Math…and Dishes…. Dishes Math

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 tcowieLeave a comment

Dishes Math

Dana K. White are I are best friends. She doesn’t know that. In fact, we have never met. I discovered her podcast when a friend mentioned it to me. I LOVE systems. I LOVE plans. I HATE cleaning my house. I am the queen of spending 2 hours planning how to get and keep my house clean and then running out of energy before I even start.

I have listened to several different cleaning and organizing gurus and mapped out my whole house. Dividing it into zones, days, charts, lists, etc. But at the end of the day, my house was a mess and I was exhausted.

The systems and charts just weren’t working and I was left feeling like a failure. Until I found Dana. She has a podcast called “A Slob Comes Clean”. The title alone is a little scary. Was I really a slob? Not a title anyone wants to have. But– her way of motivating me and teaching me about how to clean and declutter my house made sense to me.

One of the things she talks about is dishes math. I timed myself today. 22 minutes. 22 minutes is all it took for me to do the dishes from yesterday because I did all of my dishes yesterday too. Dishes math is not a sum. It’s a product. The time it takes to do the dishes multiplies as the days go by. If one day takes me 22 minutes, I always thought 2 days would take me 44. Made sense to me, right? But it doesn’t.

I wondered why it was SO hard to keep on top of my housework. I would wait 2-3 days to do the dishes because I was tired. I wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t feel like it. 22 minutes is all it would have taken to keep on top of things. But– if I waited until day 2? It takes me at least an hour. Day 3? Almost 2 hours– and I am usually trying to wash them while making dinner because I realized we don’t have enough plates to feed everyone.

So every time I don’t feel like doing the dishes, I remind myself of dishes math. I remind myself that I will spend LESS time over the course of the week if I just do the dishes!

Check out her blog below!

https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/

decluttering

Decluttering My Life

November 2, 2021November 2, 2021 tcowieLeave a comment

Getting Rid of Excess

Learning that less is more

When I quit my job as an Employee Health Nurse, I assumed I would go from one job to another. There are hundreds of job openings, so getting another job shouldn’t be that hard….

But, God had other plans.

I am the type of person and will go with the flow of just about any plan– but I want to know what the plan is. I knew God was giving me permission to leave my job. It was VERY stressful and grew into a toxic work environment. I was bringing that stress home and it wasn’t fair to my family or myself. I need to get rid of it. I am very thankful to be in a position where I knew we could live on one income. We had done it for 7+ years before. We could do it again if we needed to.

What did I want to do with my life? Did I still want to be a nurse? I wasn’t sure. I am still not sure. I enjoyed having my own office at work. I enjoyed working with the spreadsheets I used to track everything. I loved being organized. And I was. At work. At home, my life was a mess. I never knew where anything was. The laundry and dishes were a never-ending monster I just couldn’t get on top of. I was a terrible housekeeper. Or was I??

What I have learned is that a good majority of my problem was that I was trying to do too much. I had too much to manage. Schedules, work, things, people. We are not made to do it all! This reminds us that we are not God. We need him and we need someone to constantly clean up the messes we make in our lives.

I have begun to try and get rid of excess in my life. Excess commitments, excess things, excess stress. Getting rid of excess has allowed me to begin to focus on what God has for me. What God wants for me. He wants me to take time every day with him. To read and listen to his Word. To spend time in prayer. When we have every minute of our day filled with commitments and things, it is easy to drown Him out!

I have been going through my house, room-by-room, getting rid of excess. Making my home a beautiful place that brings rest and peace, instead of chaos and clutter. I have listened to hours of the podcast by Dana K. White called “A slob comes clean”. She has taught me powerful insights on how to manage your home without losing your mind. (Which is the title of one of her books and it can be found on Amazon).

kids

Who am I now?

October 31, 2021November 2, 2021 tcowieLeave a comment

Who am I now?

My Journey of Identity

A lot has changed since my last post. Actually, I had forgotten for a long while that I even had a blog. Clearly, I am not a writer, or a blogger, or an author. Who am I now?

That feels like a trick question. I am not really sure. I am recently quit my job as a nurse– and not really sure I still want to be one. I AM a wife, a mother, and a child of God. I find myself thinking “that’s it” at the end of that last sentence. I am a wife, a mother, and a child of God. That’s it. But….. isn’t that wrong thinking?? THAT’S IT??? Those three things are HUGE! I am a child of God. He has given me a purpose. He has given me a mission. To be the best wife I can be and to raise my four humans to love the Lord and become amazing, awesome adults.

