Pinewood Castle

Morning Routine

Tweaking - again.

(kids' names changed to numbers)

Spring Cleaning and the Country Bunny

Somewhere along the line our family adopted the tradition of spring cleaning during Holy Week. In our home this typically means we clean the usual areas on the usual day, but more thoroughly than we would on a normal week.

To prepare the mudroom we moved all of the shoes, boots, and coats to the kitchen floor.

Seven people wear this many shoes?

The benches were moved to the garage and wiped off.

They loved the empty space. Hey - if we lived in San Diego maybe our mudroom would be empty and clean?

The runners were rolled up, taken outside, shaken, and beaten with a large stick (the kids loved that part). Floors and baseboards were cleaned, cubbies wiped off, and everything put back neatly.

On kitchen day, the kids were allowed to stand on the center island and dining table to wipe the light fixtures. Select cabinets were emptied and the kids wiped them out. If they could fit inside, all the better!

Today was family room day. We squished all the furniture, books, and toys into the dining area so we could vacuum, roll up the rug, and clean the floor. If you are a mom, you know how kids love an empty room. Hence the dancing to Animaniacs.

After a long break which included a picnic lunch on the floor, the wood furniture pieces were polished and everything moved back, but in a more open arrangement instead of the "hunker down in front of the fireplace" position.

The family room is just barely 13 x 13, so we have to make the most of the space we have.

Many hands make light work, isn't that whay they always say?

Older kids can be a HUGE help with spring cleaning, and having them around to learn practical skills of daily living is a blessing to me and to them (though they don't know it yet). Yet, I found that the kids pushed back when it came to working diligently - unless I let them be wild and crazy and have a ton of fun. If my management style slipped into default mode (a la Miss Hannigan), they would not cooperate one bit and I found myself barking and looking around for my Panic Pete.

To be fair - I'd say my eldest worked the most diligently and seriously. See how she is dusting while the others frolic?

Kids about to turn 13 have outgrown the silly romp around phase. Sad, but true.

Plus, she's old enough to see right through the tactics employed in the authorship of The Country Bunny. She knows why I began the day by reading this book!

Is this not one of your favorite books?

My two favorite parts of this all time favorite Easter classic are:

1) when the Grandfather compliments the bunny mother on the way her children hold up their ears so prettily, and

2) just before she begins to train them in on housework, "Now we are going to have some fun!"

Somehow, Mother Bunny makes housework seem like fun even to my kids, although they say they would gladly take the jobs of singing and dancing and making everything merry while everyone else worked.

The thing is - this bunny mom is amazing. Not only is she wise, kind, and swift, her long rabbit feet magically shrink to fit the golden shoes! The most amazing thing? She trained her children to run the house in her absence. Better than she could do herself.

She reminds me of another amazing mother, Marmie of Little Women, who spent her days volunteering for the war effort, confident that her children were striving to do their best at home in her absence.

Yet another amazing mom comes to mind - St. Gianna. Her heroic story always puts that question smack dab in front of me: what would happen to my children and husband if I died? How would they get on if I chose death to give life to another? I sense that she knew she had relatives she could trust, and finances to hire help, but what would my family do? Could my children run our home in my absence? Although I try not to fear death, or let this fear be the motivating factor in the training of my children, I have to admit that fear is buried deep within. Sort of like Sarah's umbrella post. Now that I have the responsibility of five children, I find it more difficult to take risks and lose control.

Most of the time I just want to be like the Country Bunny - not do anything too risky, just able to make noble contributions outside the home every now and then, as long as my activities do not detract from my primary vocation. And to contribute, not in spite of having so many kids at home, but because the kind of kids I have raised are trustworthy to manage things while I am away.

While marvelling at The Country Bunny's twenty-one children, one more amazing mom came to mind: Michelle Duggar. Is she not the ultimate Country Bunny? We caught a new episode on TV last night and the Country Buuny immediately came to mind. Both have a small army of capable helpers.

All too often, my own five children do not seem like nearly enough help to handle the plethora of tasks I face in a given day. Take this morning when the older kids were cleaning their rooms, I was trying to make eggs and pancakes, but nothing was going right for my little guy. No one could figure out what he wanted. I usually just squat down and hug him, but he was inconsolable.

Times like these I sure wished I had another child or two free to help. Maybe nineteen kids would actually free us up to do more - I mean the Duggars ventured to Asia and we have not even taken our kids out of the central time zone!

To sum up this rambling post: Many hands make light work! Many hands, and cheerful hearts. Even wild and crazy hearted kids who would rather sing and dance and make everything merry while everyone else does the hard work!

 

Have a blessed Holy Week. I promise I'll be quiet now until Monday!

