Being Scared of the World, While being a MOM!

Hi, if you are reading this that must mean the boredom and need to stay busy has gotten to you and you have stumbled across my wonderous blog. If that is the case then...WELCOME!!! If you are a follower or a fan thanks for sticking around during this crazy time in the world!

If any of you are like me then you are also a parent at home with kids that would normally be in school during the day so things may be a little out of whack for you! Well, guess what...

THAT IS OKAY!

The world is super crazy and scary right now and not having it all together is the kind of thing we all have in common right now. There are so many people who are trying their hardest to be teachers, improvisational cooks, keep the house in order and make sure that everyone is keeping up on their hygiene. It is hard, especially with so much fear and uncertainty in our futures. We need to stop pushing our selves to keep the same schedules and to-do lists and embrace the looser side of the days.

Are you someone who likes to make lists and cross off everything as you do it? Instead of making a new list each day, make one big list broken into three parts.

In this section, you want to write down the big things to get done before the month is over. This could be writing up your meal plan and shopping list for the following month, cleaning out a closet, reorganizing a room in your home, etc. These are items you can be a little lax on and leaves time for ...

In this section, you'll put things like laundry, changing bed sheets, cleaning out the refrigerator, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. These are things that you want to keep up on a little bit more for hygiene reasons and of course so you can keep up with what you may have stored behind that jar of jam or gallon of milk at the bottom of your fridge! (I know I myself am not a fan of finding that leftover pot roast or chicken soup several weeks later when it has developed it's own islands of mold and bacteria residents lol)

This is the section that will change the most and if you use a whiteboard like I do that makes it much easier to change when you need to. Right now I have small boards for the kids to put their personal to-do lists on and one large one in the kitchen we use for the menu of the day and most other notes. Here you can put things like, work on schoolwork, dishes, prep meals, bake something, and if you want to do smaller lists for the kids and designate a set time for the lists to be checked off, then you can put things like, make beds, get dressed, brush teeth, set table, pick up toys, read two books, etc. Make them quick chores and tasks so that there is still time to be together and reassure them that together you can get through this time.


I am still working on my board for the next month as this one is pretty much over. I will post that picture with my blog post on Tuesday to bring us into April. Tune in then to see how I played it out and use some of your own creativity and I would love to see yours!

Now comes my biggest TIP/SECRET/IDEA THAT WORKS FOR ME:

Take one day and do NOT make a list for that day. Take that day off, spend it with the kids doing fun stuff they choose to do, let them pick dinner that day, make a fun snack, stay in pj's and cuddle watching movies on Disney+, Hulu, Netflix or any other streaming service you might have.

**side note, I will be making a post about some fun shows and movies I discovered when I ran out of things on the DVR to watch** Should be fun! 

But anyway, take a day to just have fun and try to enjoy the togetherness you can get with your family that life usually doesn't give us a moment for like we would like. It is ok to be afraid of what's to come and what has already happened. It is ok to feel overwhelmed and like you cannot seem to stay on track. DO NOT be hard on yourself. (trust me I know from first-hand experience this does NOT help anything lol) be kind to yourselves and others. We need kindness more than anything right now in the world. I hope this helps you a little bit or at least gives you something new to try to keep some of the sanity at this time.

See you again soon! Keep reading and we will keep living! <3 

Time Flies, When You're Having FUN!

A full year in fact and I apologize for our absence. If you stuck around and are now seeing us again YAY! 

It is time for us to get back in the groove of things. We are starting back up during the preparations for school starting and the ending of the first two months of living in our new apartment! The past year has had some big changes for us. We moved, my guy now works from home so I see him way more, I now have a better custody arrangement and have gotten a lot more organized in many ways in my life! 

Now it is time for the summer fun to end and that wonderful time of year when the kids do all that great learning is upon us. It is time to send them back to school. (Or homeschool if that is what you do) Some students are already back in the habit and attending classes but I still have a couple weeks of fun with them before mine head back on the 4th of September. This school year I have one going into first grade, one into seventh, and one into tenth. That means all kinds of scheduling and making sure that all paperwork and school supplies are ready to go and that we get back on our school schedule with sleep and waking up. We have also been refreshing our memories with what we learned last year so that there isn't brain mush during the first week of school. 

Now coming up in the weeks ahead I will be giving tips, links, and recommendations for the things that help our life run smooth. Also since the holiday months will be upon us shortly I will be sharing some fun family favorite recipes and traditions that we love! 