One of them is almost there. I have spent this past year realizing that I am experiencing a lot of lasts. His last first day of school, his last cross country meet, his last prom, his last homecoming, his last Parent’s Day at school, last, last, last. But– we are on the cusp of many firsts, too! He is growing to be an amazing young man and I am so very proud of him! Because I have been given the chance to lose my identity as a working-mom nurse, I have been able to enjoy these moments more freely– and for that I am thankful!

I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Right now, I am decluttering like crazy my entire house. 60+ garbages to donate and a trailer full of garbage. I didn’t even know we had that much we could part with! But– alas, there is much more I could do! Re-inventing– or maybe rediscovering who I am and what that looks like for me and my family.

Need help decluttering?? I’m becoming quite the pro! Give me a call– I’ve got the time to help!

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Cowie photography

July 7, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

My boys have decided that they like to take pictures of nature. Mostly clouds, storms, and landscapes. I decided this would be a good way to feature some of their work!

I love their pictures.

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Homeschool Plans Change

March 19, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

I think a lot of homeschool parents spend as much time planning what they are going to teach as they do teaching it.

I plan. Then I change my mind. Then I plan something different. Then I change my mind again.

I buy calendars like this one on clearance for $1.00. Plan out my whole year a bazillion times then do something different all together. I plan out each subject for each kid. Then we do something else.

This is our last year of attending a homeschool co-op called Classical Conversations. We have been in it for two years. I am thankful for my time there for a few reasons but glad to be done. We have made many friends and I have learned a lot about myself and my homeschool style.

When we decided to leave, I decided to partner with a few friends to start a different co-op using Claritas as our core memory work. If you have never checked it out– do it!

Www.claritas-publishing.com

It is beautiful. I was truly looking forward to the new co-op being a better fit for my family and our current needs.

But– something in my spirit just didn’t feel right. If things go as planned (though they never do) this is my last year to homeschool my second oldest boy. My oldest started in a charter this year and my second son would like to follow suit.

I want rest. I want scholè. I want a restful year to enjoy time with my kids enjoying beautiful things. I have been listening to Sarah MacKenzie’s book Teaching From Rest on Audible. It is worth it to read or listen to it.

God is speaking to me. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10.

Next year? We will rest in the knowledge of God. We will rest from the frenzied pace and rigor of CC. We will learn together and hopefully grow closer to Him in the process.

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Indoor Winter Fun

March 5, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

What do you do when it is cold outside and the kids are going stir crazy inside?

The months of January and February seem to be the hardest months for me. We homeschool. We live in Ohio. Winter means we don’t leave the house much.

We have to be creative to think of things that don’t break the bank and entertain kids in a range of ages.

Activity #1: BUBBLES

1 cup water

1 T glycerin

1 T corn syrup

2 T Dawn dish soap

A pair of cotton cheap winter gloves and you have the ability to hold bubbles! The big boys had fun bouncing the bubble back and forth between them.

Activity #2: INDOOR ICE SKATING

We have a indoor rink about 45 minutes from our house that offers discounts to homeschoolers. Be sure to check your local area for specials! Also, local YMCAs often have discounted programs that you can take advantage of.

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Homeschool Help for Highschool

March 5, 2019 tcowie2 Comments

We have been a part of Classical Conversations which is a national for-profit Homeschool co-op. My oldest son was in the level called Challenge 1. The scope and sequence for this level is impressive. I looked through the guide and LOVED how much my son would learn this year.

Until he didn’t. 🤦‍♀️

He was diagnosed with ADD/ inattentive type. This basically means he has major difficulty focusing and memorizing things. He has always struggled in this area but because we homeschool, we have always managed to make it work.

Being in this co-op he was DROWNING. And so was I. We were both overwhelmed. We, along with his counselor, decided it was in his best interest to quit the co-op. That was hard. I felt like we failed. He felt like he failed.

Enter: ➡️ True North Homeschool Academy. I am part of a great Facebook page where like-minded moms come together and share. Well, I just happen to log on at the right time to see the head of True North post that they are looking for someone to enroll their child in Civics for free in exchange for an honest review.

https://truenorthhomeschoolacademy.com/

History and government have always been subjects that my son was interested in. He has never taken an online class before though so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Here we are, about half way through. They do their classes on ZOOM platform. They meet for a live class once a week for an hour to hour and half. He then emails the video recording of the class so the students can review them as many times as they need to. He also emails homework assignments. None of them have been easy but none of them have impossible.

