Last Week's Progress and Goals for the Week of October 29th

I am amazed at how busy we are even though I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom who doesn't really volunteer for that much stuff and whose kids are not involved in sports or many other activities.

How in the world do working moms get anything done?  I applaud you.  I am barely keeping up, and I have all of the time in the world.

I knew this week was going to be a challenge because we were going to be gone three days.  We were supposed to be camping for two, and one day was entirely used up with a field trip and party for the homeschool co-op.

Last week's accomplishments: 

Week of October 22nd

Family:

• Bible Study with the kids two times. Twice!  I may leave my goal at twice a week until after Christmas.  I am struggling to fit this in and it is so important.
• Love note to Gene. Poor guy.  He is so neglected.  I am making this a priority for next week.
• Check two things off the Bucket List. Two big things.  We went on a Fall Field trip with the co-op to Weber Farms and had a nice wagon ride and got to pick our own pumpkin.  The weather was beautiful!  The very next day we were off to the Buckeye Furnace Fall Festival to sell Hobo Pies and help raise funds for the Furnace.  The weather was crummy.  It rained and was cold all day.  We didn't camp as planned.  Kind of disappointing.

Personal:

• Three doctor's appointments. Done.  One more this week.  Ughhh!
• Three blog posts. I may just give up.
• Read a self help book on my Kindle app. I read Crystal Paine's new book 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life.  Excellent.  Now to apply it to my life.

Homemaking:

• Complete Kitchen List. I am calling it finished.  There is still some dusting to do, but I just did it recently and I will have to do it again for company next Monday so I made an executive decision and called it finished.
• One hour in each kid's room. Once again. Ha!  This week for sure!
• One hour in my room. Ditto, above.

Finances:

• Keep Spending Spreadsheet current. Complete, although the total at the end is scary.
• Keep Christmas Spreadsheet current. Complete, here I wish I had more things purchased.
• Menu plan and grocery shop with coupons. Three separate trips to the grocery store, one for our groceries, one for camping groceries, and one for Hobo Pie making groceries.

Holiday:

• Two baked goods in the freezer. Haven't baked a thing.
• Finish scarf. I did finish this.  I may end up having to give it away early.
• Start granny square accessories. I decided on a pattern and started ripping the original piece apart.
• Complete calendar grids. Hours later they are all finished.  Now I can just concentrate on the fun scrapbbooky part.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

School:

• Check in with kids every day. (Check on the details)   I did check in, but things were so crazy by the end of the week that some stuff fell through the cracks.
• Post next co-op session details. Posed to the group, agreed upon, and posted.  Looks like this session is going to be very laid back.  Thank goodness!

On to this week!  I have company coming on November 6th that I would sort of, kind of like to think that I am not just a hillbilly.  (Although I know I am.)  So I have a lot of stuff to do around the house to make it look presentable.

The things from last week's list that didn't get done are top priorities, but it all has to get done!

This week I vow ....  I will check off everything on my list!


Weekly Goals ... October 29th

 Family:

• Bible Study with kids two times.
• Write Gene a love note.
• Finish up the bucket list and start the Thanksgiving Count Down.

Personal:

• Lose four pounds.
• Pedicure.
• Exercise four times.

Homemaking:

• Finish Bathroom list.
• Finish Laundry Room list.
• Tidy all bedrooms.
• Patch and paint cracks in drywall.

Finances:

• Keep Spreadsheets current.
• Coupon and menu plan.
• Total October budget and start November.

Holiday:

• Scrap three months of calendar.
• Granny accessories assembled.
• Bake three things for the freezer.
• Thanksgiving decorations.

School:

• Check in every day, especially with Marshall.
• Investigate volunteer opportunities.

Goal Update and Weekly Goals for October 22nd

There were eighteen items on my list for last week and I marked off ten of them.  So, a little better than half.  Unfortunately they were all of the little, easy things that didn't require a great deal of effort.  I blame it on all of the fun running around we did. 

