Housework When You Don't Do It

"Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it"

- Author Unknown

How true is that.  I love this following little story.  And no, I am not husband bashing, Eric is VERY understanding when the house is not perfectly cleaned when he gets home...he know that I don't just sit around all day reading...most days that is.

Your husband walks in from work and is alarmed.  The front door is open, and a turned-over lamp and pieces of a broken toy litter the entryway.  Dog food is everywhere.  He looks in the living room and sees piles of clothes all over the place.  A plant has been knocked over, and the dirt is ground into the carpet.  The couch cushions have been ripped off, and the piano bench is overturned, with music pages littering the room.  He can hear the children screaming in the backyard.  He tries to rush up the stairs, but he can hardly get through.  A pile of pillows and blankets at the end of the stairs practically makes a mountain.  When he walks into the kitchen, he sees bits of cereal, splattered milk, and a whole pitcher of juice leaking through the cracks of the kitchen table.  The drip is slow and constant.  The dishes are piled high, and the kitchen counters cannot even be seen.  Now he is worried that his wife may be sick or that something terrible has happened.

He runs down the hall and peeks into the bathroom.  Toothpaste is smeared all over the wall, wet towels are heaped on the floor, and rolls of toilet paper make a trail through the house.  Then he sees you curled up on the bed, still in your pajamas, reading a book.  You say, "Hello, dear, how was your day?"  He rushes to your side.  "Are you all right?  What happened today?"  You reply, "You know how you are always asking me what in the world I do all day?  Well, today I didn't do it."

 

Housework Routine

Kaylee's beautiful signature in dust is now gone.  After pulling out all of my parenting books and surfing the web, I decided that my housework needs to become a scheduled routine.  Wow, that sounds SO strict and boring.  After looking at some incredible schedules where each hour of the day was planned out I got a little overwhelmed....so I simplified.  I don't want to spend my entire day cleaning, I've got better things to do than that!  So here is my plan: instead of spending an entire Saturday morning cleaning, I divided the cleaning into weekly jobs - one for each day of the week (in addition to the everyday dishes, clutter, and laundry).  Here is what I am going to try and probably tweak a few times until it works for me.

Monday:  Grocery shopping, laundry, garbages
Tuesday:  Bathrooms
Wednesday:  Dust and Vacuum
Thursday:  Sweep/mop
Friday:  Clean Kitchen
Saturday:  Secret Missions (a "mission" that Eric or I decide needs to be done around the house or yard that we do together as a family)
Sunday:  Rest

I have also enlisted the troops.  Last night we introduced 10 Minute Clutter Cleaners to the kids.  Every night we will pick an area in the house that is messy, set the timer for 10 minutes, and attack that area together as a family.  When the timer goes off we stop and save the rest for the next night.

I also revised the kid's chore charts...we have really been slacking on chores this summer!   We decided on chores and rewards...I will post more on that next week after we work out the kinks.

Here is my triumph...are you ready?  When Kaylee and Aaron woke up they completed their morning chores without even being reminded or asked.  They were so proud of their "nicely" made beds.  It seems to be working...but for how long??

Well, I am off the clean the bathrooms.  Tally-ho!

It's Tomorrow!

A couple of months ago I posted about this quote:

 "Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow...for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow...so quiet down cobwebs...dust go to sleep...I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!!"

  I have really been living up to this saying...and here is the proof:

 I guess when my kids start using the dust on the furniture to practice their handwriting there is no more waiting for tomorrow.  So this week I am still going to rock my baby...no amount of dust will take that away from me, but I am also going to try to find some simple cleaning tips to help me stay on top of the dust, clutter, cobwebs, and fingerprints that are invading our home.  

If any of you out there in the blogosphere have some cleaning tips...PLEASE share because I obviously need some help!  I am going to try to find a system that works for me and hopefully triumph over this problem...at least for now.

Singing Praises in Psalms

We have been studying the Old Testament in Sunday School this year.  Today we discussed the book of Psalms - a collection of poems originally sung as praises to God.  The Psalms can be compared to our Hymns today.

