Better Organized

Here's a tip from one chaotic household:  LABEL EVERYTHING.   If you want your kids -- or husband -- to know where it's supposed to be, label the darn thing.  This has helped more than a lot of the organizational things I've tried around here.

Here are some examples:

I labeled my new white boards (purchased at Lowe's for a great price) with categories.  Still not sure on the layout, but since it's just a Word printout and a strip of packing tape, it's easily replaced.

If your kids are like mine, they need to be told or shown in great detail where to put things.  For those kids who can read, this is a lifesaver.  There is no excuse for not putting winter stuff in its home now.  I also have a handy mitten and hat organizer hanging on the door in the back entryway.  The dresser seen above is in the mudroom.

I even labeled The Boy's "dresser" to make it easier for The Hubs to put clothes away when the notion strikes him.

Don't be surprised if you come into my house and find labels on darn near everything, up to and including the toilet.  Trust me, sometimes a label is needed even for that.

Resolved

Guess it's that time of year again, when we all make promises that mostly don't get kept.  Ah, the New Year's Resolution.  I think I have good intentions every year.  Just very little follow through, and hey, that's not a new thing for me.

Last year I resolved to have all my Christmas shopping down by the end of November.  And THAT didn't happen.  It's really the only resolution I can remember, and I still didn't get 'er done.  Of course, I really don't remember making the resolution to get pregnant with baby #5 either, so life can sometimes show us that we aren't the ones in charge anyway.

Alas, I will once again make a few resolutions.  But they are more like guidelines.

• I will once again attempt to have all the Christmas gifts made or bought by December 1st.
• I will tone these flabby muscles enough so that carrying and pushing this next baby out of my soon-to-be 36-year old body won't kill me.
• I will do my best to be the role model for my kids that God wants me to be.
• I will learn to let things go when they're not going my way, and remember that God is in control anyway.

That's about the best I can do.  Follow-through is not my strong suit, but these goals seem somewhat attainable.

Baby #5: First Belly Shot!

Jen and Baby at 14 weeks.  Yes, he or she is poking on out there!

Discovered: New Insects!

Part of Riley and Savvy's school today was a science/art project.  They had to "discover" a new insect, make a model of it, and write out a description.

After making a huge mess, the projects were completed.  

Riley's New Insect:  The Sun And Water Bug

And Savvy's New Insect:  The Death Bug

It is my sincere wish that I never encounter one of these bugs in real life.  ;)

Isaac's New Dino

Grandma and Pop got Isaac a new dino toy for his second birthday.  This was his reaction.

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Our sweet little guy is the Big 2 today!  We love you, Boy!

Mischief, Foiled Again!

The Boy is known as the Screaming Monkey Goat around these parts.  Mainly because he screams a lot, climbs onto things and then likes to jump off.

Lately the big scale-able obstacle in the house has been the kitchen island.  It has drawers that he loves to pull out and use as a stepladder to get to the top of the island.  And then he proceeds in playing with the flour, sugar and anything else on top, never mind the inherent danger in falling of the thing.

I stumbled across some child-proofing safety straps while cleaning the other day.  Glory, hallelujah!  Installed those bad boys on the bottom two drawers.

This was his reaction.

He wants to know what the heck this thing is.

And now he's not so sure.

But I guess it won't stop him from getting into the top drawers.

And this was his reaction when he realized he could still climb up in the third drawer, much to our dismay.

Yesterday, I went to Target and bought another package of safety straps.  He has NOW officially been foiled.  Little stinker!

A Smart Neat Person by Savvy

Go to your HOME! (A Happy Gilmore Reference)

Every time I clean the kids' room, or just glance in at the job they've done on it, I hear Adam Sandler's voice screaming "Why don't you just go HOME!" a la Happy Gilmore.  I tell the kids everything has a home, so just put it in its home already!

They don't get the reference, nor do they understand why I chuckle a little under my breath every time I say that.

