blog – Live Crazed

Organization: Cleaning Schedual

Happy Friday all!!

Today I want to talk to you about cleaning. I know, I know not a topic we really get excited about, but we all know it’s something that must be done.

I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I seem to not do anything for a couple days then I hate my house. Then I try to clean everything in one day. This always get super frustrating because with two little guys i really don’t have all day to clean. I knew there must be a better way.

I came up with a cleaning schedule. This way i could have everything planned out instead of just swinging blindly at an ever growing problem. By having it scheduled out I don’t have to think about what i want to get done that day I just have to check what’s listed.

Also this way if i get sick for a few days and get behind if I just stick to my schedule everything will get done. Yes the house might be a little messy for a couple days, but it will all get done. If you keep to the schedule you will be amazed at how clean your house is with only maybe an hour of work a day. For those who aren’t at home all day this will take less time because you wont have as many dishes and kid messes to keep up with.

Just like any habit it does take some time to get into.

Do your best not to get discouraged!! It is possible to have a clean house with minimal effort. Of course my exact schedule may not work for everyone you may need to make your own adjustments. I am very hopeful that i can at lease inspire you and set you on the path to an easier week.

Let’s get this show on the road!!

The way that I break down my schedule is to have morning and evening tasks, then daily tasks, and a couple monthly tasks.

Morning Tasks:

Empty Dishwasher
Clean Counters
Make Beds
Tidy Bedrooms
Load of Laundry

For the morning tasks, I like to try and empty the dishwasher and clean the counters before my boys wake up. Making the beds and tidying the bedrooms is something that I have been trying to get the boys to do when they wake up. Usually it’s nothing more than maybe a few pieces of clothes, a book or two and maybe a couple toys. So it really should only take a couple minutes. It really makes a big difference to me to have clean bedrooms. Also this is the time that I gather up the laundry. Currently I only do laundry Mondays and fridays, with an occasional wednesday load.

Evening Tasks:

Fold/ Put away the laundry
Tidy Living Room
Vacuum
Loose Dishes
Run Dishwasher

For evening tasks, we try to have the living room tidied and vacuumed before dinner. This way after dinner they can play games with Daddy while i clean up from dinner and do the loose dishes. Folding the laundry is not something I”m great it keeping up with. Something new I’m trying is folding the laundry while my boys are watching their nightly movie, or at quiet time. This way I can put the laundry away when we go up for bed. The boys get a minute to be crazy before we settle down for be and I don’t leave laundry baskets everywhere.

Daily Tasks:

Monday

-Wash sheets and blankets

-Clean Couches

-Night- Empty Bathroom Garbages

Tuesday

-Sweep/ Swiffer

-Vacuum bedrooms

Wednesday

-Dust/ Disinfect

-Windows

Thursday

-Declutter

-Tidy Outside

-Sweep/ Swiffer

Friday

-Clean Bathrooms

-Wash towels

-Dusts/ Disinfect

Saturday

– Free day!!!

Sunday:

-Sweep

-Mop

-Monthly Task

Monthly tasks**:

Wash Walls
Clean out fridge and Microwave
Clean/ Tidy Hall closets
Clean Game room

**For the Monthly Tasks I do one a week.

IMG_20180629_130120270 — This is the current schedule I have hanging up but I think its in desperate need of a update!

There it is! My Cleaning Schedule! Do you have any questions? Would any of you be interested in a PDF Printout? Do you guys use a cleaning schedule? If so how is yours different? I’d love to hear from you! Please comment below and follow this blog so we can stick together for this crazy life! Have a great day and weekend and don’t forget to Live Crazed!

Organization: My Planner

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Hey all to another fine Wednesday!!

I am excited to share something with you guys today. I am super into being organized and though I haven’t always kept up with I’m very glad I’ve been doing more with it lately. It started with binders so I could work out all the details.

This worked great for a while, but then I start to slip.

It was becoming a hassle to have several different binders all with different information. Having to look through several binders to find the things I need for the week. That is when I started looking for a planner. I needed a place to keep all my nicely organized information in an easily accessible place.

So the hunt began.

It was super hard to decide on one. There was so many different styles and sizes out there. I couldn’t decide how big of a planner I needed. I didn’t want too much space, but I was also afraid to have too little. Honestly it took me probably almost two weeks to decide. I kept going back and forth between a larger one and the one I picked.

I really put a lot of pressure on myself to pick the right one. I tend to think that a lot of decisions are going to make or break my efforts. This may seem silly to some, but its very real for me. I really feel like it’s the tools you use that really decide whether or not the job gets done.