A quote that I really liked from the lesson today from the First Presidency said: "Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings.  The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.  Some the the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns.  Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning and inspire us to endure to the end."

As I have studied some of the Psalms this week, I came across several scriptures that I loved.  Here are a few:

Psalm 27:1-  "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 100 - "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

Journal Tales

When each of my children were born I bought a journal for them.  In this journal I write down special events and on each birthday I write what they have been doing that year.  On their eighth birthday I will give them their journals and turn the responsibility over to them.  It is so fun to go back and read some of the cute things that the kids have done that I would have forgotten about.

Last night I pulled out Aaron's journal and read him a few of the entries when he was a baby.  We had some good laughs.  Here are some of those journal tales:

"You have huge blue eyes and blonde hair which we try to keep buzzed.  You also have a big, contagious smile which you can contort into the funniest faces.  You are a very easy going and easily satisfied baby.  You love to eat just about everything (especially frozen vegetables and ice cream because you are teething).  Your favorite things to play with are balls, stacking cups and of course, Kaylee.  It is so fun to see you two interact and play together.  You will imitate what Kaylee does, laugh and giggle together and hold hands in your car seats while we are in the car.

 Some of the funny things that you do are when you hear music or something that you really like you do a funny little dance - you sit down and swing your arms across your body while keeping your body and head totally still.  It is so funny to watch.  When you play peek-a-boo instead of putting your hands over your eyes you put them on your forehead so that you can see.  You love to stand up and splash in the toilet (gross!) and when you wave you always wave with your thumb tucked in.  You are a super little guy and we all love you!"

"In June we went to the cabin and to my horror, and your delight - the Mormon crickets were migrating through. The roads were black with them and they were SO ugly!  Your favorite thing to do was go outside and "smash" the crickets.  You would do this with a rock or by stepping on them or by running them over on a 3-wheeler ride.  One day you ran right into the middle of a huge herd (or whatever a group of crickets are called) and started hopping all over them yelling "it's a party!" - it was so funny.  Kaylee and I were scared of them so you would "protect" us by walking in front of us to scare the crickets away."

Here is a picture of a Mormon Cricket just so you can see how ugly and gross they were.  I get chills just thinking about them.  They covered the roads making the roads look black.  But thanks to Aaron, the world now has thousands fewer of these disgusting things to worry about.

Aaron's Favorite Rice Pilaf and Chicken Fingers

My Aaron is now seven...I can't believe it!  This morning for his breakfast in bed he requested the new family favorite- Breakfast Buddy...but instead of a ham tie, I made cheese shorts.  He thought that it was pretty cool...that is until he left his tray unattended and our dog ate the head.

Today I am posting two of Aaron's favorites...rice pilaf and Ritz chicken fingers.  At our house the rice pilaf is know as "Aaron's favorite rice".  Enjoy!

Ritz Chicken Fingers

1 cups Ritz Crackers crushed

2 Tbsp  grated parmesan  cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 cup plain yogurt (I have also used 2 beaten eggs when I don't have the yogurt)

4 chicken breasts cut into strips 

Combine the crushed crackers, parmesan, garlic powder, and seasoning salt in a large bowl. Put yogurt in a separate bowl.  Dip the chicken into the yogurt and then coat with the crumb mixture.  Put in a sprayed pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  

Rice Pilaf (a.k.a. Aron's Favorite Rice)

2 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup thin spaghetti broken into 1 inch pieces

1 cup rice

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

In a medium saucepan melt butter over moderate heat.  Add spaghetti bits and rice and brown for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes.

Summer Splash Pre-Birthday Bash

I know, I know...I already posted a Thursday's Thriller, but sorry, here comes another one.  We just finished a little water party for Aaron's birthday with some friends.  We had a great time.  Here is a peek at what we did:

Slip n' Slide

A new way to use our Kid Wash...at the bottom of a slide

Izy was content to just cheer everyone on...having fun just watching

(I must admit...so was I)

We finished off the day with snow cones.  What a great Summer morning!...Now everyone is resting and worn out...mission accomplished!