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A Daily To-Do List

Well, this has been long in coming. I have developed a Yahoo Group for this, but I figure it doesn't hurt to post it here also. Now, don't go into thinking that I get everything done every day. I just haven't the time to do as much as I want to, but a list of intentions is a start. Someday, when I am old and all my children are either older or married and living on their own, I will be able to tackle my list of to-do's, but for now I will wish it upon myself until I am able.

Monday & Thursday

• Restore order from weekend & get children started on chores.
• Wash weekend dishes
• Fold Laundry in baskets
• Clear & wipe Counter tops in Kitchen
• Straighten shelf in pantry
• Wash Laundry, clothing only.
• Scrub Trash cans.
• Plan Menu, Fix Dinner, lay out meat for Tuesday/Friday
• Help children on jobs
• Focus Cleaning: Kitchen/Mudroom (Mon.) Office/Windows (Thurs.)

Tuesday & Friday

• Pick up bedroom floor & get children started on chores
• Dust flat surfaces
• Fold Laundry or Sew/Mend clothing
• Wipe out Microwave & clean stovetop
• Straighten floor/shelf in Pantry
• Wash Laundry, Towels & tablecloths & sheets
• Wash mirrors in bathroom & shower curtain if needed
• Fix Dinner, lay out meat for Wednesday/Saturday
• Help Children on jobs
• Focus Cleaning: Living Room/Hallways (Tues.); Bathrooms/Dusting (Fri.)

Wednesday & Saturday

• Dust mop bedroom floor & get children started on chores
• Straighten shelf in Living room
• Fold Laundry or Sew/Mend clothing
• Clean out refrigerators
• Straighten shelf in pantry or cabinet
• Wash misc. laundry
• Wash baseboards
• Fix Dinner, lay out meat for Thursday, make meal for Sunday
• Help KeriLynn/Christiana on jobs
• Focus Cleaning: Bedrooms/Stairway (Wed.); Lord’s Day Prep (Sat.)

Daily Jobs

• Wash cookie sheets, bread pans, skillets, etc. or anything that cannot fit in the dishwasher.
• Clean and sweep all floors with the aid of my children.
• Load Dishwasher (my younger son unloads it for me and sometimes loads it, too)
• Home School
• Manage to keep my sanity throughout the day with prayer
• Practice speaking softly, and use kind words
• Learn that life isn't about cleaning and keeping things perfect
• Remember that whatever cleaning jobs I do is for the Lord, and my lord at my earthly home

Here is a list that my midwife gave me as I prepare for my homebirth. I did not write this up, but I thought that someone else might find this useful, and I can't lose it if it is in my Online Home Management Binder. (O;

SUPPLY LIST FOR HOME BIRTH

Here are the main things you need to prepare for the arrival of your new baby. I will bring the equipment and instruments that I deem necessary for my use. The things listed below are best provided by the parents as they are items that you will need for your comfort and use during labor and birth and postpartum recuperation. Most of these items can be purchased at a local drug store. If you have trouble finding them, please let me know so that we can insure that you have the supplies before you need them.

1. Bulb syringe, rubber ear type, 3 oz
2. Olive oil
3. Disposable underpads, 2 dozen
4. Sanitary napkins, for heavy flow, 2 dozen
5. Old washcloths,
6. Crock pot, if available
7. Old sheets for the labor bed
8. Plastic sheet, mattress protector or shower curtain
9. Topical alcohol
10. Old receiving blankets or towels ( for catching the baby)
11. Baby’s cap and booties
12. Large trash bags, 1-2
13. Large bowl for the placenta
14. Quick energy foods, such as fruit juices, yogurt, etc

If you notice, she did not put on here an cord clamp and a few other items...she brings those to my home when I am in labor.

Preparing for the Lord's Day

Here is a list of things that I do during the week in preparation for the LORD's Day:

1. Wash dark church clothes with tights (my girls wear tights in the wintertime, and socks for summer), put away one pair of tights for each of my girls..
2. Gather church shoes & put in a special place.
3. Wash whites with socks & put away one pair for each of my boys.
4. Pack diaper bag & make wet wipes if necessary. I try to pack the diaper bag with the following items: change of clothes for baby, change of clothes for the one who's potty training, diapers, 2 pull-ups, wet wipes, books for baby, snack for baby, 3 drink cups if fellowship Sunday, water & snack for mom for low blood sugar (if pregnant), allergy medicine for child w/milk allergy if fellowship Sunday, bags for stinky diapers, diaper rash cream, mini baby powder, towel & receiving blanket (if nursing).
   
5. Press dresses, shirts, and pants to make ready for Sunday.
6. On the first & third Sundays we have fellowship meals, therefore one hot dish & one cold dish or dessert needs to be made (I generally make something that my daughter with the milk allergy can eat). Usually this is done on Saturday & the hot dish is put in the crockpot.
7. Gather Bibles, pens, sharpened pencils, & notebooks; put these items in Dad's briefcase.
8. Saturday evenings ALL the children get showers or baths.
9. Sunday mornings, after I have dressed, I fix the girls hair, & get them dressed after breakfast, which is usually cold cereal. The boys get themselves dressed and when we are ready to go, they help the little girls with their coats and get them in the van.
10. I try to take a shower or bath during the day on Saturday so my hair can dry naturally.

The goal is not only to get to church on time, but to have a peaceful morning getting ready as well. When we are well prepared, our LORD's Day morning is much more relaxed and goes more smoothly.

