Family of 6 and still organized?

Here I go with my oxymorons again- urban farming, paintetly crazy, on and on. Before I even get going on this post I have to tell you that my house is quiet, and it's kind of throwing me off balance. Im not even typing as fast as I normally do, maybe because I'm not being rushed... hmm.
I manage to stay organized even with my chaotic schedule. Most people think they can't get organized or that it takes up too much time to stay organized but they are wrong! Come on, try it ;-) there is nothing to gain but a little sanity and that is an amazing thing. Our Family Binder is a powerful tool on the road of information for our home and all the members of the family! I heard about this about a year ago and it has really helped me. The binder contains things like schedules, address and phone numbers for friends, addresses and phone numbers for the family yellow pages from dance studios to garden centers, basic medical information, cleaning schedule for the house, birthday and anniversaries, you get the point. When I need something related to any of these things, which is often, then all I have to do is pick up one binder.

My family binder looks like this-

Obviously I use Rosie the Riveter on a lot of stuff and my family binder is not any different. A calendar is a great go to item to have front and center. I color the days that we already know will be filed with a birthday, anniversary, holiday or vacation and I match the color on the bottom with the event (that's what I blocked out in the bottom white section). Then I put what the averages are for the month temp wise so that I kind of have an idea of what to expect. In the upper right section I have a list of my main projects for the month. This helps remind me what I need to focus on or accomplish. For April I had this website, my dance wear company, organize my laundry room and get the garden boxes filled with dirt. So there is the cover and I made it in Microsoft Publisher but if you are using a Mac I would suggest using the program called Pages.

The tabs of my family binder-

You can make up your own tabs that fit your family and you don't have to have 8 tabs either. Avery sells tab dividers in 5 as well, if you're feeling really frisky you can get up to 26 tabs but that would probably just get confusing unless you were combining your family binder with your coupon binder.

I found some great prices on my binder supplies and if there is one thing a busy mom needs- save time and money!!! I use only Avery because I believe that you get what you pay for and their Heavy Duty binders have never let me down. Because the company makes a great binder for a reasonable price I also use their tab dividers and I am loving them. So here are some links to get you started. Next week I will detail all of my sections and how I set them up.
If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will answer you!




Avery Heavy-Duty View Binder with 1.5 Inch One Touch EZD Ring, Black, 1 Binder (79695)





Avery Big Tab Insertable Plastic Dividers, 8-Tab Set, 1 Set (11901)





Avery 11902 - WorkSaver Big Tab Plastic Dividers, Slash Pocket, 5-Tab, Letter, Assorted-AVE11902

"That Mom"

I was just talking to Thor about what my niche is with this website and guess what... I don't have one! I thought for a while that I should since it seems that I just post about whatever the heck is happening at the moment but after talking about it and saying that I don't want to be "just another mom with a borning blog about mommyhood" he said that I'm not "that mom" and I will never be. It made me feel good and at the same time I wondered for a moment if I actually strive to be "that mom", you know the one I'm talking about- Cute, ditzy, car big enough for a troop but only has 2 kids and doesn't look like she ever gave birth. Yoga twice a week, lunch with girlfriends (kid free of course) here and there, hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks at a trndy salon and new clothes/shoes everytime you see her and she is polite and happy. Truth is I admire them but I don't want to be one of them and I never will. I love my street smarts, how young I am compared to other moms, how blankly I say what's on my mind, my ability to see a full corporation out of one minor idea, I love that I encourage others and give whatever it is that I can to help them when they need it. I love where I am right now in my life and things maybe rough financially sometimes but other times it is not rough. I know I am lucky to have the things and people around me that I do have and I would not trade them for the world, not even to be one of "those moms".

Should I stay or should I go???

The answer ended up being simple... Time to go. After only 14 months of being at my current job I resigned, today, effective immediately.
I loved my job, mostly the kids that I worked with but I had to do what was best for my family and myself. My boss became overbearing and harassing. After months of calling me on my days off and pawning most of his workload on me I started telling him to back off. It came to a head when he showed up in my office in the dark with a baseball hat and jacket on! Thank gosh a co worker was with me. I decided it was time to really get Human Resources attention, since they weren't responding to my multiple phone calls. I went in to Human Resources the next day and refused to leave until a represenative spoke to me. The next 2 1/2 weeks were intense as I spent time telling my story over and over again and getting the same responses- shock and aww. An investigation started, my boss was put on administrative leave, and we, the victims (yes there are multiple) and witnesses, were sworn to secrecy as we spilled the details of our boss' weird and threatening behavior. I was reassured multiple times that I did the right thing and my co-workers were proud of me for someone finally standing up to "that bully"! I was feeling pretty good about telling the uppers about my boss' horrible behavior over the last 5 months and after much thought I was 99% sure that he was out the door. Finally the programs he oversaw would be able to flourish without him holding them back. I went in for a meeting this past Wednesday and BAM, my boss was back like nothing ever happened. I was floored to say the least, and my anxiety took over- I bolted. After a couple of phone calls, driving back to my office and deep breathing, I took the rest of the day and week off. I needed to think. Well I thought and thought and thought and then I resigned. I am a good, no wait, great employee and I do not need to be worried about people hiding in the dark, or be harassed on my days off. I need to be happy so I can be a good mom and wife. My family and I are way more important to me than someone's need to feel like they are tough by picking on women and part time staff. I am feeling so much better now I feel empowered and positive! I am going to do awesome things without that part time job causing full time stress!

