more JBS Be Our Guest

hey y'all! happy tuesday! today i have another peek at the jenni bowlin "be our guest" line. for more info, check out the inspiration blog!

 

I love these sweet new bow and ribbon embellishments. they remind me of vintage cupcake toppers. know what i'm talking about? anyway, i LOVE them.

sidenote: my camera's battery is kaput so  I used my iphone to take these photos. i'm SO impressed with the way they turned out!

another sidenote: i'm feeling so overwhelmed/in over my head with housework lately. i told jimmy...it's like an avalanche. i feel like i spend (waste???) so much time cleaning and organizing...and by the time i turn around it's all undone.

do any of you feel the same way?? it drives me nuts.

i just bought and downloaded a motivated moms chore planner for the 2nd year in a row. i love the way it breaks chores down into manageable bits. very helpful, as i get overwhelmed easily.

i hope y'all have a beautiful, blessed day.

xxo

 

Comments

[Annie]

I totally understand and feel the exact sam way about housekeeping. I've decided that I'll do what I can without sacrificing time with my children. I don't believe that I have to have a show house.

Thanks for the link for Motivated Moms! I'm going to check that one out for sure. Hope you have a good day.

[kim smart]

i'm right there with ya on the overwhelmed thing and housecleaning! and i only have one child :O the best thing that works for me is to just take it one small task at a time! anyway, wanted to say how much i totally love this layout of sadie! it's perfect for her personality! what a great photo too! cherish all these special moments,(i know you do)as they really do grow up too fast! i should know, my "baby girl" is 18 and it really does seem just like yesterday that she was running around this house driving me crazy!! a good kind though :) have a great day, God bless!!

[Jennifer Camplin]

Fun layout...

Do one at a time what need be clean...
Be okay...

[Mary Ann]

Love this CUTE CUTE CUTE layout of Sadie. Just love it!
and housework is totally over-rated :)

[Liz]

I feel like I'm always cleaning, especially since we live in a relatively small apartment. If I don't keep up with organizing and putting stuff away, it gets out of hand quickly. I find it helps if I just do a little bit at a time. I set aside about 15 minutes after lunch to go through and pick up some stuff and then about 10 minutes before bed.

[Debbie]

i have this little 'tornado' named Jake that swoops in behind me and creates mass devastation!~

[Marlene]

Oh yes, especially this time of year when everyone is stuck inside!

[Leslie]

I would just like to say YES YES YES!!! about the chores. I just had a conversation crying with my BFF yesterday about this feeling I am going mad. For me it has gotten to the point it is so overwhelming I won't even go in my scraproom and it isnt even that dirty, I just sit stuff at the edge of the door. She told me to make a chart of stuff to do by day of the week... Monday - Kitchen, laundry Tuesday - bathrooms, dust... so on.. you get the point and put it in a picture frame and then you can dry erase "mark" it out as you go down your list each day. So you can see you are getting it done each week. Here is the link and it is AWESOME, she has girls too!!

http://www.ayummymommy.com/2011/01/2-simple-rules-to-keep-your-house-clean.html

[Helen]

I have two young children (4 and 1) and, even with a full time maid and nanny, find the house is a complete tip most of the time! Most times I don't worry about it - appreciating the mess because they'll be grown up all too soon - but sometimes it drives me crazy! I work from home and seem to get stressed about the mess when I'm stressed about work, LOL. I have found that tidying up after ourselves immediately is one way of keeping the house relatively mess-free - if you let it build up, it becomes overwhelming. Lovely lovely LO BTW - kudos for you to keep scrapping whilst looking after four children on your own - my scrapping is always the first thing that gets hit when we have a change in our routine (illness, school holidays etc). I don't know how you manage to scrap, honestly, with four littles! Would love to hear some tips! Uurgh, printing the photos, getting in the zone, finishing a LO before an interruption - it all seems impossible sometimes......

[Kirsten J]

Cutest little layout :) and yep, my kids are older than yours, but sometimes I feel like Cinderella. Literally, the other night we were going out with friends and I was cleaning all day, running late to get ready, just in case we should invite them to come in after dinner....while the kids played video games and my husband watched football....

