Instagram

.

.

We thank you for taking the time to visit our blog.

My husband and I are a young, growing, Christian, military family. My husband is a Captain in The United States Marine Corps. I am a former Elementary school teacher. We are first time parents to a beautiful little two year old boy, with twin boys on the way! I am a stay at home Marine wife, who loves to bake, cook, sew and craft! I enjoy being a Domestic Engineer. The purpose of this blog is to document the story of our life and adventures as they take place.


We are honored to be serving our country and ask for prayer in our upcoming adventures. We have been blessed tremendously, and thank God everyday for all he has given us!

.


.

.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I'm Flying With The Fly Lady


' "Routines are not straight jackets!! They are frameworks to hold us up so we can do what we really want to do! When our routines are done we can FLY to heights that we have never even dreamed of. " ~ Fly Lady


"I'm Flying with The Fly Lady"??? What am I talking about you ask? Well, let me share! I recently discovered "The Fly Lady" one day while I was blog stalking! he he Anyway, The Fly Lady is a woman that has invented and shared her techniques on how to run and keep a clean and tidy house. However, her ideas are so much more than just the monotonous daily routine of house cleaning. She has ideas on how to make and adapt a daily schedule for all of us "Domestic Engineers". The "Fly Lady" is named Marla Cilley. She does not fly a plane as you might think by her name. Marla received her name because of her love for Fly Fishing. She even taught it at a local college for years. FLY stands for FINALLY LOVING YOURSELF. Marla teaches how to make a household routine that works for you!
I am so excited to start her program! It is a free set of scheduled emails sent everyday with a new tip of the day on keeping a tight ship at home.

I enjoy keeping up our house and making it a home for my husband. I am so blessed and thankful to him for understanding and believing in the importance and value of a stay home wife and most importantly mother. I truly believe that being a stay at home mom is the best and most valuable job in the world. To all you Mommas ( including my own Mom) who do it everyday thank you for your sacrifice. Your children will thank you for making them a better person! I thank you Rich for providing the means both physically and spiritually for our family.


I think I will really enjoy this program because it will help me adapt a schedule. I have a wonderful friend Melissa who is a list maker. I am so impressed by Melissa's organizational skills and ability to schedule. I aspire to be more like this. Melissa is a sweet, dear friend who is a fellow Marine wife. We met while our husbands were in training at The Basic School for Marine Officers in Quantico Virginia. I learned so much from Miss Melissa that year, and I miss her so now! Anyway, one of the many fond memories I have of Melissa is of her list making skills. One fall day while we were all busily getting ready and packing to move on to our next duty stations. I went over to Melissa's to sit with her while her movers came to the house. I noticed she had a list sitting out on the table of her schedule of things to accomplish for that day. I was so impressed by her list, it was even typed! I asked Melissa if I could take a closer look at it. She willing said of course. I will never forget what wonderful organizational skills I witnessed on that day. Her typed list was set in Military time mind you with a dash next to each time written next to it was what errands or events she needed to get done at that time. As if that wasn't impressive enough, she even had scheduled at 08:30 time for and I quote "A McDonald's Sugar Free Latte no whip". I knew then Mel that you were a woman with a skill that I wanted to possess! Mel, I love you for teaching me how to make lists and stick to them! So here's to you as I embark on "The Fly Lady " journey!

As a Marine wife I am all about the idea of lists, charts and organization. Heck. that's what makes the Military go round !! I believe as a whole the family unit functions better when there is a mapped out routine and plan in place. I know as a teacher my students always functioned at their best when I had a set schedule for the day with boundaries. Children crave and need boundaries and guidelines just like adults do! Rich and I have been discussing these points and how we want to run our home with our new growing family. Now that Rich and I have a little one on the way, I believe there is no better time than now to get my butt in gear and let the scheduling and organization begin!! So, from time to time I will be sharing tips along with my progress on "The Fly Lady" program. I realize this will not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are interested I will be sharing my progress. Here is the Fly Lady's website if you want to join with me.
WWW.FlyLady.Net Say a prayer and wish me luck!
I'm ready to fly Fly Lady !!! :)


Fly Lady Tip #1

1. Keep your sink clean and shiny everyday.

2. Get dressed every morning, even if you don't feel like it. Before you even begin your household/ daily routines.

3. Come up with and do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.

4. Don't allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer. (EEK hear that Blog, this will be hard for me but I will schedule a computer time) !

5. Pick up after yourself, if you get it out, put it away.

6. Don't try to do two projects at once. One Job At A Time!

7. Don't pull out more than you can put back in one hour.

8. Do something for yourself everyday, maybe even every morning and night.

9. Work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play later!

10. Smile even when you don't feel like it. It is contagious! Make your mind up to be happy and you will be!

11. Don't forget to laugh everyday, pamper yourself. You deserve it! ( I love this one)


8 comments:

Joel, Heide, Lydia & Tessa said...

Love the picture at the top of your blog! So cute. We miss you guys!

Patti Kennedy said...

This is my first time reading your blog. First, congrats on the pregnancy. Children are such a blessing (as you will soon come to see!)! Second, I also FLY. : ) I've been doing it for 3 years now and it has really changed our home life. I've fallen off the wagon before - but Flylady tells us just to jump in right where we are. That's so freeing to hear.
Also, I am a stay at home mom with 3 kids. My husband is in the Navy. Being a military wife isn't the easiest job in the world... but I am so proud of my husband and I am so thankful that God has chosen me to be the woman that stands by his side.
Good luck FLYing!

A Humble Planter said...

I am a new follower!!! I am so glad to have found some fabulous Christian blogging Military wives :) So excited! I am off to get check out this FLY lady, she sounds right up my alley - thank you for sharing, serving, and God Bless Military Sister!

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

Loved reading this! I stumbled on the fly lady's web site a while back, and since then I think my favorite rule has been keeping my kitchen sink all shiny! I've found another web sites that teaches on "speed cleaning" and organization that has been an absolute life saver. I'm trying to apply these tips one day at a time, so that we can enjoy an organize, and peaceful home.

Yay for stay at home wife's! It is such a blessing to be able to take care of our home, and my husbands needs every day.

Tina said...

Hi there! I am happy I stumbled across your blog through Women Living Well. I saw a picture of a Marine in uniform and clicked on it. I am a fellow Christian Marine homemaker wife as well! :) We are also stationed in California. What base are you all at?
http://www.themcneillys.blogspot.com/

Rich and Sarah Christensen said...

Hi Tina!
So glad to meet you! Where are you stationed? We are at Camp Pendleton. Would love to hear more bout you! Thanks fo following my blog!
I can't wait t start following yours! :)

Rich and Sarah Christensen said...

Patti, A Humble Planter and Heather! Welcome! Thank you so much for following my blog! I look forward to following yours as well! Stop by again real soon!
Blessings!
Sarah :)

Sarah beth said...

I really like the clean sink, that has really stuck with me!!!!

LOVE all these helpful tips!!

{Sarah beth} http://hislovingpresence.blogspot.com/

Baby Slings at Nurtured Family