Today is an amazing day!

Not only do we get to celebrate America's birthday 

but I get a day off from the 8-5.

Even though many of us have a day off

If Arthur doesn't get to us....hay will need to be baled

The garden watered

Sitting in church on Sunday I realized that God had given me the body he wanted me to have 

but that my sins (gluttony, laziness, etc) are what have transformed it into the body I have today. 

I also realize that my two blessings (plus a life of abundance in comparison to many)

 have also had an impact on my body as well.  

They have given me stretch marks, scars, and pudginess I didn't have prior 

and that while I would not change a single one of them my body can never be the same

 as one who hasn't had two rambunctious boys.  

 I will never get back the body I had in high school or college.  

But I can care for the body I have now. 

 I am not working to get fit for others, my husband, or really honestly even for myself, 

but for God!!

 Does that mean a dress size or ideal number on the scale?  

No it means I work hard doing my very best for HIM,

 but just as every journey in life has it struggles I must accept the setbacks and plateaus as they arrive.  Praying my way through them instead of throwing in the towel.  

I need to give thanks to him for carrying me this far.  

The Lord put in on my heart to start a fitness journey 

because honestly I am too lazy and unmotivated on my own!  

Because of that I need to look to him for guidance and support.  

So my motivation wall isn't covered in pictures of my ideal body, but with verses that encourage me when I want to give up, that guide me through the hard times, and remind me of what type of woman I want to be.

Here are a few verses that motivate me I found on Pinterest (haha imagine that)

I like to check out Peak313 Fitness blog for new routines and motivation but have really found myself fond of crossfit workouts.  I can do them at home and they are relatively quick to complete...the recovery however sometimes takes longer than the workout itself!  I have a love/hate relationship with Crossfit...it makes me think I am dying every time I do a workout but then once I realize I will survive I feel stronger...and strength is way more important than skinny...

So how did I do this week?  

I didn't track my food like I should.  Honestly this makes a huge difference for me.  

I only got in 3 workouts this week.

I am not drinking enough water.

Below is my chart...the numbers are either holding steady or slowly moving down.

For years I have wanted and tried to put together a Home Management Binder.

And each time I fail miserably.  

It's not that I don't like the concept, they just don't fit my life!

We live life- fully- perhaps over committed but "it is what it is."  I don't have time to schedule household chores into my day...because honestly I don't know what my day will hold.  Yes I have an off farm full time job that takes me away from home 11 hours a day but I also have 2 kids, a farmer husband and commitments that I have to keep.  Sometimes on Tuesday at 5 a.m. I am milking cows, other weeks I am snoring, and then there are the days when I am feeding the baby, doing laundry, and fixing my makeup.  My life doesn't fit an hourly timeframe.  

For me I wash dishes while cooking supper, helping with homework and feeding the baby, I fold clothes between changing diapers, playing sword fight and reading stories.  I'm not structured to a time table.  I'm better at long list that I can mark off when complete.  Maybe if I was on a time table my house would always be ready for company and supper would be on the table at 7 each night and the baby would sleep peacefully through the night without throwing up, crying or wetting the bed...but that's just not me.

So how do I do everything and stay somewhat organized?  

It's probably unconventional and even a little risky but I write, you know like with a paper and a pencil!

I love my gadgets and do use them for somethings like tracking what I eat and what workouts I do but for most everything else I write it down.  If you see me I always have 4 things with me

1. My calendar 

2. My project notebook

3. My journal

4. My iphone

plus somewhere in my bag you will also find a zippered pouch (full of pencils, pens, highlighters, paperclips, post-its) and possibly a folder with a few of my favorite printables as well.  

Everything goes into my calendar in pencil first.  Because I like to change things pens are reserved for those times when I know something isn't going to change think school holiday or birthdays.  I start with my month at a glance section and pencil in appointments, blog post, events, etc.  This way I can easily see what is happening that month so that I can make plans quickly.  My work and personal life all go in one calendar...I can't keep them separate because then I have to check 2 calendars to see if I am available and well that's extra work.  

My calendar has the weeks as a 2 page spread which I love!  It gives me room to make notes about each day, list appointments, blog post titles, and more!  This is the page that stays open on my desk all day.  I take notes about phone calls on the day I receive them.  This allows me to be able to go back and find out when someone called and information about their call.  If it's a long convo or I need more detail notes my first go to is a post-it stuck on that day...if I need more room that is where my project notebook comes into play.  I highlight the original note in my planner and then write everything into the notebook (more on the nbook in a moment).  I also paper clip any forms that need to be returned and mail into the calendar based on the week it needs to be completed.  My weekly Bible verses or study is clipped in the calendar as well.  That way I am reminded to study God's word daily.  It also let's me review the verses more often.  

