Organizing my home! (Nicole)

This year I actively joined the Spring Cleaning Team! I don't know if it's the time of year or what, but my home was in desperate need of some TLC :) The first thing I thing was decluttered! It got to the point to where I was just looking around and seeing things out of place and was completely BOTHERED by it all! lol. From my room to the laundry room, the kitchen cabinets, tv storage, all the way to the kids room I was throwing EVERYTHING away lol. I have to be honest it feels so good to know where everything is, and know that I was able to get about 50+ bags of junk hauled to the dumpster, courtesy of my wonderful husband :) :) :0) Next on the list was my bookshelves. I had 3 tall bookshelves and 1 small bookshelf in my master room. THey were slowly becoming drop off centers in addition to a neverending system of fixing and readjusting! I've removed all the shelves! Replaced the shelf in my living room, daughters room and son's room with small shelves and called a couple friends over who were delighted to attend a free book sale lol. The shelf in my room I've completely removed, it's just something about it, I'd prefer the master room to be clear, so I could literally step away from it all, an enter into a place of clarity and rest. After the setup of my shelving, it was time to buy organizers!!!! I decided to visit the dollar store and buy everything in sight, all that was in my color scheme of course, and managed to walk away with organizers for my pantry, kitchen cabinet, bathroom closet and new toy rotation system. The Toy rotation works like this: Divide a small number of toys into an organizer, keep 10-15 toys down switch out weekly. Toy rotation systems are good for kids because it helps them stay interested in their toys and keeps them from having literally hundreds of toys and pieces all over the floor. IT HELPS SO MUCH!!!! I can officially say...I'm at peace now!

Step 1: Declutter and throw away things no longer using Step 2: Get rid of unnecessary books and bookshelves Step 3: Utilize Organizers and create a toy rotation Step 4: Sanity and a happy home :)

Hello Kitty Birthday party! (Nicole)

Hello Kitty Birthday Party!

The past couple of weeks we have been on the go! We celebrated my daughters 5th birthday and it was Hello Kitty themed. It was so much fun! It was at a kid like arcade similar to Chuckie Cheese but on a smaller level. I asked my daughter which birthday would she prefer out of Doc McStuffins, Frozen and Hello Kitty, and she quickly responded with, “Hello Kitty!” I was so happy, I had been wanting to plan a pink Hello Kitty party, I love the girly stuff :) :) SO the plans began. I started with the location, came up with the park but due to weather predictions changed it to the arcade venue.

 

                                   

The children had a BALL! We provided them with tokens for the games, and there was even a place for them to run and slide down the in-door tunnel. Most of the decor came from Party City (my party hot spot), which included a banner and a big Hello Kitty balloon and matching balloon bouquet. I was inspired by Pinterest to create my own centerpieces from things found at Dollar Tree. The cake came from BJs for $13.99, and the food was a variety of pizza and wings! 

The kids enjoyed strawberry ice cream cones, and I provided table goodies for the adults in addition to the main course with chocolate chip cookies, chips, and ice cream. The party favors were candies, hard candy for the little ones and chocolate choices for the adults!

It was a blast, and babygirl enjoyed every minute of it!

My new van! (Nicole)

This week my husband and I just purchased a new van! I'm so excited about it I just had to share! I've officially upgraded to mommydom I believe, lol. With the space that the van offers us, we can grow our family, and not have to worry about how we will fit the car seats in. The other thing about the space a van offers is car pooling! I can fit my family and friends inside and we can travel, travel, travel! FIELDTRIPS!!!!

Here's the van!

2008 Chevrolet Uplander

First Time Family Disney Trip (Nicole)

So my husband just came off his 2 week vacation, and we enjoyed the extra daddy time. One of the things we did as a family was visit Disney! This was our first Family Disney Trip to the Magic Kingdom, we had a blast! The first thing we did was bought the kids Disney hats, it just ain't a Disney trip without these, lol. I had to, I remember when I was a little girl, looking back at my childhood Disney pics and me and my brother took shots with the hats! We got my daughter the cutest hot pink Minnie Mouse ears, and my son, a Pluto hat! The first Disney character we saw was Pluto which was perfect because my 1 1/2 year old son had just got the hat, AND we bought him a Pluto walking dog for Christmas, so it complete his Pluto fix :)

 We asked my daughter what she wanted to do first, and she replied, I wanna see Winnie the Pooh! We took out the map, found Pooh's neighborhood and the journey began. The first ride we enjoyed was the teapots of Alice and Wonderland which was perfectly adjacent Pooh's house. We were able to take a pic with Pooh and Tiger!!! The kids were SO pumped, Josiah loved hugging the big furry characters and Justice was just smiling her "in awe" smile. She also visited his "house" and took pictures inside the tree house.

