Another Attempt at Being Organized: A Household Notebook

So I've had this idea stewing around upstairs to create some sort of notebook to stay a little more organized and on track while I am home and to make things a little easier when I go back to work. I started looking around the internet for inspiration and it seems that my idea was definitely not original. Blue Eyed Bride posted just today that she has completed her Home Organization Binder. Impressive. She provided several resources at the bottom of her post, one of which I found extremely helpful  - Organized Home's Printable Pages for Your Household Notebook.

To start, I needed to figure out exactly what I wanted my notebook to do for me and in what areas of our life. In other words - what can I just not get organized.

Recipes. I am a hot mess when it comes to recipes. You might even call me a recipe hoarder. I love them. I crave them. I get them everywhere. But then what? They end up on the coffee table, on the dining room table, in my purse, mixed in with my coupons, in a "recipe catch all" binder.

Menu Planning. I have tried printing a template. I tried making my own. I did really well leading up to Baby Boy's arrival. Then it all fell apart. I guess a baby sort of does that to you. So, to get back on track, I need a central location to write what we will be having for dinner and a place to track things we need so I'm not running to the store 4 times a week (even though an evening alone at Target is becoming quite a treat).

Chores. Oh boy! Another hot mess! I actually enjoy cleaning. When I have the time, supplies, organization and desire. I hate the scramble to clean something quickly and would rather take me time and do it right. That's probably why several chores don't get done as often as they should. Again, I need a system. Fly Lady? Same problem as menu planning.

To Do List. I am the queen of lists. I make lists of lists. The problem is that I lose the lists or simply don't follow the lists. I actually put things on my list that I have already done so that i can cross them off and feel like I have done more than I actually have. I need to have a weekly planner in the category so I can map out how I will get errands run, phone calls made, etc. This also needs to include a long term list of things that need done. For example, things I need Brett to do; I could simple look at my list and tell him what I need done as opposed to saying I don't know.

Things to Look Up. One of my biggest time wasters is the internet. I will see one thing (be it online, on TV, the radio, out, etc.) and go to look tup. An hour later I have looked at 17 things since that initial one. I need a place to write down websites, products, etc. that when I am relaxing I can look those things up as oppose to dropping everything and doing it "right now". i don't know that this list would completely eliminate this because that's just the "drop everything" kind of person I am.

So this is where I want to start. I figure that if I can start small and this seems to be working I could add to it things like a car maintenance section. Update on this project to come...

What did people do before electricity???

We have a 6 week old baby. My parents are coming to visit this weekend and will be here for a little while and then my brother and his friend will crash our house for a week. Owen is being baptized on Sunday. So - we have a few things going on. What better way to spend my day yesterday than packing up our refrigerator and freezer into coolers of ice because our power went out?!?!?! For 22 hours! The storm Tuesday night was horrendous. The wind was 75 MPH, the thunder unbearable and the tornado sirens were going off. Then to top it all off - it all went dark.

Fortunately, my dear friend Natalie brought the ice over (because the stores near our house were either closed or out of ice) and soothed my crying baby while I took care of house needs. THANK YOU!!!!

Last night I got so desperate, I took owen toWhole Foods so I could get dinner and use their free WiFi. What did people do before they had electricity and the internet?!?!?!

I should get  the "Mother of the Year" Award for taking Owen out yesterday just so I could get a  Starbuck's fix (don't judge, we had no power). I dropped everything at about 10 and threw him in the Jeep with nothing but my wallet. By the time we got there, it was raining again. Hard. And the wind? Blowing. Sideways. Not going to stop me. We ran inside and I can't even describe the look on his face. He was soaking wet and in shock I think of the wind :-) Well, I splurged and got a venti (I should at least make the trip worth it, right?) and we braved it to the car again. Only this time, I was a better mother. I put napkins all over him so he wouldn't get as wet.

Could I be a Fly Lady?

I remember years ago, when my family was first getting introduced to the Internet, my Dad checked our family email and there were hundreds of emails from a "Fly Lady". Apparently my mom had happened upon this web site designed to help "you" get control of your life, declutter your house and help you escape CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Since then, on occasion, I have looked at this web site, "shined my sink" and then never got nay further.

I guess I should say that I L.O.V.E. for our house to be clean. I love to spend a day off work, cleaning top to bottom, and completely wearing myself out. Then, cleaning goes by the wayside until my next day off or the next time I know someone is coming over.Well, with a new baby on the way, I know those all day cleaning extravaganzas won't be happening. I also know that it will not be a top priority and ultimately whether our house is clean or not, it really won't matter. BUT, I still love a clean house and even more so am motivated to have a clean house to raise our baby in. A big issue is the dog hair. Lucy and Tucker, cute and lovable as they are, shed. A. LOT.

