Shopping Addiction?

I love to shop and I think I have an addiction. There I said it. I admitted it. What a relief to have that off my chest!  I love shopping online, I love shopping at the mall or other retail stores. It doesn't matter where or when I just love to shop. I shop for everything and anything...therein lies the problem!

Working from home tends to make online shopping too easy. I'll be putting laundry away...and start thinking about the upcoming season and who needs what. I'll then get my trusty little notebook and compile a list of what we all will be needing and how many of each. From there I will will look through my coupons (mainly from the Children's Place, Buckle, Kohls and Scheels b/c I have their store credit cards!). Then its game on! I fire up the computer and start shopping. The biggest problem with online shopping is you can't see how much your buying, the total at the end usually makes me gasp. I try to justify the amount, telling myself, the kids have grown and last years stuff is too small/worn out, its all stuff we need, I have a coupon...look how much I have saved etc.

Working from also makes me want to get out of the house after a long day and what else is there to do but shop? Sometimes I take a night to myself and browse through store to store and aimlessly buy things because I like it. Often times once I get the item(s) home, I return it as it looked great in the store, but at home its not the same.

If we have a special event coming up or a holiday or vacation I love to get new outfits for that as well. It just makes those times that much more special.

This addiction does not extend to grocery shopping. There is NOTHING I can say or do that makes grocery shopping exciting. I have to grocery shop once a week. In the beginning of the month I do a big grocery shop for daycare (dry goods, canned goods, meat, supplies etc.), I do the same for our household as well, usually towards the middle of the month. Then once a week (Thursdays) I plan my trip to town, I buy the weekly produce, dairy and anything that we are running out of. This is usually when I sneak in my shopping...its like a reward!

I also like to change things up throughout my house, I generally like the decor in my house, however there are times when I look around and think, what could I do here? What would look better there? How can I make better use of this area? Or I will go on to Pinterest and find some great ideas that I just "have to have" or "have to do". There comes in the internet shopping. (Currently I'm redoing the kids bathroom and our bedroom.)

I need to ask myself the following questions when shopping:

1. Do I need it?
2. Will I use it?
3. Do I love it?
4. Is it something that can be used in more than on way?
5.  Am I just buying this to buy something?

I may shop too much, but I am good about going through things and getting rid of them. I have a garage sale every summer, I sell the kids clothes online (easy $$) and I donate a lot of items (tax credit).

And as much as I like to shop and spend, I can save pretty darn well...I just need to do that MORE often! Which is the point of this post...I want to hold myself accountable and SAVE more! Wish me luck!

**Quick update...Sunday night Kevin and I went to town and had some time to burn so we stopped at Kohls to browse and wander a bit...I found a cute summer dress for myself and new throw pillows for our couches...I just had to have them of course, so far I have failed with trying to save money as it seems to burn a hole in my pocket. So with any addiction, I will take it one day at a time!
 

Time Management

Time....something I never seem to have enough of and the majority of it is spent working. I always have so much to do it seems, from my kids, work, our house, our animals, racing, "us" time, to friends and "me" time.

So where does my time go? I'm always rushing it seems no matter how prepared I am. I'm constantly making lists: to do lists in my daily planner to grocery lists or what I need to pack lists etc. My goal is to have everything on my to do list during the work week done before daycare lunch (noon). So I pile on my to do list and all of my work resposibilities such as, caring for each child, diaper changes/potty breaks, snacks and meals, arts/crafts, circle time and play time. My mornings are non-stop. Once I get through lunch time and get the kids down for nap, I'm exhausted and just want to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet for a bit. I always have good intentions of relaxing for a bit then going to workout or to get another chore done, but to be honest once I sit down to relax, the last thing I want to do is get up! Is that wasting time? Or is it good for my brain to just shut down and rest?