How to Keep a Reasonably Clean House Even Though You Homeschool

I will be the first to admit that our home is not immaculate at all times. Five kids, homeschooling - that's just not a reasonable expectation. I might dream about that, and even ache for my single days when I only vacuumed and dusted once a month. I might look longingly at all of those cool loft condos downtown and wonder what sort of childless people live there and how beautifully clean their rooms must be. I might peruse the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog and loose myself in cleanliness, orderliness, and style.

But - that's not our style. Our style is to be a few steps ahead of utter chaos and to try not to drown in our growing collection of books, toys, and games. Without a ton of elbow room we also have learned to move about the house very carefully, or risk a stubbed toe. (a daily occurrence)

And I honestly try not to waste time on real estate websites drololing over 38oo FQF homes with 4-5 large bedrooms on the second floor, a music room and office and formal dining on the main level, and a large walk-out finished basement for the homeschooling stuff. Plus, I can't imagine how much longer a house that large would take to clean.

Nope, for now we have to make due by cleaning and organizing a very adequate 22oo FQF home with a den, a little homeschooling room (big enough for one desk & 4 tall bookshelves), 4 smallish bedrooms all on one level, 2 1/2 baths and a nice yard. And yes, we are truly thankful for the home we do have. (though I will have to purge gently used books again - soon)

However large or small your space, one must have a plan to keep it clean and organized. If you have children, their help must be enlisted. If you homeschool and a new mess is made every 5 minutes, cleaning times throughout the day and the week are a must.

So are my two lifesavers: The Dial-a-Child Chart and Chore Packs. I've blended these two popular methods into something that works for us.

The Chart:

The dial displays jobs to be done before breakfast, their zone to clean after dinner, and which little one they are assigned to help. Our dial is stuck, by the way. We used to move it once a week, but then they decided they liked a certain set of jobs, so now it's stuck.

A list on the left shows the areas of the house that will be cleaned after breakfast and before school time. A list on the right has the dish washing assignments.

Here a a few rules of thumb that work for us:

1) Everyone has a job before breakfast.

• Child 1 - Brush and feed the cat, scoop the litter box.
• Child 2 - Dust a room, unload the dishwasher.
  
• Child 3 - Bring down the laundry and start it. (we do at least one load a day, pre-sorted in hampers upstairs)

2) Everyone helps clean an area of the house after breakfast:

• Monday - Mudroom Day
• Tuesday - Kitchen Day
• Wednesday - Wastebaskets, Wood Floors, and Windows
• Thursday - Dust and Vacuum Upstairs.
• Friday - Bathroom Cleaning Day
• Saturday - Change sheets, sweep the garage, clean and vacuum the van. 

2a) This is where The Chore Pack method comes in:

I list everything that needs done each day on index cards and put them in name badge holders. I clip one to each child and they may only take it off after I inspect their work.

3) Everyone helps to clear, wipe and vacuum after dinner. Everyone then has a zone to clean and vacuum after dinner and before dessert: mudroom, family room, and classroom & den. These assignments are on the dial chart.

4) Kids help do the dishes after dinner, unless it's way too late, they are sick, or it's their birthday.

5) Everyone helps fold and deliver laundry in the afternoon. Sometimes this goes over better if I read a book out loud as they fold. As long as they fold, I read. If they stop folding, I stop reading.

6) The little ones are assigned a big kid helper. Often, but not always, helpers are responsible for helping bathe, dress, and brush the teeth of the little ones. They help them go potty (or change a diaper), wash their hands, put shoes on, and get in the van. Sometimes they read bedtime stories or take them for a walk in the stroller. Often they take them outside at recess and keep an eye on them. However, sometimes the little ones just want mom or dad. Sometimes mom & dad just want to be the ones to do these tasks and cuddle with their little ones. But, if needed, it sure is a great thing to be able to call out for a helper and have a trusted sibling take over.

I also have a few rules of thumb for myself that I have gleaned from several home management books:

1) Make sure your children realize how much you still do around the house even though you have promoted yourself to management, lest they accuse you of making them do all the work. They really don't realize how much more mental work you do as they get older.

2) Take some time to train your children in on these tasks. Demonstrate what you what done, how to do it, and how to put away supplies afterwards. Then let your children work under your supervision. Take a week or two off from school if you have to.

3) At some point, you might be able to leave them to their work and come back to inspect. This might look like, "If you can handle the cleaning today it will give mommy a chance to plan our vacation (or your summer day camps or fall activities, or your birthday party, etc.) and then I will inspect your work when you are done." Usually, the cleaning jobs work best when you put on some fun music and work alongside of them. I try to do this at least 80% of the time. If I sneak off to check email or blog, havoc quickly ensues. It's always best if I can work along with them.

4) Rewards: We give weekly allowance ($1 to save, $1 to give, $1 to spend). We also do things like earning tickets towards a fun outing. But sometimes it's okay to tell your children that the greatest reward is being taught how to work together and be good stewards of your home.

