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mary
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 10:33am | IP Logged
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andibc, i looked on the website and the custom planner isn't offered. i wonder if it's something they do at the beginning of a year? anyway, it involved a 1 hour chat and customizing the calendar for my family. i added in school tasks (we pick up our school room on thursday, file away books on our bookshelves, etc), rearranged some of the chores that were already in the list (we don't have pets/plants, i grocery shop on a different day, etc).
i don't think the custom planner is necessary and i'm not sure that i will do the customized version next year, but i will always have a motivated moms calendar.
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
I think I need professional help (and not a Bellarussan lady--though that sounds lovely). I read this and thought, "Well I get the whole year and the year is half over. If I do two weeks' worth at a time, we could catch up." That's not the way it's supposed to work, huh? |
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Actually, most of the things repeat weekly or at least monthly, I think, so there isn't a whole lot of "catching up" to do. When I used it before it served as a reminder tool to keep me focused. You just post each week on the fridge and look to it to schedule your chore time for each day. It especially helps with those things you never get to, (for me it's things like windows, plants, etc.) because your too busy with all those clothes!
I guess you could go back through past months and pick out some of the bigger jobs and plug them in to the rest of the year. I would just be so glad to feel something got accomplished each day!  Nothing feels better than checking something off a list. 
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Natalia
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 12:45pm | IP Logged
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teachingmyown wrote:
| Nothing feels better than checking something off a list. |
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I have a love affair with check lists: I have the Motivated Mom checklist, a master grocery list with check boxes, attendance check list to keep track of the 180 days of school we are supposed to have, a to do list for projects not included in the MM... I just love check lists! 
Natalia
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Sarah
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 1:31pm | IP Logged
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MicheleQ wrote:
| Normally I try to get orders processed and mailed with a day or 2 of receiving them. I still try to do that, but I am swamped with orders right now (a good thing yes) and am somewhat behind. |
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Oh, Michele, I hope I didn't stress you out. As I recall you are expecting (I hope I'm right here) and I just wanted to say how impressed I was with your planner & service.
Ladies, if you're waiting on one. Be patient-its worth the wait!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Sarah
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I read this and thought, "Well I get the whole year and the year is half over. If I do two weeks' worth at a time, we could catch up." That's not the way it's supposed to work, huh? |
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It does some repeating, so if you do go for it, keep telling yourself "you are not behind, just jump in where you are." Wait, isn't that flylady? 
No, seriously, tell yourself that you are only going to do each day's work. If it doesn't happen, try not to move it to the next day, just let it go by and tell yourself, "maybe next time. . "
Elizabeth, if you're pregnancy is like mine, which it sounds like it is, you are in repair mode. Weeks and weeks went by while you were sick, and now you (kind of) feel better. You know you have "x" amount of weeks to repair your house before the baby comes and you are cramming. I wish I could come over and whirlwind it for you! 
Try to pace yourself. Somehow it all falls into place (or not).
__________________
Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 3:28pm | IP Logged
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I just had the most hilarious conversation with my mother about this. I said, "Something is really wrong when you think that your house has to be in model home condition at all times. That's just not healthy."
And she replied (very honestly), "What's wrong with that, isn't that a good goal?"
I said, "You shouldn't feel like a failure if you wake up in the morning and the house isn't perfect."
And she said. "You shouldn't. You have so many kids that it's impossible. But regular people can keep their houses like that."
Completely missed the point...
I'm thinking that these MM lists are exactly what I need because they'll keep me moving forward while reminding me that there is a tangible end in sight. If I do what's on the list, I can rest assured I've done enough, right?
__________________
Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 8:51pm | IP Logged
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Well, I am just glad that I'm not "regular people"!
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Sarah
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 9:01pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
I just had the most hilarious conversation with my mother about this. . .
Completely missed the point...
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Well, rest assured, WE know what you mean.
It IS so amazing. . .the whole perfect house thing. My sister has a friend who ALWAYS mentions that she COULDN'T have more than one kid because it WOULD be impossible to keep the house clean. Completely missed the point of life, I guess.
Elizabeth wrote:
I'm thinking that these MM lists are exactly what I need. . . If I do what's on the list, I can rest assured I've done enough, right? |
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This is how I've treated them. Tomorrow I clean the refrig door shelves. I won't feel guilty that another shelf may need it because I KNOW its coming up. I like the idea of small chunks.
For years I have felt like "I have the work of ten people on my back (Its my favotite little quote I constantly said to myself). I would never know where to begin and not to knock flylady, since I think she's great, but the tasks were not necessarily what I needed to do. Also, I hated having to go to the computer to get them. I felt disjointed. I like the MM paper that I can sit on the couch and look at, that my husband can glance at, that the kids could potentially look at (none of mine are old enough to really care what mom's papers say. . .).
