The Life of a Working Mom in the O.C.
Jen from Another Online Mom, presented me with this award last week. I just want to give a public shout out to Jen. She always comments on my ramblings. In fact, I think Jen is one of my top commentors.
So be sure to go check out Jen, cause she rocks!!
I went to a seminar last night through Junior League. It was put on Jenny LeBel from Organizing Angels. She gave us a list of tips for better organizing yourself.
*Keep an Action File on your desk or kitchen counter for current and ongoing lists in alphabetical order: Bills to Pay, Birthdays, Coupons, Pending/Follow-Up, Recipes, To Call, To Do, to File, To Read, and Upcoming Events.
*Buy a Date Planner or Wall Calendar to organize your family’s life. Use a different color for each member of your family.
*Start small-Organize for 15 minutes a day-a drawer or cupboard. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming; it can be fun! And it’s very grounding.
*Sort like things together and be amazed at how many duplicate items you find! And to think you just spent more money buying another one! And you will be so happy when you find that long-lost item you’ve been searching for, for years.
*Discard junk mail as soon as it comes in; file your bills to pay in the Action File; place appropriate items in Action File daily or ASAP. Don’t let it pile up.
*Pay Bills online-it’s quick and easy through your bank.
*File Greeting card in specific file folders: Anniversaries, Babies, Birthdays, Blank, Congratulations, Holiday, Father’s Day, Friendship, Get Well, Mother’s Day, New home, Special Occasion, Sympathy, Thank you, Weddings, etc..
*Walk around your house with a trash bag and throw everything away that is obvious trash. This should only take about 10 or 15 minutes.
*Read up on easy Feng Shui Concepts-for peace and flow of your home or office.
*Clean out your closet and donate whatever you haven’t worn in 6 months or no longer fits. There are many people who have nothing.
*When something new comes in, something old goes out! This will keep you organized and inventory in check.
*Organize your clothes by color.
*Use wire shelves in your kitchen or bathroom to double your cabinet space.
*Throw out food in refrigerator or pantry that is out dated.
*Keep two bins under your sink-one for trash and one for recycle.
*If space allows, give each child a spot to hang his backpack, jacket, homework, sports equipment, etc.-he/she will always know where it is.
*Organize kids’ art/schoolwork/memorabilia in plastic bins and label them.
*Organize digital photographs in computer files or create online albums (Shutterfly, Snapfish, Kodak, Flickr).
*Add all your contact information to your computer Address Book.
*Organize your e-mail and your computer documents in specific files.
*Use recycled or the back of use paper for printing when possible.
*Get rid of old magazines-cut out the articles you want to keep; read them right away or file them in your Action File.
*Keep a Coupon file folder in your car for various stores and services (i.e. bookstores, car services, groceries, restaurants, services).
*Put all your coupons you need for the day in “Today’s Coupon’s Folder”.
*Keep another bin in your car for : Returns, Things to give to friends, extra water, things to occupy the kids while driving, dry cleaning, etc.
*Buy clear plastic storage bins for everything you need and label them: Holiday, Memorabilia, Kid’s Art/School Work, Children’s Gifts, Adult Gifts, Kid’s Theme Parties, Electronics, House Decor, Photo Frames, Warranties, and Instruction Booklets.
*Keep earrings separated in ice trays.
*Use canvas bags for groceries-keep them in the car so you don’t forget!
*20 minutes on the treadmill or out on a walk is not only great for your physical body, but is great for your mental health, attitude, and keeps depression at bay. Keep your body moving!
*Check out Professional Organizer Peter Walsh. He’s on Oprah and gives great tips!
*Watch HGTV (Home and Garden TV) shows for all the latest ideas and hints on Organizing, Decluttering, Decorating, etc.
*Read Real Simple Magazine for great ideas.
*Enlist your family’s support and call upon your friends to help or trade tasks!
Angry Husband told me to chill out on Christmas Day. I was running around cleaning, and doing laundry. I knew that the next few weeks would be busy and that I wouldn’t have time to do laundry, etc.