My evening begins once the last daycare child leaves, then it seems to be a rush to tidy up and prepare dinner and await Kevin getting home. Dinner is  nice and relaxing catching up with my husband and kids on their days. Once dinner is done its a race to clean up, get homework done, bathe each kid, play for a bit and then its time for the kids bedtime routine. This is on a night when neither kid has an activity to be at such as soccer, dance or swimming. The kids are usually in bed by 8:30. Once the kids are in bed, I finish laundry (is anyone really ever done doing laundry?), sometimes I workout or I curl up and watch my favorite shows.

In the nicer months, I try to get out to the barn a few times a week, making time for that is a struggle as well, there is so much to do out there from cleaning the barn to cleaning and caring for the horses. Sometimes by the time I get all the barn chores done, its dark and there's no time to ride. Then there is racing, which takes up the majority of our weekends, which is fine as we love it and its something we all enjoy as a family, but 3 nights, every weekend makes it hard to do other activities on our days off.

I think one of my biggest challenges is myself. I'm constantly adding things to my to do list, and it just piles on. I work from home, and I'll look around my house and notice little things that need to be done. Things that could probably wait, but it will bug me if I don't get to it. I always think if I just hurry up and get things done, then I'll have more time with the kids to play or go do something fun. Another fault of mine is, I expect my house to be spotless and tidy, I expect to be on top of my kids needs and prepared for anything they may have going on. I expect this out of myself because I am home all day, yes I still may be working but I can't justify in mind not having these things done.

What about Kevin helping out? Kevin does the dishes every night after dinner, and we take turns giving the kids baths. He does all of the outside/yard chores. If he's home he will help me fold laundry or if I ask him to do something, he's always happy to help out. Many nights he will tell me to go relax and take a bath and he'll take care of whatever needs to be done. I never expect him to do the household chores, call me old fashion but I feel like that is my job. Kevin works hard and often times has to work 16-18 hour days and on the weekends, so when he gets home I want him to be able to relax and enjoy his time with us and not have to put in time here.

I'm curious how other women manage there time. How do some work outside the home and still manage to care for their children, keep a clean house and prepare dinner? How do other moms who work from home schedule their time to do all of the above? What could I be doing differently that would make my days go smoother without me being exhausted, yet still getting my chores done? Or do I put to much importance on having a clean, organized house and having everything "done"?

I'm off to sweep and vacuum! (I just can't Let It Go!)

Have a safe and Happy St. Patricks Day!

Catching Up

Blake turned 6 on January 16th! 6! Some days I just look at him in amazement, where has the time gone that I now have a boy, not a toddler but a boy. Its been a wonderful 6 years, I'm so thankful I was able to be home with him and not miss anything. We all are excited to see what Blake will do and learn next, his firsts are our firsts as well (as he's our oldest). His birthday was on a Friday so we had our immediate family over for dinner and ice cream cake. The next day Blake had his first friend birthday that was somewhere other than our house. Him and 15 of his friends went bowling. The bowling alley in Rice Lake offers a great birthday package (2 games, pizza, pop and cupcakes). The kids had a blast and Blake was happy!

Kevin raced in Florida again this year and a had a great speed weeks, the best one yet! He and Bob left early Saturday January 24th, Dave and Curt flew down on Monday. Kevin along with some other drivers rented East Bay for a private practice session on Monday, hence the reason they left early. He had excellent finishes at East Bay, Thursday: Heat 1st/Feature 3rd, Friday: Heat 1st/Feature 6th. Those results qualified him to be in the top 6 in points for Saturday, which rewarded him by not having to race a heat on Saturday. He started 6th in the 75 lap feature and ended up 5th. We were all happy with the results! Its a learning curve bringing a new car down there and trying to test and tune that along with having to decide on the right tire compound. After East Bay, Kevin headed north to Ocala to race at Bubba's Raceway Park and was rained out Thursday night and won Friday night! Kevin also won his heat race that night! Saturday and Sunday Kevin again headed north to Lake City to race at North Florida Speedway. Saturday results: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd and Sunday: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd!

