Due Dates

It seems that getting things done is easier when you have a short term real date that you need to accomplish it by.

Cleaning Plan Over View

Wednesday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Find Alarm Clocks
4. Load DI into van
5. Quick Clean back
6. Clean off Carport
7. Run Van Load
8. Visiting Teaching

Thursday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Send bank statement
4. Find pay stubs and send
5. Declutter out Storage Shed
6. Run DI Load if needed

Friday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Continue Storage Shed Declutter
4. Get rid of the rest
5. Run DI Load

Saturday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Clean out Storage Shed
4. Neat Stack Boxes Left
5. Match a lid to each bin
6. Get Rid of extra Bins/ Lids

Monday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Declutter downstairs kitchen
4. Start decluttering out boxes in pantry

Tuesday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Continue Pantry Declutter

Wednesday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Fill up the dumpster

Thursday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Restart Office Declutter

Friday 9th

Lets hope we close this day

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Continue Office Declutter
4. Pack up K12 Stuff

Saturday

1. 5 min maintainance
2. Quick clean Fr, Kt, Hl, Bth
3. Super Saturday, you earned it, enjoy it!

Monday

1. Tear out carpet in new home
2. take out fridge
3. cut out bad drywall in basement

Tuesday

1. Clean yard in new home
2. throw away wood pile
3. take down moldy dry wall in out building

To Do This Evening

1. Wash laundry - Done
2. Make a snack - Done
3. Call Visiting Teaching companion - DOne
4. Make dinner - Papa Did this for me
5. Have DH Sign the Documents - Done
6. Get ready - Done
7. Go Visiting - Done
8. Fax Documents - Done
9. Pary for Guidance - Done
10. Make a Plan for Tomorrow - Done

Avoiding Crisis Living

Well I just stumbled across this little lesson, while using google to make sure I was using the term "Crisis Living" correctly.

Avoiding Crisis Living, “Lesson 44: Avoiding Crisis Living,” Young Women Manual 3, 160

1. Establish priorities. Each week or each day, consider what you have to do; then decide which things are most important. Do the most important things first.

2. Eliminate unimportant things. You may find that some of your activities only waste time and do not add much to your life. Eliminate the unimportant things.

3. Improve work and study habits. Discipline yourself to work and study hard. Start on long-term projects well before they are due.

4. Recognize your limitations. Remember that no one can do everything. Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. Avoid comparing your abilities with those of others.

Primary Success

My kids all had their parts memorised perfectly and said them clear and understandably at the primary program today. And all but a few understandable wiggles in my youngest, my boy, were well behaved. I am very pleased with them.

Mama Muffin

What Aluminum Poisoning?

Maybe it does not exist. Maybe it is the medical fad I am caught up in right now. It offers such a pretty picture, such an easy way out. I can just claim all these problems are caused by aluminum and then feel that explains it all away.

My worst childhood memories are around cleaning and my mother. I was always well known for my inability to clean as a kid... Then as a newly wed I went through a depression as I worked through all the feelings I had around cleaning. At this time my husband could not mention cleaning to me without me being depressed for a month... Then my excuse was I could not clean because my home was too small... Then my excuse was that my daughter took up too much of my time... Then my two daughters... Then my excuse was my stress level as I added in my son and adopted daughter at the same time. My excuse continued to be stress throughout the long drawn out legal battle with my adopted daughters birth mother... Then the condo remodel was my excuse for a disorderly home... Then my difficult pregnancy was my excuse. Then my new baby was my excuse... Then my move was my excuse... Then living with my MIL and having family drop by unannounced was my excuse... Then the stress of kids again... Then the seasonal flair up as my MIL came and snowbirded in the basement of the home we rented from her... Then the miscarriage... Then the fire... Then the mental break down... Then the Thyroid problems... Then the anxiety... Then the move back in was my excuse... Then....

Ah, then I remember that brief golden time. I had all the insurance money to get the home set up the way I wanted to after the fire. I only unpacked things as I found homes for them. I bought all the best home organisers. I bought home decorations, for the first time. My home was organised to the T, and decorated to the T.

Then the holidays... Then another miscarriage... Then another miscarriage... And finally, a limp half alive Mama wondering if she had the will to live... Then... A year and a half later my home has not recovered because I lost faith. I mean... My next excuse for not being clean was a lack of faith... Then I choose to have faith, and just like C.S. Lewis described in the screwtape letters, I felt the sweet joy of early success. Followed by the gut wrenching, you must prove to all existence that you can make it on your own, on principal and personal strength alone, it must be your victory... Then my excuse was my work schedule... And now... Now it is aluminum...