[Candy]

I am willing to bet that everyone in your family will be happier if mom is happy and therefore I would strongly recommend finding a "helper" you can pay to do the laundry or vacuum or grocery shop... or whatever. :)

[Mary Jo]

Completely overwhelmed every day of my life!
No sooner do I have something cleaned then I turn around and it's a mess again.
But I say that is life with kids!
And you have two new babies, so I bet it's twice as tough :)
I love this quote by Phyllis Diller:
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing."
So true ;)

[Kristine S]

Love the idea put forth--i purchased and printed my own. My husband will have his own days of week too.

[Candace]

Great LO. Sums Sadie up perfectly.

Know exactly how you feel, single working Mom with two kids and not enough hours in the day. Constant chaos here and can't see it changing for a very long time.

Just don't stress over it. Friends understand and those that don't aren't really friends.

[Meghann]

Love this layout! Hang in there with the chores. Remember that it will never be perfect--and that's TOTALLY okay!

[Raquel]

I love the layout!! Sadie is such a beautiful little girl! I hope you feel better soon! Housework is never fun and nothing ever stays clean so don't be too hard on yourself! :)

[erin]

i love it, steph! funny...i woke up today, and said NO thanks to housework, chores or any DT work or anything related for cha.
i said YES to playing trains, riding bikes, art time and picnics with my youngest.

[Jenni Hufford]

oh how i ADORE this layout. love it to bits. the colors are so fun. Jordan is playing next to me and she saw the layout and pic of sadie and said, "OH THAT'S SO CUTE AND SHE'S JUST LIKE ME!" haaaaaaa!!!!!!

i can completely relate to the chores issue. when you are home all day (we are too) it's so easy for the house to get trashed quickly! i don't want to spend my days at home with them cleaning for goodness sakes, but i want a healthy balance. used to do flylady but can't handle the 403492 emails a day. so you like motivated moms? may need to check it out.

[Carrie D.]

What an adorable LO! LOVE JB's new line!! Yes, I still get overwhelmed by the house, but it does get easier as they get older. I'm blessed with a DD who loves to clean toilets...she will get on her hands and knees and scrub to her hearts content! BTW, I love the blog's new look!

[photogazelle@home]

Alright, you are an enabler. Yesterday I went and bought a bunch of SC stuff b/c of you ad today I bought this calendar. LOVE IT. But I might have to stop following you bc I'm spending way too much money! You are right, good pics with the phone and super cute layouts, as usual!

[samantha]

Nothing wrong with a housekeeper coming in once a week or every other! When I had the extra money it was the best!

[Jill]

I used to feel that way but then my kids went and got older one me (10, 12, 14). I will say that it's the season you're in so don't let it frustrate you AND don't underestimate H and S's abilities to help out. I started mine young (figured I was raising a roommate, spouse, etc. and they need to know how to clean so they don't annoy the other person).

[Ki Kruk]

Those dirty knee pics of Sadie are absolutely PRICELESS!!! Love the page too!

[Katherine]

Lovely page yet again.... I used the Motivated Moms checklist for the last half of last year - totally revolutionised my housework - loved it. Haven't got this year's checklist yet and really missing the organisation.

[caroline]

dont give yourself a hard time, and dont let anyone else do it either.

If comments are made you can comment right back that they probably arent looking after 4 kids and keeping up with housework either! Lets face it though, do you have those kind of judgy peeps around you?

Give yourself a well deserved daypass from stressing, allow yourself to do what is important to you and the rest will follow naturally when the time is right.

When you look back over the last few years do you think about the mess in the house or the fantastic memories you were building with Sadie and Harper in amongst all the mess??

[Lora Oliver]

I don't have children and I totally understand what you are saying! I love the bows and ribbon embellies too! They are so scrumptious, I want them now. That LO is off the charts adorable.

[tracy]

I had a paypal credit and figured what better way to spend the money than on this motivated mom chore chart! I even used the coupon code HAPPY and saved a $1. My husband may reinstate me if I can get this house in order.

[Stephanie Howell]

Thanks!! I have to admit Im confused why ppl are thinking that people around me are making comments! Its not that at all. I was just rambling about how keeping up a house is hard! If anything, Im the only person that really even cares. :)

Sent from my iPhone

[Jennifer]

your layout is absolutely gorgeous!! Love it!! I hear ya about being overwhelmed. I think you just have to focus on what is the most important and leave the rest for later... :)

[Tiffany]

I totally think you should hire someone to come in once a week and clean for you...you deserve it...you need it. Totally worth it.

