Cleaning and Snowing

Okay, I know that I have had a lot of posts about cleaning...and I promise that this will be the last one...at least for a while.  It is time to move on and focus on something else, but for today here are a few quotes about cleaning:

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing" - Phyllis Diller

Awww, snow...this looks SO refreshing!

"Sometimes we assume our children know how to clean because they are such experts at making messes.  Cleaning is a skill all people need to learn, so teach your children." - Tamara A. Fackrell 

"I guess the bottom line is that there's nothing like sitting back together after a Saturday's hard work and taking pride in the ownership of how the house smells and looks, and how beautifully manicured the yard is, and realizing that we've done it all ourselves--we've worked so hard and now we can really play.  That kind of work give a high that I want my kids to have more of.  

I believe the teaching kids hard work is the secret that will help them weather the storms they'll no doubt face in life.  If we teach them to deal with them by working hard and facing difficulties full-on - taking ownership in what's hard and tackling it - they';ll be well-balanced and better for the wear." - Shawni Eyre Pothier from A Mother's Book of Secrets

Chore Charts Revamped

The "Never Leaf Your Chores Undone" chart is now off the wall and the new and improved charts have been hung on the cabinet with care, in hopes that their allowance will soon be there.  My goal for this chore chart is to have an assortment of skills..not just household chores.  Here are some of the things that I included:

• Make bed / Brush teeth
• Homework - Read for 1/2 hour
• Talent Time - (Kaylee practices piano, and Aaron chose to practice basketball.
• Do a good deed
• Household skill that I want them to learn.  For the next few weeks Kaylee and Aaron each have 3 days each week to unload and load the dishwasher.  Once that is mastered, I will change it to learning how to fold laundry, vacuum, clean toilets, helping me with dinner....
• 10 Minuted Clutter Cleaners - For 10 minutes each day we clean up a specific area together as a family.
• Secret Missions - About once a week, I tape a note to the back of my kid's bedroom door saying "Your mission should you choose to accept it is to ______"  I also leave their "weapon" to attack the chore with.  For example - the mission may be washing the car and the weapon is a sponge; or weeding with gardening gloves.
• Having a good attitude during chores

My wonderful, tech savvy hubby made a spread sheet for each child.  Each day is broken up into the chores that need to to done that day.  When they complete a chore, Eric or I initial in the box.  10 initials earns them a quarter.  They are paid each Monday and also receive a new chart for the next week.  It has seemed to work so far.  I like it because it gives them ownership of their chores.  They are responsible to look at their charts and do the work without reminders...of course I am there to help them if they need help.  If they forget a chore...no initial and less money at the end of the week.  Nathan (2) and I do his chores together...his chart is a simplified version.


I found some other great ideas for chore charts over at Buzzing the Day Away;  Live, Laugh, Love and Mads Memories.

I really hope that by doing this my kids will learn the value of work and responsibility, learn new household skills that they will need when they are living on their own, improve their talents, have fun, have good attitudes, and yes...have a cleaner home.  Hey...a mom can dream right?

Never Leaf Your Jobs Undone!

Chores...need I say more??  Oh, what a bore!  They are something that I like my kids to do - but also something that I have a hard time following through with and being consistent.  Here is an example of our latest attempt:

I made up a cute tree that says "Never Leaf your jobs undone!" Kaylee and Aaron each had 30 leaves in their envelope.  If their chores were completed by the end of the day they got to put a leaf on the tree.  Once the leaves were all on the tree, they received their allowance.  Instead of an allowance, sometimes we also went on a fun family activity once the tree was finished.  Great right?  This chore chart worked for about 4 rounds until it eventually fizzled out.  Now the jobs are "leaf"ed undone.  I must confess that this poor tree has been like this in our hallway for about 9 months.

It is time to chop this tree down and come up with a new system.  We will say goodbye to the tree for now.  Tomorrow I will share the new and hopefully improved chore charts that our kids have been trying for the last week.  I am really trying to be consistent and to come up with a system that puts the responsibility on the kids so that I don't have to be a naggy mom...stay tuned!

The Value of Work

In my quest to organize our household chores and work to keep our home clean, I came across these great scriptures and quotes from President Hinckley:

Doctrine and Covenants 42:42 - Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread not wear the garments of the laborer.

