Fall Chores (and Fun!)

 

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Here's another little jewel from Household Management 101- a Fall cleaning checklist!  Just wanted to post it here for my readers!  Nice to have reminders of the deep cleaning stuff that needs to be done.  I want my house to be nice and clean before I put out Fall decor. 

Speaking of Fall decor, does anyone get as excited as I do about seeing pumpkins and mums in the stores?  I'm so excited!  I'm giving myself permission to get them on October 1.  Any sooner is just too early for me. (I'm less likely to kill the mum if I don't get it as early!)  And it just doesn't seem fitting to own a pumpkin till October!

I'm so excited about taking the kids to a pumpkin patch, too!  There is so much fun to be had in the Fall.  Need to make our Fall bucket list.  That can be one of the things my hubby and I do when he returns from his long business trip on Sunday. 

What are your Fall plans?  Let me know in the comments or on Facebook!  Enjoy the beauty of this season!

99 Days to Christmas!

Woot woot! "Chrismtas is coming, the goose is getting fat.  Please put a penny in the old man's hat!"

Maggie and her dolly, Christmas 2011

Hello, friends.  Okay, I've never been a crazy Christmas prep person, but I have found when you have a child, you plan way ahead to get the best deals.  But, let me clarify, Christmas to me is really about a Savior who came to walk in flesh, not a time of giving and getting gifts.  So, why do I need 99 days to prepare?

This year I don't want to simply be physically prepared, I want to be spiritually prepared as well.  Imagine if the President of the United States was coming to your home?  What would you do to prepare?  It would probably be something you'd want to start ahead of time.  Well, the King of Kings is coming to my home.  He dwells here all the time, but Christmas is the season we celebrate his birth and I want to make sure I'm prepared! 

I'm going to begin by thinking about traditions I want to continue and traditions that may not be neccesary for my family.  Maggie is almost two so this will be her first Christmas to really "get it."  Mark and I have been praying about how to handle the American commericial traditions versus the focus on our Savior.  We are still ironing out the details.  It's difficult to merge your own beliefs and experiences with that of your spouse when it come to making traditions for your own family. 

I'm also beginning to follow a series on "Home Management 101" called "Have a Stress Free Holiday."  I'm going to link the button so you can join in if you'd like.  I've never done this series before so I'm not sure how good it actually is, but I'm going to give it a try and attempt to report my progress here. 

Have you starting thinking about the holidays yet (starting in October with Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas)?  What are your plans?  Any new traditions you want to begin?  Any old ones you may drop?  Please share in the comments!

I'm looking forward to a fun-filled, Christ-centered holiday season!  Even Halloween can be an opportunity to teach about the Gospel.  More to come on that. . .

Silver and Gold Birthday Fun!

Hello, friends!  It certainly has been a birthday to remember.  To be honest, I was dreading this birthday, in a way, because I knew my husband would be away on a business trip for both his and my birthdays.  (Our bdays are Sept. 10 and 11- though he is actually 5 years older!)  However, it turned out to be fabulous and the celebration has continued. . .

The celebration began last Monday (Labor Day).  My good friend, Katy, and I were going to go to Nashville Shores right after dropping Mark off for his business trip.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate.  Instead, we had a birthday lunch at Demos', did some shopping, and then another meal at the new Camino Real in Franklin.

Saturday, I had a 31 Pajama Party at my house.  I had 12 guests and we had a blast!  I have a fabulous consultant.  She got the party started with a few funny games and we were laughing!  We enjoyed her presentation of all the fun bags and great organizing products!  We enjoyed some yummy breakfast treats (including an aborable Krispy Kreme "cake" provided by Katy) and had a great time!  By the way, if you need to order anything 31, my party will close on Friday (9/14) if you'd still like to order.  www.mythirtyone/allisun -- click on My Parties and then click on Rachel's party.

On Sunday, Katy and I were able to do our make-up day at Nashville Shores.  It was a gorgeous day with temps in the low 80's.  The crowd was slim that morning because it was a tidge chilly, but the crowds picked up later in the afternoon.  We loved playing in the wave pool, floating in the lazy river, and even braved a few slides!  It was an amazing day!

Monday was my actual birthday and was a busy day- coffee with a new friend, lunch with another friend, a trip to the Mall to visit the new Apple Store, and dinner with my amazing family at my favorite little local restaurant, Whisker's Catfish!

Last night, my friend Mindy from church, came over and brought Gigi's cupcakes.  I'm not a big cake fan, but she was sneaky and asked Mark what my favorite flavor is at Gigi's!  He told her wedding cake.  I didn't know they had wedding cake cupcakes!  It was yummmmmy!

Whew, I've never had such an incredible birthday celebration!  33 is shaping up to be a great year!  And, the party will continue Saturday as Katy and I go to Cheekwood for lunch at the Pineapple Room!  Woohoo!