Most likely, you have a cleaning routine that works for your family. Sometimes the novelty of your latest system wears off and you have to switch things up. Whatever works for you, just take comfort that with some training and regular a routine, you too can keep a reasonably clean house, even though you homeschool!

Saints in the Making

Happy Feast of All Saints, everyone!

Isn't it amazing to ponder how many saints are in heaven, canonized and uncanonized? I think of family members who have gone before us and am grateful for the gift of faith that has been passed down through generations. I pray for their help in fostering the gift of faith in our own children and hope that we might see them one day in heaven to thank them. Some days this hope is stronger than others - depending on how we are coming along in developing basic virtues. For most of September and October, my hope was pretty low.

After years and years of "laying down the rails" it can be pretty discouraging when our train derails so frequently. My children (one in particular) continue to be challenged with the basic expectations in our family regarding obedience, responsibility, respect, and keeping on task with the rhythm of the day even though we have had daily plans and rules  visibly posted for years. As much as I wish it could all become automatic and habitual, I find that keeping a home (with children in it) and homeschooling takes constant vigilance.

The other night my husband let the kids watch as he unclogged globs of hair and goop from the shower drain. One sister, teasing her brother said, "See, this is what you will have to do if you become a dad!" The brother replied, "Then I'll be a monk instead!" At times like these I think about the future of our children and realize that one of them may very well end up in the religious life - and I panic. Will they be prepared? Do we pray enough? Are they developing virtues? Will they wish we had raised them differently? I guess if God calls them and they follow, everything will work out with His help and grace. I just want them to be prepared for whatever God does call them to do - in religious or married life. This motivates me to learn, to grow, to read and try new ideas that might help me  achieve my goals in raising up saints. Sally Clarkson just discussed this very thing - 

The problem with motherhood and the need for women to build godly estates of godly leaders in their homes, through multiple children that a woman will invest her life into, is that most women had no training, preparation or education of what it would take or how much it would cost them. Most just got married with the hope that someone would love them and take care of them and provide security and affirmation, and then babies came, and overwhelmed them.  They had never been trained for the job, never seen it modeled when they grew up,  never had a vision for how powerful a house (family) for God could be or how much work it would take.

I love reading Sally's blog and her books. She speaks to my heart.

I am also slowly working my way through a stack of very practical and hysterically funny Carol Barnier books such as this one for "highly distractable moms". I say slowly, because every three or four pages she has an idea I want to implement, then I get distracted and it's a week or two before I pick up the book again. See, this book fits me to a T.

One idea I borrowed and adapted is the Dial-a-Child Chart. This is working out rather well for us even though it's basically our old chore chart in a more exciting format. Here's what it looks like hanging on the pantry door:

The dials get turned on Sunday morning. One glance and everyone knows who is supposed to do what.

Another passage from the Barnier books inspired me to fine tune our Family Rules and Consequences. These will look different for every family, of course, but this is what is important enough to our family to post on the wall:

One - We respect God, our Heavenly Father, and the earthly parents He has placed in authority over us.

• We are made to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life and be happy with Him in heaven. 
• Obedience, service, reverence, honor, truthfulness. 
• “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” Ephesians 6:1

Two - We respect others: parents, our siblings, friends, and guests in our home. 

• Peacefulness, cheerfulness, truthfulness, generosity, sharing, hospitality, helpfulness, forgiving, compassionate, kindness, gentleness, polite table manners.
• “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.” Colossians 3:23-24

Three - We respect property and are good stewards of our belongings and our bodies.

• Clothing, shoes, books, toys, furniture, bathrooms, musical instruments, the van interior, personal hygiene, pets, etc. 
• Orderliness, cleanliness, responsibility, being trustworthy.

Four - We are self-disciplined in our home work, school work, music practice, and commitments to outside activities. 

• Diligence, perseverance, sanctifying and meaningful work.
• “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings.” Proverbs 22:29

(If you have a good quote for #3 let me know - most scripture quotes refer to detaching from our belongings rather than taking good care of them. It's a fine line - not giving stuff too much attention, yet giving them proper care. I tell the kids that you can usually tell a lot about a person by the way they take care of their things.)

We are experimenting with consequences - I suspect I have been at fault by having far too few consequences because they have so few privileges to revoke compared to the average American child. Here's the new routine: when a child is having a problem, I call them over and ask them to tell me which rule they are having trouble with. They get a check mark for each rule violated. For instance, if a certain child (without naming names) leaves dirty socks on the floor they get a check mark for #3. If I ask them to put them in the hamper and 15 minutes later they are still there, they get another check mark under #1.

Two check marks result in allowance reduction and another consequence is added for each additional check mark: an extra job, do dessert, temporary loss of a prized possession, and an 8pm bedtime. No check marks by Saturday = Wii time and some of Mom's birthday chocolate. Plus marks can be earned for extra spectacular behavior like volunteering to take on jobs or being a great example of cheerful service.