This has been so good for my boy. He hasn’t felt defeated but he has had to work for his grade. The teacher is very professional while still being personal. My son would describe him as “pretty cool”. That’s huge– if you have ever been around a teen boy, they don’t tend to say anyone older than 25 is cool.

I am SO THANKFUL for this course, and to Lisa for offering it to us. I probably would not have enrolled him in something like this because I am nervous to spend any money on something that I don’t know if he will like. I am SO GLAD we did this. Not only does it open a world for homeschool help. For him. For me.

I highly recommend checking out their website. Check out all they offer. They have courses for all grade levels.

It’s okay to say you cannot do it all alone. It’s okay to outsource some of the classes. My kid has really enjoyed the other kids on his class as well as his teacher. This momma has enjoyed having one less subject to teach. 🙂

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Too many directions

February 12, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

Do you ever feel like you are being pulled in too many directions at once? That is me. Everyday.

And I do it to my kids, too. I have good intentions. I want them to learn so many good and beautiful things. And I expect them to do it with vigor and enthusiasm. But they don’t. It is stressing us all out. I want them to have the best, well-rounded education possible. I want them to study poetry, Shakespeare, cursive writing, history, logic, science, Latin, English grammar, geography, memory work, hymns, scripture, writing, math, great literature, and the list goes on. It’s unreasonable. And I end every day like we failed because we didn’t get as much accomplished as I wanted.

On top of school, I want my house to be clean, dishes and laundry to be done. I want a full farm of animals which are well cared for and a large garden. I also work part-time outside the home and love my job. I wish I could work more. I also tutor at a local co-op and am on the planning committee for a new one for next year. I lead our Wednesday night program at our church for the kids and plan outreach programs. I want to do more. I want to be a good mom, wife, and friend.

But I cannot. I cannot do it all. Why do we feel like we need to be wonder-woman? Why do we feel like we need to accomplish everything that would not even be possible to do if I doubled the number of hours in my day?

Prioritize. I need to learn to prioritize. What is MOST important to get done in my day TODAY? What is the most important thing my children are learning TODAY? Yes, I need to have a plan. I need to have balance. But, today my kids learned that mama is crazy. Today my kids learned I have a breaking point. Today, my kids learned that if they stay busy, and away from mom, their lives will be easier. Is that what I really want them learning?????

Rest. I need to learn to rest. Not laying in bed, resting. But resting in the fact that GODS GOT THIS. I don’t. I cannot do enough. I cannot do it all. I need to RELY on the One who made me. Who made the sun, moon, and stars. I am responsible to be obedient to Him. He is responsible for the outcome. STOP. RUNNING. CRAZY! I am not doing any good trying to ‘fit it all in’. Stop. Rest. Breathe. Pray. And then keep going. One step at a time. One thing at a time. Just focus on the most important thing for that moment.

recipe

Fish! It’s what’s for dinner.

January 25, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

My step-dad lives to fish. He loves it even more when he has someone to fish with that he can show them the ropes. My hubby has become that person for him.

Tonight we get to reap the benefits of this partnership!

Lake Erie Perch

Beer batter

2 c flour

2 T season salt

1 t pepper

1 can cheap beer (we used Keystone).

Fry until golden brown.

This was a crowd pleaser in my family. Even my very picky kid loved it!

We also made homemade French fries and tarter sauce for the fish.

Tarter Sauce

1 cup of mayonnaise

2 dill pickles finely chopped

1 T lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

homeschool

Symposium

January 23, 2019 tcowieLeave a comment

I am constantly re-evaluating our school schedule. As soon as I think I have something that works for us, something changes. Be it our schedule outside of school, our attitudes, or our lesson plans – it changes constantly. I went to a friend to see what works for them, hoping to glean something that may help our family.

Enter: Symposium. This family took time (mostly) everyday to gather as a family and think on and discuss good things. You know– the things we all say we want to do but get so busy checking boxes that we never get to….

Bible reading, family read aloud, poetry, art, music, hymn study…..

We have been making a conscious effort to gather everyday (sometimes at lunch) to do this. Our schedule is flexible but we have been doing better than none at all!

The rotating schedule was an idea from the book “Teaching From Rest” by Sarah MacKenzie. Grab a copy! It is a great book! I listened to it on Audible while I washed dishes.

We are creatures of habit. Try to make them good ones!!