There's A Party Going On Right Here

There's a party going on right here! As I mentioned yesterday, I have Jill's boys for the weekend since it Hearts at Home. We've been having a fun time. I picked them up after school and we headed back to my house. I tried out a new recipe from a book (Taco Pie). (It was just average. I should have used one of the tried and true ones off of Lysa's site! However, the cookies were a hit.) Then I had a Financial Peace class and the boys went with me and just hung out. We got back to my house a little before 9:00 so we put in a movie. They had never seen Horse Whisper, so that is what we watched.

I'm not sure what time they got up. But when I went down about 9:00 they were read for breakfast. They watched some Hannah Montana and That's So Raven while I showered and changed and then we went to run some errands. In the process of running the errands, I gave them a couple options of what we could d0:

1. Eat lunch out and go skating and eat dinner at home
   
2. Eat lunch at home, go skating, go go a movie, and eat dinner at home as well.

They opted for the second. We had quite the party with Alex and Addy there as well.

I'm glad I brought snacks. These 4 skinny, growing kids, went through two bags of cookies, a bag 0f chex mix, and 4 granola bars!

Never say I don't entertain kids well! And it did go well. Everyone got along. The only problem was a bully on skates that was bothering Alex. Koyla talked to him and asked him to leave Alex alone. He did. But he started bothering the younger ones. Soon Addy was telling me about how he liked to stop quickly in front of people to make them fall. I asked her if she had told the rink guards, but she was feeling shy. I got their attention and together we reported the kid. It turns out that he is a regular who often gets kicked out.

Mindy came and collected her girls. I took the boys to Spiderwick Chronicles. Good if you like fantasy type stuff. And then we came home and they were allowed to pick casserole, or hot pockets, or little pizza, or pot pie for dinner. (I'm the only one that ate the casserole.)

Now, we've all showered and are watching TV. Bed time is coming as we have to be up early tomorrow for KidStuf!

Maybe this is my organizational gift: organizing fun stuff for kids.

Recovery

I have never been what one might call organized. I envy people who are. Still, Lysa said that any of us could participate and I can't resist even if it is slightly embarrassing! So, I'm participating in the swap and hop.

Not being organized was learned at a young age, so it is a very hard habit to break. My mom would say, "Clean your room." At 10, I interpreted this as "Put everything under your bed." My mom never thought to look there, so I never got in any trouble for it.

It has caused more stress as I've gotten older and had to deal with adult things rather than the box of collected rocks, dolls, yarn, and other odds and ends. I spend a good deal of time looking for things. While I am trying to get better at this, it isn't going so well.

I've been working at Barnes and Noble as a sub. I started there over the holidays to pay for Christmas. The one idea I've gotten from them is RECOVERY. Everyone who works there typically hates it, but I think it has it's merits. It happens periodically through out the day, but more intensely at night the hour before the store closes and the half hour or so after the store closes. Basically, it is thoughtfully helping all the books find their homes again. Here is how it goes:

• The store is broken into zones. Everyone gets a zone to concentrate on.
  


• Everything has a home.
  


• You carry a PDT (little computer) and scan the books without homes to find where they go.



• Said books get put in their proper places.



• To really do a good job, you actually run your hand along each shelf of books and straighten them. If there are big gaps, you face some books out. (Especially your favorite authors that you might know!) Authors don't pay for this like they do space in the front of the store. It's all up to the bookseller.

I need to apply these principles at home. If I did, it would look like this:

• Everything has a home



• Do a zone or room a day

This is what my life actually looks like:

When company comes I use boxes and bags to get that into:

And then the table looks like this:

I had to do this today because I have a friend's two boys coming for the weekend. Jill is speaking at Hearts at Home. (Please pray for that.) My annual contribution is keeping her kids for her. Hence the cookies.

I've had it suggested before that when I bake, I should make extra and freeze the dough. So, I did do that today as well. It's freezing right now. (Balanced a bit precariously, but I know not to open the door quickly.) In a bit, I'll put them in a container.

The other thing I do manage to do, is keep files on the computer organized. My pictures are in files labeled by year or type like "Shots to use on the web." My emails are also organized by ones I want saved: Blog tech tips, Blog info, Names of Friends, etc. I can manage to do that but not the physical organization on a regular basis.

I'm blessed that even thought I'm not organized, God manages to use me anyway.

I need to run. I have two boys to pick up and entertain for the weekend! Can't wait for a chance to peruse your ideas!