Plus mark behavior can also make check marks disappear! Children without any checks and at least one plus mark get to go out for ice cream with Dad Saturday night. Two kids out of four made it this week. We are hoping that at least three kids make it next week, but of course what we are really aiming for is that all five make it to heaven with the rest of the saints we honor today.

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.

Taming That Grocery Bill

Can you sense by the use of the word "that" in the title that I am at odds with our grocery bill? Are you? Can anyone really believe that a grocery bill can be as high as a mortgage payment? Personally, I think it's a crime to have to pay so much, especially for organic food. Some advocates of organic food claim that it is simply "honestly priced" food after factoring in government subsidies and eventual health care costs of conventionally grown food. But still. I think something is wrong with our food system when a bag of grapes (even non-organic) costs exponentially more than a fast-food hamburger.

I tackle the grocery budget from time to time, especially after reading message boards where I see that other mothers of many somehow spend half of what we do, even with twice the number children. I really don't know how they find food at the prices they claim to have found. I'm still figuring that out!

Some moms save big by using coupons and matching them with store sales and double coupon days. To me this sounds like hours of work and running from store to store beyond the already time-consuming task of menu planning and list making. What I hear from several friends is that while some coupon deals can't be beat, other discounts still total a price higher than the store brand. I just have not felt called to play the coupon game. Lazy me.

After doing some price comparisons, I am about ready to give up certain organic items since they cost twice as much as the non-organic versions. We have been in the habit of buying organic milk, yogurt, eggs,and butter, as well as some fresh and frozen produce on the "dirty dozen" list. For beef we buy locally raised grass-fed meat and whole chickens are also from a local organic farm.

My biggest accomplishment of late is overcoming my Fear of Aldi. Their prices are less than half of the grocery store across the street. If I shop there first, our grocery bill is easily lowered several hundreds dollars.

However, I was surprised to find that Costco's prices are often lower per ounce than Aldi's. The problem, of course, is quantity. Purchasing a three month's supply of pantry items quickly runs up the tab. It is difficult to check out with less than $300 worth of provisions at Costco. At Aldi I rarely spend over $100 - usually closer to $50 a visit. 

Here are the few items at Aldi I have found priced less than Costco:

• pasta sauce .075/oz
• rice .56/lb
• crackers .14/lb
• canned tomatoes .55/can
• sour cream 1.29/lb
• parmesan .40/oz
• canned salmon .13/oz
• ice cream .052/oz

These items are priced about the same:

• chicken broth cartons 1.40/32oz
• white sugar .57/lb
• brown sugar .75/lb
• chocolate chips /15/oz
• honey .18/oz
• milk (non-organic) 2.63/gallon
• eggs (non-organic) 1.55/dozen
• cottage cheese 1.32/lb
• cereal .10/oz
• tuna .21/can

Costco beats Aldi's prices on most everything else from nuts to tortilla chips to disposable items.

Aldi, on the other hand, carries wonderful European dark chocolate. I am not aware that any of their other products are from Europe. I wish they were - Europe has stricter standards when it comes to GMO's and pesticides.

I am putting together lists for comparison shopping. One with Costco's prices, one for Aldi, one for Azure, one for Trader Joe's and another for other local stores. Someday when they are more complete maybe I will post a pdf link. Photos will have to do for now!

Fortunately, my husband does the shopping at Costco and Trader Joe's since it is on his commute home. I am in charge of the local shopping. We don't buy much at Trader Joe's, but their price on 32 oz. organic yogurt and whole bean French roast is the best we can find. And the wine - definitely budget friendly!

What are your favorite secrets for eating well on a budget?

Our School - The First Three Weeks

Well, we started school the day after Labor Day like most families. We took a class photo on the porch just like always.

I think the kids were a little more excited than I was. I guess that's a good thing. I really am trying to remember to smile more. I even taped the lipstick smile cartoon to my bathroom mirror and added Kirsten's quote: "An extraordinary education begins with a smiling mother."

Well, it's not Kirsten's quote, but it's the one that she posted and I think of her when I read it. I've never met Kirsten IRL, but maybe I will someday since our girls are pen-pals. I really admire moms who smile.

 

My students enjoyed having special outfits to wear - especially the preschooler. She loves to have special clothes for specific occasions. For instance, she has one pair of panties she won't wear because she says they are her Birthday Panties.

And the kids enjoyed the schulte cones. The contents were minimal but they were no less appreciative.

Usually we "do school" four days a week and spend Wednesday mornings at piano lessons. This month I said "yes" to so many field trips and appointments so we are doing morning schoolwork only two or three days a week in September and October. Subjects have been layered on each week. We are almost up to the full load, except we still  have to find time to finish the IEW writing program.

 

Time Management is the battle I am picking the big goal for us this year. Really - are all home schooled kids as  lazy relaxed as mine? Mine seem to take forever to get ready in the morning and transition from breakfast to chores to schoolwork. They can tell time, but just don't seem to get how fast time ticks by and how behind we get by lunchtime with five minutes wasted here and there.

