Monday! Kitchen Day!

Ok! Happy Monday, everyone! 

Are you ready to get started on that mess? 

I am SO ready!

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We're going to focus on a different room each day, sometimes 2 rooms.

There are things we need to do each day in addition to our focus room in order to keep the house straightened up. 

I will be adding some things to this checklist as we move on throughout the week. 

 Main Checklist:

• Do at least one load of laundry from start to finish. Wash, dry, & put away!
• Load and unload your dishwasher, or if you don't have one, wash your dishes.
• Don't be lazy.When you remove items from one room, put the where they belong. Do not just toss them in their respective rooms. We are trying to avoid messes piling up.  

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Today we're going to focus on the kitchen. 

The kitchen is one of my least favorite rooms to clean since I have to clean it so often. That's why I have to clean it first each week. If it doesn't get clean on Monday, the mess just piles up and I don't even want to walk in there, let alone cook or clean!

We're not  detailing today. We are just cleaning it so there isn't any clutter and your countertops and appliances aren't sticky or coated with food. 

Kitchen Checklist:

• Clear your counters of dishes. Wash any dirty ones, and put away any clean ones. 
• Clear off your kitchen table. There should be nothing left on it unless you have a centerpiece.
• Clear your counters of any trash or items that do not belong in the kitchen.
• Wipe down your countertops, table top, sink, and stove top with a wet soapy rag or a cleaning spray.  
• Sweep the floor, thoroughly. 
• If you have a quick & easy mop, go ahead and mop the floor. I use a Libman Freedom mop and I love that sucker!

By just following the checklist above, you will have a clean kitchen in just a few minutes. I know we didn't scrub or deep-clean anything, but we'll focus on those details next Monday when we revisit the kitchen. 

Your goal is to keep the kitchen picked up throughout the week.

Quick Tips:

Clean up after yourself after you make a sandwich or pour a drink.

Wipe the stove top & counters down after you finish cooking a meal.

Keep the dishwasher cycled so you can immediately put dirty dishes into it instead of piling them in the sink. 

Again, don't be lazy. It just takes an extra few seconds to put things away or into the dishwasher.

Don't go to bed with a messy kitchen. Most families start their day having breakfast in the kitchen. The last thing you want to do is wake up to dirty dishes and clutter everywhere.

Hopefully taking the time to do these things will start to form good habits!

You can do it!!!

Two Weeks to Clean!

Here is my initial reaction to having to clean the house:

Do you like my pink gloves?

This week, I asked my Facebook fans if they would be interested in a 2-week clean-along.
This way, we could all participate together and get a jump-start on Spring cleaning!
It's a lot easier to do when you've got others to help you with motivation.

Here's what I feel like with a little motivation:

GRRR!!! No mess stands a chance against this!
::motivation::

Quite a few of you showed interest in participating, so here are the details!

Week 1 will begin on Monday, April 16th. 

During this week, we will focus on getting the house straightened up.

We will be working on one or two rooms each day. 

Each morning, I will post which room(s) we will be focusing on for that day. 

There will also be small tasks included each day so the house doesn't fall back into disarray.

Week 2 will begin on Monday, April 23rd. 

During this week, we will focus on more detailed cleaning tasks. 

We will be going back through each room in our homes to clean and organize. 

Again, I will post which room(s) we will be focusing on each day so everyone can follow along.

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I will post checklists for you to follow along in each room. 

I know the specific tasks will vary for each of us since we all have different homes, but you can use the checklists as a guideline. 

Share this blog post with your friends! 

We all get tired of cleaning the house, especially if you have kids going behind you pulling things out faster than you can put them away.

Let's get all of our friends involved so we have accountability partners! 

More Easter Fun!

Before we get into the pictures of our Saturday, I want to update you on the whole chocolate deal. 

I did it. 

I went 40 days with no chocolate. 

Honestly, it was harder than I thought it would be. 

Unlike my sister-in-law, who gave up Coke and then couldn't finish even half of one on Sunday, I had absolutely no problem indulging. 

I have probably eaten enough chocolate today to last me all week. 

Now I seriously need to jump on the treadmill. 

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Now on to the cuteness that is my 3 A's. 