Aluminum is such an easy answer, like thyroid, like anxiety, like many others. It has in it all the elements. All the personal weakness I have struggled with for my life are right there, wrapped up in aluminum poisoning. It is so easy to see how my stress caused me to stop cooking from scratch. How my family ate more fast food, and out of more boxes, then I would care to say. Ok I can say. I do not even plan on real cooking any more, I have come to the conclusion it requires more of me then I can give. My meal plans are.... Open a box, mix in required ingredients, cook for as long specified and eat. Except for when they are not, then my meal plans are load up the kids, pull up to the drive through, order, pay and eat. Seriously years ago I was appalled at others who ate like this. It makes sense that averaging one box of muffin mix a day for a year and a half would have its negative effects... doesn't it?

My sister once described to me a personality type that wants to live their life in constant crisis mode. She did not say it, but I though it, doesn't that just sound like me? My next thought was. What is a person to do. Does anyone else know what it feels like, to throw every ounce of your effort at life, to give it your all, and to come out a failure over and over and over and over and over again. At some point that person has to decide what they think of themselves. Are they infact a hopeless failure. In which case, the solution is sit down and let the tidal waive of life over take you. Success is not possible, so why try. Then it does not take long for such a hopeless failure to realise just how miserable being hopeless is, and maybe trying would at least be a little bit better. Oh the other choice. Ask yourself why at the end of it all you ended up as a failure. Reason it through, and see what stoped you from your success, and hypothesise about ways you can try something different, in hopes to get a different result. Basically try, try and try again.

I read on a blog the other day that life is about singing in the rain and dancing through the storm, not waiting for it to pass. I get that, I see now that life is a storm of experience that waxes and wanes.

So then I guess I could ask. Why is it that you feel like a complete failure and completely inadequate if you fail at organization. Why is it that organization is the all magic attribute that decides if you are valid and successful, good and worthy, respectable and valuable. Why not all your other attributes?

Then I hear in my self the answer, organization is the foundation to a good life, everything good in life needs organization to thrive. And I hear... A persons level of organization and cleanliness is a reflection of that persons character. A clean and orderly person has a clean and orderly character, a disorderly and dirty person is obviously lacking greatly in character... And then i think of all the extremely well organised people that have made me feel like a pile of heap. And I remember that I value being considerate to others over being organised. I remember that I have seen quite a few people who are the picture of organization, that lack in character.

So now I ask my self, after all these years, where do I find that place? That place where I am good in spite of my great weaknesses.

I have had the privilege to visit a few of my highly respected neighbors and see how disorderly their homes were. They were not stressed or uncomfortable. And they were still very respected. Their personal worth was not at risk because of their cleanliness. I then look around and I see that i am as close to heaven as one can get here on the earth. I am in a neighborhood where I remain respected and valued in spite of the many character flaws I have not been able to hide. I wonder if some day my mind will catch up with my neighbors. It would seem I am the one who is most guilty of judging myself.

Whew.... enough of that.... maybe now that I have that all written down I will not have to go through that thought process for a while.

To Do Today

General Overview

1. Get ready for Renee
2. Get ready for Woman's Conference
3. Have kids practice for primary program

Practicing for the primary program

1. find the parts - Done
2. have kids practice sitting quietly while waiting their turn - Done - This went badly the first time, with my son crying because he could not play on the computer.
3. have each kid read their part - Done, Went well because I made picture ques for their parts.

Getting ready for woman's conference

1. find outfits for everyone - done
2. wash outfits - done
3. find shoes - done
4. shower
5. do hair

Getting ready for Renee, the big one.

1. Straighten up back yard - done
2. sweep off concrete - done
3. scrub toilet - done
4. quick clean bathroom - done
5. wash up bathroom - done
6. gather up red and white things - done
7. de junk kitchen - done, mostly
8. de junk freezer and fridge
9. empty out sink
10. wash out sink
11. prep wash dishes
12. clean off counters
13. clean off table
14. declutter front room floor & couches - done over halfway
15. declutter hall floor - done
16. declutter living room floor
17. declutter down kitchen
18. prep and bring up dishes
19. general declutter bedrooms down stairs
20. scrub downstairs toilet
21. declutter downstairs bathroom

What about food??