Sort of blurry, sorry.  Green ribbon for "done"
and gets moved to red for the next day.

Yesterday was an exercise in patience.  Riley lost her Chorepack -- which should have been clipped to her clothing -- and after listening to her whine about not being able to find it, I went into the bedroom and tossed it.  And when I toss a room, I toss it Marine Corps boot camp style.  Hey, it's what I know.

And then I just got mad.  Mad that they weren't really cleaning the room every night like they told me they were. Mad that I wasn't checking it.  Mad that they took advantage of me and my kindness like they were.  (Which I know is a totally ME issue, now that I've had time to cool down and reflect.)

So I cleaned.  And cleaned.  And cleaned.  For five hours I cleaned a room that I have previously spent about 48 hours cleaning in the past.  But not only did I clean, I labeled.

I labeled the home for everything I could think of.  I taped notes down that said, "Do NOT put ANYTHING under here!" at the bottom of the dresser and under the closet rod of shirts.

Even the Chorepacks now have a home at the end of the day.

Maybe it will work.  Who knows?  If these kids can be diligent and I can monitor it daily, we'll pull it off and their stuff won't be too good for their homes.

A Little Organization

This winter I am determined to be more organized when it comes to winter gear being tossed about.  A basket where we throw hats and gloves ain't gonna work.

I rearranged the "multipurpose nook" into a mudroom.  This little room off the kitchen has also served as an eating area, a sewing room and the school room.  For the next six months it's the mudroom, plain and simple.

After browsing blogs and Pinterest, I found this idea ... use a hanging pocket shoe organizer for hats and gloves.

This one works well for us because it has six rows.  Six people, six rows, four pockets each.

There are also at least 24 hooks on which to hang coats and snow bibs.  Next on the project list is making a little clothesline to dry gloves before putting them back in the pocket organizer.

If I get nothing else for Christmas, this will do it.  Organization equals peace of mind.  And less mess.  Always a good thing, huh, Martha Stewart?!

The Pursuit of (Chore) Happiness

Every day is a battle in this house.  Just one day I'd like to have my children joyfully and willingly do their chores, without whine or complaint, rolled eyes or barely veiled malice.  ONE DAY!

But until I am blessed with self-parenting children, I will suffer one day at a time, trying to instill a good work ethic in this heathen little bodies I call my heritage.

They've been assigned chores on a daily basis.  Maybe I exaggerate a tad bit.  The older girls DO their chores, but there is normally a lot of attempted negotiation and complaining along the way.  And as I heard a friend say years back ... I don't negotiate with terrorists.

To simplify things, I thought I'd try out the chore system the Duggar Family uses.  Titus2.com has a chore system called "Managers of their Chores".  It looked like a great way of organizing and breaking down chore responsibility.  And it is ... but WOW.  It's a bit overwhelming.

I took their main idea and made Chorepacks with the clip-on badge they sent in the kit.  I also used the same method they use, with writing down each child's name on each card with a designated time of day in which to do the chore.  Since we already were doing chores with everyone except the little guy, I was able to take the main idea and apply it to us.

So far, we've had the Chorepacks for three days.  Within 24 hours, one of the girls lost theirs; but it was recovered, so no harm no foul.  If I can make it a habit to get those hooligans to clip on their Chorepacks every morning and turn them in every night, we'll be in business.

Maybe I should make one for myself.  Hmmm.

Vacation!

I sat down this morning at the computer to type in my lesson plans for the day.  Yes, I wait until the morning to do it.  I'm a horrible procrastinator.  Sue me.

Anyway ...

When I sat down to delinquently plan my school day, I realized, "Hey, wait a minute!  We're on Thanksgiving vacation.  Heck yeah!"

So the superintendent, principal and primary teacher for this homeschool decided to have a piece of apple pie to celebrate our independence from sighs, complaining, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

And Snow It Begins!