So, I am thinking that between now and the arrival of this little thing I am going to try to do more than shine my sink....we'll see.

Our Week of Demo and Construction

So the past two weeks have been trying to say the least. There is nothing like having your life turned upside down by disaster and not having the faintest idea of where to start with repairs and rebuilding. Thankfully, my newly retired dad was able to fly out and give us an entire week of his handy man services. I sincerely do not know what we would have done without him!

Here's a pic in the middle of the "bad" phase. Carpet ripped out, old tile foundunderneath removed, baseboards out and dry wall cut!

Shortly after he arrived, we came a up with a plan. Basically it involved some demo of the basement (ripping out all bas boards and cutting out the drywall about a foot high), removing the ancient tiles that we found under our carpet, installing ceramic tile and then putting it all back together In addition, he installed a back flow preventer that will prevent us from (hopefully) ever having our sewer back up again. Since the everything was already torn up we did a few extra projects that basically left us with a gorgeous, newly remodeled basement! We love it and can't thank my dad enough for all the hard work he put in. I do think we managed to have a pretty good time in the process!

On Monday, we took him to Wrigley Field for his first Cubs' game. Unfortunately they lost to the Brewers 18-1!

The back flow preventer requires us to break a hole in the floor of our laundry room to access the sewer! I got to use some cool tools!
One of those cool tools was a saw!
I learned how to do so many things from my Dad throughout the week. Here I am grouting the ceramic!
Brett got to buy a new toy - a nailer. My Dad showed him how to use it :-) J/K!

You an also see the new floor in the pic.
At the end of the week, we had two great nights out. Both Friday and Saturday night we went out to dinner and had some wine at Tasting Devine.

We really had the bets week. I loved hanging out with my Dad, spending time with him and learning so many new things. Although, the situation was awful we are so lucky to have him and are now enjoying our beautiful basement again!

And it all falls apart...

How funny to think a few short days ago I wrote about finally getting things together and feeling as though my summer has been very worth while. Well, this weekend we ran in to some trouble - water trouble. Our basement flooded again and it's worse than ever before.

Several months ago Brett had planned a "Guys' Weekend" that included friends from out of town staying here and going to the Cubs/ Cardinals game on Saturday. Things started out great on Friday as everyone arrived safely and the boys had a great lunch at The Tilted Kilt. They came back to the house for a bit and then we all headed out for a fun night in Naperville.

At 6:30 am on Saturday morning, one of the guys knocked on our bedroom door letting us know that his air mattress had turned into a raft! We went to check things out and the basement was full of water and the water was still coming in! Everyone went to work - putting stuff together to take the water from the pumps away from the house, trying to open drains, going to Home Depot, manually sucking up water with a wet vac, etc. It was a mess. We had two functioning sump pumps, but it had rained so much that the city's drainage system couldn't handle it. Water was coming in the shower drain, the floor drain - everywhere!

Once the water had stopped coming in, I finally convinced Brett to go to the game so they all showered and we hopped in the car and who knew? 290 was closed! We physically would not be able to get to Chicago. So, we drove for an hour and a half and ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Cubs beat the Cards. That night the guys ripped out all the carpet and padding and continued with the clean up and preparation for more rain that night.

The damage is done. Our basement is a wreck and we have a lot of work and expenses ahead of us. Because this is not the first time this has happened, our insurance will cover none of the damages. My Dad is coming out next week to hear what Perma Seal has to say and we will go from there, either by doing more preventative work (like when they installed the sump pumps)or just reconstructing the basement into something livable.

Although this has been a very difficult weekend for us, there is something to be said for good friends, good family and good people in the world. I don't know what we would have done had it not been for Mark, Paul, and Aaron being at our house and being willing to do manual labor for what should have been a fun relaxing weekend. My Dad coming out next weekend will be a huge help and probably a big money saver. My good friend Natalie who offered me moral support today (because I should not be left alone with my own thoughts) and ripped up all the tack strips in the basement! Rick, the good man who owns Olde North Pancake House, who heard us talking about the water damage on Sunday morning and came and took care of our check! Our wonderful neighbor who shared info regarding issues with the city and our other wonderful neighbor who brought us dinner tonight! We are blessed to be surrounded my people who love us and are willing to come to help when we need it. Thanks everyone!

The Dream Team - in the rain - saving our house!

How many guys does it take to....?

"This is the greatest weekend ever!"

Paul saved my Uggs! He found the perfect spot on the ladder in the garage to dry them out!

My closet with about two inches of water that just wouldn't go away.

Mark's feet, completely submerged, as he manually pumps out water.

Our bedroom furniture - on bricks!

The end of our street completely flooded.

Brett looking so happy to be spending more money at Lowe's. This trip was for fans and a dehumidifier.

Monday morning - all the carpet waiting for the garbage man.

And through it all, I love this guy more than anything!