A Practically Imperfect Pantry

"She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks". -Proverbs 31:17-

This is my first blog post about a cleaning project so bear with me as I stumble through it:

While the boys are away this momma will play! By play I mean clean and get things done that couldn't be accomplished while they are at home. During this nice long weekend I decided that our pantry/laundry room needed some work! As much as I would love to transform it into a Pinterest worthy room, just a nice cleaning will have to do for now. 

Earlier in the week I had finally noticed how cluttered and messy the pantry/laundry room had become. Since the girls had been home I haven't paid much attention to it. The shelves were a disaster, the machines were messy and the floor was crunchy. Yes, crunchy, because it hadn't been swept in...a very very long time! 

First thing I did was remove everything from the floor. I swept thoroughly and then mopped like crazy. While the floor dried I watched a show with my wonderful hubby and spent some time with my girls.

After the floor had completely dried I chose the two most cluttered and unorganized shelves to deal with first: baking shelf and "catch all" shelf. I pulled everything off the shelves and put them on the dining table so I could easily see what all I had. I realized there some things that I could throw away, SOme I could repackage or place on another shelf. While doing so, I decided to make a snack corner for my boys. I put a plastic container on the bottom shelf and put items such as: applesauce squeeze pouches, granola bars and applesauce cups in it. I then grabbed some snack size ziplock baggies and filled them with goldfish crackers, pretzels, almonds and chex mix. Doing so allowed me to remove the boxes from the shelf to look more organized. 

I decided to make the left section of the bottom shelf a snack area. It includes the snack box and gallon Ziploc bags full of leftover pretzels and chex mix. In the middle  are our paper goods: plates and napkins. The right section holds all my baggies, cling wrap and foil boxes. 

The next shelf up is all of my baking supplies, breakfast foods like muffin mixes and Bisquick and then on the far right is all the breads (loaves, buns and tortillas).

Right above that is where my canned foods and other food jars are located. I left them where I had them before, just a little more organized. Cracker boxes and chips are beside them.

The second from top shelf is a bit empty right now. It currently holds rice, noodles, cereal, oatmeal and some cans of coke. Grocery shopping is on my to do list and the pantry will fill up a little more soon! The very top shelf holds my colorful Solo cups, table linens and our new waffle maker. More than likely in the next few weeks and months I will put more random items on the top shelf. 

Moving on to the washer/dryer machines. This part of the project was a little easier. The top of the machines just had clutter that I or somebody in the house was too lazy to put away properly. I straightened up the laundry shelf and cleaned off the machines. I am so happy with how it turned out!! I'm quite embarrassed with how messy and cluttered the room had gotten too! Hoping I can keep it nice and clean for a while!

 
 

A Week of Weak Prayers

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And he peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

This has been a very powerful passage for me these last 7 days. Last Thursday, my wonderfully selfless mother in law left and I was alone with all four kids for the first time. I was afraid, worried, anxious and scared things were going to fall apart at the seam. I was terrified I wouldn't be able to handle the boys, the house, and the girls. My biggest downfall is my insane ability to worry. I worry about the littlest things even though I know my Savior is taking care of me.

Prayer has been, and will always be, my constant life line. I'm not as diligent as I should be and there is always room for more prayer in my life. This week has proved time and again what prayer can do. Jessie and I pray together every night before going to sleep and it always seems to make the night with the girls and the next day a little better. 

This week my prayers have been full of "help me" and "give me" phrases as well as many "thank you" ones. I've needed a lot of help this week but it wasn't the physical type of help one would assume. The help I needed was with an inward struggle. A fierce battle I fight every day. I am constantly doubting myself and my abilities. How am I supposed to feed and care for newborn twins, play with my four year old, potty train my two year, tend to all the house chores, cook the food and still have the energy to spend time with my husband? Juggling four kids ages four and under, a house and a husband is difficult but I can't imagine how difficult it would be without a life line to God.  

With all that being said, here is the truth: My week alone at home with all four little rugrats hasn't been too horrible. It hasn't been a cake walk either. I probably sound insane but so far it has been much easier having all four kids than it was when my second was born. He ate all the time, cried all the time and never slept. We were living in a small two bedroom apartment and I was going through some post pardon blues. Now, we are in a lovely house, the girls are on a great schedule and my hormones are quite stable! I believe all of this is because of God. He knows what our family can handle and has placed in our care the most wonderful children. We are not perfect, far from it actually. God doesn't expect us to be perfect. He expects us to stumble, fall and then reach out our hands for him to catch us. Thankfully, he always does!

The boys will be at my parent's this weekend and my goal while they are gone is to prayer over them several times a day. We pray at meals with the boys and we pray with them before bed but I want them to be able to talk to God anytime they want. Not let prayer be a ritual before meals or bedtime. I believe the best way to teach them to pray is to show them. I want my kids to have a constant life line and use it whenever they need. While they are gone it will be easier to start making a "habit" of praying for them during the day. When they return we can pray together for each other, our choices throughout the day, people we love or know who are having a hard time and our attitude over all. 

My biggest prayer of all is that my kids have a relationship with Christ that outweighs all others. 

In Him,

Angie K