I think they are finally getting the timer enforcement - I am insisting they wear headphones and listen to baroque or classical music to keep from being so distracted by one another. The first two or three weeks they timed each subject and now they are setting their timers to the time allotted. At noon I add up the minutes they wrote down and compare it to the time gone by. Sometimes there are large chunks of time unaccounted for! I really don't get how this happens and the child somehow never knows.

Well, I take that back. One day Sunshine admitted that she spent time here and there watching out for the butterfly to emerge from it's chrysalis. Today my eldest had an hour unaccounted for with no explanation. Hopefully the long talk with the principal after dinner will be the remedy for this time-wasting syndrome.

(yes, he does his school work standing up)

I know many homeschoolers are not so uptight about this, but I find that our day works best if the book  work is finished by lunch so we can have wider margins around lunch and dinnertime. On paper we have an hour and a half for lunch & outside before beginning a piano/read alone/check-in with mom rotation from 1:30 - 3:00. The goal is to finish by 3:00 and gather together for art or science before getting back outside.

These kids love outside.

After that I unload the dishwasher and start dinner. Two nights a week my son has to eat early and get to choir by 6pm. The toddler's tummy alarm goes off about 5pm so we have all been eating earlier and having more time to clean up after dinner and to spend more time outside before the sun goes down. Or like tonight, finishing school work!

Do your kids cherish their time outside as much as ours? The current passion is concocting recipes from the doll mud pie book such as Pine Needle Upside Down Cake, Roasted Rocks, and Sandwiches made from sand and leaves. Pretty tasty cuisine for dolls.

 

Getting the little ones to bed by 7:00 - 7:30pm has made a huge difference in their happiness and well being as well as the rest of the family. It's nice to have an hour that is noticeably quieter than the rest. By 8pm dad reads to the the big kids, we pray, and they get off to bed by 8:30. Usually.

And as for the actual school work? My 6th grader is totally excited about The Ancients. She made the nomad tent suggested in SOTW and plans to sleep there tonight.

My 4th grader is combining history and home ec. by cooking from Eat Your Way Through the USA. Everything has been a hit so far!

(lobster casserole and blueberry pie for Maine)

Our 3rd grader was pretty non-compliant with the timer directives for the first two weeks, but then he got in gear and was able to finish his work in two hours and start making lunch by 11:30! I about fell over in disbelief. Maybe he will turn out to be a reliable fellow after all.

The preschooler is usually cooperative with preschool activities, though we just do the plans when we can. Sometimes before the toddler's nap, sometimes during. She surprises me with her memory for song lyrics, counting, interest in the alphabet, reciting the months of the year, and even adding numbers on her own.

And the toddler - he loves to "read" in his little hand-me-down Thomas chair. He's soooo adorable at this age - which happens to be 18 months this week.

One more crucial item to our school routine has been resurrected - Morning Devotional Time. It's almost back in place - we have yet to decide if this should take place before or after breakfast. Either way, we had slacked off with our routine of morning prayer, reading the saint-of-the-day, a chapter of Proverbs-a-day, and singing a hymn. As for the Devotional Stories for Little Folks - honestly the girls just read them on their own in years past. Since their brother has not gotten to reading them, the girls unanimously agreed that he needed to hear these stories and get on the bandwagon of putting some more virtues in practice, so I am reading them out loud for the first time even though I honestly don't like cutesy moralizing stories. But if it works and bears fruit I am willing to give them a try.

The theme of our home school mom's group also inspired this change: First Things First. After deciding on this theme one of the co-leaders came across this article on the same topic by Jeannie Fulbright that confirmed our chosen focus.

At our first meeting she read the article aloud (with tears in her eyes) and we handed out notebooks decorated with a picture of the proverbial cart before a horse. It was such a poignant reminder that everything we do as homeschoolers is difficult enough with out God's help, and can be unbearably difficult unless we put God first and ask his blessings on our day and on our children.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Let's just say I am super impressed these days with homeschooling moms of many who still manage to crank out posts at a steady rate. This endeavor just seems beyond my reach these days. There are so many things to do, I just have to prioritize and think, "What is the one thing I need to do right now?" The possibilities are a endless, but it is usually something like:

help the kids with school

help the kids practice

take a violin in for new fine tuners

read to the older kids

read to the younger kids

fold laundry for the kids so they can go outside and get the sunshine and exercise they need

go outside and walk so I can get the sunshine and exercise I need

make a menu plan

make a grocery list for the menu plan

read the choir boy's newsletter

update the calendar with performance dates

make necessary phone calls like scheduling the chimney sweep

write a thank you note and bake cookies for someone who did something nice for me

place my Azure order

close the pantry door

grade math

order library books

return library books

re-do my grocery price lists and see if Aldi is really less expensive than Costco

make some iced coffee

go to the bathroom!

