Views from the hotel

We had a wonderful week in Torremolinos. The kids and I had a room which really was more like a small apartment because there was a bathroom,the main bedroom with twin beds, TV and the closet, and another small bedroom which actually was the hallway to the main room. The kids slept in the main bedroom and I slept in the tiny one. It was the best ever solution because that way I could study in bed at night after the kids fell asleep and I didn't have to go anywhere else.

As soon as the kids woke up in the morning they called my parents' room to tell them they were on their way and then they headed off for the day. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant and afterwards I headed back to the room to study and my parents and the kids went out for long walks. Usually we had the meals together but the rest of the time I was alone with my books. It might sound a bit crazy to you but to me that was wonderful! Being a single mom, student and part time teacher I usually don't have much time to myself so those days in Torremolinos really meant the world to me. Mind you, I really love my kids above everything else but you get to a point when you really need some "me-time" and just be able to be bored for a little while or just sit down and let your thoughts wander. I got plenty of that in Torremolinos and I've come back as a new me and a happier person. I wish everyone could have a week like that every once in a while.

These are the views from our room.

Back from Spain

Wow, one week goes so fast when you're having fun.... We came back late last night and the kids are in school right now and I'm on a short break. We were in such a hurry before we left so we just left the house in a HORRIBLE state. And guess what? It was the same way when we came back. No house elves around these parts obviously. *sobbing* So I guess you can imagine what I'm up to today....

So far I've vacuumed G:s room and mopped the floors in his room and the bathroom. I've picked up about a hundred tiny toys and stuff and I've cleaned the shelves in the bathroom.

These pictures were taken a few days before we left for our vacation so things look a little better but I guess you can see what I have ahead of me, LOTS OF HARD WORK! So I won't write about our trip today, I'll leave that for tomorrow when my home hopefully looks a little bit better than this....

I'm going on vacations!

Hooraay! Today is finally here, the day when the kids and I go away on vacations for a whole week. We're off to Torremolinos, on the Spanish south coast. We'll stay at a hotel with my parents who are coming down from Sweden tonight.

Boy, do I need this? My parents will take care of the kids and for a whole week I will just take care of --- me! I know the kids will be perfectly taken care of so I don't need to worry about them. I really need some me-time, before I have a nervous breakdown. I've been alone with the kids since Christmas, there's no one around here who can give me a hand with them and all of you single moms know what I'm talking about. *lol*

So, what am I going to do with so much time to kill? Guess what, I'm going to study, study and study.... Yup, that's what I'm going to do - prepare my exams. I guess I'll spend about 8 - 10 hours a day cramming and about an hour a day in the hotel pool and the gym. Long walks along the beach and of course -shopping! And I'm going to sleep, long long hours in bed. Oh my, do I like thatpart or what? After sleeping like 3 hours a day for the past weeks a complete night's sleep sounds like a great idea to me.

It's 7 AM and we're going today. But is my house ready for us to leave? No way! So I'll have to spend at least one hour of precious time before we go, picking up things and cleaning. Why is it that the more you pick up, the more you see? Things seem to be pouring out from beneath the furniture.... After my exams I'll have to spend a couple of days just picking things up and doing some major cleaning.

My head really, really hurts today. The lack of sleep and healthy food at the right hours are taking its toll. And the kids seem to be noisier than ever.... Oh boy, I'm NOT looking forward to the trip itself, I just want to get to the hotel. First we'll have to walk for a while, then it's one taxi for about 10 minutes, then another taxi for about one hour and then it's "border time". Uff, the border is a totally different story.... After that we'll be in Spain, but on the African side of course. Well, a bus ride and a long walk later we'll be at the port and can buy the tickets for the ferry (that's another show). Once on the European side of Spain (the mainland) we'll go by taxi and bus to get to Torremolinos and from there it's a walk to the hotel. All in all, it will probably take us about 7 hours at least to get to the hotel....

Take care everyone! I'm not sure I'll do any blogging while I'm away but I'll have lots toblog about once I'm home again. Bye bye, it's breakfast time....

FlyLady's "new" site

As some of you probablyknow by now, I'm a complete FlyLady fan. I've tried so many different methods to get things to organized at home and not a single one of them has worked for me. Until I found FlyLady. Tada! It was like magic. For the first time in my life my home was in order. I just couldn't believe it! And the best part of it all is that even when I totally fall off the wagon (like right now) I know just what to do to get back on track in just a few days.

The only thing I don't like about FlyLady is the website. It's so stuffed with things and in no logical order whatsoever. It looks like a totally newbie made it and it just makes me want to cry. I mean, come on!, FlyLady does earn a few buck with the shop and everything else, so why can't she pay a professional webdesigner to remake her website and make it easier to read and find the information? That's just beyond my understanding. Many, many friends of mine say the same thing when I tell them about FlyLady -"Ok, it does seem to be a great system and I can see that it works (*looking around my place*) but hey, the website just stinks! It gives me a headache trying to find the information on how to get started."

And now she's done it again! I've read on some mailinglists that she was remaking the site and I was praying there would be improvements. I just checked it out and NOOOOOO! It's not better, not at all.... Just more colorful.... *sobbing hard*

What do you think? Do you like the "new" layout? In case you haven't visited the FlyLady site, here's the link: http://www.flylady.net

HELP! CHAOS has taken over my home!

Things are really, really bad at home right now. And when I say bad I mean really, really BAD! I don't know what to do anymore. I just feel like running out, lock the door and throw away the key.My home has been messy before but nowhere near the state it is in right now...

I don't even know where to be begin to tell you because every room in the house looks like a tornado just struck. I feel so worn out, I don't know how to even clean up the mess. But I do know why it's like this.

It's spring time. I need to get out the summer clothes and wash and go through the winter clothes. It's been raining for 4 days now so the laundry room is totally full of dirty laundry. It's getting up to my knees now. That's bad,very bad. I reckon I have like 12 loads thrown out all over the floor.It's not a pretty sight.

We've had a rough week. We have gotten home after 6 PM everyday this week and I have to be at work before 7 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I just finished making dinner and left the kids eating while I was at work. And what happens when you leave 2 boys alone at home for about 2 hours? Oh yes, the house gets messy,very messy. There are toys, books, games and magazines all over the place. Add to the confusion a new job of mine which pretty much left me with no time whatsoever to pick things up and clean the mess.

Today I managed to get the drains in the bathroom clogged up so when I tried to fix it the tube just fell off and I got the bathroom flooded. It's still not completely fixed so I need to call a plumber tomorrow morning.

Aaaargh! Some one PLEEEEAAASE hand me a wand! I need to get this tidied up because tomorrow the TV repair man is coming over and I'm just too ashamed to have someone in the house. This is soooo embarrassing!

It's past 2 AM and I don't have the strength to do any more cleaning tonight. I need to get some sleep. I haven't hardly slept anything at all this week due to the storm and heavy raining. They say it's going to rain until Tuesday...