1. clean out sink first -
2. then wash bowl and pan -Done
3. make cornbread mix that does not have aluminum on the ingredients list, breakfast - Done
4. Instant meal lunch
5. dinner?? buy butter and milk so she can make macaroni and cheese?

The order of the day.

1. Find parts - Done
2. Call kids - Done
3. Have kids practice parts while I make cornbread.- Done
4. Then have kids get outfits while I clean - done
5. Then have kids work outside while I work in the kitchen - done
6. Then hose off cement or show kids how to do it. - done
7. Then we all work together on the general house until they are done - got allot done
8. Then they go play while I finish up.

Will Power

Now I know what to do, I have a plan, now it is about will power... It is about resisting the temptation to go close my self up in my dark bedroom alone in peace and sleep. And it is about having faith that it will work out well, that going down to spend time with my kids will be enjoyable, and not degenerate into a frustrating experience. I think that is my fear.

My son is alone in the front room, that I think I can handle... Instead I am going to sit in the front room and spend time with him. Maybe the trick is to spend time with the kids one on one so I am not over stimulated.

Muffin Mama

Sticky Notes!

This blog is turning into a sticky note system. I am leaving all these post with highlighted sticky notes to help me remember that I do have a plan on how to improve my sleep, I do have a plan on how to (what was that, I forget... Referring back to blog.) clean, I do have a plan on what to do tomorrow, and i do have a plan on how to be a good mother to my kids tonight.

Muffin Mama

My kids need attention...

I have been shut down or sleeping for most of the day. It is now past bedtime and my kids need attention. I should go down and sit by them and let them talk and tell me about their day. But when they talk I have a hard time listening to it. Normally that is because I am trying to think or do something else, and it interrupts me. Maybe if I go down with the plan to do nothing else bu listen I will find I have an easier time?

I hope they have had enough to eat, I might need to find them something else to eat before bed. Also I need to remember their scripture reading.

The Muffin Mama

Clutter, Clutter, Everywhere!

My home is not getting cleaned or packed right now. I need to do better here. Frist off I think I need to regulate my sleep better.... Then...

When I try to make a plan on what to clean/ pack next, it sounds great at the time. Then the next day when it is time to do the cleaning and packing that plan does not suite me. So I rebel against cleaning and packing and don't do anything. Next day I am back to making a plan.

Oh, I remember now my solution. Books on tape, CD or Ipod. Listen to stories while you work, to keep you focused, positive and your brain active on something other then worrying that nothing will go right. By listening to stories my brain stays occupied and positive so I can work. I have a harder time now, then I use to, working while listening to a story, but I still get allot more done when I have something to listen to.

The Muffin Mama

Cant get enough sleep

I work at home right now taking inbound customer service calls for a credit card company. I asked for a costume shift from 5am to 8am seven days a week. My plan was to get done early in the day so I could spend time during the day with the kids. This plan has not worked out so well. I end up sleeping during the day and still getting really sleepy at night, in fact I am sleepy all the time. I am not sure what I can do to fix this, in order to reclaim my day back.

I could ask for a day off during the week to sleep in. But I earn enough off hours while working that I could take a day off ever two weeks to sleep in as I need it. I can not change to work later in the day, or I can, but then I would have the traditional 5hours a day 5 days a week shift. This does not work for my family because I homeschool, and there is never a time when my kids are not home.

I could focus real hard on getting to sleep on time...

Oh, now I remember what my plan was. I plan to set an alarm clock for my kids that regulates their sleep schedule more, in hopes this will help me regulate my sleep schedule. Now where was that alarm clock?

The Muffin Mama

Kids Activities

What do I do about kids activities? My girls are in Girl Scouts, Dance, Church Youth Groups, and other homeschool social events. Do I become a big hassle and inform them all that my kids can not eat any baked goods? Do I volunteer to always bring the treat, and stop other kids from having the fun? Do I just let them eat cake at activities, and hope it does not have that bad of an effect? Removing Aluminum from your diet seems to be quite the lifestyle change...

The Muffin Mama

Birthday Parties! The birthday cake has aluminum in it...

What will I do for all the Birthday Parties my kids go to...?

Thankfully they love icecream more then they do cake, maybe if you tell them they can eat icecream only and not cake they will be happy with that. Do I always tell the mother, please dont dish out any cake for my kids, it will make them sick? Or do I trust the kids to be dished out cake and not eat it? Or do I think one birthday cake here and there wont be that bad?

