Excuse the mess. I have kids.

Do you ever feel like you're always behind and can never catch up? 

When I was growing up, my mom had this sign in our kitchen that said:

"Cleaning house while the kids are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing."

I've discovered that there are probably no truer words than those.

I'm always thinking to myself, "If I can just get caught up on the house work, I can get started on 'x' project or 'y' project."  The thing is, I never feel like I'm caught up. I've tried different types of schedules and lists, only to fall back into a funk. I have a running list of projects I want to work on. As a matter of fact, I have an order of about 400 sets of plastic snaps on the way so I can make more diapers and replace some existing snaps that have gotten melted in the dryer. I want to be able to sit down and work on those new diapers without feeling guilty about not cleaning house. I want to be able to do that with any project I might want to do. I had David pick up two cans of spray paint a couple weeks ago so I could make something to hang in our living room (which will be shared in a later post) but I still haven't gotten started. 

I've heard that making yourself an hourly schedule really helps to keep you on-task throughout the day. I've tried making a daily outline of what to accomplish each day of the week by assigning a room and a particular load of laundry to a certain day of the week. That doesn't work for me. I think I need to be more specific. I also need to work in daily devotional time and time to exercise. 

Do any of you have suggestions? Websites? Cleaning outlines that work for you? 

Share with me! (Please!) 

Congratulations!!!

Alicia & Alondra, you are the winners of the personalized Easter egg drawing!

Contact Personally Mine Custom gifts via email to order your eggs!


Sorry there couldn't be more than two winners.

If at any time you want to order a personalized gift, email these wonderful ladies at:

info@personallyminegifts.com!

I'm a pretty crafty person. 

I love making things with my hands.

Sewing, crafting, building, cooking.

I just like creating things. 

It's getting harder and harder to sit down for long periods of time since I have 3 kiddos. It takes me forever to make things that should only take an hour or two, unless the kids are sleeping. 

Anyway, here are some things I've made lately. 

A couple of reversible headbands and a cute flower headband. 

I really think that I love those reversible headbands. They're super easy to make and you get two headbands in one. I made the green ones for my girls for St. Patty's Day.     

One of my close friends wants me to make her some of the flower bands to match her daughter's Matilda Jane clothes. I think they will be cute with that line. MJ is a very cute label. I just can't fork over the money for it, having 3 girls to dress! OUCH!

These are some prefold diapers I made. They're made with 2 layers of flannel and a strip of terry cloth in the middle. They're very easy to make. Little A was outgrowing the cotton prefolds I have, so I had to come up with something new. These work like a charm. They just stain like no other. I need to put up a clothes line so I can hang them out in the sun. 

Last is this khaki vest I made for Big A.

It is parent/teacher conference week, so of course it's also book fair week. 

They always hit you up for money when they know they have you  coming into the school. 

Anyway, there is a different theme for each day. The kids get to dress up in accordance with the theme. 

Today is Tacky Tourist day. Big A isn't one to look tacky when she's supposed to.  She evidently has no problem looking tacky any other day of the week, but not on the day she's supposed to. So she went to school all matchy matchy, but I think she looks tourist-y enough. Right?

I made the vest out of an old pair of khaki pants I found on the shelf in my closet. There are pockets on the front, but you can't really see them in the picture. It only took me a couple of hours to make (in between breastfeeding and changing diapers) so it was relatively simple. Big A really liked it, so that's a win in my book!

Don't forget, there are only 3 days left to enter my giveaway!

I've been super-busy lately, so I'll make up for the lack of blog posts with a photo bomb. 

Deal?

These are the moments that I love so much.

Those simple, do-nothing times.

Just laying on the floor together watching a cartoon.

Or even playing some classic Candy Land with Nana.

Going to the park to feed the geese and the fish.

Washing the car on a hot day in March so we can stay cool.

Fairy wings evidently make you the water hose operator. Just FYI.

Of course, if mommy's car needed washing....so did Middle A's wagon.

We had to take her shiny new ride for a spin!

So we went for a walk.

Little Miss Sunshine here got the easy ride.

She was very demanding, and told Daddy which turns to take.

But in the end, no one can do the job better than she. 

I'm excited to announce that Four A's and a D is having its very first giveaway! 

(YAAAYYY!!!)

A friend of mine (and a friend of hers) started an at-home business.

It's called Personally Mine Custom Gifts

They have tons of super-cute items for all occasions (and for no occasion!)

Here are some samples of their work:

 





Fun stuff, right?




Here's what we're giving away:


2 Jumbo Personalized Easter Eggs!

We will choose 2 winners.
Each will receive 1 personalized egg.



They measure about 8" long, so
these suckers are perfect for fun little gifts or prizes!

You get to choose your color and design!

Just use the rafflecopter box below to enter into the drawing!

This week is a crazy week. Our church has a huge consignment sale twice a year and yours truly is a team member. I love consignment sale week. Shopping for my daughters is one of my favorite things. Also, Mommy needs a little social time. I think it's a win-win situation. The girls get new wardrobes and I get to socialize with some of my favorite girls from church (while sorting clothes & toys, of course). 

Unfortunately, since I am volunteering more than 20 hours there this week my house is a wreck. I have no clue how I kept this sucker clean when D and I both worked full-time. Of course, we only had one child and no one was home during the day to mess it up. Yeah. That's it.

 Instead of cleaning, I've been sewing. Little A has outgrown her prefolds & covers, so I'm sewing new ones for her. Big A saw me sewing one of the new covers and liked the fabric I was using. She asked me to make her a headband. Now of course, big sister can't do anything without little sister (at least that's what Middle A thinks), so Middle A needed a headband as well. 

I am going to finish up my projects tomorrow or Friday and share pictures with you guys. I am seriously in love with the headbands. I make them reversible with coordinating fabrics. I need to make myself some. If I'm guilty of anything, it's not taking the time to make or buy myself new things. I do love seeing my girls in 'Made by Mommy' clothes, though!

Pictures will be coming soon, so sit tight!

We are family....

I have the fortunate blessing of having brothers and a sister who are my best friends. 

We have been close our whole lives.

Don't get me wrong, we had our spats and occasional fist fights (yes, fist fights). 

We still disagree here and there about things.

In the end, we are all best friends.

Unfortunately, my siblings all live in Tennessee.

I live in Georgia. 

I don't get to see them as often as I would like.

I actually miss having them around all the time.

This past weekend, they were all here (along with my parents) for Middle A's birthday and Little A's christening.

I was so happy to see my family. 

So many of us take for granted the fact that our families are always around, and sometimes even annoying. 

I cherish the memories we get to make when we're together.