Spring Break Body Ready?

Oh no! I just looked at the calendar and according to my calculations, we have roughly 60 days to get bikini ready for Spring Break '13! What the wha???

Maria Kang has 3 boys and looks like a MILLION BUCKS!

I know, I know. We're moms. BUT, I for one, would like to feel good about my body by Spring Break. Because, let's face it, Summer is right around the corner once Spring Break hits. Especially in TX! Shoot... it feels like Spring here already (at least today - I am SO glad the rain is gone)!

I never really make "resolutions" anymore. One reason is that if I don't stick with it even for one day, I feel like a loser. And should I really wait 363 days to start over? NO. The point of resolutions is to change yourself. So, I make goals instead.

One of my goals is to be up with the kids by 6:10am. I've been doing it every morning, happily. But, yesterday I got up and was up for about 20 mins and then climbed on the couch and went back to sleep. I had a headache from I don't know where and it was KILLER. My head hurt ALL day long. And today, my alarm didn't go off. My phone somehow turned itself off in the middle of the night, even though it was fully charged. Go figure! I have THE worst luck with phones. Anyway... what if I just gave up already? That would totally suck. So, I'm back at it tomorrow.

Man, I am really good at getting off topic, right?

Back to Spring Break. So, one of my goals is to be more active. Notice I wrote be more active. Not "go to the gym every day", not "run three miles every morning or night", not "excercise exercise for an hour every day". {I've been spelling exercise wrong for YEARS. Since when is there no C after X??} I want to be more active. Whether it's playing soccer with the kids, riding bikes, going for a three-mile walk, rock climbing, swimming, whatever I feel like doing, just doing SOMETHING more often than not. That seems WAY easy right? Much easier and more enjoyable than stuffing my face over Christmas break to working out every day. I hope to get there eventually, but it won't happen over night.

I also want to eat healthier. Lots more fruits and vegetables - fresh, not canned. I love both, but I seem to catch myself in a rut. I never know what to make with them and I am really bad at snacking on healthy foods. I don't feel like they fill me up.

Source

Today I went to the grocery store with a mission to buy more fruits and vegetables and I caught myself just standing int he middle of the store. Like.... duh..... what am I even doing here? I didn't know where to start. I wanted it all... and yet, none of it at the same time because I don't know how to incorporate spaghetti squash and cauliflower {I just realized I wasn't sure how to spell cauliflower either} into my every day meals. I decided to start small. I bought some lemons (to make a detox tea or smoothie), blueberries (I know those have antioxidants), spinach, bananas, apples, and carrots. I know what to do with all those things. In the meantime, I will be doing a lot of research on what else I can slide into our family meals.

How are you making changes in the new year?

Great Get Fit Site

I'm Sorry Teachers!

Today is the day! I've been looking forward to this day since about Friday!

It's time for the kids [and the hubster] to GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

See... I'm not the only one that's ecstatic!

This mom dances to Kool and the Gang's CELEBRATE every August when her kids get back on the bus. LOL!

Anywho - To all the teachers that have to deal with our "after break" lunatics that are sure to be super chatty today, I am SORRY!

I know you all work SUPER hard and put up with a lot of crap from students, parents, and administrators alike. Thank you, thank you for ALL that you do!

Save Money: Expect the Unexpected.

Many days I have trouble finding a topic to talk to you guys about. There are only so many ways to save money, right? WRONG! 

Here is the #1 way you can save MONEY! Are you ready? I mean, really ready? Are you sitting down?

Here we go.

Pay your bills on time. Yep. That's it. Seems easy enough. When you're late on your phone bill, what happens? Late charge. When you're late on your water bill, what happens? Late charge. When you're late on your electric bill, what happens? Late charge. And so on and so on. Last month, I had a "blonde" moment (or more) and calculated all my bills - but I forgot to pay them! Can you believe that? I forgot the water bill and the electric bill, so, that was well over $20 out of my budget that I wasn't planning on. What a BUMMER! Also, *MAKE SURE YOUR VEHICLE INSURANCE IS THE FIRST BILL YOU PUT ON AUTOMATIC DRAFT* because you NEVER want to have a lapse in insurance. You will pay severely by not having insurance if you get stopped. 1.) Ticket. 2.) Towed vehicle 3.) Possibly higher insurance rate. And if you get in an accident and unknowingly let your insurance lapse, you will feel like the World stopped turning long enough just to poop on your head! Don't let this happen to you!

The next "no brainer": Don't be in debt! Not to school, not to a car, not to your parents, not to the bank, not on your mortgage. Total up all the money in interest you pay every month and times that by how long you think it will take you to pay it off. SHOCKING RIGHT?! It's insane that society considers it normal to pay that much in wasted money every month. 

My good friend, Dave Ramsey, knows what's going on in the way of debt payoff. But here's the thing: Paying off debt is SO hard! So, as Dave says, start small. Start with your smallest debt and pay that off as fast as you can. Then move on to the next. I'll let Dave be the debt payoff expert, but definitely make this a priority and a goal! It's totally worth the peace of mind. I'll just be your cheerleader. YAY!! And you can be mine!

