Hey Cute Readers...

Happy March!

I feel so behind. What happened to February? And January? I mean, time is flying at Mama Henley's house. Time has me by the tail and I am losing! I haven't finished our taxes, I still have some Christmas cards I haven't sent, and my coupons are taking over. In fact, DH offered to help me because I have so many to cut. So, we've been fellowshipping over coupons and newspapers and scissors. I am one blessed girl!

I feel like I can never get our house in order. No matter how hard I try, I fail. I weeded so many clothes out of my closet that I hardly have any pants to wear! I just haven't finished my re-do. I have been trying to go through all of our closets and drawers and I purge and purge some more, but our stuff has babies.

I have a friend who keeps an amazing house. Clutter flees from her home like women running to a great sale at Target. She has mastered the art of caring for her home. I have mastered the art of working harder than any woman in America and looking like I must watch soap operas all day. If you can believe it, I haven't seen one Charlie Sheen interview. Not even one. I know he's been saying crazy things, but I haven't watched any of it. I've been too busy picking up the same toys in Hurricane's bedroom and trying to match our endless supply of socks! Do you ever feel this way? I feel like a complete failure in so many ways because I just can never do enough. How do you do it all?

Do You Feel Overwhelmed?

As the end of the year approaches, parents and children are pulled in many different directions for the last recital, the last lacrosse game, and the School Musical. All of these are wonderful events, but it makes for a very full calendar in May. My personal challenge is that the daily chores associated with running our home are enough to kill me. In fact, I feel like they are indeed, killing me. My temper is short and I have snapped unnecessarily. I am trying to serve our family with gladness but sometimes I feel like running and hiding!:) Do you feel this way?
Since Christmas, I have been unable to do it all. I battle laundry every day, washing 3-4 loads a day. Load # 3 is in the wash right now. I wash one child's bed in entirety per day. This means that I am always washing sheets and towels plus our uniforms and other clothes. The dishwasher was was just emptied for the second time today. I am waiting on my hubby to come home before I eat dinner, so I snuck away from serving the children dinner just so I could sit and blog for a minute:).
Our bedroom is a wreck between the clothes that need to go to Goodwill, the piles of paper I need to file, and the clothes that need to go in the attic. But when will I have time to do all that I want and need to do? I feel like I have raced from one appointment to the next, and we are not talking about racing from a mani/pedi to a massage. Yesterday I had children at school by 7:45, picked up my next carpooler, took my youngest & her friend to the grocery store, dropped them at school, and then raced to a meeting. The meeting was from 9:30-11am, and then I raced to an 11am goodbye lunch w/ a friend who is moving. I had to cut it short to drop off the groceries that had been in my car since 8am. I unloaded and put away the cold stuff and rushed to 12:30pm preschool pick up. Hennie had a friend over and then the children were home and homework and activities began. I managed to make dinner and do homework in the midst of all of that. Where in that schedule was time to put anything away or make progress on our messes? Sadly it is already time to vacuum the whole house again. I feel like I did it yesterday. How do YOU do it all?

When you feel overwhelmed...

Carpools, work, time for exercise, meetings, volunteer work, lunch with friends can quickly become overwhelming. Next time you're overwhelmed, think of this:





This is our garage... still very full... with many things still needing a home. Believe it or not, I work on it every day. I even sold 17 boxes yesterday. It's just that I am never alone. Miss H & I are together 24/7, which I do love, but I rarely have time to work on the garage. Our house is set up like we've lived here a long time, though I still haven't found our tupperware and the children's dishes. I don't want to bring items in unless there is a place for them. I have actually listed some things on Craigslist, and that will help thin the piles a little bit! Once we go through everything, we'll have a big garage sale. I envision having the sides of the garage set up so that you can easily find the card tables & chairs or a can of paint, etc. I have also had to clean out what the previous owners left behind.

Mind you, this is supposed to make you laugh more than anything. There are people whose lives are truly overwhelming as they fight for their life or care for someone who is sick. That was us a year ago, and this is nothing compared to that! :) Others have spouses in the military and live as a single parent. So, while I can't breathe whenever I am reminded of what awaits in the garage, it is NOTHING in the big scheme of things! Just have fun laughing at all of our JUNK! You know what I'll be doing this weekend!