Friend Makin' Monday: Twenty Questions

Friend Makin' Monday will be spending some time hosted by Amber over the next little bit. This week Amber asked 20 basic questions about our lives...so here goes!

1. Do you cook every night?

Most every night I do - sometimes it just depends on our schedule, but I do plan out our meals for an entire month at a time so that I can go grocery shopping in one foul swoop. That way I can make quick trips to the grocery store for the fruits/veggies and other things that we need weekly.

2. What kind of laundry detergent do you use & why?

Right now I'm finishing up Tide and we also use Downy, but hopefully this week I will be making my first batch of homemade laundry soap and saving us a bunch of money.

You know I'll be posting about that! :)

3. Do you do laundry every day or loads at a time?

I try to do at least one load a day - or a basket full each day. The problem is not in the washing, it's in the folding....

4. How often do you eat out per week?

Not too often. If we do, it's often a spur of the moment thing {after church with friends or my parents call last minute}. Otherwise, we try to stay at home.

5. Where do you usually eat out?

Costco is one of our favorites {the $1.50 hot dog and drink make it a cheap family outing}. Our other two favorites are a local Mexican restaurant and Golden Corral - I know, BIG times, people!! But with the kids we generally lean toward places that are LOUD and kid-friendly.

6. What is your favorite retail store?

Hands-down it's Target.

7. What's your favorite thing to drink?

Mint tea, coffee {iced or hot} and Dr. Pepper

8. Do you take vitamins? What kind?

Not in a physical form, unless I happen to swallow the other half of Kaleb's chewable vitamin when I am biting his in half.

Otherwise, we try to include a lot of our vitamins and eat healthier {all you smart alecks can just ignore the Costco hot dog above}.

9. What percentage of the household chores to you do?

Rick is the trash taker-outer, lawn mower {generally}, and does a lot of the outside 'handy' stuff. I'm the insider chore girl. Not sure how to divide that out percentage-wise, especially since he gets to enjoy peace and quiet {i.e. no one chasing him} while mowing the lawn.

Of course, now I might be handed the lawn mowing since I said that - I love you, honey!!

10. Do your children do chores? {Or will they, did they, etc}

Oh, yes. The kids are responsible for their own rooms {Mommy has to step in and help sometimes}. The older three are all able to help out with the laundry too - starting a load, transferring it to the dryer and we're working on the whole folding/putting away routine. The girls do usually put it away for us, but the younger two make more of a mess of the folded clothes. :)

Other chores they help out with are cleaning up the bathroom, sweeping, vacuuming, washing some windows, loading the dishwasher, setting the table, and general picking up.

11. Do you go to church?

Yes - usually bright and early to the first service at 8:30 since our kids are up at the crack of dawn.

12. Do you have a housework schedule?

For the most part, I do, but it all gets revamped when we get into full school mode. That means it's again a work in progress. I generally try to focus on one area of the house a week to tackle.

13. Do you keep a working budget?

Absolutely. For the most part we take out all of our budget each month in cash so that we STICK to it. The only exceptions are our house payment and a few others like electricity and water - the ones we pay online.

14. What do you do at night as a family?

Dinner, walk/bike ride, bath time, play outside or the Wii, sit and read....anything. :)

15. How do you prepare yourself for a new week?

I have a goal of getting a little time on Saturday mornings to work on school stuff/reviews, etc... to help me get a jump on my week, but there is always something going on that interferes lately.

Sunday afternoons and evenings are when I spend the bulk of my time planning and getting things ready ~ printing off school stuff, filling in the blanks in the lesson plans, making sure my 'to do' list for the next day is ready to go...and then if I have enough energy, making sure the house if picked up and all set for the new week.

That's a big 'if.'

16. What do your mornings look like?

6ish - Wake up and shower.
6:30 - Breakfast and devotions
7:00 - School stuff ready {if not done night before}, email/computer time
7:30 - Kids up/breakfast
8:00 - Chores/kids dressed
8:30 - Start school

17. What time do you get up in the mornings?

Generally between 6 and 6:30am - depends on when my hubby wakes me up and I actually roll out of bed. :) I would love to get up earlier...oh, who am I kidding?

18. What time do you go to bed at night?

What time would I LIKE to go to bed and feel that everything around me is done? 9 - 10pm. Realistically, it is in the 10-11 realm - and much closer to 11pm.

19. How do you manage all of the paperwork that floods into your household? {bills, school work, magazines, ads, etc}

Bills have a certain place near our front door, magazines have a basket and I pull out only the stuff I like and chuck the rest. Because we homeschool, there are a LOT of papers to save and I sort it all by child and then also by six week segments to keep track of it.

20. How do you keep your household organized? {calendars, charts, etc}.

I have two different planners ~ one is my daily planner and keeps track of our overall schedule and meal plan. The other is my homeschool planner that also has our household information and more {click on the link and I detail what's in it}. I'm sure you'll be shocked to know I've blogged about both of them. :) I also enter our schedule into an online calendar called Cozi and it syncs to my Outlook and emails me reminders too - LOVE that!

Since I love to make forms to help keep me motivated, I've posted my daily 'to do list' and even uploaded the pdf to share with you all if you are interested. :) Just in case you think cute lists make it the housework go faster.

Anyway....be sure to visit Amber at {aefilkins} to hang out and make some new friends!