Okay. On to the expecting the unexpected. MAKE AN EMERGENCY SAVINGS FUND. Next to paying your bills on time, this is probably the most important step for saving money in the long run. If nothing else, this will put your mind at ease when an emergency comes up, like, an ER trip, or a vehicle that stops running. Mine was completely wiped out last week, but we'll get it back soon. I do feel good that I don't have that hovering over my head as debt but rather as just a blip on my radar. 

Okay, that's enough ramblings for the evening. Good luck! 

Happy Emergency Fund!

Laundry day!

So, since the blog has been reborn, I decided to repost this post. It's a great reminder for me, too, since I've felt like the last few months, my life has been uber discombobulated! 

Something my husband taught me (maybe he should be writing this blog...... ha!) was that picking one specific laundry day is the key to a happy household. You can pick any day of the week you like. Some of us are extremely busy on Mondays, for some it may be Saturdays. Pick a day that can be dedicated mostly to laundry - heck, you might as well clean in between cycles, too. If you're busy all week and Saturday and Sunday are packed with responsibilities, too, try Sunday evening after the kids go to bed. The only downfall with this plan - the kids can't fold and put away their own laundry. Some moms have more children than others and won't be able to get it all done in one day... that's ok. Keep it to as few days as possible. I think two would be enough - unless you're the Duggars. Enlist your children to help! They can sort, unfold, put clothes in the washer, move them to the dryer, and older kids can fold and put away. Isn't that why we had kids in the first place? 

We usually do all our laundry on Saturday OR Sunday depending on how our weekend plans look. 

Now here's why it's key to designate laundry to one day of the week:
1.) You don't feel like you're doing it 24/7/365!
2.) It keeps your other 6 days freed up for more important things like blogging and lunch dates (in my imaginary, perfect world). 
3.) You feel a sense of accomplishment after it's all done and put away - rather than it looming over your head all week with a load or two a day.
4.) Most importantly, it saves water and energy. You're not trying to find all 6 dirty articles of clothing around the house to wash one shirt or your favorite pair of jeans. Keeping laundry to one day a week ensures full loads and less time wasted messing with them. 

Happy laundry day!

What's In A Name?

I had a friend ask me not long ago, "What's a momager?"

 Have you ever watch E! ? Momager is a blended word of mom and manager. Think: Kris Kardashian to her $65 mil empire of Kardashian kids + a few Jenners mixed in. No, I'm not a momager of a family raking in $65 mil a year, but I am the momager of my house and family. Darn the luck! :) 

My blog name came from trying to find a way to say I'm a mom, who manages my household, who doesn't just want to post about coupons and deals and instead about how to run an efficient household, be a good mom and wife, and be a girlie girl all at the same time. I miss my sexy and I'm working on bringing that back, too! I have a lot of work to do, but I know that with your support, I can do it! And so can you! We can learn together. 

Happy momaging!

The Home Momager is on Twitter!

Hey friends!

One of my goals in 2013 is to be a better blogger. I've started off on the right foot, but I need your help! If you feel so inclined, please follow me on Twitter!

You can follow me here @TheHomeMomager.

I hope you all look forward to the exciting posts to come in 2013, too!

THANKS FRIENDS!!!!

The Holidays Are Over... Now What?

Can you believe 2012 is gone? Where did it go? The year went by SO fast!! I say that every year, but seriously. It seems like it went at warp speed this year.

Today, we're putting all our decorations away, cleaning up from our new year's eve party (finally), doing laundry, and just generally putting our lives back together after the holidays. We had a wonderful holiday season with our friends and family and I hate to see it go, but I am very excited to get back to a routine, home cooking, and finishing organizing our new home.

I am going to make this sauce to go over my burritos tonight: Food Pusher

Our BIG goal for the week is to get our other house on the market. Next week CANNOT start without there being a for sale sign in the yard. Seriously. It's taking entirely too long to get that done. In our defense, (I know I keep saying it) we did have to virtually move TWO houses in this move. But, I digress. It has to get done this week.

Something else I want to work on this week is starting on an area to grow a garden come Spring. I found this cool site on Pinterest called Smart Gardener. I can map out a garden, pick vegetables, herbs, fruits, and more that will do well in my zip code. That's great for me, since I live in such a hot, drought-prone area. I can filter my results to exclude plants that aren't heat tolerant and drought tolerant. How perfect is that??

Dream Garden: This Chick Cooks

My plan so far is some sweet potatoes, corn, and tomatoes. I am thinking about bay leaves and culantro, too (apparently it's a lot like cilantro, but less fragile). See! I've even learned something.

My plan is to have my garden ready for planting by the first week of March. I'm really excited! I think it will be something fun for me and the kids to experience together. I love watching gardens grow! It fascinates me to no end.

So what are you working on this week? Are you back to work? Back to the grind at home?