Proverbs 19:15 - Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Gordon B. Hinckley said:  "I believe in the gospel of work.  Work is the miracle by which talent is brought to the surface and dreams become reality.  There is simply no substitute under the heavens for productive labor.  It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements.  I suppose that we are all inherently lazy.  We would rather play than work.  We would rather loaf than work.  A little play and a little loafing are good.  But it is work that spells the difference in the life of a man or a woman or a boy or a girl.  Children who are taught to work and to enjoy the fruits of that labor have a great advantage as they grow toward maturity.  The process of stretching our minds and utilizing the skills of our hands lifts us from the stagnation of mediocrity."

"The labor and thrift of the people make a nation, a community, or a family strong.  Work and thrift make the family independent."

The BFG

My kids and I just finished the greatest book...The BFG by Ronald Dahl.  It was a fantastic read aloud because we all enjoyed it...including me!  It is a story about a little girl named Sophie and the Big Friendly Giant and their adventures together.

 For those of you who aren't familiar with Ronald Dahl, he wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and lots of other very entertaining books.  He is one of my favorite authors.

Here is a little excerpt from The BFG.  We were reading this part and my kids were laughing so hard that we had to start over because they couldn't hear what was going on:

"Burping is filthsome," the BFG said.  'Us giants is never doing it.'

'But with your drink,' Sophie said, 'what was it you called it?'

'Frobscottle,' said the BFG.

'With frobscottle,' Sophie said, 'the bubbles in your tummy will be going downwards and that could have a far nastier result.'

'Why nasty?' asked the BFG frowning.

'Because,' Sophie said, blushing a little, 'if they go down instead of up, they'll be coming out somewhere else with an even louder and ruder noise.'

'A whizzpopper!' cried the BFG, beaming at her.  'Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time!  Whizzpoppong is a sign of happiness.  It is music in our ears!  You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping is forbidden among human beans?'

'It is considered extremely rude,' Sophie said....

'Redunculous!' said the BFG.  'If eneryone is making whizzpoppers, then why not talk about it?  We is now having a swiggle of this delicious frobscottle and you will see the happy result.'...He removed the cork and took a tremendous gurgling swig....

For a few moments, the Big Friendly Giant stood quite still, and a look of absolute ecstasy began to spread over his long wrinkly face.  Then suddenly the heavens opened and he let fly with a series of the loudest and rudest noises Sophie had ever heard in her life.  They reverberated around the walls of the cave like thunder and the glass jars rattled on their shelves.  But the most astonishing of all, the force of the explosions actually lifted the enormous giant clear off his feet, like a rocket.

'Whoopee!' he cried, when he came down to earth again.  'Now that is whizzpopping for you!'

Taco Pockets

Here is a fun twist on tacos.  My kids love to help me make them...and they really love to eat them!

Taco Pockets:

Ground beef or turkey

taco seasoning

refrigerated biscuits

lettuce

tomato

cheese

sour cream

Cook the ground beef and add the taco seasoning.  On a cookie sheet, smash each biscuit until it is thin and round.  Put about 2 Tbsp of the meet in the middle of the smashed biscuit.  Fold the biscuit in half and pinch the sides together with a fork.  Bake according to the biscuit directions and top with your favorite taco toppings.

Enjoy!

Our Not-So Lazy Days of Summer

Awww...the lazy days of Summer.  When are they going to be here??  Summer is half way over and I have not had a nap yet.  Whoever made up this saying was definitely not a mom!  We have done some thrilling things this summer so I wanted to share our not-so lazy days of summer:

Yearly Cabin Trip:  Eric made up a new game for the kids.  We held a rope over the trampoline and the kids had to jump over it without touching the rope.  With each successful jump, the rope would go a little higher.  They loved it!  It almost makes we want to get a trampoline...I'm not quite convinced though.

Family Reunion:  Every year we travel to a little town in Idaho for a family reunion.  We camp in tents and play games and eat.  It is a lot of fun, except for this year...Nathan, Aaron, Travis, and I had to miss out due to hand-foot-mouth disease.  Here are some highlights from Kaylee and Eric:

Playing with cousins

Minute to Win It game

Slip n' Slide with tarps

Skits

Launching home made paper rockets 

Boondocks Family Fun Center:  Aaron decided to go here for his birthday.  We had a great time together. The first arcade game that he played, he scored the jack pot and won over 400 tickets.  He ended up with 1,000 tickets...lucky kid!

Aaron waiting and waiting and waiting for all of his tickets to come out...it took about 5 minutes and then I had to carry them around.

Miniature Golf

Cooling off at the Bumper Boats

Lagoon Day: Yesterday we went to a local amusement park and had a blast:

 

Yeah for those not-so lazy days of Summer!