For lunch, we dined at Beast & Belle's castle, under the magnificent chandeliers. To be honest, the food was one of the main things I was excited about, I've created this phobia towards rides over the years. But the awesome thing about Disney is that MOST of the rides are safe enough for a 1 year old, so I enjoyed the rides as well! We rode on lots of rides, the ones that come to memory is Dumbo, a flying ride, Ariel, a ride that took us through the Disney story, and It's a Small World, a beautiful enactment of cultures all over the world, which would make ANY human being smile and be proud to be unique!

Towards the end, we took pictures with Princess Tiana, while the parade marched through the street! It was amazing! Can't wait til Disney trip 2!!!

The Battles of Raising a Teenager (Alouse)

Raising a teenager in this society can be very challenging. I remember growing up in a old school Haitian house hold with two boys and I was the only girl. That caused my mother to be very strict with me. I hardly had a social life unless I was at school, had to learn how to prepare my own meals, wash my own clothes, and take care of my younger siblings all while keeping good grades. I can honestly say, my mother was strict with me. She didn't really have to deal with the situations that I have to deal with while having my younger sister living with me. Girlhood has really changed through these past years from when I was younger it seems more fragile and easily influenced.

When I was her age, 14 years old, I was more mature and responsible. I'm not saying I was a perfect angel, like any other teen, I had my rebellious days, but they weren't to the point of disrespect towards my mother. Let me be clear, she's not disrespectful to either me or my mother, but it just seems to me that teenagers expect too much. They expect to have whatever they want and not have to work hard for it. Since my sister been with me, it's been a difficult journey trying to teach her responsibility and accountability. There are days where she doesn't want to hear what I have to say, giving attitude and making unwise decisions in friendships. The other thing that seems to be a problem is her attitude towards school. Sometimes I get to the point where I just want to give up. Instead of giving up, I pray for her and myself, asking God for grace towards her for her actions and patience, understanding that she has bad habits that she has to overcome.

Sometimes the roles of sister and guardian affect our relationship in a stressful way. I have to remind myself that I'm her sister, not her mother, but it's not easy when you have the full responsibility of caring for a teenager. My desire is to not make her feel overwhelmed or unloved, but to help her become a better person, and be a spiritual guidance for her. I can definitely improve, by not being quick to anger, not raising my voice at her, and trying to spend more time with her, versus ordering her around. Hopefully through prayer and consistency, we can grow closer and she will improve, and follow the right path.

Wake up, Get Moving! (Nicole)

Being home 24-7 is a great thing, but it's also a challenge. I've been home now for 5 years now. No workforce since March 2010, the year I gave my birth to my firstborn. The first year was mainly dedicated to taking care of my daughter, and as she grew my days changed according to her really. I can't remember many details, but the one thing I do know is that I didn't have many things to worry about outside of just daughter, and house. Since that time, we've welcomed a baby boy into our lives, moved 3 or 4 times, and my role is still the same, but a little more of a juggling act now. My son is 1 1/2 years old, and baby girl will be turning 5 soon, and my personal desires to be more active are as strong as ever. I'm learning to wake up, and get moving!

This year is a motivating year, truly motivating. I'm focusing more on personal development. I'm trying to get more fit, read my Bible more, focus on what I'm eating (sort of), and find things to do! I'm scheduling myself, literally penciling myself in! All you stay at home moms know the challenge. We're home, and it's EXTREMELY easy to have the whole day go by, and... NOTHING. The one thing every stay at home person in general needs is a schedule and lots of DISCIPLINE! Discipline, Discipline, Discipline :) :)  :) Be discipline enough to make the laundry schedule and stick to it, be discipline enough to clean certain areas of the house when planned, and also needed, be discipline to cook dinner meals early enough so it's ready for night time. The list is exhaustive, and I've only hit the house. But yes, even personal attention requires discipline. Ladies we have to pencil ourselves in! The time needed to take a walk, or whatever exercise you prefer, the time needed to read a good book, and THE greatest book, God's word. Time to hang out with our little ones, time to enjoy our husbands, time to DO OUR HAIR, and put a little extra time in the mirror. Being a mother is work! lol But I'm enjoying every minute of it!

I've began waking up around 7:30am (which honestly needs to be about an hour earlier), going to the gym, walking on the treadmill, and reading my word! Boy do I look forward to those moments, It's literally 30 minutes, but after that walk, I am refreshed physically, no longer dragging, and joyful after being filled with God's word. I'm smiling just thinking about it. Waking up is the key! There is so much time that "could" be used in the day, my advice is to write down what you actually want to accomplish, and schedule it! :) :) :)

God bless ladies!