order snow gear for the eldest

sign up for that field trip

get to a dr. appointment for me

drive to karate

drive to boy choir

grocery shop during choir rehearsal

drive to violin

drive to Ft. Snelling for a field trip

print out the educational material for that Young People's Concert

ask my husband what day he can mow and take the van for an oil change

order beeswax candles for the dark months

talk to my niece about her new baby boy

clean the floor

clean the appliances

change burnt-out lightbulbs

wipe the dust off the light fixtures

get out bigger clothes for the baby

change the outfit on the 4 year old's baby doll

at least do puzzles with the 4yo since we didn't get to doing preschool

let the new butterfly go

pick up the family room again

water the porch mums

pick the lock on my bedroom door after the 4yo locked the baby in my bedroom all by himself

look at what's for dinner tomorrow

make sure I have all the ingredients

You get the idea. You get that "write all those blog posts I have swimming in my head" isn't the one thing I need to be doing unless it's 9pm or earlier, the kids are all in bed, the laundry is all folded and put away, I know what's for dinner the next day, and I am not about to fall asleep standing up.

Patience. And priorities. And all for the love of God and these precious people He put in my life ~

All Those Nooks and Crannies

Although the basic housework is now delegated to the three older children, the details of actual housekeeping and cleaning still fall with me. Now that last year's homeschooling is almost completely wrapped up and most of next year's materials are prepped my attentions are naturally falling to all the unclean and neglected areas of my home.

My fifth grader is a week away from finishing the MODG subjects we choose to follow and would love my help. The poor girl follows me around the house asking, "Mom, can you help me finish memorizing O Captain, My Captain?" to which I reply, "Sure honey, after I finish scraping off the rings in the toilet with this  pumice stone." Or another day,  "Mom, will you please quiz me for the final Latin review and then tune my violin so I can practice?" and I put her off a few minutes with "Sure, after I finish cleaning the gunk off the shower door track with a toothbrush and wash all the wastebaskets!" Here I had imagined that I would spend some time on the sofa with her these last weeks reading about the Civil War but for some reason I can't stop cleaning instead.

Other areas are making the cleaning list for next week: vacuuming the drapes, wiping light fixtures, removing everything from the kitchen drawers and wiping them out. Really, how do so many crumbs get in a silverware tray full of clean silverware? I know some of you supermoms actually do these tasks regularly, but most of this I have not done in over a year - when my nesting instinct kicked in before the LIttle Prince was born.

Keeping up with the basics has been challenging enough. It seems like a daily fight to keep my house from looking like the ones you see on TV - you know those hoarders with one path from the front door to the easy chair to the fridge and back and the rest of the house stack floor to ceiling with junk? Sometimes it seems like I just can't move in my own home but I suspect it has more to do with a certain toddler, four year old, three older kids and two cats with constant and various demands.

Now I had better be off to clean the garbage disposal!

Retiring to Management

I just gave myself a promotion!

Inspired by some talks I have been listening to, I delegated more responsibility to my children so they can become more proficient in their home ec skills and I have more time for things like taking the littles for a walk.

The new assignments:

11yo girl: Head Laundress. Bring down the hamper of the day (pre-sorted in designated hampers that reside in the upstairs hallway), load the washer, run the washer, transfer to dryer, etc. Everyone still helps fold and deliver, preferably during read aloud time. We typically wash a category a day, resulting in one or two loads. Monday - kid's clothes, Tuesday - jeans, Wednesday - towels, Thursday, mom & dad's clothes, Friday - kitchen laundry, Saturday - sheets.

9yo gir: Head Bathroom Custodian. The kids used to clean one bathroom every Saturday, now one child cleans a bathroom a day for just three days. Everything but the shower and tub, which I do every other week or so.

8yo boy: Official Duster. One room a day between breakfast and school.

4yo girl: Table Setter. Sometimes she is eager to help, sometimes not. Let the training begin.

After Meal Clean-Up: 11yo clears, 8yo wipes, 9yo vacuums. 11yo also starts the dishwasher.

End of the Day Cleaning Zones: 11yo - mudroom & cat box/food, 9yo family room books & toys, 8yo classroom and den.

Meal Helpers: 9yo - breakfast, 8yo lunch, 11yo dinner.

Everyone: Saturday room cleaning and vacuuming. Helping with the baby when asked. Helping with anything when asked!

  

It's a Mouse & Cookie Kind of Day

It's Cleaning & Reorganizing Day.

When you put away St. Valentine's decorations you realize you have collected too many for them to share a storage tub with St. Patrick's too. So you add "storage tub" to the Target list.

You bring up the Purple Box (advent and lent) and pull everything out. You realize that you never did get an "N" or a "T" to change your advent PREPARE to the lent REPENT like one of your favorite bloggers does. You add two letters and a little bottle of purple paint to the Michael's list.