To Do List for each day...

These lists are still in progress, however these tasks are done in addition to the basic to-do list....
And if you are wondering, I try to accomplish these tasks, I don't ALWAYS get everything done, these are my GOALS. If I do what is on the lists, I can expect my house to be clean and somewhat organized.

MONDAY

• Wash dark-colored church clothes and tights (in the wintertime).
• Wash hubby's jeans and work clothes.
• Wash my dark-colored dresses.
• Gather church shoes together and hide (put in special place, so they don't get lost).
• Pay online bills for the week.
• Prepare Assignments for Shurley Grammar for the week.
• Make a Menu Plan and post for Menu Plan Monday.
  

TUESDAY

• Wash whites and hide 1 pair socks per child for church.
• Wash boys' dark-colored clothes & jeans.
• Wash girls' dark-colored dresses & shirts.

WEDNESDAY

• Wash dark-colored towels.
  
• Wash dark-colored sheets.
• Wash girls' light-colored dresses and shirts.

THURSDAY

• Wash light-colored towels.
• Wash light-colored sheets.
• Wash my light-colored dresses & shirts.

FRIDAY

• Wash boys' light-colored clothing.
• Wash ALL remaining whites.
• Scrub toilets, sinks, showers and bathtub.
  

SATURDAY

• Prepare Sunday meal.
• Mop kitchen & bathrooms.
• Straighten shelves in all rooms.
• Dust.
• Straighten & vacuum bedrooms (children do their own bedroom & I vacuum).
• Go grocery shopping if necessary.
• Give kitchen a good cleaning (countertops, etc.)
• Vacuum stairwells.
• Wipe appliances.
• Take 15 minutes to clean on office.
• Bathe children for church.
• Lay out church clothes.
• Make muffins or lay out breakfast items for breakfast on Sunday.

Again, these lists are still in progress. I don't always get everything done, but I try. I am motivated by trying to beat the timer...I set it for twenty minutes for a somewhat challenging job, if I don't get it done in that time and I am almost finished, I will set it for 5-10 more minutes.

Basic To Do List

These tasks I am usually able to complete everyday, with the exception of being able to get 2-4 loads of laundry done, that is not always possible. This list would also fall under my shortened to-do list.

• Read Bible.
  
• Unload dishwasher (children).
• Load & run dishwasher.
• Homeschool.
• Wash 2-4 loads of laundry.
• Fold laundry & put away.
• Quick as a flash, floor pick up. (children)
• Sweep kitchen floor.
• Vacuum carpeted floors, if needed.
• Dinner Prep & Clean up.
  

Caring for a Newborn

Many know how to care for a newborn, but I had my last baby at home and my midwife gave me a few tips and tricks for caring for a newborn. Here they are:

1. Olive Oil: Use olive oil on the babies bottom each time you change a diaper, this is especially important for the first few days because of the meconium that they are eliminating from their systems. The olive oil keeps the meconium from sticking to their bottoms.
   
2. Alcohol & Cotton balls or Q-tips: We all probably know this one, but doctoring their umbiblical cord stump with alcohol and a cotton ball or Q-tip with each diaper change will help their cord to dry up & fall off faster.
3. Blanket Swaddling: Wrapping your newborn up in a blanket with his/her arms to their sides can help to calm the baby and make them feel secure. It also helps the mother in her attempts to nurse.
4. Colic: If your baby is colicky it could be due to low magnesium levels. Low magnesium levels can cause a great deal of pain from gas or any disturbance in a newborn. If you are nursing, you can simply take extra magnesium or you can give your baby homeopathic colic medicine (liquid or tablets). Vitamin B deficiencies and food allergies could also be possible problems with your baby. You could also try a catnip/fennel tincture--2-3 drops in distilled water--given to your baby; that helped with my last baby.
5. Burping Baby: Have you ever had trouble burping your newborn? My last baby screamed for 3 hours after she nursed right after birth, she needed to burp. I nursed her and nursed her; finally while lying on her right side, she burped and settled down to sleep for the rest of the night. There are many ways to burp a baby, I often try setting them up and placing my hand under their chin while patting them gently on the back. Rocking them back and forth in this same position also helps. But when they start to wiggle, that usually means that they have to burp.
6. Cradle cap: When your baby has cradle cap they have this yellowish scaley skin all over their head. Their are a few treatments for this: olive oil, vitamin E, or baby oil can be rubbed into their scalp; let it soak in for several hours and then brush it out with a soft brush.
7. Increasing Your Milk Supply: A few herbs that can help with your milk supply are: alfalfa, blessed thistle, fenugreek, red raspberry, fennel, and anise. Low milk supply could also be from fatigue or sickness, if so try taking zinc, brewer's yeast, selenium, and vitamin E. Drink plenty of water, 8 ounces in between each feeding is recommended, but you may need more. Low fatty acids can inhibit the milk supply also; flax seed oil, evening primrose oil, borage oil (taking one of these supplements) and walnuts can help to restore the balance.
8. Positioning baby while Breastfeeding: A quote from one of my readers, "For encouraging the milk to come in and for increasing milk supply it has really helped me to use all sorts of different nursing positions. From the traditional cradle hold to the football hold and everything else in between. the reason being that with each new position the baby is sucking from a different angle and the milk ducts get fully opened."~written by Mama at Mama's Thoughts and Questions
   

I am sure that there are many other things that I could include, if you have any additions or ideas, leave me a comment and I will continue to tweak this list until I feel it is complete.