The kids, myself and my dad flew down on Thursday January 29th, at 7am...ugh! Never again will Kevin make my flight arrangements! That early is rough with kids, even though we stayed about 5 minutes from the airport the night before. We've made it a tradition to stay at the Best Western Plus behind the MOA, it has a great pool area for kids. I told the kids no movies or iPads until they took a nap and sure enough they both cuddled up and fell asleep. Blake was sleeping before we took off and Brooke fell asleep just after take off, they slept until we were about 30 minutes out. I was so thankful.Once we landed we got our rental car and headed to Brandon, FL which is about 20 minutes away. We quickly unpacked, went and grabbed lunch and spent the afternoon enjoying the cold pool! The kids didn't mind a bit and I enjoyed catching some rays while my dad napped in a lounge chair. I do love Florida! Finally we got ready and headed to the track to see Kevin, I loved seeing the happiness on the kids faces as well as Kevin's! We sure miss him when he's gone and I think he misses us just as much. Blake was so happy to be at the races and was content to sit and watch in the stands with both grandpa's. Brooke on the other hand not so much, she was stuck to Kevin like glue, she just doesn't care to sit and watch.

Friday Kevin and the guys headed out to the track early, so the kids, my dad and I headed to Clearwater. Our first stop was to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter and Hope from Dolphin Tale 1 & 2. Besides seeing Kev's this was the best part of the trip. It was amazing to see Winter, as she has such a special story behind her rescue. The whole experience was really interesting, there was quite a bit to see and learn and we all enjoyed it! Funny story: Blake and Brooke were standing by the petting pool for the Sting Rays, Blake was happily petting any that swam by him, where Brooke was a bit more standoffish. Eventually she came to stand by me and watch the dolphins through a window, apparently my dad wasn't paying attention when another little girl came up to stand by him to watch the Sting Rays. Dad grabbed the little girls arm and stuck in the water as a Sting Ray swam by...he looked down and sure enough it wasn't Brooke. Dad was so embarrassed! Luckily the little girls parents laughed it off and put dad at ease. Afterwards we went to the beach, all the times my kids have been to Florida they have never seen the ocean. It was windy and not the warmest day, but they had fun building sandcastles, running in the water and chasing seagulls! As we headed back to the track which is about 45-60 minutes in traffic, all was going well until I merged onto 275 South instead of 275 North like I needed. 275 S brings you to St. Petersburg and its a long bridge with NO off ramps. Once we got turned around and started heading north the traffic was bumper to bumper at 20 mph. Thank goodness for DVD players and snacks, it kept the kids busy. My dad on the other hand kept making fun of me "Well Megs, if your gonna f*ck up, ya my as well do it good! And well, ya did!" He thought it was hilarious! I did not as our hour drive back took 2 hours. All we missed at the track was hot laps and time trials, so we weren't too late.

Saturday we (the kids, me and my dad) headed to Busch Gardens for the afternoon. Blake and I have been there before and I liked it. This time however I wasn't too impressed. For the cost of admission (which is the same as Disney for a day.) it didn't seem like it was worth it. We did like seeing all of the animals and most of the rides there were minimal waits. I just felt like it was a little disorganized or maybe I was disorganized?! (I do not function well like that!) Or maybe it was the fact that my sweet little 3 year old got us kicked off the carousel? Yes, you heard that right. Here's why: Blake picked out two horses that were side by side, the one for Brooke was white with pink and sparkles and his horse had a black mask on, he thought they were perfect for the two of them. Brooke did not think so. Soon the ride filled up and we couldn't move, well the Brooklyn decided to cry, not a sad cry but a scream cry. Oy. We made it 1 1/2 laps and the ride stopped, the ride attendant came up to us and told me that she can't operate the ride if a child is crying. Brooke wouldn't stop, so we all got off the ride. Meanwhile other riders started getting off and the girl proceeds to yell "the ride isn't over, please stay on, some riders needed to get off!" As we exit, my dad is sitting on a bench laughing hysterically! I was so embarrassed. I scolded her, so she then started crying that she only wanted her grandpa. So grandpa scoops her up and all is well. No words. It was time for lunch and we didn't have much luck finding a place to eat, they were either too crowded, no one working or out of food. It was my kids lucky day, they had chicken on a stick, root beer floats and a funnel cake. We all got to go on the log ride (flume) twice and we enjoyed the train ride that went around the park and on a safari! We went on a few more kids rides and then headed for the track. Luckily it was only a 15 minute drive that was a straight shot...we made it with no wrong turns ;-) I was impressed the kids made it through the 75 lap feature without an issues. We got back to the hotel at 11:50 which was rough as we had to leave for the airport at 5:30am, we flew out at 8:00am Sunday morning. Blake and Brooke slept the whole flight home, thank God!