The Muffin Mama

Christmas Goodies....?

What do you do during Christmas? I live in a wonderful neighborhood, and right about christmas time lovely, aluminum full, home baked goodies come pouring in the front door as neighbors come to wish us happy holidays.... That could get real ackward, real fast.

The Muffin Mama

Eating out, and eating aluminum...

At the bottom of the article Taking Aluminum Out Of The Diet by JoAnne Struve it lists several fast food places that contain aluminum. I just tried to eat out with little aluminum, and failed.

My fridge is not working correctly, we thought it was holding in the cold better then it was. Today when I went to make lunch everything I would have made it with had gone bad. Of course I had started making lunch late so I had anxious and hungry kids. After fumbling around for a while I told the kids we had to go and get food.

While driving I told the kids about aluminum, and explained why we would be eating differently today. I ordered fruit and yogurt parfaits for each kid, and hamburgers with no cheese or pickles, and french fries. I thought this would avoid most aluminum, but as I pulled up to get my order I remembered that there was a concern about aluminum in salt. I hoped for the best anyways. Now I have just refereed to Taking Aluminum Out Of The Diet and realised that aluminum was in the salt. :( Better luck next time.

Appointment Forgotten

I just forgot another appointment... I was suppose to meet a contractor at the home we might buy this morning at 9:30 am. :(

Iron Rich Green Salsa

Recipe by JoAnne Struve

- Cut up 2 large tomatoes and put in a blender.
- Add 1/4 cup cut-up sweet onion. (If the kids won't eat onions, add it anyway, because onions are effective chelates that remove toxins from the body. And they won't be able to taste it in this recipe.)
- Wash and break up 8 leaves of Romaine lettuce or spinach. Fill blender half-way at first, adding 4 leaves at a time until all 8 are thoroughly blended. The mixture will be green and watery.
- Add salt (aluminum-free) and pepper to taste.
- I buy Mission Corn Tortilla Strips to use with this recipe, because they use aluminum-free salt.

Remembering my pills....

I am struggling to remember what I was going to write next, up till now I have been able to cover up the flaws this causes, but it is getting harder to keep it covered. When I am anxious or having a hard time thinking my head gets overheated and feels all clogged up. I remember.... Medical...

I have thyroid problems, anxiety, and chronic anemia. All my biological children have chronic anemia. I was on prescriptions for all of these. But I found that my worst enemy was my memory. I could not remember to take my pills regularly enough. In the end the medications were causing more trouble then helping because of how speradic I was taking them. For this reason I went to see an herbalist. The herbs were more gentle then the prescriptions, so I did not have extreme side effects for not remembering to take them on a normal basis. My last check up with my midwife my anemia and my thyroid were within normal levels. I feel the herbs have helped allot, but in a gentle way.

I am having anxiety when I think about seeing a medical doctor again. I researched and found the best thyroid doctor in the state, who is well known and highly sought after for his medical knowledge. Even though I highly value and respect my doctor I am anxious about going through the medical process again. I know he will believe me and listen, he is a wonderful patient advocate, but I am not sure I want to take on the rollercoster of forgotten medication again. And some medication can get in the way of the herbs healing, though I would think that thyroid medicine is low on that risk. I am trying to talk myself into going back.

The Muffin Effect

I am resisting the temptation to go into a long email explaining all the symptoms of aluminum poisoning I have. Long story short, I had a major house fire and 4 miscarriages in a year and a half, and have not mentally recovered. During this stressful time I took to making my favorite comfort food, all the time, muffins, from store bought mixes. I have made so many muffins my children call me the muffin mom or muffin woman.

I can't keep organised for anything. I have stoped even scheduling anything but the most important appointments because I can not remember them. The list just goes on.... I remember my mom throwing away the pan she cooked with the most when I was a child, and the look of dread on her face as she did it. I asked her why and she told me it was aluminum, un (I cant think of the word) coated, and she had just learned it was toxic. Needless to say I wonder if my whole life has been effected by aluminum poisoning.

In reality I am hiding in the closet of my home trying to regain who I am, and feeling lost. Right now I am in the middle of buying my dream home (or as close to it as we can afford), and rather then being productive, I am shut down. The stress level is high. A while ago I found that I could cope with these symptoms by avoiding any and all stresses possible, in this way I don't get too stressed. But I am not getting anything done to help me move to the #1 most important goal achievement of my married life, my dream home.