We hope you will continue following along and maybe find something that helps you "Make it Work" in your own life! 

It's Been a While, and So Much Has Changed...

Sometimes things do NOT work out the way we had originally planned. Sometimes you try for a long time hoping something will work better the next time and maybe just maybe it will be okay. That is what has kept me so busy and unable to update this blog for a while. I like to think you all have anxiously awaited my next post but my guess is you kinda forgot about me.
All of that is ok though because now I am back with the Making It Work Together Blog 2.0!



So much has changed but I feel my newest version of my family is the best it can be. I am no longer with the person who I started this journey with but that is alright. We have both moved on to better people for ourselves and couldn't be happier.

Now I live in a new little two bedroom house, with a tiny yard and the best guy a girl could ask for. We even have plans to eventually get a couple of pets, a cat and a dog. We have been through a lot in the last few years and not too long ago celebrated making it two years together. We made it through a major health scare, being on the verge of homelessness, and some crazy people who tested our ability to stand strong together.

 We made it and have come out on the other side stronger and more together in our short time than I ever felt in the years passed than with anyone else. I feel like this is the partner I want to have till the end of my time. We are strong, we make our decisions together and with little to no friction, sure we argue but it is not all that often, sometimes it is over silly things like a tone not meant for us but left over from a long day of stress or such. Together we make it work in ways I didn't think it would for someone coming into a life that included three children that were not his biologically.
He makes me so happy there as well. He is GREAT with the kids and misses them when they have to be at their father's house. (As do I terribly, but co-parenting is tough work) All I know is he is wonderful to have as part of the family!

Speaking of my wonderful little ones, so much growing has happened there! All three of them are moving up to new schools this fall and it makes me both proud and a little sad. My oldest will be starting high school, my daughter middle school and the youngest is starting kindergarten after already making me emotional with him starting preschool LAST fall! It is hard watching them get so independent. I loved being needed so much and now with the youngest doing full days at school the house is empty and quiet. Now while it leaves time for me to organize and unpack more of our stuff (as we really only moved a few weeks ago.) it also makes me sad to not have that little shadow that used to follow me around.
 In the past few years my little ones have learned so much and accomplished many many things. Spencer knows some sign language and knows more colors than I remember knowing at his age. Mckenzee has grown up into a beautiful preteen, who wants to be a chef, but whom I believe would be a great actress (a talent I feel she uses too often). Maybe she can be a BROADWAY CHEF and do a musical all about her journey to become a chef beginning at a young age. (I may have put a LITTLE bit of thought into the story line and song choices) Andrew is doing awesome as well, latest updates have him becoming quite the fisherman and loving spending his time outdoors from early in the morning til evening doing so. I love this because it means he isn't spending all his time planted in front of a video game wasting away a perfectly wonderful day!
I am so proud of all of them they make me smile constantly and I love them so much. They have really made getting through everything that has happened a lot easier knowing I am striving to make a life they can be happy with and that nurtures and helps them grow.

Now while my old dreams didn't pan out because they were just not meant to, I have found a way to dust myself off, redirect myself, and begin the path to a whole new set of dreams that make me happy just thinking about. For some people if this happens you may not have to abandon certain dreams, like me, for me I am still pursuing the writing and hoping that I finally come up with something that will make me proud to share. I think I have some ideas too so who knows that may come sooner than later with the support I have around me now cheering me on.

With all that has gone on I have grown, changed, and learned so much. I wake up each morning more hopeful than I ever have. I have dreams I can't wait to achieve and I KNOW I will! I am grateful for every person I have in my life that is supportive, caring and willing to be an active part of our lives! So while things have changed, I couldn't be happier and this is just the start of a new journey where our family is .... MAKING IT WORK, TOGETHER!

New things and some great Kids!

I just realized yesterday that it has been almost a month since I wrote my last entry! 

So to catch you all up on my to do's and such I am going to write about what has happened in the last month. 

First up my Andrew has accomplished a few things! He made his own homemade wheat bread all by himself! I have to say that as a cook/baker myself I am super proud of this! He was so proud of himself that he couldn't wait to call me and tell me and send me a picture. He also made sure he shared some with his Memere because he wanted to make sure everyone got to try it! This on top of his violin playing and recently finding out that he went to his first dance make me proud and sad all at the same time. He tried to call me before the dance but I was out running errands and missed the call, his father said he was all kinds of nervous and dead set against his father chaperoning the dance. (His father was teasing him saying he was going to go to the dance with him to keep and eye on him) I probably would have done the same thing, especially since it turns out there was a girl there that he wanted to see. (Protective Mama mode activated) They just grow too dang fast for my liking! 