The time is upon us once again, way up here in the Frozen North.  Snow is falling, chimneys are smoking and salty snow-mud is being continuously tracked into the house.

Ah, winter.

Low tonight is 7 degrees.  I'm just happy when it's above zero.  Pretty sure this Texas gal has acclimated to the harsh Minnesota winters.  I can go outside in short sleeves in the 30s, although not for too long.  Long enough to take out the trash or walk the dog.  Cold is below zero, a little chilly is above.  (But I am so thankful for our modern gas furnace that keeps the house warm!)

I actually enjoy shoveling snow.  It gets me outside in the crisp, fresh air and I get a little exercise.  I also get a little peace and quiet, since I normally do this when little ones are napping, or the big girls can watch the little tyrants.

The kids have played in the snow.  And left toys, hats, scarves and mittens in the snow.  Had to do a little rescue mission just this morning on a pair of errant mittens.  Soon, Jesse will take the big girls to Giant's Ridge to learn to use their snowboards.  I like to just sit at home and drink some hot cocoa.

I wonder when we'll see the ground again.  April, May?  I know by then I'll be tired of the white and want to see some green.  But the white stuff suits me just fine now.

Witty Title ... Nope

So, um, yeah.  Been a month since my last post.  Gee.  A lot can happen in a month.  Like this:

Yep, Baby #5 is due June 18th!  Today I am right at 9 weeks along, and things are going great.  We saw a tiny little heartbeat at our six week mark, and we are so excited for our little surprise.

School has been going great.  I moved teaching time to when Isaac is napping, so that I don't have to recover a climbing mountain goat-boy off various tall pieces of furniture or countertops while trying to teach the big kids.  We've gotten into the groove of learning at home, and I must confess to being more relaxed now that I am not so uptight about everything.

Biggest thing is not making school like a brick and mortar school.  We learn traditionally, with books and worksheets.  And we learn hands-on by doing.  The toughest part is not being too relaxed, especially when the morning sickness from #5 drives me to the couch.

Other than school and new baby, life is much the same as it was a month ago.

No real snow yet, although we've had two "dustings".  I both anxiously await and dread the first big snowfall of the year.  If it is like last year's first big snow, it stayed on the ground until May.  And the experts are predicting a year like the last.  Thank God for shovels, salt and snowblowers.

So I bid you adieu from the not-too-frozen Tundra.  Hopefully, I will remember to post more often.  :)

Boy + Pudding = ______

Our First Puppy

A few years ago, we told the kids we'd get a dog when Daddy got out of the Marines.  Of course, we were thinking that Jesse was going to retire from the military and, at the time, it would be a good seven years or so until we got said puppy.

And then, he decided to become a civilian before retirement, we moved to Minnesota and have been living here for a year.  Almost for the entire past year, the kids have nagged us for a dog.

I started looking at animal shelters on a whim one day, when boredom reigned and I had a few minutes on my hands.  Lo and behold, a little of seven adorable puppies had been brought to Animal Allies in Duluth.  I called, and they told me the pups were getting spayed/neutered that day and would be available the next day.

After pondering the idea, we decided to go ahead and take the leap.

Here's Holly, our newest family member.  She's a German shepherd, Blue Heeler (and possibly Beagle) mix.

 Although she's had a few accidents in the house, we are very pleased with her and how smart and eager to train she is.  I think she's going to be a great dog, as she's already a good puppy.

Fairy-ly Cute in Case of an Emergency

As with most things, I am on a budget for Halloween.  This year we explored Goodwill for costumes.  I think you'd be surprised at what you find there.

Brooke found a little fairy costume that she HAD to have.  And the blue wig bought at Target tops it off at $13 for the costume.  The wig was almost twice as much as the costume.  Hmph.

This morning, Brooke immediately put on the costume after waking.  She told me, "Look, Mom.  I have my beautiful white outfit, with my little white and blue skirt (said while flicking it up and down) and my big blue wings.  I have those in case of emergency on Halloween and I need to fly."