Then I found it!!

I love the layout, its not very big but its not tiny either. To check it out you can find it Here. It’s been working out really well. Though next time I may go for the bigger planner. I sometimes run out of room, for everything I want to put in there. I like to plan out my day a bit. This way if I follow it I have some tiny victories to celebrate throughout the day.

Also in my planner I have my upcoming blog posts for the days I want to post them. I add the bills we have on the days they are to be paid. I put in the dinners we have planned in for each day as well. These are all the things that I add to my planner before the beginning of the month. I don’t like to start the month not knowing what’s going on. With two small boys and trying to get my blog off the ground, I don’t have the time to go blindly into the weeks ahead.
I am a HUGE fan of stamps and stickers, they are a really easy way to add some color and textures to the weekly view. I also love adding motivational quotes through out my planner including my Logo! Woot! One of my favorite parts of setting up my planner is looking for new motivation. It really gets me excited for the upcoming month.

Check out these fun Stamps and Stickers!

-Essential Planner Stamps

-Awesome Stickers!

Not everything goes according to plan.

Which really is fine, I more am interested in having some sort of plan in place. This way I at least have something to follow along with on days that I am struggling. Also with dinners planned we’ve been able to cut back on our grocery bill. It’s also been nice to sit down with my husband and figure out our month.
I also plan things to do for myself. This way I know what to expect and I know when I need to make time for myself, otherwise I just get kind of caught up in life. Taking the time of myself is very important. I spend so much time taking care of everyone else and keeping the house together I forget to spend time on myself. When I do I always feel better and more like I’m a present and important part of my life.

And there it is! The glue that holds my months and days together. Without my planner I’d be lost. Do any of you guys keep a planner? What do you think is essential for your planning needs? Please let me know and follow so you can keep up to date. And don’t forget to always Live Crazed!

DIY: Positive Mindset

Good Morning Happy Friday all!

Especially those that actually feel a difference on the weekend! I like Fridays because I know it means that I don’t have to make dinner. HAHA! Sad but true. Its all about enjoying the little things right?
Anyway Moving on todays DIY, as I’m sure you figured out from the title, is about having a positive mindset. Most people it seems don’t just automatically have a positive mindset, Its something they have to work on. This goes for me in a big way. It’s definitely something I’ve had to fight for. I’m very happy to say though that since working on it I have mostly good days with only a few bad days. Also those bad days only last one day!!
I would like to start by saying this does take time and you have to REALLY want it. This isn’t something you can half do. You’re either in or not. If you’re not it’s not going to work. And the only person you can blame is yourself. Most peoples problem is the fact that they are standing in their own way. If you can accept that and move on then you can do anything!! 2018-06-22_14.05.58

Let’s move forward!

I would like to talk about why I think it’s important to want a positive mindset or why not to have a negitive mindset. Having a negative attitude is like a black hole. Once you give in it all spirals. And I know from experience the hole can get pretty deep and take a lot of time to get out of. It definitely seemed like once I started thinking negatively every bad thing I didn’t like about myself or my life would come to the front of my brain. Those thoughts would consume me. And make more thoughts just like those.
My brain would come up with every detailed reason why I would never be able to accomplish anything. So why bother trying?
Well because this is my life! There’s no reason why we can’t have big dreams, and actually try to do something with them. Having a dream is great! But being positive or negative is what will decide if you act on it or regret not trying.
So how can we be positive?
I don’t know about you guys but I am super visual. If I’m trying to get into a new habit then I need visual reminders everywhere. I have motivational quotes hanging in my room, I have them all throughout my planner. One of my favorite parts of setting up my planner for the month is picking out motivational quotes to stick in my planner. It just really gets me pumped for the days ahead. It usually adds some nice color too! IMG_20180621_220858831_LL