Our trip was quick but fun! The best part was spending time with Kevin.  Kevin came home on the 9th, so that week was spent catching up with him!

February flew by in haze! My birthday is on Valentines Day, which happened to be a Saturday, it allowed me to spend the day with my kiddos! Breakfast in bed and lunch from my favorite Bistro in town. Kevs and the kids had my favorite cake made...it was sooo good! Blake and Brooke stayed over at grandma Linda's house so Kevin and I could go have dinner and see 50 Shades of Grey! To be honest at first I didn't like the movie as I read the books and neither of the actors fit what I thought they "should" look like. By the end of the movie they both won me over! Can't wait for the next movies to come out! (Kevin didn't even mind seeing and thought it was good!)

Saturday February 21st we had the RLS banquet. Keytun, Crystal and I decorated, it was so easy, we have a great system from years past and had it decorated and organized in an hour. We all had a great time...good food, cold drinks and great friends!

The last weekend in February the kids and I loaded up and went to Duluth. It was so nice going home! My mom, my sister and I had a great day shopping and going out to lunch, while my dad took Blake and Brooke for a fun grandpa day. We also got to see my grandparents both days. They both amaze me, grandma Bev is 80 and grandpa Bill is 84 and they are still active and out and about quite a bit. We had a big Sunday breakfast at their house and it was all homemade and made with love!

Blake and Brooke both started swim lessons a few weeks ago, they go two times a week for 40 minutes. Blake has always been a bit timid about the water, but now that he's in level 2, he's got no fear and is doing great! Brooke is my little fish and is not scared of anything...which scares me! She thinks that she is Hazel from the Dolphin Tale movies!

Last weekend was pretty expensive for me...I have two vacuums, one for the basement and one for upstairs (I hate having to drag vacuums all over!), there both Dyson's and both quit working last week. Ugh. I did a little research and decided to go with the Shark vacuums. I LOVE them! It was actually embarrassing vacuuming, I vacuum daily (I have a dog, kids running all over, and we live in the country = DIRT!) and the amount of dirt and hair that was vacuumed was gross! I'm a neat freak and I hate anything dirty, dusty or not put away. Drives me nuts! A few weeks ago I had our air ducts cleaned as well, it took forever but it was well worth it to get all the dust and dirt out of them. I've been doing all my spring cleaning the last few weeks...I've gone through dressers, closets, cupboards and all I have left is my kitchen cabinets. We also put up drywall in our storage room, what a pain in the a** that was. We built our house in 2008 and I was in such a rush to move in and get settled, I was pregnant with Blake and I was starting my in home daycare in September, and just had a lot going on and I didn't really care at the time if the storage room was finished or not. We just threw up some shelves and shoved anything and everything in there. Its amazing how much junk a person collects, I gave a way a bunch of stuff, made a big garage sale pile. We put up a ton of shelving, now everything that we need or want to keep are in totes and labeled up on the shelves. I have a section for everything: holiday decor, home decor, office supplies, daycare toys and extras, tools/paint supplies, along with RLS banquet decor and kids club supplies. Now when I walk in there I sigh with relief that its organized and clean. Love it!

Well enough of my rambling! Laters for now!