Since last month Mckenzee has started her first time of selling Girl Scout Cookies for her troop! She has done pretty well for being a really shy girl in a state where all her family lives 3000 miles away. She was able to sell 97 boxes so far between online orders (from family back home) and regular orders here in WA. I am very proud of her! She has also been earning some badges and having a lot of fun with her new favorite friend Gracie who is another girl in her troop. I have also signed her up for camp where she should be paired up with her friend during what will be her first time at a camp away from home and without a family member with her. I am so nervous but proud at the same time that thinking about it I smile AND cry. 

Even Spencer is accomplishing things just like his big brother and sister! He has been talking more and more and starting to form short phrases among his words. Now mind you sometimes these phrases are him repeating something that he has heard before, ie: "Sit your butt down now!" and "Get down!" (you can probably guess who those were said to). Other times his phrases are "Mama help me?" (if he needs something fixed) or "I play?" (when he grabs one of the game controllers) or my favorite "Wanna bite?" (when he holds up his foot and wiggles his toes in my face after playing "This Little Piggy"). He has also gotten out of the "Let's Eat The Crayons" phase and has moved on to the "Let's DRAW/COLOR on EVERYTHING" phase. This includes walls, paper, HIMSELF! He has done some cute art with the toddler stampers I got him though and I had to share the one he gave me. 

Now as far as the things I have done this last month or so, I have to say I am a little behind where I wish I was. I am trying to get the house in order well enough that I can stop stressing about it but with a toddler it is like trying to shovel out the East Coast lately. No matter what I get done, five minutes later I have to do it again because "Tornado Toddler" has come through and remade the mess. I love him but oh boy does he keep me busy. (Insert big sigh) 

I am doing my best to get to the point of having the time to start my seeds for spring (I have seven new little plants to start), some crafting I want to start for gifts this year, plus some more work I would love to get done with Mckenzee for her to earn more badges, she is super excited to work on her Family badge and Bug Badge (she cannot wait to go back to the bug museum!) We will probably even get her a new butterfly or two with a habitat so her and her baby brother can watch them grow again!

Well that is all the news for now and I am sure I will think of something that I forgot to put in but until then....keep reading, keep enjoying and thank you for being here!
#MamaZone 

Some good news with a little worry....

On Saturday I received a phone call interview from one of the places I applied to. The interview went pretty well and I was told I would hear back from the company by the end of the day. The day went on and I was starting to think that perhaps the interview didn't go as well as I had thought....until about 4:29 pm! I was working on making dinner when the phone rang and I quickly picked it up.

 "I'm looking for Suzanne..." and for the next 20 minutes I chatted with the head of the company about the job and how I felt about it and whether I still felt like I would be a good fit for the position. We chatted about my availability, my family, the pay and various other things for a bit before she told me that she thought I was great and that she would send her opinion and notes back to the woman I had my first interview with, I thanked her for her time and she for mine and we hung up.  I was buzzing with hope and figured it would be another day before I heard whether or not I had gotten the position.  

As I sat down to dinner with my kids the phone rang again. I got a little nervous as I looked down at the caller ID and saw the number lit by the orange glow on the screen. It was the company again! I was told that I was being offered the position and that I would receive an email with all the details and the pay rate for the job. I would have 24 hours to decide if I wanted it! Well DUH. Sure the hours are not always a guarantee, I could work any time from 10 hours to 32 hours depending on the need but I figure ANYTHING is better than nothing at all! and even 10 hours at $12/hr is $120 a week before taxes, and that is way better than $0!!! 

So now that part that I have to worry about...Turns out the dress code of the position is a WHITE, long sleeve, button up, collared shirt. The part about that that sucks is that not only do I NOT have a shirt that fits that criteria, but I don't own a white shirt period! At least not one that hasn't been stained by my wonderful little kiddos. Oh and shoes, it requires BLACK closed toe sneakers/shoes.  My sneakers are green, and holey, and just not going to work.  Now why is this something to worry about? Well because I don't really have the money to buy these things, not even if they are inexpensive....

So I have to try to find the money to get these items, look into childcare since DJ and I will have overlapping shifts if he is working, and check out the bus schedules so that I can get home from work when my shift ends. I have to say right now I am freaking out just a LITTLE bit. I AM however hopeful.....very very very hopeful! 

I am going to try to do this.....key word is TRY! :)