[Wendy]

This biggest lesson I can pass on is to schedule jobs for different days. For instance, Monday in our house is laundry day - all day long! (I usually have a few small loads also scattered through the week.) Tuesday is catch up on the laundry day. Wednesday is cleaning day (I highly recommend buying some of the swifters for each of your older girls - they won't do really great for awhile, but soon they will catch on and then that is one less thing you have to accomplish. My older ones 7 & 8 now have competitions and I give a prize to the one with the cleanest rooms. I also spray pledge on the older ones swifters now. The 2 & 4 year olds have one too but no pledge.) Thursday is catch up day and Friday is either errands or fun day or whatever. My kids also have a schedule so they know what each day is and what jobs they should be doing. Everyday includes making beds, teeth, picking up clothes and toys. You will make it through this season! :)

[Kimber-Leigh]

i'm going to have to check out motivated moms. i was just feeling the sense of cleaning being overwhelming yesterday. put homeschooling on top of it and whew. thanks for the recommendation.

which version did you download?

[Stephanie Eaken]

Gorgeous layout! And I too know how you feel about the household chores. They can never been caught up on or finished! It's ongoing & I for one have decided to not stress over them anymore! Have a great night!!

[Cheri]

I use motivated moms too! I started abt half way through the year last year, but fell off the bandwagon pretty quick. This year I got the new app for my iPhone and I'm staying up with it better. I love it... Its like a second brain for me and I don't get so overwhelmed!

[Danielle Barton]

Could you afford to hire someone?? I found a girl who did my bathrooms & kitchen (deep cleaned) for $25 plus if she had time she'd dust and vacuum. I did this when I was overwhelmed w/ three kids in my early days of Foster parenting. we had a stipend that we set aside for babysitting and I used some of that because it was worth it to me! It was SOOOOOOO wonderful! I think if you found someone for a reasonable price you should try it! - YOU DESERVE IT!!!

[Natalie]

I feel the same way. When I was about 35 wks pg I broke down and paid someone to clean my house. She hassone it 3x now, and I plan to keep her coming for a few months hopefully. My sanity was worth it!!!

[MelanieJ]

LOVE your layout. It is so adorable! All JBS products make my heart all aflutter :)

As a mom of 5, I know how you are feeling. I used to get really stressed over how the house looked. But this past year (my youngest is 2) I decided to just let it go during the day. Sure I ask the kids to help put things away. And the kitchen table must always be cleared. At night we have a 10 minute clean up time where each child has a particular area they are responsible for. They also each have small jobs to do each day (make bed, put clothes away, etc.). After they are in bed, I spend about 20 minutes finishing cleaning up. Another thing that really helped keeping things cleaner is just getting rid of a bunch of things. My kids each have ten outfits in their closet for the season. They have some toys in their rooms but I keep a lot in storage in the garage and we rotate them every few months.

I have designated days in the week to clean different rooms in the house. This is more manageable for me than doing a particular chore (vacuum, dust, etc.) each day. Just thinking Oh I just have to clean the family room today doesn't overwhelm me.

It is a never-ending cycle. But I figure when all of my kids are in school full-time (in five years!) then I can spend more time in the day cleaning. But for now while they are home, I'd rather not worry too much about that during the day. But I do think they need to help and have little chores.

Good luck figuring out what works for you. Hang in there and just enjoy the time with your precious sweet girls :)

[Tricky Nag]

I hear you on the housework front. You work and tidy; they follow and make mess. I try to remember it's because they are not yet in school and to enjoy it. Once they are both in school I will undoubtedly miss the noise and mess.

[Jackee]

Adorable layout! Can I ask, what is CHA? I've seen it on other posts and I don't have a clue to what it is.

Cut yourself some slack mommy - Your daughters are beautiful, healthy and you girl, have your hands full!!! Housework can definetly wait. Your babies need you now, and you'll have time to clean up later.

[Kim]

Oh girl..YES, I do too! My girls are 8 and 3 and I am constantly cleaning up behind them AND hubby!! there are days that I look at it and go right into my scrapbook studio so I don't have to deal!