Back in the Saddle

Ok so I have been MIA for a min, or a couple of weeks, same difference but I'm back and ready for action!
The chickens are huge and hopefully we will be seeing pellets (small eggs and I probably spelled it wrong) soon. One thing about chickens that just never crossed my mind is how much they poop! Seriously it is ridiculous and anyone who knows me knows that I can't have things messy or unorganized, let alone pooped on, ugh. Thor built a coop and it's better than either of us thought it would be! Paint and some siding and the coop will be ready for its Three Ring Life debut! During the day I let the girls, AKA our chickens, out to run and they always end up crusing around on our back patio, porch (what the hell is the difference by the way?) and they go near my beautiful picnic table and next thing I know is that I am chasing chickens away, just me and my dish towel that sits on my shoulder 99% of the time I am home. I kind of wish someone had a camera because I'm sure it is a sight worth giggling at! Anyhow so there was poop everywhere and Thor stayed home from wrestling practice to watch the kids while I went to work and somehow managed to pressure wash the back, front and sides of our house and the chicken coop AND mow the lawn! Hot damn! That man is awesome and that folks is why I married him, he knows how to multi task! :-) plus his multi tasking abilities keeps me from having a breakdown about chicken poop on our porch, patio, whatever.
The garden is sad. It is growing but I have yet to get the organic soil and actually get all the plants in their rightful places. I promise that they will have dirt this week, and since I am announcing it on here, the Internet, (to my handful of readers) then I have to follow through or I'll look like an ass. So soon you will see my dirt, organic dirt, in action, I swear!
My girls- ahh, my loves, they were here for their Spring Break and I loved it! To watch them grow into young ladies is such a beautiful thing. "Growing up is the hardest thing you'll ever do!" is what my father always told me and wow was he right! Growing up consists of so many emotions and unknowns, it's crazy! You couldn't pay me to go back to being a teen, yuck! Anyway, my girls seem to be handling it well though, given the fact that they live in two different states and all! (holy crap, right!?!) Sky says she wants to live here and I give the same answer I keep giving her, "you have to talk to your dad" I ask her if she wants me to talk to him, she says no. I suggest getting her great grandparents involved, she thinks about it and then tells me she wants her dad to go to see the family counselor with her because it is easier to talk to him that way. I told her that I think it's a great idea, even though I know he won't go for her moving out here regardless of her approach or reasoning. See as long as the girls live there, with their dad then they (dad and stepmom) win. This is all a game to the dad and stepmom, it's sad but it's true and as long as the girls are there, they win. It's not about what makes Sky and Dori happy, or who can supply more along the lines of schooling, or support with their extracurricular activities, it's about "winning". I've been told to support my girls emotionally but not to fight their dad because it just causes more problems. I'm kind of getting to the point where I feel like I am supposed to do something, I just don't know what that something is because Dori seems like she is content, but Sky is over it. I will think of something, I'm sure. Until then I hope my babies are ok and remember that I love them.
As far as everything else goes, I am writing an eBook with my talented girlfriend that knows how to sew like a pro! I am also working on my own credit repair website and my business license should be in the mail soon for my dance wear business! I have a couple of other things in the works but those are my main focuses right now, whew.
Side note- I started watching my caloric intake which is super fun (NOT) on an app called Damn Bitch, Stop Eating So Much! Just kidding, I would tell you the name but I forgot (probably from the lack of food). The thing that frustrates me is that you can add excersises to it, like choosing from activities like Boxing, Moderate Cardio, Running (ya right) for a specific amount of time, say 30 min and then the app will tell you how many calories you burned and take that off of your total calories for the day. But here is the deal- where is the excersise called "vacuuming while breast feeding"? Hmm I found "housework" and I have found "carrying infant" but not the two together while breast feeding. However there is a spot that you can make your own excersise but really, how would you calculate all that jazz? So here's a challenge to anyone wanting to find out for me, until then I give up and add 'moderate housework' which doesn't come close to how many calories I really burned, just like when I add 'light cardio' for other activities that are not represented in the excersise list wink wink ;-)
I hope you have a productive week, that's what my goal is!