The next important thing I want to touch on is to not forget yourself. It’s too easy to let yourself get lost in the craziness that is life. We all have responsibilities; people to look after, houses to maintain, goals to crush. For some reason thinking about all these things tends to make us forget our biggest responsibility, taking care of ourselves. When we forget to take care of ourselves and put ourselves first from time to time, life doesn’t really seem worth it.
Am I the only person who feels this way?
I’m not trying to say that you need to devote days or weeks to yourself, and forget everything else. Making sure that sometimes you are putting yourself first will definetely help you get more of your time, and be a big boost towards staying positive.
I know I know… you don’t have time for yourself right? How long do you sit there and think about all the things you would like to do? Uhhuhh. That’s precious time wasted right there.
Just do it! You have to cut the grass? Put a hair mask on before you head out. (I did that yesterday) Or before you start your daily chores. Doing things for yourself doesn’t have to interfere with your day to day life. There’s no reason why you can’t have a hair mask in or face mask on while you are doing things. Not only will you be doing something for yourself, but you will most likely get more benefits from what you do because you will probably have it on for more time than you normally would, if you were just putting it on and waiting.
It also could be as simple as playing your favorite music while cleaning or folding the laundry. That always gives me a boost if I feel I’m starting to slip to the negative place. That and coffee. Oh Coffee how you make my world go round.
Yes there should absolutely be some time that you fully carve out for yourself. Things like doing your nails or shaping your eyebrows, can’t really be multi-tasked. Well other than doing those while binge watching Netflix.
When you have kids its true that most of that has to try and be accomplished after they go to bed. So the goal of that should be for one day a week that either your significant other puts them to bed. Or you have an earlier bed time one night a week. It can be done! I have another post that goes into more detail about taking time for yourself. You can check out here.
I also feel like centering yourself both in the morning and at night is extremely helpful. I almost want to call it meditating but I don’t usually give it that much time. Usually just like 5 minutes. In the morning if I don’t wake up before my boys then I usually do this while I’m waiting for my hot water to boil for my coffee. I pretty much just prepare my mind for the day. I tell myself things like: “I will take a step back, I wont just react,” and “today will be a good day, there might be rough parts, but they wont last,” “I can do this, I may not get everything done on my list and that’s ok.” Maybe this seems silly but its important to me to remember my goals for the day. I usually end up repeating these throughout the day as well.

back view beach clouds dawn — Photo by Riccardo Bresciani on Pexels.com

At night its right before I lay down to go to bed. I make sure my alarm is set and I put my phone down out of sight. Then I just think about the day, what I wish I could change, what I did well with, forgiving myself for what went wrong or didn’t get done. It’s my way of ending the day, and letting it go, so that I can start the next with a fresh mind and a clear head. This usually helps me get to sleep easier. It doesn’t always work, usually because I pick my phone back up, but mostly it helps.
There we have it! Keeping a positive mindset! What do you do to stay positive? Do you have troubles getting sucked into the negative black hole? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please follow to stay up to date on all the Crazy! Going to work on a new recipe over the weekend! As always Live Crazed!

Keto: Quick and Simple Snacks

Good Morning! Here we are starting yet another Monday.

I don’t know about you, but over the weekend all I wanted was snacks. To just go through my days munching on things. This actually happens to me ALL the time. I just love snacking. I feel like I’m always on the move, so having something I can munch on over a period of time just sounds amazing. This was definitely a HUGE problem for me before I started Keto, and I’m sure it was part of the reason I had such a hard time losing weight. One of the many pieces of a puzzle.
After starting Keto its definitely been a lot better, there are still days though where the snack attack is real. It did take me a while to find some keto snacks that were quick enough for my level of busy/ laziness. There are some times where I’m willing to take more than a few minutes but not usually.

So lets get started.

We will start with my favorite no prep. Peanut Butter!! Specifically Smuckers Chunky Peanut Butter, or Creamy is really tasty too. This is almost always my go to snack. It may not be the best choice but its probably my favorite. It is a higher calorie choice so it’s not always good that it is my go to snack. It never disappoints and is filling. I do have it a few different ways. Measured out With celery is probably the healthiest option, so it is the one I try to go for. I actually find it pretty filling which is good because of the high calories in the Peanut Butter. IMG_20180607_190813_770
I also like to have a quick spoonful here and there. This is pretty dangerous because it will not be accurate with tracking amounts but in a pinch it’s a great quick snack. If I’m craving a sweeter snack my peanut butter fix is to take a serving ( 2tbs) of PB and add a sprinkle of Lily’s chocolate chips to it. If I had to guess I’d say about 20 chips (60 is a serving.)

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I used to scoop a bite of PB with a square of a 85% chocolate bar. This was is dangerous in the same way as using a spoon. Its not easily track able and also it seems like such a little harmless treat that you could just not track it. This is not a good practice. PB and chocolate both have calories and carbs so if you don’t track these treats you can easily go over. This can cause weight loss stalls and bump you out of ketosis.
The other no prep snack that I really like are pork rinds. BBQ is definitely my favorite. I have tried to stop having these as much however because I seem to always have too many. They are just so crunchy and salty that its very hard to stop eating them. Even though they are a zero carb snack they can still cause you to get your protein up to high, quickly.
This also goes with Nuts. They are a wonderful quick, filling and tasty snack. But they can quickly get your calories, protein and carbs up. When traveling though nuts are a readily available snack. I actually had a good find over this weekend. I went to my in-laws without any snacks. Very unlike me because I usually like to be prepared. On a quick trip to the dollar general I found a nut mix with pistachios!! I probably over did it snacking on those, but it was super delicious.

