Purging in 2011

Well Homemade Christmas 2010 was simply awesome. I got everything done and everyone loved their gifts. We ended up also getting the Squeak some bunk beds, and he loves them. We got new bedding to go with it, and it made his whole room look more put together.

We got ourselves some new shelving for our basement family room, which made that room look more put together. It has suddenly motivated me to get my whole house looking just as simplified, organized, and put together. I have gone through every Rubbermaid in my storage room and have gotten rid of the contents of ten of them (the 18-gallon size)! It has made me feel simply amazing. My next project will be to declutter the laundry room (corridor) and try to get it organized so that it stays that way... Then I will do the linen closet and the bathroom cupboards/drawers. Then the pantry/kitchen cupboards. When the weather gets a little warmer, I'll tackle the garage. Then I will be done, and my house will be much more livable. I get tired of seeing so much STUFF everywhere, and not having a place for it all. My number one goal of 2011 is to find a place for all my STUFF, or get rid of it if I can't.

I would love to post a picture of the before and after of our family room, but since the kids have torn the room apart in the last 2 minutes that I've been writing this, I'm not taking an after picture right now...


Other goals for 2011:
*Continue to work on my 101 in 1001 Project
*Daily personal scripture study and morning/evening prayer (are these continual goals in my life, or what?!)
*Monthly temple attendance
*No more yelling at my kids (the book "123 Magic" is really helping me with this one)
*Regular exercise and weight loss (I would really like to get back in pre-kid shape so I am able to participate in an alumni dance piece in April...)
*One major personal goal that includes several smaller ones and that I'd rather not share

Product Endorsements

Some days my love for certain little things in my life border on obsession. Here're my latest:


Flipsides!

OhMyGosh. I love these things. Pretzel. Cracker. Do I need to say more?

Library movies

Two weeks free! 4 DVDs at a time! Basically unlimited VHS tapes! One week grace period (Did ya get that? Free movies for 3 weeks!). 10 cent per day late fees! Any kids' movie my kid could want! True love!

10 Things

A few things:

1) I'm tired. Really, really tired. Much to my hubby's dismay, there is no sleep-training going on in this house. So here's where the battle in my brain occurs. I have always wanted 3-4 kids. I don't agree with letting a baby "cry it out." I simply CANNOT handle being sleep deprived for another several years. So which is it? Do I decide 2 babies is enough and enjoy finally getting some sleep (eventually)? Do I have a 3rd and let it cry so I can get some sleep? I know this isn't something I need to decide right now, but I really *don't* want to forget how badly the sleep-deprivation sucks when it is time to decide. So mental post-it note: I am not a happy mama when I don't get sleep. I can handle it for about a year. Then I get the crazy-eyes and I just really don't like myself much. And just an FYI, we're leaning towards not having more children for various other reasons as well. Is that too 21st century? Only 2 kids?