Here’s a look back at our week:
We are technically on Summer Break! I say technically because Josh has chosen to work on a few things this summer. But I can say that everyone is done with the 2024-2025 school year which is great! Not to mention youth groups are done and lessons have all wrapped up too! This next week is pretty quiet and then we will enter summer camp phase which keeps the boys busy for sure! My brother and sister-in-law are around this coming week still so, again, as I'm planning I know that it might change based on when we eat dinner with family. (My guys have just informed me that they want to go to youth group on Wednesday nights with a friend who's group runs all summer so . . .I guess youth group isn't really done HA!)
Here's the plan for the coming week:
Friday - Tacos - it is my standby right now for a simple, easy dinner.
Saturday - We have a busy day today and my guys will be at a bonfire with friends tonight which leaves Darryl and I with a "date" night.
Sunday - My kids will get to hang out with my mom as I have a concert with my choral group.
Monday - Buttermilk Waffles and Sausage/Bacon
Tuesday - I'm guessing dinner with the family
Wednesday - Brats, Fried Zucchini, and . . .. something. Maybe baked beans or corn or something. I'm not inspired yet HA!
Thursday - BBQ Cups and Fries
May brought us some really hot, humid days; some wicked storms; and the coldest Memorial Day Weekend in a very long time! We put the window A/C units in earlier then we ever have to combat the humidity. Then ended up having to click the furnace up enough to come on due to near freezing temps at night! Just crazy! May has also brought lots of green (which means mowing HA) and beautiful flowers. In reality, Spring time might be my favorite time of the year. I love seeing everything come alive!
May was pretty heavily focused on school as both guys were working towards wrapping up their year. That meant I did not focus quite so much on my "to do" list and instead helped them as much as needed. I also felt like I was gone more and we had more "things" going on also. I tried to focus on what I could get done and not worry about what didn't get done. Summer is coming which opens up my schedule a little more :-)
Here's a recap:
Here's the plan:
1. I'm keeping Delcutter 365 and Flylady Zones on the goal list. I think that as I declutter/deep clean spaces both of these ideas will help keep the areas clean. I actually completed the May Declutter 365 calendar tasks. (it did help that I didn't need to do most of the tasks because they didn't apply to me/my house HA); I have also noticed that the Flylady website is not being kept current so what I did was went through her deep cleaning lists and created my own that fit my space better and plan to implement those each month. I did get week one done!
2. Continue on with the basement declutter. Last month a started with a "bag/box/bin" cleanout a day. Basically I just worked to clean out at least one thing. Most times I ended up cleaning a whole shelf or a whole corner but it really helped make it seem more doable. I didn't have as much time to focus on this during most of the month. During the last week of the month though, the boys helped carry up things that needed to be donated to give me more space to work and then I worked on going through a bin/box/shelf each day and got more done.
3. Deep clean the garage (hoping for more consistent decent weather to empty it, clean it, and organize it for summer) This did not happen. Weekends seemed busy this month.
4. Finish the odds and ends in Josh's room. This hasn't been his top priority right now with school and such. There is a week that Nate is at camp and Josh is not so I'm tentatively planning to work with him that week to get it done (really, there is less then a days worth of work to do) We may get to it sooner but we shall see.
5. Clean up the yard - get rid of junk that accumulates thanks to the winds of winter, clean up flower bed, spray weed killer where needed, and set up the yard ornaments. This was my Memorial Day Weekend project. Well, some had been done during April as far as clean-up. But I did spray the weeds and set everything out. I even got a new rug to put by the back door.
6. Now that the Dining Room is done - it is time to move on to the next room which is . . .. the Living Room! My list is a mile long so hopefully I can get it done this month! I'm pushing this into June :-)
7. Go on a Date with Darryl (this is an every month goal!) Done :-) Now that youth group is done though I'll have to actually plan one and not rely on our Wednesday Night dinner dates HA!
8. List curriculum for sale on-line. I have not done this yet. Just have not take the time to take photos and list.
9. Read at least 6 books this month Done (and then some). The Libby App has really increased my reading. One, I have access to so many books for free and two, I get them for 14 days HA! Yes you can renew them as long as no one else is waiting "in line" for the book so I push myself to get them read before the due date.
10. DO my daily Bible Study. Nope.
11. Scrapbook :-) Yes! I was able to get time during the Holiday Weekend and then I planned my own scrapbooking retreat while my guys were all at a Father/Son Retreat.
12. Clean out my vehicle . . well, and clean it HA! This got pushed to June. I usually deep clean it one of the days my guys are at Worship Camp - I drop them off and then spend a good 45 minutes at the spray car wash doing some deep cleaning.
13. Finalize Josh's 11th grade curriculum and budget to order it before September. This is basically done - we haven't picked his science course yet. I've reached out to the community college that offers Radiology Tech to ask some questions about the best science courses that he should take the next two years.
14. Write a weekly to do list and stick to it (I did this in April and it helped me stay more focused on my goals) I did do this and it does help me focus on what is important/needed. It also shows me how much I over plan.
