon.  Let me know if that's not the case and I'll cook up a different deal for you.)

That comes out to $.26 an ounce!

If you've been wanting to give coconut oil a try (or if you already use it and just need more) I would definitely jump on this!

Can Somebody Help Me?

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you'll know that I've been struggling with extreme fatigue and heart palpitations for a number of months now.  The blood work I had done came back normal, and I wasn't really sure where to go from there.

I don't know why I never came up with this information before, but it certainly seems logical.

Has anyone ever heard of postpartum thyroiditis?

You can develop it anytime in the year following the birth of a baby.

Symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Rapid heartbeat or palpitations
• Unexplained weight loss
• Increased sensitivity to heat

Those are hyperthyroidism symptoms.  Later, the symptoms can swing to those of hypothyroidism:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Unexplained weight gain
• Increased sensitivity to cold

I don't really know where I fall in there, because I have pretty much all of these symptoms other than the weight gain.  However, come to think of it, I did go back up about 10 pounds after I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight.

According to what I read, most times postpartum thyroiditis goes away on its own.  However, some women develop true hypothyroidism and it is has to be treated the rest of their life.

Anyway, I'm kind of glad to find that at least I have a logical explanation for how I've been feeling.  I'm really hoping that this stuff truly does go away on its own.

Some days I feel pretty good.  I'd say about 75% of the time, though, I am struggling just to do the basics like feeding everybody, changing diapers, and keeping the house relatively clean.  The past few days I've really had a hard time; getting out-of-breath just by talking, feeling dizzy and like I'm about to pass out and feeling extremely weak.  (Close your eyes, mom.)  (My mom doesn't like to let me drive if she knows this stuff.)

I'd love to know if anyone here has experienced this or if anyone knows of any natural remedies for thyroid problems.  I have heard that coconut oil can help stimulate the thyroid, but I'm wondering if that would make things worse if I have hyperthyroidism.  I don't really know which one (hypo or hyper) I have since the doctor didn't order the proper blood tests.  I've been taking blackstrap molasses every day, but I don't really know what else to try.

Anyone?

Anti-Procastination Challenge: Try it!

One thing I am really bad about is getting too comfortable in the kitchen.  I get on kicks making certain things all the time because they're easy, because my brain doesn't want to figure out something new, because most of the recipes I see in magazines or on Pinterest look too time-consuming or too expensive, and because I honestly just want to get dinner over with so I can get on with my evening.

I think if I tried something new, though, I might actually enjoy the process of making dinner and eating it, instead of just “getting it over with”.  So as soon as this post is written, I'll be heading out to the kitchen to make quinoa stuffed peppers.

None of us have ever had quinoa before, and we've only had stuffed peppers once.  I'm really hoping we like the quinoa, because it will be a really inexpensive way to add some protein to our meals.  Who says you have to eat meat at every meal?  I've been cutting it out of our meals a whole lot lately. We honestly haven't felt like we were missing anything, but it's saving a whole lot of money.

Anyway, why in the world do I have this Pinterest board called “Recipes to try” if I'm never going to try them?  Time to stop procrastinating! 

What new thing are you going to try this week?  If you need some inspiration you can head over and check out my pinterest board!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Printable Alphabet Flashcards

If you want to laminate your flashcards, I have this laminator and love it.  I also bought a huge box of generic pouches that was so much cheaper and they work just fine!

Update: I have moved all of my homeschooling material to my other blog, Christian Homeschool Family.  Go here to get these printable alphabet flashcards at the other blog.

A Real Life Day

I had several inspiring posts in my mind to write today.  I was feeling so creative and organized.  I had so much I wanted to share with you all about my latest homeschooling ideas, recipes, and homemaking tips.

Then real life stepped in.

I went to bed last night with the house a mess like it usually is on Sunday nights.  That wasn't going to be a big problem, though.  I was going to knock that out in a jiffy.  My alarm was set for 6:30 am, and I was all geared up to get up early, get the cleaning knocked out, and spend the rest of the day having fun with the kids.

My well-laid plans were not to be, however. This morning I woke up with a start, rolled over, and saw that it was 11 o'clock!  Upon closer inspection, I saw that my alarm clock was turned off.  One of two things must have happened, and both are entirely possible.  Either I turned the alarm off in my sleep when it went off this morning, or my sweet husband knew I needed more sleep after a long weekend and turned it off for me.

But 11 o'clock!  I doubt he would have expected me to sleep that long!  By the time I nursed the baby and got everybody dressed and fed, it was already noon.  I still had two baskets full of laundry that needed to be folded and a sink full of dirty dishes that had to be done before I could even think about some of the other things I was hoping to do today.

Little people were nagging at me to get them a drink, read them a book, take them potty, etc.  My oldest was bickering with his sister, and they both were resisting my commands to help me fold the clothes.  Instead they decided to use the upside-down laundry basket as a trampoline, which did not withstand the weight of a 35 pound boy and now needs to be replaced.

The baby had a diaper blowout, didn't want anything I tried to feed him, and continued to cry because he was hungry.

The noise level combined with what felt like crisis after crisis rendered my home a scene of mass chaos.

The kids are quietly napping now, and I slipped away for a few moments to recharge and get ready for a second round.

I wanted to get upset today.  I wanted to pout and stew and whine because my day was far from picture-perfect.

But I knew I couldn't do that.  The Lord has already worked in my heart about what my attitude should be on days like this.  I get frustrated when my children seem to forget the lessons I'm trying to teach them; why should I act the same way as God's child?

No, instead I will be thankful for the Holy Spirit's reminders.  I will be thankful that he gives me the grace I need for whatever each day may hold.  I will continue to put one foot in front of the other and rely on Him instead of myself.  When things seem out of control, I will remember Psalm 61:2 –  “When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Real life is not always pretty, but the beauty of it is that His strength is made perfect in my weakness.  (II Cor. 12:9)

This day didn't take God by surprise, and through Him I will have every ounce of strength I need to get things back into order.

As I rise from my time of rest, I can continue on, knowing that He is with me and cares about even such trivial things as a messy house.

Friend, when those “real life days” hit you, and everything doesn't go as planned, don't get upset.  Just submit yourself to the Lord, trust in Him, and continue on through His strength.