Typical

A typical school day looks like this:

And this is just five minutes into the school day.  It's a miracle we get anything done!

Field Trip FAIL ... kind of

Our first field trip with homeschoolers was a bit of a bust.  Not because of the location or event.  That was great!  I don't know if the girls paid attention, but I learned quite a few things about Tower, MN and the railroad that trucked iron ore to Duluth in the late 1800s through the 1960s.

Our friend from church, Krista, invited us and a few other families to the Tower Train Museum.  It's a great little museum with big trains and a depot full of historic relics.  And I thought that since Isaac loves trains, it would be a hit.

Nope.

He was great the first few minutes of the depot tour, but when it came time to see the trains ... well, things went downhill fast.  You see, trains have stairs.  And Isaac loves stairs.  Therein lies the problem.

When the little guy wasn't allowed to climb all the sets of stairs, he transformed into a squirmy, screamy gremlin.  Fifteen minutes of trying to restrain the monster had my arms in knots and my ears in pain.  I know it wasn't pleasant for anyone else on the tour either.  


I gave up, called it quits, said goodbye to friends and loaded the truck.  Bag lunches prepared for a fun feast on a box car became fare for the ride home.

I think next time we will just get a babysitter for The Boy, if possible.  

Here is a picture before he transformed into Jack-Jack with baby powers.

I tried taking one while he was having his wee little tantrum, and this was the result.  Kind of an interesting picture.

And here are a few other pics from the trip.  

Sew Much More Time!

Now that I've switched to my new school day, I find that I have time to do things again.  Things that I love, like home improvement and crafty schmafty stuff. 

Most of you know that I love cloth diapers on the kiddos.  Lately, things were so hectic that I had Isaac in disposable diapers just to save time.  We have more time on our hands now, so back into the cloth he went.

And the search for the best diaper pattern continues.  This is my latest AIO pocket diaper.

The outer is 1 mm PUL, with 16-gauge snaps.  Next time I make it, I will add hip snaps.  The shell pattern was based on a SmartiPants diaper that I stretched out and traced.  The inner is flannel, which wicks moisture away pretty well.  In this case, it's made out of a receiving blanket Isaac had as an infant.  Not a bad way to upcycle.  :)  The soaker loads (haha) through the back of the diaper.

Things to do next try:  hip snaps and sewing a "channel" that the soaker would feed into, rather than stuffing in between the layers.  In other words, a casing of sorts sewn to the flannel inner lining to hold the soaker.  I'll point it out on the next go-round.

More Changes for a Stress-Free Life

In previous posts, I mentioned that we were using K12 curriculum through Minnesota Virtual Academy.

No more!!

While it is a good option and a great program, at this time in our lives it is not the best fit for the family.  What do I mean?

You could say that trying to work 10 hours of scheduled class time into a home with children who like to climb into aquariums, scale bookcases, experiment with household cleaners and smuggle restricted objects was just a teensy, weensy bit much for me to handle.  If you did, indeed, say that you would be correct.

Trying to juggle the unexpected joys of parenting toddlers while attempting to teach two school age children was just too difficult a task under the K12 program.  Therefore, I switched to my own program.  It combines the strategy of the Sonlight Christian curriculum with a few other resources found online and some Bob Jones University, Apologia, and other curriculum loaned to me by a friend.  

My friends have been wonderfully supportive in loaning me materials.  I even found a great bargain bin sale day at BetterWorldBooks.com.

Even though we've gone through yet another change, this time it is for the best.  This mama is not nearly as stressed, and we finish school in about three hours versus eight or nine.  I even have time to sew again.  And paint cabinets.  And clean the house and do laundry.  And pee and brush my teeth.  

Ah, glorious life!

Cool Yer Jets, Man!

We woke up the last two mornings to Jack Frost's wintery gifts.  Lows got down in the 20s already, and it snowed very briefly the other day.  So hard to believe that autumn is here with winter nipping at its heels.