I am so thankful for my sweet friends and family who rallied around me to make this birthday the best one ever!  I am thinking of an old Girl Scout song about friends right now,

"Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other's gold."

What a deal- get set for the Season!

 My friend, Riki, over at Crazy for a Deal posted two deals on tickets to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Show at the Opry House in Nashville this winter.  I am so excited about this- I want to take Mark, Maggie, and one of my best friends to the show!  Mark has never seen it, and I know Maggie would love all the music, dancing, and colorful costumes.  Hoping to take her on her birthday (December 4) as an extra birthday/Christmas treat!

I have seen the show twice.  It's a little different each year, though some components are the same and are traditional numbers.  The living nativity at the end is chilling and spectacular.  I'm so excited just thinking about.  I've loved the Rockettes since I was a little girl watching them on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  My dream is to visit New York City at Christmas time to see them live there!

So, do you want to check out the deal?! Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at the Opry

Leave a comment below if you are planning to go or if you have ever been/any memories you have of the Rockettes!

A Conundrum of Sorts

Hello, friends!  I am in a conundrum of sorts with a lack of a workable camera!  I have so much I want to show you, but:
A.  My iPhone camera has bit the dust so I need to take a trip to the Genius Bar.
B.  My hubby took one of our cameras with him on his tour of the US. (Um, yeah, touring the US, I think he needs it!)
C. My other camera needs a new battery and I am having difficulty finding the right size.  So, I can't believe in the year 2012 I am without a camera, but I am!  Welcome to the 19th century, Rachel!

I still wanted to update you on happenings in my life.  With Mark being gone on his tour and the help of a sweet friend, my house is much more organized.  My friend Emily owns Organizing with Emily, a company she just began to enable her to stay at home with her adorable daughter, Olivia.  I had considered hiring a professional organizer to help me get a handle on things here.  I really needed help with a game plan- I felt like I played chess every time I organized and just moved pieces of my life around, but none were ever settled or fit.  When I saw her announce her business on Facebook, I knew what I wanted for my birthday!  So, my hubby gave me 3 hours of her organizing time!

She came over Tuesday night.  We worked for 3 hours straight and accomplished so much!  Let me just say, wow, that girl has energy.  She pulled everything out of Maggie's closet (which was also being used for stockpile items and stuff remaining from when it was my closet) and we got to work.  She helped me organize my stockpile.  We went through and packed up outgrown items in Maggie's room.  We also conquered the laundry room and got the laundry and cleaning supply stockpile moved in there.  I was so inspired, motivated, and renewed when she left!  I continued to work all week on my house and I am finally pleased with how it looks.

I had a 31 Party today, and my guests loved my house.  I wish I'd taken before-and-after shots of the rooms, but let's just say, the before shots were not pretty!  As soon as I conquer my camera conundrum, I will post after pics of my rooms!  I am so pleased.

How about you?  Any organizing success stories out there?  Please share in the comments box.  It's always fun to see comments on my blog.  If you have pictures on your blog, please include a link!

Lastly, I'm going to list my organizing project to-do list which I compiled the other night:

• reorganize/clean under my sink
• continue progress on paper purge/sort/file
• continue progress on decluttering/organizing books
• find a workable solution for my shoes
• purge and organize the linen closet
• organize the playroom- done!
• take pictures of clothes I want to sell, post them, set a date to sell them by, or take them to Goodwill (I have some really cute clothes that just don't fit this post-pregnancy bod anymore!)
• purge/sort/organize my Tupperware
• make a menu board to hang on my fridge for the daily supper plan to be posted

I'm sure there will be more!  I think I'm on a roll now!  I love being organized, just doing it is my problem.  Emily helped me get that motivation back because I see now that there is hope for my house!

Thank you to all my friends, family, and neighbors who came to my 31 party today.    It was a huge success!  And, thank you to all who have read this far.  I know it's not as fun to read blogs without pictures!  I promise I will get this camera conundrum solved soon!

PS- Check out Emily's blog listed above.  If you live in the Greater Nashville area, give her a call!  I know she will do a fabulous job!  

Baby's In the Rain

Hello, dear friends!  I'm still trying to get the hang of blogging and am going to try to do better.  I am so excited to share pictures my sweet neighbor took of Mags.  We started the morning with overcast skies and sure enough, the rain began to fall during our photo shoot.  I love these pictures of her in the rain.  Her face shows the childlike amazement she was feeling with this water falling from the sky!

Maggie also had fun attempted to climb a tree out in front of our house.  My student, Joe, climbs trees every day that he is here.  I guess she wanted to be like Joe!

We also took a family photo!  Everyone was smiling- even Dakota, our white German Shepherd!

Later in the day, we went to the park and got a few cute shots, despite Maggie being hot and cranky!

All in all, it was a fun day of photography!  Our neighbor is even going to use her pictures in a portfolio she is building to use to get some side work!  I hope our darling little girl helps her land some gigs!