The Muffin Mama

Make your own aluminum free baking powder

In the article Hidden Aluminum in Your Diet - Baking Powder By Linda Pogue you can find this recipe for making your own aluminum free baking powder.

Homemade Baking Powder
1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup corn starch
Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Store in an airtight container. When using this product, bake immediately after mixing up the recipe batter. Yield: One cup of baking powder.

ALUMINUM-ABSTINENCE THERAPY

Hello, I am a mother of four delightful children and I am 32 years old. I have troubles with short term memory, and this problem has been getting worse and worse. Short term memory problems in someone my age with out any injury, does not really make sense to many people. My medical doctor and herbalist were not very concerned about this issue. I started taking herbs that claim to help with memory. But I have not noticed much improvement. Finally the other day I started to wonder if maybe aluminum might be the reason for this problem. I was fortunate enough to find a web page by JoAnne Struve on ALUMINUM-ABSTINENCE THERAPY. This Blog will be place for me to journal about applying aluminum abstinence therapy in my life.

I started out by reading through the Signs of Aluminum Poisoning by JoAnne Struve. I was surprised to see that I had many of the signs.

• Heightened sensitivity to light or darkness. - Yes, when I am stressed.
• Abnormal sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures. - Yes, mild
• An aversion to noise, touch, movement, odors, etc. - Yes
• Unexplained feelings of apprehension or uneasiness. - Yes, always.
• Feelings of inferiority, embarrassment or shame. - Yes, always.
• Feelings of irritability, agitation or annoyance. - Yes, always.
• Bowel and urinary dysfunction (incontinence) - Yes
• Fatigue (extreme exhaustion) - Yes
• Sleep disorders - Yes
• Dyslexia - Yes
• Displaced or unsubstantiated guilt - Yes
• Unrealistic expectations of oneself - Yes...
• Forgetfulness (short-term memory loss) - Yes, this was my main complaint
• Difficulty managing time - Yes
• Diminished capacity to meet deadlines - Yes
• Diminished capacity to plan ahead - Yes
• Diminished ability to organize - Yes
• Diminished performance of former accomplishments - Yes
• Inability to focus or sort through problems - Yes
• Difficulty listening to others - Yes
• Poor personal hygiene - Yes
• Difficulty in showing affection - Yes
• Feelings of inadequacy and dependency - Yes
• Continuous talking or telling stories to strangers - Yes
• Divulging personal/private information to strangers - Yes
• Decreased capacity to handle personal finances - Yes

That was a score of 25 Yes's out of 63 symptoms so 39% of the symptoms.

I was surprised at all the ways Aluminum could affect my life... But I was unprepared for what I read next.

Taking Aluminum out of the Diet by JoAnne Struve

THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS MAY CONTAIN TOXIC AMOUNTS OF ALUMINUM: Foods made with aluminized baking powder*, self-rising flour*, and salt.

Baking Powder?? - My kids call me The Muffin Mama, because of how much I love to bake muffins, and many other yummy things from store bought mixes.

Salt?? - That is in EVERYTHING!!! I have since read that sea salts are a good source of salt without any aluminum in them. I use to only use sea salts, then I started to have thyroid problems and after reading web pages about how Iodine in salts helps your thyroid I decided to start using normal salt again.

Needless to say I had a strong emotional reaction to this, and cried real good. Then I emailed JoAnne Struve. She gave me this additional information.

• Chicken McNuggets contain aluminum. Children who eat them regularly end up with symptoms of autism. - OH NO! my kids love these!!
• Pickles in fast food hamburgers and Subways contain aluminum. - If they dont eat nuggets then they eat hamburgars!
• Be cautious about eating the baked goods brought by others to church, because many of them are likely to contain aluminum. Even meat dishes are sometimes tainted with it. Eating the AAT diet is full of challenges, especially for children.
• Your friends will want to know about aluminum, even if some are skeptical. (They will read about it privately.)

The Muffin Man

Owed to my favorite comfort food...

Cuppy Cake Song

I love all things baked! Nothing like baked goods to bring back the feeling of happy family times, great gatherings with friends, socials with neighbors. Baked goods are comforting....

Now that I know about aluminum in baking powder, I can still have baked goods, but only baked goods baked by myself.... I can not eat any baked goods at restaurants, fast food places, friends houses, family outings, church socials, birthday parties... Sigh...

The Muffin Mama