15. Wrap up all things related to my co-op this semester - Figure out the Google work space access so I can upload documents for anyone on the Leadership Team to use/print/see. Also, go through all of my co-op files on my computer and clean them out. Didn't even touch this one.
16. Learn one piano solo. Done.
17. Learn a song to sing in church. Not done. I am singing with our praise team once a twice a month though and I like this opportunity.
18. Update my home for spring. Done
19. Buy and hang new curtains in my living room. Still have to order my new curtains after returning the ones I didn't like.
20. Visit Boulder Ridge Zoo with Josh, Nate, and my mom. As stated previously, this month was focused on school so this didn't happen. Maybe we can do it in June :-)
21. Attend various field trips/meet-ups - A park day and a trail walk are on the plan for this month. Done
22. Work on finances/budgeting - looking ahead at what needs to be paid, like summer camps, and budget for paying those things. Track daily/weekly spending so I can see where funds are going. 1/2 done. I started out strong but didn't track well half way through the month. I kept track in my mind so I still did much better at not spending on things that weren't in the budget.
23. Go through my guys clothes for summer; make a plan to purchase all that they need in the coming weeks. (shorts, shirts, dress clothes, shoes - thinking about camps this summer and what they need) This is also pretty much done. I imagine that as we get to the end of June and do a final camp list for July we may have to pick up a few things but they are good to go to start the summer.
24. Put away all winter gear - snow pants, coats, boots ect. Also go through ALL of the jackets hanging up and only keep what we wear/use. Done.
25. Accomplish at least half of this months goals HA! So close!! I had two 1/2 done items - so that would total 12 all together.
Here’s a Quick Look back at our week:
Welcome to another week! We are creeping into June and that is blowing my mind just a bit. My brother and sister-in-law arrive this weekend for a few weeks so we will end up eating at my mom's a few more days than normal and it isn't always planned. So, while I am planning meals it doesn't mean they will get made :-)
Friday - Darryl, Josh and Nate are to a Father/Son retreat. I'm "heading" to a Scrapbook Retreat (I don't have to travel far HA!) So I'll keep dinner simple.
Saturday - My guys will all get home later today so we will just plan dinner around that.
Sunday - My brother and sister-in-law arrive this weekend so we are having dinner at my mom's after church with them.
Monday - Beef tips and noodles. We go in different directions tonight (TKD, Choir).
Tuesday - Amish baked chicken and butter noodles
Wednesday - There is no more youth group so now I have to actually plan dinner HA! BBQ cups and fries
Thursday - Tonight is my guys piano recital so dinner will need to be fast and easy. I always like to do Tacos on nights like this because we can eat in shifts and eat quickly as needed.
The past few years I've shared our Summer Plans and then do weekly posts on what we did (or didn't do HA!) Since I already have my weekly snapshot post on Saturday I will just use that to post about our summer. I planned a lot more when the kids were little and we had our friends here all summer. I felt like I needed to plan learning fun, game fun, water fun, and just plain fun. Now that they are teenagers they prefer to plan their own things, sleep in, play video games with friends, and only do a few things I have planned. That's ok. I tend to plan my summer more than theirs now and that's ok too. I also work to find very inexpensive (or free) things to do together for fun because, quite honestly, summer can get expensive. Zoos, Museums, and other outings always come with a price tag! Plus, my guys have multiple weeks of camps - Worship Camp, Summer Camp (x2 for Nate), Nana Camp, and hopefully a trip to Darryl's mom's for at least a few days. Throw in visits from two of my brothers and well, summer kinda plans itself.
Something unique this year is that Josh and Nate will both be gone for an entire week together at camp which gives me two options. Plan a full week of projects or a full week of doing absolutely nothing. Ok, maybe it will be more a mix of the two ideas - but it will be good no matter what.
I have been working on my list of plans . . .goals. . .hopes. Here's a few items on that list:
1. Go to the next town over with my guys and take photos at all of the fun murals and such around town.
2. Finish cleaning out the basement (I've been working on it as you know so it is time to wrap it up!)
3. Go to the Grand Rapids Museum with my guys.
4. Deep clean the bathroom - I had started it but then got side tracked. This is a good project for when my guys are gone at camp.
5. Go to the Sunday Night Worship on the Waterfront concerts.
6. Completely plan my fall Joyful class (I say this every year - lets see if I can make it happen this time!)
7. Go to a fun cow and sunflower event in August (I already have tickets)
8. Scrapbook a whole lot. Like tons.
9. Attend the Andrew Peterson Concert at Maranatha in June.
10. Finish Ordering/planning Josh's 11th grade year; Also wrap up anything related to 10th grade as far as grades and organization.
11. Attend a wedding, open houses, and my choir concerts.
So, as you can see, I have fun and "work" thrown in the plans. I also want to really dig into my own personal devotions/prayer time while I have more "free time" as well as read as much as possibly can because that is something I love!