A two day trip to Cincinnati to help my grandmother and an entire day spent at the Ohio Renaissance Festival were definitely worth it, but made it difficult to get things done at home.

Goals for the Week of October 15th

 
Family:

• Bible study with the kids at least two days. Only one day
• Write Gene a love note. Nice long letter.
• Check two things off the bucket list. We did quite a few things this week which sort of explains why not very much got checked off of the rest of the list.  We had a wienie roast complete with s'mores.  We made caramel apple bites, which were delicious!  We opted to go to the Natural History Museum in Cincinnati rather than the Ohio History Museum in Columbus.  We made in to the Ohio Renaissance Festival on the very last day.

Personal:

• Lose four pounds. Not so Much!  I seem to be having some sort of issue with my Lap Band.  Hopefully that can be resolved this week.
• Three blog posts. Nope.  Just one.
• Read one book on my Kindle app. I read a couple of cozy mysteries, but not one self-improvement book from my Kindle collection.  Another reason why I didn't get much done this week.

Homemaking:

• Complete dining room list. No.  Still all of the dusting to do.
• One hour in each kid's room. Nope.  I just glance in and shudder.
• Clean two shelves in the craft cabinet. I actually finished the whole cabinet.  It is so much nicer now that I can see everything!
• Complete Kitchen list. I didn't even start it.  I was out of town for three whole days out of the week.  I didn't do much more than routine maintenance.

Finances:

• Keep spending spreadsheet current. Done.  We spend too much money!
• Keep Christmas budget spreadsheet current. I have a few Christmas presents purchased and that is nice.
• Menu plan around grocery deals. I got some great deals at Kroger this week!

Holiday:

• Two baked goods in the freezer. Nothing
• Scarf. Didn't pick it up.
• Start calendars.  I picked up the Crickit from my mom's house so I can do the boring part of the calendar grids.  At least that is a start.  I ma crossing it off.  I didn't say how much I had to do to call it a start.

School:

• Check in with kids' school every day. Every day that we were home at least.  I need to be more specific about the questions I ask.  They seem to be able to say they did everything but ignore the little details of actual completion.
• Check in about Box Tops.  No one has a big bag to send me that needs clipped and counted, which is nice, because I really don't have time to do it.

This week's list looks depressingly familiar.  Hopefully I can be more focused this week.  I have three doctor's appointments this week plus rehearsal for the kid's part in the ghost stories at the Buckeye Furnace Fall Festival.  Most of the day Friday will be spent at the Homeschool Co-op's fall outing and party and then we are off to spend the weekend camping and volunteering at Buckeye Furnace.

I need to start strong this week. 

Weekly Goals ... October 22nd

Family:

• Bible Study with the kids two times.
• Love note to Gene.
• Check two things off the Bucket List.

Personal:

• Three doctor's appointments.
• Three blog posts.
• Read a self help book on my Kindle app.

Homemaking:

• Complete Kitchen List
• One hour in each kid's room.
• One hour in my room.

Finances:

• Keep Spending Spreadsheet current.
• Keep Christmas Spreadsheet current.
• Menu plan and grocery shop with coupons.

Holiday:

• Two baked goods in the freezer.
• Finish scarf.
• Start granny square accessories.
• Complete calendar grids.

School:

• Check in with kids every day.  (Check on the details)
• Post next co-op session details.

I really only have four days to accomplish all of this!  I need to get on the ball.

There are only 64 more days until Christmas.  Time needs to slow down!

Weekly Goals ... October 15th and last Week's Results

Not my best results this week.  I didn't get to check off very many things.  I was horribly indisposed for a couple of days in the middle of the week.  Turns out I have Benign Positional Vertigo.  It is amazing just how terrible you can feel when you are dizzy.  Not to mention that the medicine made me so sleepy I couldn't function. 

Add in the fact that we decided to work on Marshall's costume for the Renn Festival and Abby's zombie costume and making a giant picture frame for my grandmother (who is 95, by the way, and gets whatever she asks for) and it made for a week of not checking things off the list.


