{ New routine, same ol' homemaking, how I stay organized }

Good morning from a warm Texas.

 

We have been blessed with some rain, the past two days, and have more incoming this afternoon and through the rest of the week.

 

It has set me into Fall mode, and I've been planning, reorganizing and getting ready for all the cool weather goodness.

 

I haven't had as much time as I wanted, because my schedule is very tight at the moment, with Jasmine starting her driving school.  It will run for a full 4 weeks, so I have a lot of driving back and forth to do.

 

It will all be well worth it in the end, when she has her driver's license in hand.

 

You know, as I've mentioned before, Jasmine has anxiety and is fearful of driving.  It doesn't help that she sees the crazy drivers in our town and that does not in any way make her want to get out there.

 

Who can blame her right?

 

I've said many times and I'll say it again, I drive because I have to, not because I enjoy it.  If I could go with out ever having to drive, I would be quite alright.

 

I've been trying to figure out the best schedule for us, as a family, but it's going to take some time.  I can tell you that I'm already exhausted with all the time spent in the car, and of course gas prices being so expensive, doesn't help either because I feel like I live at the gas station.  Oh well, it's just a season and soon will be done.

 

I sat the other day and pondered on the fact that I used to think, I was super busy when the children were young.  I thought surely when they're adults, I will have all this extra time for myself and I can relax, do whatever pleases me all day and so forth.  Oh how the Lord must have been chuckling at my ignorance.

 

There are days, I find myself more busy, than when they were toddlers in need of my full attention.  

 

I think often times we try to convince ourselves that, the minute the kids hit 18, they don't need us anymore.  I think it's quite the opposite at times, they need us just as much if not more, depending on what is going on.

But, I've been given this charge by God, and I will carry on willingly and joyfully, until I am no longer called upon Him to do it.

This time of trying to adjust to the new schedule, has meant that I've had to organize my days better, and really plan ahead of time.  Every minute counts, and every minute means I need to be doing something, throwing a load of laundry in to wash while I take her to work, so that I can hang it out to dry or put it in the dryer when I return.

It all works itself out, and somehow I manage to get it all done.  Don't ask me how, but the hours just fit into what I need, when I need.  

Above you can see my newest candles, these are the ones I mentioned to you in a previous post.  They are from Irie Lights and oh they smell amazing.

I want to light them so badly but also want to keep them for as long as I can.  By the way, they do come previously lit, as you can see by the wick, but that is because they do light them after making them, to make sure they work correctly. 

I have managed to work in a few minutes here and there, to do some reading.  I actually add that to my schedule, along with crochet or anything else that I want to do for my own leisure.  I learned that trick very early on in my marriage, and it's always helped balance life out between homemaking, kids, errands, husband and leisure activities.

Remember life is about balance, it shouldn't be all one thing or the other.

Cooking and baking has been a bit of a struggle too.  Mainly because I need to pick Jasmine up by 4:30pm (time I would usually start prepping dinner), take her to the driving school because her classes start at 5pm and run until 7.  

 

It doesn't give me much time, and I can either cook dinner and have it ready by 4, which is far too early and means having to reheat later to eat, and I will be honest, I'm not a fan of that at all.

 

Or, I have had to pick her up, drop her off, drive 20 minutes home, make dinner, eat and leave again to pick her back up, all within an hour.  Crazy I tell you!

 

I've made it work the past 3 days, but as I've been working my new meal plan out, for the next two weeks, I've been adding slow cooked meals to the days she is in school, so that I don't have to worry about cooking between driving etc.

Had this been a few years back, I would have thrown my hands in the air and said "well, I can't do this, I can't fit everything into a day."

I also would have stopped reading my Bible or spending time with God, because something had to give, and between everything else that I felt was absolutely NON negotiable, I often threw Him into that pile.  How shameful of me, but I have no problem admitting my short comings.  The important thing is to see it, recognize it and repent for it, right?

So I do my Bible reading first thing in the morning, and if for some reason, I don't get to it in the morning, then it is the last thing I do at night before going to sleep.  No budging on that!!!

For example, the other morning, I had to take Jasmine to work but I knew it would be a busy day, and I really needed to bake some bread because we were out.

 

While I waited for her to get up and get ready, I got the dough made in the Kitchenaid, then popped in in the bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and set it out back on the patio to rise, while I was gone.

 

I knew I would be back home in about 40 minutes, so that was the perfect rising time, and when I returned I just had to shape it, get it in the loaf pans and into the oven.  

While the bread was in the oven, I started working on the pool.  We are getting it ready to shut it down for the winter, so there's cleaning and vacuuming to do as well as preparing the pool itself to be covered and so forth.

I had about 30 minutes to spare that afternoon, so I sat down on the bed with my crochet.  Well, and with a sleepy kitty of course.  Just look at those paws ♥

Crochet has been something I've been enjoying again, especially since it helps me to relax, and it is imperative that I get some of that in between all the running around.

I also try to keep my crochet to an easy project.  I have blankets on the go, but they require quite a bit of attention, and stitch counting, something I don't always have the time or concentration to do in such a short amount of downtime.  So, I've been sticking to quicker projects, like these crochet baskets that I'm making for my potted plants.

I am using jute to help strengthen them, for the white I actually used jute all through the basket, but I found that it started bulging in some areas.  I'm not sure why, but my suspicion is that the jute itself is not all the same thickness, some strands are a bit thicker than others which altered the stitches.

So what I did for the green one, was to use the jute just for the bottom of the basket, to give it a bit more stability, but kept it out of the sides, and it worked so much better.

I just love how they turned out, love that I can use whatever color I want to match the room they're going in, and above all, I love that it is a quick project that I can make in a day or two.

I also managed to quickly wipe down all my windows, before heading out the door to pick her up.

Ever feel like a chicken with their head cut off?  That's how I'm feeling, hardly time to breathe before I'm getting back into bed, sleep for a few hours and start it all over again.  

Though through it all, I am choosing to stay thankful.  I'm busy, I'm tired, but I'm alive, and that is a blessing in itself, isn't it?

I'm finishing off this post, going to crochet for about 20 minutes, then I need to get dinner in the slow cooker and start gathering my things to get Jasmine to school.  She is off work today, but we still have driving school to get to.  I think I may just wait on her today, it's supposed to start raining within the hour, and I would rather not have to drive home in that weather, then return again.

Tomorrow, I plan on switching my dining room around.  If you've followed me for a while you know that I do this every Fall/Winter.  I love having our dining table near the fireplace.  

I also need to finish my menu plan and grocery list, and get it ready for pickup, write up the bills/expenses for this month and so on.  It really does take a lot to run a household doesn't it?

Well friends, I hope you have a wonderful rest of Wednesday.  I also hope that my post has encouraged you to tackle each new routine or schedule, with a joyful heart.  Don't let it overwhelm you, with a little planning and effort, everything is doable.

And to all those that are struggling at the moment, feeling like life is just coming at us from all directions, the world is falling apart and we sit and wonder how to tackle the battle at hand......remember that God doesn't remove the battle, He equips you with the tools and His grace to fight it.

Take Moses for example, He didn't remove the Red Sea or make it disappear, He simply parted it.  So while he may not take our problems away, be assured that He always makes a way, and equips us in order to overcome them.  :)