Confessions of a CEO

I am a CEO.  I manage the personal schedules, finances, needs and lives of twelve people.  (Well, almost twelve.  My husband manages his own--most of the time.)

For me, like any other CEO, it’s all about the numbers.

Yesterday I did 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, read 26 verses of scripture, made breakfast for ten people, packed six lunches, sent eight people out the door, washed one batch of dishes, did three loads of laundry, read a story to two preschoolers, and freshened up five bathrooms--all before 10am! Those sound like pretty good stats to me.

I then drove to the store and spent exactly 50% of my monthly grocery budget on 45 meals. I saved $12 buying non-brand products, and $10 of next month’s grocery money buying butter on sale. (Did I mark that in the notebook?)  I also set aside cash for two weeks of piano lessons and tumbling fees (due tomorrow).

Painting Pinecones

Are you tired of the winter blues?

I found this great idea online last week, and tried it with my artsy 10-year-old daughter. Voila! In one afternoon we had turned our Christmas pinecones into Spring zinnias!

Here are pics and a link to the original idea:

My mom and preschooler joined in the fun, too.

That was quick, easy, fun, and made our whole winter day brighter!

Here's the link:

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2015/04/lets-make-zinnia-flowers-from-pine-cones.html

Lotsa Lunches

Here's a quick homemaking tip:

Pack ALL of the lunches in the morning when you make breakfast.  It doesn't take long to fix sandwiches, bag carrots, and put apples and cookies into nine bags.  I pack for all of my children, including those who are at home during the day.  Then, when lunchtime rolls around, I don't have to stop to make another meal.  Just have the toddlers and preschoolers grab their boxes, sit down, and eat!  Hooray!