Last Week's List: 

Family:

• Bible study with the kids at least four days. One day, once again.  I have to figure out a good time to do this.
• Write Gene a love note. Oops!  He came home a day early and kind of snuck up on me.
• Check two things off the bucket list. Instead of a scary movie night we went to the movie theater to see Hotel Transylvania.  Cute!  We had pumpkin spice lattes after.  Not my favorite.  Abby and I decided to put Pumpkin Pie milk shakes on our list instead!

Personal:

• Exercise four times (two on the treadmill). Okay so I only got in three days of exercise.  And I talked myself out of the treadmill.  According to the minimal amount of research that I did I burn more calories on the bike than on the treadmill.  I'll take it!
• Lose four pounds. Ha! again.  What the heck is wrong with me?
• Three blog posts. Fail!  Only one.

Homemaking:

• Complete dining room list.  I still have two things left on this list.  Uggghhhh!
• One hour in each kid's room. Nothing!  I just looked in and sighed heavily.
• Clean two shelves in the craft cabinet. I actually got three shelves cleaned off so I am happy with that progress.

Finances:

• Keep spending spreadsheet current.  I continue to be amazed at how much money we spend.  Maybe this has been a really expensive month?  I am sure that November and December will be!
• Keep Christmas budget spreadsheet current. I am spending an awful lot of money on craft supplies.  I never kept track of that before.  Interesting.
• Menu plan around grocery deals. I did consider what was on sale when I did my menu plan this week.  Unfortunately Gene was home an extra day and he ate some of the stuff that I planned for lunches.  We may have to go back to the store.

Holiday:

• Finish afghan.   Only two years late.  I am quite proud!
• Frame cross stitch.  Beautiful!  This one only took about 15 years to finish.  My gram is going to be so surprised!
• Finish one gift. I meant finish one more gift, but I am marking this off because I am so proud of the two I did finish!
• Two baked goods in the freezer.  Only one.  Chocolate zucchini bread.  Delicious!
• Fall gift for my secret sister at church. I have had a secret sister since the beginning of the year and this is the first gift I have given.  Not my finest moment!

School:

• Check in with kids' school every day. Not so much.  A lot of catch up is being done on Monday.
• Figure out why Abby's French class won't record. Done.  Very simple once the kind lady at the help desk walked me through it.

Green items have been forwarded from last week's list. Blue items are ongoing until they are finished or become a habit.

This week is going to be messed up too.  I have to go spend a couple of days in Cincinnati with my grandmother (see note above about whatever she wants) so I can help move stuff for the carpet cleaners.  The kids and I are going to take advantage of the opportunity to go to a museum and to the zoo.  I have a very ambitious list cooked up.  We shall see what gets checked off!
Goals for the Week of October 15th

Family:

• Bible study with the kids at least two days.
• Write Gene a love note.
• Check two things off the bucket list.

Personal: 

• Lose four pounds.
• Three blog posts.
• Read one book on my Kindle app.

Homemaking:

• Complete dining room list.
• One hour in each kid's room.
• Clean two shelves in the craft cabinet.
• Complete Kitchen list.

Finances:

• Keep spending spreadsheet current.
• Keep Christmas budget spreadsheet current.
• Menu plan around grocery deals.

Holiday:

• Two baked goods in the freezer.
• Scarf.
• Start calendars

School:

• Check in with kids' school every day.
• Check in about Box Tops

What I Accomplished This Week and Goals for the Week of October 8th

I almost finished everything on last week's list.  I am totally liking all of this accountability.  Even if no one really reads my list, someone might, and I don't want complete strangers to think I am a slacker!

Weekly Goals .... Week of October 1st (Last Week)

Family:

• Start Bible study with kids.  If one lesson counts as starting, then we did start.  I am going to have to give some thought to just how this is going to fit into our day.  Since the kids start school stuff at different times, it is making it difficult to work in first thing in the morning.  The fact that Marshall doesn't actually start fully functioning until noon is a hindrance too.
• Write Gene a love note.
• Check two things off the bucket list.  A trip to the farm market and clearance priced caramel apples from Walmart.  We still may make home made caramel apples!

