Attention, neglected home.

Dear Alabama,

Don't think I've neglected you. These past few weeks have been a challenge. First, I started work. Then the Minnesota cousins came. Then, Dad almost died from food poisoning (almost=not really, but I'm being dramatic) and was unable to tackle your 6ft weeds on his day off.

But, don't fret little home. Saturday is the end of our sabbatical, and with Sunday's sun comes a new cleanliness and order you've never experienced since we've rented your tiny floorplan. And yes, we'll deal with the litter strewn about the house. We're grossed out too.

<3
Mama

The plus side... this quilt looks easy!

How can I list the ways I love this quilt?

A. Colors are beautiful.
B. Fabrics are sassy.
C. Pattern is unexpected.
D. is for Ducks. LOVE them!
E. Actually piecing it looks EASY. Simple patchwork squares.
F. THIS is definitely my next quilt. :D

I found it on Sew Mama, Sew, in a Quilt of the Day post. It's by Ara Jane, for her nephew. Very very lucky boy.

Inspiration: Riley Blake

I was my making my blog rounds this evening (when I should have been updating my mom's website, oops!) and I ended up on Homemade by Jill, where she was praising Riley Blake's fabric patterns. This led to some more clicking, and I ended up at Cutting Corners College, Riley's tutorial central.

The first tute is for a notebook/binder/folder type thing, called Writey Tidy. The fabrics are adorable, and the concept is fabulous! (Plus, it looks super easy).





It looks like there are only a few tutorials up there, but I'll definitely be checking back for new ones, as what's there now is certainly quality!

where do you find your favorite tutorials?

My man is a crafter.

Oops, I mean gamer. Crafty gamer.

Except he doesn't play video games THAT often.

Um. Shoot. Why don't you just read his blog and let him explain why this monstrosity has taken over our garage.

Retro Refab

Getting Organized

I know everyone's on a Spring Cleaning kick right now, to clear the house of clutter. For me though, I need to clear my head of clutter.

I've started already, by finally taking the plunge and deciding NOT to return to my previous employer. There was a lot of things learned, and lot of experience gained, but also a lot of time and energy wasted. But, whatevs, I've moved on.

Next, I need to seriously cut TV out of my life. Our living room is really the room we LIVE in, and the television is always on. I find myself hoping the baby sleeps so I can watch a show. How lame is that? We have OnDemand, fercry. We go upstairs to sleep and clean, and go into the kitchen for sustenance, but mostly we sit in front of the TV when we have some down time. It's just learned habits, but those can be broken. I'm starting that change with creating a real dining room, where we can actually sit and enjoy meals together as a family. Delaney is almost ready to get in a high-chair and have applesauce smeared all over her face! I don't want to miss that for a crappy season of American Idol.

I have way too many things to do to keep watching TV like I do. Like, working out, or cleaning, or working, or enriching the baby's mind, or crafting, or gardening, etc etc. In fact, I just turned it off. You'll be there in the morning, Real Housewives.

The BIGGEST reason for this revelation is that I start work on Tuesday. It's just part time, but I'm already feeling like I've fallen behind on house work. Add 4hrs taken away from my day, and nothing would get done if I didn't nip this in the bud.

I have a million excuses for why I'm so lazy. Baby nurses for 20min every two hours. Trevor is gone all afternoon and all night. I worked my ass of the past few years, who says I can't spend a couple months lazy? TV is background noise. Blah blah blah.

So, I have some scheduling to keep me in check:

- Pilates in the morning before work. I'll have to get up earlier, but it's important I take care of myself. (So far, I've lost 15lbs this month! But that's another story for my other blog)
- Do laundry Monday night, so Trevor has his Tuesday-Wednesday "weekend" to put away his share. (HUGE pet peeve of mine)
- Dishes done, kitchen cleaned, house swept before bed. Always.
- Clean the bathroom once a week. . Gross I know, don't judge, but I haven't been doing this. Lets say Thursday for this, after said "weekend".
- Get in the yard twice a week. Pull clovers in the front yard, attack various parts of the backyard. This will be easier as it gets warmer, and the baby gets older.

How do you other mommies keep it all together?