You find the card stock crosses you painted and decorated last year but never made into a garland. Where did you put the hole punch?

Then your dear, dear husband takes all the car seats out of the van so he can take it to the fancy car wash that cleans floor mats and interior windows just because he know the state of the van is driving you nuts. He figures out our two car seats have expired, finds a YouTube video on the possible consequence of this in case of an accident, decides to err on the side of safety and orders two new Britax car seats. Good thing there is 20% code at diapers.com!

Now it's time for you to clean the glass on the back door to make it ready for the Lenten path that is faded but still usable. You already cleaned the floor and moved the chairs to the family room. Your kids turn this into a train, just like you did when you were young. This is the excitement of the day. You even eat lunch picnic style on the floor because the kids beg you to leave "the train" up longer.

There is at least one oasis of calm and order you can set your eyes on. And good thing you cleaned out those votives last year. It's the one thing all day that did not lead to another!

Thank you, all you bloggers, who have shared so many wonderful ideas over the years that have become beloved family traditions. We are looking forward to a cleansing, yet joyful Lent.

Cookie Convenience

Thank you Krusteaz Chocolate Crackle box mix from Costco for making it easy to bring six dozen cookies with three variations to the boys' choir concert today!

The Helm of the Ship - The Kitchen Sink

I often think of our home not only as a castle but also a ship, with the kitchen sink as it's helm. Second to the shower, this is often where I do my best thinking, praying and cleansing. What I do here gives our family direction and vision, the beginning and end of almost every meal as well as each day.

See evidence of Saturday's blizzard on the window?

I remember back when I first looked up Fly Lady and was impressed by her emphasis on keeping a clean kitchen sink. Clean it well before bedtime and you will feel better waking up to a clean kitchen sink, she said. I took her advice and never regretted it. In this season of my life my dh is more often the kitchen closer and opener but he follows suit, I am happy to say. I still love getting in there during the weekdays and on weekends to give it a good cleaning and spruce things up a bit.

Even though I wish we had a magazine-pretty sink with white woodwork, casement windows, a deep and flat windowsill, granite counter tops and retro faucets. I have the opposite: oak woodwork, a slider window, a shallow uneven sill, laminate counters and an easy lever faucet. Still, I am pretty content with what I have.

Close-ups:

A prayer for my husband and wikki stick and bottle cap gifts from the kids -

Hot cocoa mugs within easy reach (rather than digging in the depths of the cabinets for them) -

Recently created garland -

A molded beeswax ornament -

A kitchen Madonna -

 

I will be very much a late-comer to Leila's kitchen sink linky party (62nd) but I am taking a little time out for this post because I love the meaning of it all.

Leila observes that the reason women commonly feel discontent in this hidden home-maker life is "not understanding or not being willing to commit yourself to the little tasks that make up this life."

Here is her vision: "The wife and mother has the ability to turn something that seems like drudgery into a pleasure and even a prayer . . . make the area around your sink pretty, according to what you think is pretty! And not just pretty, but maybe even a place that your prayers rise like incense to Heaven even while your hands are in soapy water."

This, my dear readers, is the main lesson of life that I am trying to pass on to my children: cleaning does not have to be drudgery. Your home is your castle, your ship, your church. Be a good steward of your environment, do little things well, create a happy hum in your home environment not only with your own disposition but also with what your eyes rest on each day (sometimes my disposition is my greater challenge). Sanctify your dwelling - start by keeping your kitchen sink pretty!

Cocoa Mix Picks

You thought I was all done with questions? I thought I was too until today. You see, I would love to know what people like better: cocoa mix that you mix with milk or cocoa mix you mix with hot water. Which do you prefer?

Why do I want to know, you ask? Well, once upon a time I ordered 5 lbs. of organic powdered cocoa and underestimated how much this would be or how long it would last. Recipes really don't call for all that much. Last year (or two years ago?) I made a cocoa mix but made the mistake of using non-instant milk powder. My kids do not like lumpy cocoa - and neither do I. The batch was finally thrown out, just a couple of weeks ago.

This weekend with the snow and all I have been using a mix I bought at Target. This mix requires warm milk, which is quite good, but used up a gallon of milk now that we have six cocoa sippers in the family. Inspired to use up that cocoa powder and attempt to make my own once more, I have been looking for recipes for our own supply and possibly as Christmas gifts for some IRL friends and relations. This is the one I made today for our pantry.I have not used it yet since we used the Archer Farms mix today. 

I have twelve quart jars ready to go for gifts, now I have to make a final decision for the give-away batches: a mix that tastes great but uses up a family's milk supply or a mix using instant powdered milk. Is there a big difference?

My Husband is a Genius

Me, wistfully, "Oh, I wish I had time to go out and refill the bird feeders. I wish the kids were tall enough to reach them."