I've done things I have NEVER done before, but always wanted to do like clean out my husband's car. I took a big laundry basket, loaded it up with stuff before he left in the morning (found the baby's Baptismal candle -yikes ) and later that afternoon I put it all away and I'm not kidding it took like 10-15 minutes. I told myself that the next time car cleaning came up, I would vacuum it, if he didn't do it at a gas station first. This may sound weird, but I always hated his car because it was knee-deep with stuff and its only a year old  . He was happy. He is so exhausted and works so hard that it was the last thing in the world he would do, and look, I found a very valuable item (the candle!).
I hope I haven't played it up too much. I'm just glad to have a plan that's working because I was so disorganized. The next time I get preg. (and it may be coming soon) and I become bed-ridden  , the kids MAY be able to do a couple of the things each day, especially if we are already in the habit.
I grew up in the opposite house as Elizabeth. It was out-of-control completely. No order. Rarely cleaned (I'm sad to say that, actually. My Mom worked full-time and my Dad had serious problems). I was always embarrassed of our house. I vowed my houe would be different, but I had NO skills. None.
I've come a long way.
BTW, someone asked how you get MM. You download it instantly to Adobe--I like the instant part.
If any of you do get it because of me, I sure hope you won't be disappointed!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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Motivated Moms is working better than any other system has. But I do need to tweak. For instance, my tubs need cleaning more than once every two weeks and my living areas need almost daily vacuuming. I'd really love to have this all laid out without my scratching and writing in--before the baby comes. There isn't any way for me to edit the PDF file now that I've bought it, is there? I don't see a custom option now.
__________________
Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 8:35am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| There isn't any way for me to edit the PDF file now that I've bought it, is there? I don't see a custom option now. |
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Actually yes you can. You'll need a pdf editing program but I know there are several you can download for free. I have used them and they work well.
I don't have time to look now but I'll check back later if you haven't found anything.
God bless!
__________________
Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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mary
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Motivated Moms is working better than any other system has. But I do need to tweak. For instance, my tubs need cleaning more than once every two weeks and my living areas need almost daily vacuuming. I'd really love to have this all laid out without my scratching and writing in--before the baby comes. There isn't any way for me to edit the PDF file now that I've bought it, is there? I don't see a custom option now. |
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i'd love to hear of how you edit this. i did the custom option last winter because i wanted to tweak my MM list. of course, i'm constantly tweaking. .
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 9:12am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
I just had the most hilarious conversation with my mother about this. I said, "Something is really wrong when you think that your house has to be in model home condition at all times. That's just not healthy."
And she replied (very honestly), "What's wrong with that, isn't that a good goal?"
I said, "You shouldn't feel like a failure if you wake up in the morning and the house isn't perfect."
And she said. "You shouldn't. You have so many kids that it's impossible. But regular people can keep their houses like that."
Completely missed the point...
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That's so funny!!
I have a question about planners. I use a palm pilot. Does anyone know of a source to download handy planning lists, and maybe the Catholic additions like in Michele's book? I'd love to have readings, feast days etc. on my daily calendar.
__________________
Noreen
Wife to Ed
Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 9:39am | IP Logged
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Tweaking here. Still loving it.
Our master closet has gotten out of control and dh was just complaining yesterday that he can't get into it! Alas, Thurs (tomorrow) it will get better!
Another thing, you can't clean your outside garbage can on any day but the one the garbage is collected on, so that needed major tweaking.
I use a big red pen and check stuff off!
I have such a sense of accomplishment.
Off to check those bathroom lights, so see if they need cleaning (I've NEVER do this before. . .ever!).
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: July 05 2006 at 2:58pm | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
If any of you do get it because of me, I sure hope you won't be disappointed! |
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I'm certainly not disappointed! Very pleased indeed . It is far more manageable than anything else I've seen - even with a small baby I am able to get through quite a good chunk of the daily lists, though not always on the right day . I even cleaned two long overdue refrigerator shelves today . In another month or so I think I will have the whole house ticking over better than it has done in a long while.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
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MicheleQ
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mary wrote:
| i'd love to hear of how you edit this. i did the custom option last winter because i wanted to tweak my MM list. of course, i'm constantly tweaking. . |
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A list of pdf editors can be found here.
Some are costly but others are rather inexpensive. I know I found a free one somewhere but I can't seem to find it right now.
__________________
Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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Jen L.
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I have to warn you that I have not used this or tried downloading it, but I found what looks like a free pdf editor here.
Looks like it has a good review...
__________________
Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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Sarah
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Would it be cheaper to pay the $25 and have the MM lady customize? I don't know.
I'm starting to make a master list of "TWEAKS" so at the New Year I can customize with her. Unless, you all find a better way for computer dummies like me.
I'm still really excited about MM, and now that you all are doing it, its like an extra boost---doing something as a group is EVEN MORE MOTIVATING!
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Kristi
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Thank you Sarah for posting about Motivated Moms! It is a little scary how much a check list motivates me. And good thing check the a/c filter was on for today. Yikes!!
Btw, the price has dropped to $4 for the rest of the year.
Looking forward to hearing how the adobe editing goes.
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Kristi
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: For the first time ever. . .