The next quick snack I like is crisps. There are three different kinds of crisps that I like to make. The fastest would be either pepperoni or salami crisps. I prefer to use the bigger slices over like the pizza topping sized slices. To make them into crisps I just put them between paper towels and stick them in the microwave for 40-60 seconds. After 30-40 seconds I usually check them and flip them, sometimes switching out the paper towels. Then adding more time to reach my desired level of crispiness.

Before

After 50 seconds

The third type of crisp is cheese crisps. These do take 15-20 minutes but you can make larger batches. they could be prepped for the week or just make some extras when you decide you want some. My personal go-to way to make them is using pre-sliced cheddar cheese. You can break one slice into 4 pieces, making 4 crisps. Also this way, vs using shredded cheese, they tend to cook more evenly.

When making the crisp you can simply break up the slices lay them on parchment paper on a pan and pop it into the oven. I usually go with a oven temp of 350, because that’s what it is auto on. Lately though I’ve been adding just a little seasoning to mine, and I’ve got to tell you its amazing. I have been going for a little sprinkle of Lawry salt and/or garlic. Super simple but it makes a big difference. Soon I might try some taco seasoning or ranch mix. If you tend to like spice crushed red peppers or cayenne pepper would be very tasty. And best of all Toddler Approved!

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There it is. My group of little to no effort snacks. Have you tried any of these? What is your go-to when you’re having a snack attack? I would love to hear from you! Follow this blog to stay up to date on all the craziness! You can also find links to my social media accounts in the sidebar! I hope to see you around and don’t forget to Live Crazed!

Fun and Messy Painting

Hey all! Welcome to June!

I have a fun project to share with you today. The nice weather has me wanting to try some fun projects with the boys. My boys are 4 and 2 they are so wild and full of energy. They definitely have to be kept busy. Anyone with high energy kids will know the struggle. You run out of things to do to keep them occupied. Well here’s an idea that is messy, fun and not too bad of a clean-up.

I’m so glad that the weather has been nicer. Winter is the worst. My boys do not do well being locked up indoors for months on end. We always run out of things to do when we’re stuck inside. As soon as its nice out we are out the door. We like to go to every park we can walk to when my husband has the vehicle. On weekends we drive to the big parks. One of the best things about living on a military base, right now is the fact that we can walk to a splash park. Which is truly amazing on these hot days. There isn’t a ton of stuff to do there but its enough for my little guys and that’s good enough for me.

Another thing about living on post is the fact that we have an enclosed back yard. While its not very big there’s enough room for a small swing set, a sand box and still have a little room to run. There’s also a patio, and I love to sit at the table to write, while the boys run around.

Ok well lets get to the project! Painting with squirt guns!

It was really a lot of fun. Of course they both squirted each other, they at least they worked on their paintings first. Crazy boys. This is actually a super simple project and just about self explanatory. I’m going to share what I did and what id change for next time, and of course how they cam out!

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I got two big sheets of foam board, and a pack of little squirt guns. I already had paint at home. Its very important to note that it is washable paint I used. Small boys are not to be trusted with permanent paint. I used 4 colors in 4 squirt guns. Getting the paint into the squirt guns was very messy. The paint bottles I have, had a small opening so that helped, but still messy. I also added just a little water, to make sure that the paint wasn’t too thick and it would jam the guns. Not so much though that the colors wouldn’t be bright.

After that it was just a matter of setting the boards up outside and letting them do their thing. It really came out very well, and the boys had lots of fun. Although they probably had more fun squirting each other than the boards. Boys will be boys. Things that I would change: getting actual canvas instead of foam board would be the first thing I change. The foam board ended up warping a little bit. Now that they’re dried I will probably be able to flatten them back out some. With canvas there wouldn’t be any warping.

The next thing would be to use a funnel or put the paint into a squirt bottle the ketchup and mustard shaped ones. This would make it much easier to get it into the squirt guns. Also having a set of 4 for each boy would have been a lot more fun for them. Setting up two canvas for each boy would be a lot more fun as well. Having one board went by very quickly. I’ve seen people use tape to make letters or shapes before painting a canvas and trying that out next time would be really fun as well.

There it is! A fun warm weather project to do with kids! What do you guys think? Have you tried something like this before? What did you do differently? I would love to hear from you! Also please follow my blog and as always Live Crazed!