We went to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

It was pretty cool. A few houses in the neighborhood got together and hid eggs in all of their yards so it was one giant egg hunt. 

There were quite a few kids there. 

They even had crafts for the kids to do!

Middle A kept trying to get a head-start. 

She knows what's up when she sees colorful plastic eggs now. 

Big A had a blast finding the eggs.

She likes to see if she can find unique colored ones.

Gold, silver, iridescent....

Middle A understands the concept of hunting eggs.

She just doesn't quite have the speed thing down yet.

They still got quite a bit of eggs! 

I think between the two of them, there were about 80 eggs.

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Later that evening, we colored real eggs.

We colored on them with crayons and used tape to create designs.

Both of the girls love decorating eggs.

Here are a few of our egg-celent friends!

These are a few of our favorites.

That's not the end of our Easter weekend. I still have plenty more to update you on. 

Until then, hop over to our Facebook page. 

Click 'Like' over to the right --->

You can follow along on Facebook and give your opinion on what I should write about next.

Easter Weekend: Part 1

Wow! We had such a busy weekend!

Annie returned from her week-long visit to Tennessee on Friday afternoon.

My parents and I met in the middle for lunch so they could visit with Middle A & Little A for a little while.

Cracker Barrel!

Pops & Little A

After the two-hour drive home, we went to D's parents' house for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt. 

The kids had a blast finding the eggs!

Middle A had her own personal basket carrier.

(Thanks, Papa!)

Then there were the Easter baskets. 

I'm pretty sure they liked them.

Thanks, Grammy & Papa!

That was what we did on Good Friday. 

Tomorrow, I'll post more. There are so many pictures I want to share.

It would be ridiculous to put them all in one post.

Until then...

Follow along on Facebook!

Four A's and a D. now has a Facebook page.

Click the link to the right to 'like' the page ---->

You'll have opportunities to participate in polls, discussions, and even vote on future topics for my blog!

I'm still going strong!

Do you remember this post from a few weeks ago when I vowed to give up chocolate for Lent?

It has been over a month since I last had chocolate. 

I have had zero. 

None.

Zilch.

I didn't even lick the spoon after stirring my daughter's chocolate milk. 

I stuck to my word.
I'm not gonna lie. There were moments when I was standing in the checkout line at Wal-Mart looking at the Kit Kat bars, fighting the urge to grab one. I wanted it so badly I could literally taste the chocolate in my mouth.
But I fought the urge!

Now......

I am counting down the days until I can have some chocolate. 

Only a few more left!

I've been missing out on my favorite piece of candy ever: Cadbury Creme Eggs. 

Of course, the grocery store I do all of my shopping at has them positioned right as you walk in the door. Seriously. You have to walk past them to get into the grocery store. 

Not cool, Kroger. Not cool at all!

All I'm sayin' is the Easter Bunny had better be leaving Mommy some super chocolatey goodies in mine & Daddy's Easter basket on Sunday. 

Easter Egg Hunts & Owls

This weekend I took Middle A & Little A to an Easter egg hunt. 

Little A is obviously too small to participate this year, but Middle A had fun!

The poor kid only got 4 eggs. Every time she bent down to get one, a bigger kid would come by and scoop it up before she could. I felt so bad for her, but she didn't care. She was just happy she got some eggs (or as Middle A says, "Aigs"). After the hunt was over, a little boy came over and put a few handfuls of eggs in her basket for her. Sweet, right?

Here is Little A hanging out with Grammy.

Middle A swinging and grinning!

This week is Spring Break. Big A has gone to Tennessee to spend time with my family. She loves being able to go by herself. I think it makes her feel big and independent. She has so much fun spending time with my parents and my siblings. I, of course, get picture message updates a few times a day to keep me up to speed with all of their adventures. 

Meanwhile, here at home I'm working on getting the house cleaned up and organized. I went to Hobby Lobby last week and bought some super-cute owl print PUL to make diapers out of. That's my motivation to get all of the cleaning and organizing done. I refuse to start sewing until the house is clean. It's my motivation. 

Look how stinkin' cute this PUL is!

Source

I'm gonna get my butt in gear and get the house clean tomorrow so I can get to work on those suckers!