Well that week has come. When we started running out of things. I’m one of those people who can use the same towel for 2-3 days. Angry Toddler and Angry Husband use 2-3 towels A DAY. I can’t keep up.
Angry Husband went into the garage this morning looking for towels. I yelled from the couch, “There isn’t any, use one of Angry Toddlers”. Yep, Angry Husband had to use one of Angry Toddler’s Pottery Barn Kid’s Animal Towels.
Well I went running and returned this afternoon. I haven’t had time to do laundry since I was gone all day. Guess what kind of towel I used?
It’s been quite hectic around the Angry household. Angry Toddler was out of preschool from December 24th, until yesterday, the 5th. Angry Husband and I are still trying to recover from it all. Today was the first time, I had some time to myself. I thought I would finally sit down and blog some resolutions.
1. Finally, lose the last 40 lbs. I have 40 lbs. to my goal weight.
2. Run at least 3x a week. If the weather is crappy, I will have to treadmill it.
3. Run a 1/2 Marathon. This kind of goes with #2.
4. Ditch the caffeine. I have a serious addiction to Monster Energy drinks.
5. Blog at least one time a day.
6. Not go overboard on buying clothing for Angry Toddler. Another bad addiction.
7. Take some kind of Family Vacation. We need it.
8. To be more organized at home and work. It’s gotten chaotic and it’s driving my OCD crazy
9. To pay off some of our debt.
10. To be less Angry. Although that is kind of a personality trait. I can try, right?
Today is my last day working the night shift aka swing shift until May. It’s been a pretty sucky four months. On Saturdays, I’m usually woken up by Angry Toddler stating, “It’s daylight time, time for clothes, and get me some chocolate milk”. Aww good times, when you’ve had three to four hours of sleep.
Luckily, my BFF, Stacey, was able to help me entertain Angry Toddler for a few hours every Saturday morning for most of the four months. If I get Angry Toddler out of the house for a few hours in the morning, he’s a better kid, and he will also take a long nap.
Stacey was available this morning, so we met up for breakfast with the kiddos. It only took me an hour to get out of the house, because Angry Toddler refused to take off an USC (University of Southern California) jersey that he had been wearing for THREE days. Seriously kid, yes, I know they won the Rose Bowl, but take off the shirt. I told him that he clothes smelled bad, he immediately ripped off the shirt and willingly put on a new one. Of course, I was barely awake, so I was sporting my jeans, Converse, a shirt from a running event, and the non-optional baseball hat.
I met them at Ruby’s Diner, a local restaurant. Stacey and Stella were already sitting in a booth waiting for us. Of course, I’m Ms. Residence People Watcher, so I’m looking around with my usual annoyed look. I see a family sitting behind us, they had just sat down and were looking at their menu’s. The Dad walks in after Angry Toddler and I order some drinks. The dad is carrying two Starbucks cups. Seriously, couldn’t you wait until after your breakfast to get your fix? Is the Starbucks coffee that much better? I just rolled my eyes, and Stacey laughed. I even make a joke about it to our waiter, but he didn’t get it. Well really, I don’t even think the waiter spoke English.
We had another waiter take our food order, the previous waiter only took our drink order. Seriously, the second waiter was just as dumb. We ordered off the kid’s menu and he kept asking suggestions for the combo, Stacey and I got very confused. We were like, “Umm, there are no combos on the kid’s menu.” The waiter checked and sure enough, he came back “oh, ya, I guess there is no combos for the kid’s.” Ya, umm duh…
So approximately 20 minutes later our food arrives, and this is what I see:
Why are there French fries with my eggs? I gave the waiter a look, Stacey giggled..and then I said, “Why are there fries with my eggs, I didn’t order this?” The waiter says, “Didn’t they tell you, we are out of Ruby’s Spuds, so they are serving fries.” I respond with, “Umm, no. They didn’t tell us that.” I would have ordered something else.
This was how my last morning of our fun Saturdays went. I seriously couldn’t stop laughing and this all my made up for the fact that, Angry Toddler was being a total pain in the ass and I needed a very large Margarita at 9am.