Chore Chart update (Alouse)

Ok! So it's been about 2 weeks since I've been back home with my family, and I am loving it! I was able to get a chore chart going in order to keep my sanity, I completed a master grocery list in order to make shopping a breeze, and not go over my budget or buy extra things that we didn't need. I'm able to spend more time with my family and friends. In spite of being back home, I still have to get used to our new schedule. I have to be honest, trying to stick to a chore chart can be hard sometimes, especially when you're 5 months pregnant, homeschooling, and starting a business. I do find myself getting upset sometimes when everyone else doesn't follow the chart, but I'm realizing that if I stick to it they will follow suit. Let me give you a scenario of what a good chore day looks like: 7:30am my younger sister knows to unload the dishwasher, 8am, I load the washing machine, 8:30am we eat breakfast, around 9am I load the dryer, with homeschooling taking place between 10am and 1pm. The business day starts at 2pm and ends at 6pm, between 6:30pm and 7:30pm we have dinner, 7:30pm I get my baby girl ready for bed, and at 8pm my sister brooms and mops the floors, while I take care of the master bathroom. So... that's what a good day looks like, I'm not overwhelmed, and I'm able to relax, the last thing to do is fold the clothes, wipe down kitchen counters, and relax! But, this is what a bad day looks like: 7:30am my younger sister wakes up late for school and forgets to unload the dishwasher, so when I wake up I have to make breakfast, unload the dishwasher, then load the washing machine and forget to dry them. SOMETIMES having to wash them again because they were left in there too long, lol This is a confession moment. I'm then trying to get my little girl settled, and ready for school at 10:30am. The business day starts at 2pm and ends at 6pm, between 6:30pm and 7:30pm I'm taking a nap, which means no food is prepared. Because I'm exhausted, come on now, I'm 5 months pregnant. 7:30pm it's time to eat, so by 8:30 I have to ask my husband to get my daughter ready for bed and my sister is sweeping and mopping the floors. And I don't get to my master bathroom, because I'm still laying, and the clothes are still inside the washing machine. It's not until its time to wear a particular outfit, that I realize the clothes are still wet, LOL! I MUST DO BETTER! This week, I plan on being consistent, now actually what I did, I moved the chore chart from the front door to the kitchen, because we're there more often. It's more visible, so hopefully, I can stick to it, and be more consistent.

It's hard, but I know it's worth it. I feel accomplished when we follow the chart because my home is in order. If anyone has any suggestions for what I can do differently, please do not hesitate to comment below, I would love the feed back. 

I'll keep you all posted on the progress! God bless!

Venturing into Entrepreneurship (Nicole)

Another year to give God thanks! I am so encouraged, this year 2015, for some reason I've had such a desire to get things right. I've been concentrating more on my nutrition, personal fitness, spiritual condition and business dreams. With the support of my husband, I've been able to get up early in the morning every day and take a 30 minute walk on the treadmill at my property. My wonderful husband has been the first to wake and prepare breakfast for the kids, giving me time for myself. While I'm walking, I've been able to spend some quiet time with the Lord, and that has been the difference in how I approach the day. I'm more energized, more joyful, and more encouraged. Now that my bestie is home we bring our girls together who are "4" years old and do home school together. The kids are learning so much, every day Justice asks me if Ramiyah is coming over today!.

As far as business goes, Alouse and I are working on starting a tutoring business together, we've been going back and forth for the past few months on what we wanted to do, and finally we've settled on reading tutoring, this whole process is so new. It's a big challenge, but with God all things are possible. I'm expanding my mind, opening my heart and reaching greater things. Lord I give everything to you and trust that I'm safe in your arms.

Returning Home Again (Alouse)

Recently, by the grace of God through prayer and patience, I'm home again. After working for a year and a half I've been yearning to be back home with my daughter. Being at home, I get to set my own schedule, organize my house, spend more time with my family, and spend more time with my bestie! :) :) :). I'm truly excited to see what God has in store for me and my family this year. I wake up in the morning and I just say Thank you Jesus I don't have to clock in anymore, or drive an hour to work! I get to prepare breakfast for my family and make sure they're getting a proper nutrition, and overall, just make sure the house is in order. Last week, both Nicole and I created a chore chart. The chore chart lists the different duties for each day, the names of who is in charge of each, and is listed according to time. This has truly been a life saver. I don't get overwhelmed anymore, I'm able to take things a little at a time. I'm able to relax more, and everyone's helping out. No more confusion of what to do, I just direct them to the chore chart, and that's it, BOOM. lol I'm home again and I'm loving it! :) :) :)