[Stephanie Howell]

here you go!!
https://www.chashow.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?webcode=dateshours

[Noelle]

I walked in the door from work yesterday, and my husband greeted me with "I'm hungry and the baby had another blow-out diaper on the way home. I left the poopy clothes on the bathroom floor for you so they wouldn't stink up her room." So like, he couldn't put them in the laundry room that already smells like the cat litterbox? I knew the baby'd had 3 blow out diapers earlier in the day at my parents' house. I ended up washing massive amounts of laundry, trying to wash tons of dishes, get things put away, and make lunches and pack the diaper bag for the next day. By 10pm I was in tears because I couldn't get it all done. I also was aching in every bone in my body. Sigh. Some days I just can't keep up...and I only have *1* baby!

[Deb]

That layout is gorgeous! You have to just do what you can each day - your children wil grow up so fast - mine are now 8 and 10! Definitely going to check out that link, think I need to get into some routine. I just turned around from here and my 8 year old, who has Asperger's, has chopped paper into a million tiny bits - aaarrrrggghhhh!!!!! Now she's playing with the lego. Just remember to breathe. Take care, Deb xx

[Lina]

We mothers are our worse enemies for always wanting to do it all, and if we clean we feel guilty for wasting or spending our time doing it rather than playing with our kids, we sort of think we are wonder-woman and can do it all but the harsh reality is that we cannot......I have 3 under the age of five and one more month of maternity leave before I go back to work full time, we all feel overwhelmed 90% of the time. My new year resolution is to relax a bit more and like you say it we are the only ones who care about the clean, organized house, no one else does....!!! You are great and I guess we all eventually get through the days......Beautiful layout as always, you are so inspiring.....I really wish I had time to scrapbook more!!! Love your blog, I rather read it than clean...hahaha....;-)

[Kristina]

Cute layout. As for the house, you're a stay at home mom, not a stay at home maid. You have small children. Someday they will be grown, and your house will be clean then. Until then, most of us will understand. Heck, my DH is gone TDY for the week. I'll make the mad rush to attempt to pick up the house on Friday before he gets home.

[wendy, NJ]

OMG! I feel exactly the same way about cleaning up...it's as if there is a little person following me around and undoing everything I have just done!!

[Carrielyn]

I like to tell my husband that the last time we had clean sheets AND the kitchen floor was freshly mopped at the SAME time was the day before I gave birth to our second child... the day he decided I needed a "break" and took our oldest on a day trip and left me at home "nesting". Oh, I remember how beautiful my house was!! That was two years ago dang it. I can't imagine DOUBLING the kiddos! So, while I empathize, I don't think I can say, "I know how you feel" because I think I have it easier!!

[Mariah]

I feel the same way. It is so hard to keep up with everything. I love/hate laundry. I have about 12 loads a week. I'm sure you have just as much or more. My kids can destroy the house in about 3 minutes. It is frustrating. I do have a cleaning lady that comes every two weeks and it helps a lot. Although, I do have to clean (pick up toys, etc.) for the cleaning lady. Maybe you should look into getting someone to help out. It makes such a difference. Especially with all of the little ones. Love the new blog look, BTW.

[Sherry]

I have four children and the oldest is four so I know what you are talking about. Here are two things that have helped me. The first is this saying by Pat Clafford: "The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow but the rainbow won't wait while you finish the work." The second is this: All our toys are in buckets (a barbie bucket, a dress-up bucket, a musical instrument bucket, etc.) The kids may have any two buckets open at once. If they want a different bucket, they must pack up one of the other buckets first. It keeps the toys that are around the house manageable and whenever they open a new bucket the toys seem new because they haven't seen them for awhile. I make one exception: crayons, paper, scissors are always available.
Don't worry too much about the house. Do what you have to and the rest can wait for another day... You're doing great!

[AmySorensen]

That is why I just don't sweat it! I mean...I clean and organize. But there is always one more closet/drawer/cupboard/whatever that could be worked on. I do it when I'm inspired to and ignore it when I'm not. Plus, you totally have a great excuse! Two tiny babies and two little bigs...the closets will wait! Those little beings won't!!! ;)

[jackie]

i had did such an awesome job at cleaning the twins' bedroom this weekend...and it was complete chaos a couple of hours ago. sigh! i try really hard not to let the crazy chaos get to me. i love them, they love me...the messy house is just the mushy stuff in the middle.