My husband, the genius, "Well, they could use the step stool in the garage."

One more job permanently delegated.

The Secret to Angel Food Cake

For years I would try to make angel food cake on the Feast of the Guardian Angels. For years my cake fell apart because I could not find a wine bottle with a skinny enough neck for inverting the tube pan. Some reader (thank you whomever you are) suggested using a metal funnel. I finally found one (online) after a long search. It works. It really works!

(I meant to post this last week, but you know how things go. Just FYI for next year!)

Love Is . . .

. . . more shelves installed by my DH. Why? Because I was suddenly driven nuts by having all my arts & crafts supplies in five different places.

Trouble is, this was the front coat closet. If you visit me this winter, you'll have to leave your coat in the car!

Summer Savings

 It's Back to School time and for some reason as a homeschooler I always feel a little guilty about taking advantage of the sales. I don't know why. Our kids need clothing and school supplies just like everyone else's!

I can't possibly provide a complete list of specials but a few deals out there have saved us some of my husband's hard-earned cash. Famous Footwear's current special is "buy one, get the second pair for half price and take an extra 20% of your entire purchase". My son now has the next size up and I suspect my second daughter will be in need now that her older sister wears shoes long enough to make them unfit for hand-me-downs.

Prismacolor colored pencils ($65) were on my art supply list so I printed a 40% off coupon for Michaels which brought it to $35 (no need to buy a newspaper for this) and was pleased to find a $10 rebate in the store bringing the total cost to just $25! Plus, teachers get an extra 15% off of an entire purchase on Fridays through September something. This will come in handy now that we are traveling to a Costco every other week with a Michael's in the vicinity.

Costco/slashing the grocery bill update coming soon!

My Honey Luvs Me

And he was tired of always being the one to fetch meat from the basement freezer.

I can now enter the lowest level of the house without having a panic attack and I won't have to spend all of our tornado warning time cleaning while watching the radar.

The remedy? Shelves my dh installed on all of those rainy Saturdays the past month -

 

I don't seem to have a before picture for comparison, but just imagine all those clothing storage boxes on the floor collecting dust and spider webs.

I might even start using that treadmill again if we can replace the broken dehumidifier.

 

These two shelves were already here but they hold school/toy items not in current use. You see the kids still have their beloved refrigerator box. Like the baby? We found him down there in a swing between boxes. He's really cute.

 

Newly organized Little People, train table and race cars.

 

This is where I am putting 2010-11 curriculum until we are ready for it.

The basement used to be so empty. The girls rode their tricycles down there and one winter or two we hung swings from the rafters. Growing pains are good pains in a way. In a blink of an eye we won't need all those children's clothes anymore and will have empty shelf space for who-knows-what. Sniff sniff.

Top Ten Sanity Savers

At least for this week. It's a real nose to the grindstone week for us. More about that later. 

Here it goes . . .

10. Creating something beautiful with my hands. I needed this therapy. It's even better when the materials you work with smell as good as real beeswax.

 

9. Finally something to help her understand numbers through the millions.

8. I still marvel that my phone gets charged as we listen to Pandora during school time.

7. My new revolving desk carousel holds everything: scissors, glue, tape, highlighters, tape recorder, date stamp, flashcards, teaching clock, stapler, hole punch, protractor, post-its, dice, lip balm, fingernail clipper, pencil sharpeners. Everything. Keeps me from hunting through my desk every five minutes. I love this thing. So does Pipsqueak. 

6. Setting a timer for 4th grader for each subject to help stay on schedule. Rewards for finishing before the timer beeps. Timer tucked into coat pocket so they know when to come in after recess unless they are crawling through snow tunnels and the wrong buttons get pushed. If they didn't cost $10-$15 each I would buy ten of them!

5. Schedules for each child. Laminated. Doubles as a place mat!

4. Tip from homeschooling seminar - keeping your hands busy while monitoring potentially frustrating sessions such as math lessons and piano practice really helps you keep your cool. The presenter got this idea from pondering how long it took Jesus to fashion a whip before driving the merchants out of the temple.

3. Violin is now from 4:00 - 5:00 twice a week = more crock pot meals.

2. Need I explain?

Drum roll please ..............................................................................

1. DADDY'S HOME!!!

She's Here!

The dishwasher, not the baby!

She actually arrived a few days before Christmas. I thought my Santa had come, but unfortunately the delivery guys did not install. No, the dishwasher did not come in a box for the kids, but they did give them a refrigerator box! They were thrilled.

Installation was finally arranged for today. Somehow we survived the holidays without it. I can't run it until it warms up to room temperature because it sat out in the garage for almost two weeks in sub-zero weather. There's a possibility of damage from the cold, I am told. That didn't stop me from loading it anyway to clear the clutter on the counter. See the bathroom cups all ready to be sanitized?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the racks are are a few inches less deep than the Kenmore. Humph. I think we'll love her anyway!