My project notebook contains everything that needs more detail in my life, from meeting notes to birthday invite list to menu plans.  This allows me to keep everything at my finger tips.  I date my notebooks in sharpie using the day I started one to the last day it was used.  I keep all my old notebooks in a box under my desk at my office.  Why at my office?  Mainly because the notebooks contain work info as well and it's much more likely I need to know about a work file than what we had for supper in July of 2011 ;) 

Then we have my journal (I keep all of these as well) but they are personal.  My journal is where I write down my daily verses, my Bible study, sermon notes, prayers, and trinkets about life.  This is my space, my personal space where I dig into God's word and pour my soul out to him.  It gives me peace to be able to confess to him and praise him.

My phone is the last thing that I ALWAYS have with me.  It has all my contacts plus it's how I keep track of my fitness and weight loss goals.  In addition my budgeting is all done through an Excel spreadsheet so I have it on there as well.  

So there you have it.  How the most unorganized person in the world keeps up with life!

How do you do it?

Caci

So my lil' man isn't so little anymore! 

If you remember a couple of years back he dropped out of our school district's Montessori preschool.  

Then last year we had an awesome experience at a local church preschool.

He started Kindergarten today at one of the 5 elementary schools in our district.

He was very excited!  I think a few things helped the lil man...

1. He knows his teacher and his teacher knows him

2. He's at a school that is filled with family and friends (even if they aren't in his classroom)

3.  He's ready for new experiences

So how did we kick off this new chapter in our life??

No matter who you are or where you are in life it's a balancing act. 

 You might be balancing personal and work life 

or a million other things. 

 I don't know your situation but I know mine 

lately it seems that there's a lot more to balance.

It could be because of these two cuties,

Plus this handsome guy...

So how do I keep everything organized?? 

Well first thing is I have 2 digital calendars and 2 paper calendars plus a wall calendar. 

 That might seem excessive to you but I try to keep my work and personal life somewhat separate. 

 I do update my work calendar with personal appointments but unless it occurs after normal work hours or requires out of town travel I don't put work appointments on my personal calendar.

I rely on Pinterest for lots of inspiration.  I have a whole board devoted to Organizing.  It's full of printables and great ideas for getting your family, house and car organized.  Now I have not personally done all of the various ideas but they all sound great.  Maybe one day I will get my house to be as organized as what I have pinned.  

I also have a Home Management Binder that really helps keep our house running smoothly.  My binder includes sections for finances, school schedules, doctor appointments, menu planning, and blogging.  But here is where I different from most wives and mothers, in addition to organizing our family life, extra curricular activities, and school events I also organize farm stuff. 

What kind of farm stuff?

Calving/lambing dates, vaccination and medical records, weights and average daily gain, breeding dates, and sale records.  To ensure we know everything we need to about every animal on the place we have a 3 inch 3 ring binder for each year of operation.  For me it works easier to have it all in one place.  The only thing that isn't organized in yearly binders is registration papers and we have a separate binder designated to those.  (Livestock registration papers are sort of like a birth certificate for purebred animals.) 

Juggling all of these things seem hectic but its all part of life, no matter if you are living the farm life or not.  My biggest suggestion for Balancing it all...

Pray...ask God to guide you and help you.  

Without God long ago I would dropped all I was balancing into a huge pile!  

Thank you God for keeping all my plates spinning.  

Until Next time...

Caci

So about a month ago our family of 3 became a family of 4!  

We are happy to introduce Waylon Reid

Now how do I stay on task in the mornings?  Well that is a little different!  I am a list girl and I need list...there is just something extra satisfying about the visual reminder of checking something off the list.  And for me as tech savvy as I am I must hand write this list for it to be effective...reminders in my phone or alerts from my calender just get dismissed but list get looked at and reviewed multiple times throughout the day!  I found a wonderful freebie (through Pinterest of course) over at Money Saving Mom.  The site gives you 2 options of a download call a Daily Docket.  One is filled in for you and the other is customizable.  I actually chose to go with the one that is filled in and just white out the items I didn't need.  It has worked great for me because this form gives me a place to write my To-Do list in a categorized way.  With a general to-do, blogging, daily chores, shopping list, dinner, ministry, and much more I am able to jot down everything on one sheet instead of a thousand sticky notes!  I love this printable!  So that is how we are starting out our year to gain control of our morning chaos...what about you?  How ware you attempting to organize and simplify your life? 

Until Next Time...

Caci