Time to start slowing down, I suppose.  If it's possible.  Which I really don't think it is.  How can I possibly slow down with all the demands on my time?  And yet, over the last month I've slowed my pace in the mornings and evenings, so that I can have a special time reading God's word.  

I confess ... I do not read my Bible nearly enough.  The last few weeks have been very challenging, and when enough was enough, I began leaning on the "everlasting arms" of God.  Morning and night He has shown me in His word how much He loves me, and what He expects of me in this life.  It has been a wonderful and humbling experience.  

So if impending winter is reminding me that the earth slows, then I suppose it is only fitting that I slow with it.  And maybe if I'm not moving so fast, God won't have to raise His voice to get my attention.  :)

God bless!

The Still, Small Voice in my Head

Do I even need to say that the cabinets didn't get done last week?  I don't think so.

I did manage to pull down three doors, spray hinges and fill holes.  Just didn't get any further than that.

Minnesota Virtual Academy is kicking my butt.  Hard.  I had a breakdown yesterday, and I feel bad for my poor sister who had to listen to a blubbering, wailing me describe my day.

It wasn't until I put my head on my pillow at 8 o'clock in the evening, exhausted and weary, that I heard God's gentle voice reminding me that I prayed for the patience to get through another school day the night before.  What the heck was I thinking?!  The only way to learn patience is to go through the fire of adversity.  I'll just say that God answered the prayer, much to my dismay.

Every day is a lesson, I've learned.  Yesterday I learned that teaching my children at home and still having enough "me" left over to tend to little ones and run a household is too big a job for me to handle ... alone.  That still, small voice of God reminded me to lean on Him and let Him work.  There is absolutely no way to do this on my own.  I'm right about that.  It is, very literally, Mission Impossible.

So thankful that I can just show up for work and let God do the rest.  Because He's the only one that can get me gracefully through the day, that can guide me through the chaos and have me standing up on the other side of it.

My sister posted this verse to my Facebook wall:  ‎"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." ~Isaiah 41:13

I needed the reminder.  Thanks, sissy.

Mission Impossible

As if I don't try to conquer the world, one onesie and pullup at a time, I have begun a quest that seems virtually impossible today.  Day Three of schooling the kids at home.

Today's mantra:  I will survive.  

In fact, that isn't the only goal, but it is the main objective.  Three kids, three grade levels, and a Tazmanian Devil running around the house.  

But to complicate matters, I've also sworn to complete sanding and painting the kitchen cabinets before the end of the week.

So I will attempt to survive.  And I will attempt to instill education, discipline and respect in my children.  And I will attempt to paint some cabinets.  Hopefully, pictures will follow.

If I live.

Allergies Abound!

A few months back, Savvy developed an oral allergy to eating raw carrots.  I thought it was kind of ridiculous, to be honest.  But the hives and the swelling were hard to discount, and the incident repeated itself on a subsequent occasion.  Then, the same thing happened with raw apples.


We decided it was in her best interest to screen her for allergies with a qualified professional.  And boy, am I glad we did.  

Beginning of the allergy test

Our poor Savvy girl is allergic to a LOT of stuff, with birch and oak pollen topping the list.  Pretty much all the tree pollens, grass pollens and weed pollens are in there too.  Including a very common mold, cats and dust mites.

End of the 15 minutes of allergy testing

Translation:  a few changes to our lifestyle.  No more open windows in the early morning or late afternoon.  No more hanging her linens on the clothesline.  Absolutely no chance of getting another cat.  Mattress and pillow covers to keep dust mites at bay.  And two EpiPens standing by in case of a severe food allergic reaction.


Moral of the story:  if you think your child may have allergies, it's best to follow your instincts and have them screened.  Better safe than sorry.

Project Fence: Completed!

Here are a couple quick pictures of the completed back yard fence!  Woo hoo!

And now ... onto finishing the kitchen cabinets!