[Joan]

OH MY....LOVE the layout!
The housework never ends...no matter what age your kids are they still make a mess!!!! I finally realized that the house does not need to be perfect...organized & liveable is perfect! And involving the kids to clean up as a game really helped too!
BUT what's pretty cool is that once they go off to college, they actually do clean up! Justin is at Univ of Louisville and we are so surprised to see how clean his dorm room is...

[Amy K]

Your layout is adorable! I really like your new blog design also.
I understand where you're coming from with the housework. I was really feeling it over Christmas break with everyone home, but has definitely improved over the past couple weeks.
You can only do so much, and since J's been gone recently and you've got TWO newborns to care for plus H & S....wow, if you said your house was perfectly neat & tidy...well we'd probably all wonder how in the world you did it! :)
Your girls need you most right now, and no one can fault you for that - especially you....don't beat yourself up! All of us know how stressful seeing messes around us can be, but try and remind yourself of what's truly important at this moment.

Blessings...

[Mary Darlong]

Love the new look of your blog and of course love the layout too. :-)

[Ginny]

Lots of good ideas here, but you need to find one that works for you. You have 4 little ones at home so your work is probably never finished. Don't be so hard on yourself. Harper & Sadie aren't going to remember how clean & organized the house was, they'll remember fun things like melting crayons into multi-colored heart crayons. When my girls were small,just before bed, we went around the house with a little shopping cart & picked things up. I made sure they saw me tidying my things too. It helped not to have face a lot toys & things in the morning.

[Lara Carson]

I have the MM planner too, and it works with teenagers...they just look at the chores and (sometimes, not always...after all, they are teenagers) they do what is on the list to help mom and dad out.

[Jen]

Love the planner! I may just have to get one myself. I too get way overwhelmed with chores, besides, who wants to do chores when you can cuddle with your hubs & baby?!

[mel brewin]

Once again you were in my head!! lOL
I feel like this everyday. Thanks for the link as I will go there as I don't know how I will do it all with homeschooling as well this year. I think you do a fantastic job & I guess it is just taking it one day at a time, one little bit at a time. Pity for me being a control freak I like to have everything done at once. LOL.
Love the layout. It is GORGEOUS. Reminds me of my little third baby. She is always a beautiful mess!!! Her and Sadi would get on famously!!
have a great week.

Mel xx

[Megan M]

Thanks for the link to Motivated Moms ... just downloaded and printed the organizer with Bible verses!!

[Natasha W]

I'm with you there with the wasting time with the housework. I also have 4 kids and the mess doesn't worry me as much as it used to.

[aubree]

Don't all mothers feel this way about cleaning? When I start feeling it, I just let a few days go by where I just leave things where they are. Nothing terrible is going to happen if there are toys scattered around and laundry piles growing their own limbs -- at least letting things go for a few days gives you a chance to collect your sanity again!!

Adorable layout Stephanie!

[Dee]

Thanks for sharing the link to Motivated Moms. My house is always in shambles. My only hope is that if someone breaks in, they will look around and figure that someone else had already ransacked the place :) I find housework totally demoralising since I never ever enjoy the finished product because two little monsters are messing behind me. I hope Motivated Moms will be able to help. Have a great day, Staphanie!!

[Molly Peckham]

thanks for that link, Steph. ever since i was diagnosed with Fibro (and before that...let's be honest, Molly ;) ), I have found that trying to get everything done is just more then overwhelming. I needed that link like I need a new car (major need!), so thank you!

[heather j.]

I despised losing my free time to clean while the boys were little and still napping. They are 6,5 and 3 now and make even bigger messes than before. I don't worry about it all day long now. Before dinner each child gets an assigned thing to clean up-the blocks, the books, the crayons, etc. And for those 20 minutes, I tidy something around the house-vacuum, clean the bathroom, go through the mail clutter. I even devote just 15 minutes a day to go through our clutter-the catch all shelf in the hallway, our closet, the kids toybox, whatever needs decluttering and organizing. I've been doing this for about a year and not only is it amazing how much you can accomplish in just 15 minutes, but our house is cleaner and I still get my time to relax, read, or scrapbook. Makes a mama happy!