Personal:

• Exercise four times (two on the treadmill). I only got on the treadmill once.  I did exercise four times.
• Lose four pounds. Ha!
• Three blog posts. Done, sort of!

Homemaking:

• Organize sewing basket.  So nice not to have to search in the big cabinet when I need hand sewing supplies.
• Complete living room list.  All done.  No cobwebs, all the movies are in order.  All the glass is dusted.  Everything is ready for Christmas decorating.  Now just to maintain.
• Put out Halloween decorations.  We even went shopping for a couple of new doo-dads.

Finances:

• Make spending spreadsheet and update.  It is eye-opening to see how much money we are spending.
• Keep Christmas budget spreadsheet current.  Just a few things so far.  Hopefully I can keep the budget under control this year.
• Menu plan around grocery deals.  Kind of amazing to actually know what we are going to have to eat every day.

Holiday:

• Nine squares completed and assembled.  I actually completed three sets of nine.  This is going more quickly than I hoped.  Maybe I can finish it next week.
• Complete cross stitch.  Finished!!!!!!  Now to frame it!
• Finish one gift.

School:

• Lesson for co-op on elections.  Done, Although I did not have to teach!
• Check in with kids' school every day.  Still a work in progress.  I did check in, but not in a very timely manner.

Green items have been forwarded from last week's list. Blue items are ongoing until they are finished or become a habit.




Goals ... Week of October 8th

Family:

• Bible study with the kids at least four days.
• Write Gene a love note.
• Check two things off the bucket list.

Personal:

• Exercise four times (two on the treadmill).
• Lose four pounds.
• Three blog posts.

Homemaking:

• Complete dining room list.
• One hour in each kid's room. 
• Clean two shelves in the craft cabinet. 

Finances:

• Keep spending spreadsheet current.
• Keep Christmas budget spreadsheet current.
• Menu plan around grocery deals.

Holiday:

• Finish afghan 
• Frame cross stitch.  
• Finish one gift.
• Two baked goods in the freezer.
• Fall gift for my secret sister at church.

School:

• Check in with kids' school every day.
• Figure out why Abby's French class won't record.

Green items have been forwarded from last week's list. Blue items are ongoing until they are finished or become a habit.

78 days until Christmas!  How is your Christmas prep going?

I Love the Colors of Fall

I love decorating for Fall.  I love the orange and yellow and rust colors.  The mums are fabulous amd pumpkins make me smile.

Sherlock, the black cat, has taken to laying around on the hay bales.  I think he is waiting for the Halloween decorations to come out.  He will look right at home!

Daily/Weekly Cleaning List

For a long time I have been making a To Do List every morning.  There were always the same few cleaning chores that I feel should be done almost every day.  Even though I knew that I was going to do them every day, I still wrote them on the list.

'Cause I like to check things off my list!

I'll tell you a secret.  Sometimes I even write things on my list after I already have them done, just so I can check them off!

Eventually, I added some things that need to be done every week and I have been gradually coming up with things that I should do every month.

Add in my recent obsession with a weekly goal list and our Fall Bucket list, and I had four or five lists laying around next to my computer.

So, I created a printable checklist with handy little spots to check off my daily chores, a list of weekly chores, a short list of monthly chores and lines for writing the jobs that need doing in the room of the week.

I also included a space for my weekly goals.  I have to write really tiny, but I fit it all on there.  The empty space on the right is perfect for clipping on my list of jobs that I specifically want to get to each day. 

It has been working out great.  Everything I need to accomplish is right there in one place!

I tried to post my list as a printable in Google Docs but I have had no success.  My son says that you could click on the above image and copy it to paint and print it out if you wanted to.  I am working on getting an editable printable finished for you.  I'm sure you don't have to do the same boring jobs over and over that I do.

I bet you have boring, repetitious jobs of your own!

Now, I need to make foofing up that clipboard a "to do" item on my list!

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