Everyone Loves a Princess Story

Everybody loves a princess story!  I think I still love to believe in romance, love, first kiss. blushing bride, a carriage ride down a brick road with flowers strewn everywhere.

You know what is missing from all these stories?  The happier ever after is not always told in these stories. Whatever happen to Cinderella?  How many kids did they have and did she make them do chores?  Did Ariel's kids have a love for the water and swimming still?  Did Belle ever learn to cook or did the talking kitchen still take care of it all?  I think about things like that.

You know what makes me sad though?  Sooo many times when a newly wed will talk of her love for her prince, I'll hear a sourpuss say "Oh, you just wait till you've been married for 10 years, 20, years, etc. Then you won't think like that or be like that."  I got that all the time.  That breaks my heart to hear someone's love bubble popped like that. Everyone deserves to enjoy those early years of blushing romance.  Sure the heart might not beat out of the chest with just a glance after a few years, but the love grows in a better way.  A deeper love.  I tell every newlywed, "Congratulations, it just gets better!  I married my best friend 12 years ago and never regretted it."  Well, what happens if it doesn't pan out for them?  Well, it wasn't my job to look at the crystal ball and predict it for them.

Virginia, 1998

I'll never forget how I met my prince.  It was soooo classy.  My family invited him over to fellowship and play board games.  I heard a knock at the door and didn't bother to answer it. I was too busy playing Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo on the floor.  He said "Hi" and I said a simple "Hi" back and went back to playing.  It wasn't till we were all playing Scrabble later. I noticed he put down a really BIG word  and I said "Wow, you're smart!"  He looked up and smiled at me.  He said that's when he really noticed me and started to like me.  So that's it ladies, that's how I got my man.  12 years later and I make sure to sprinkle "Wow, you're smart" in our conversations every now and then.  It's funny because anytime I ever say it still he smiles really big.  Tee hee..

There was so much in my life going on.  I had already come from a 3 year serious relationship.  I wasn't ready to move on because I was scared.  Do you know what he said?  "I'll wait for you." And he did for a year.  He just became my friend and earned my trust.  Never made a move on me.  We talked on the phone.  Played volleyball twice a month with friends. I never thought he'd mean it.  But he did and a year later he asked me again.  3 months later we were married.  Our first kiss was on our wedding day.

I married my prince.  He still goes out and slays dragons and brings in the meat.  Some days I see how tired he is from working and I think, "I can't believe he works so hard for us."  I may not blush every time he looks at me anymore with his sweet smile but my heart still melts when I see how hard he works for his family or that he still is willing to change a diaper just because.  No one asks him to.  Or seeing him push a stroller with a diaper bag attached around other guys and not be embarrassed.  I'm not dumb.  I know he loves sweet sports cars.  But we have a huge family van.  We like to call it our monster on the road.  It's not exactly a monster truck.

December 5th, 1998

If we just think about it.  Our Princess story didn't end on our wedding day.  We are living our ever after.  For some the story didn't end the way we hoped for.  For some maybe we don't appreciate what our ever after looks like. Or we compare our ever afters.  What if Cinderella compared her prince to Aurora's?  After all, some of the guys actually slayed a dragon.  Cinderella's merely met her in a ball and had to get past her sneaky step sisters  Can we kill our ever after?  Absolutely.  My prince isn't perfect but HELLO, neither is his princess.

I'm living my Ever After.  Sometimes my Ever After is barefoot and pregnant cleaning my castle.  Sometimes it's watering dirt trying to coax a flower from it.  Other times it's in the hot laundry room cleaning my prince's clothes.  Or washing that huge pile of dishes.  Mopping after a trail of mud footprints on the tile.  I'll take it.  After all, my prince is still going out and bringing home the meat for me because he loves me.

This Award Goes To....The Most Annoying!

I helped someone move all night again last night and didn't get home till 4am.  But through it all I had a great discussion and thought a lot about "stuff".

On the subject of sleep deprivation, why is that the one time you are grateful your little ones sleep in on a daily basis, they decide that today is the day to wake up at 6:45am?  What are the chances?  I was gonna put my boys on the bus and then lay back down.  But nooooo....  :)  Oh well, tough cookies. Things like this only make you stronger.

Last night while moving, the people we were helping asked a neighbor last minute if he could help.  Well, he was really drunk and made sure to take lots and lots of alcohol breaks.  Each time he came back drunker. AND Each time he made sure to tell me he wished he was 40 years younger because I reminded him of his first wife he gave up and regretted it.  He said "I've gone through 4 wives and none of my kids talk to me but, hey, my life turned out great anyway!"  I just smiled and kept working.  Then he'd say "Oh, beautiful Jenny.  You are such a hard worker.  If only this world had more like you."  Then a second later, "Get to work!  We don't have all day!"  Yada Yada.  9 hours later we are still working and this is what I heard the entire time.  It was kind of annoying but he kept us on our toes. He wouldn't let us take breaks so we had to sneak taking breaks when he'd go to get more to drink.  Once I ran and ate a brownie.  Another time I ate a cold pizza and scarfed it down before he could catch me. I never, ever, ever worked so fast in my life. Ever!  Especially overnight with no sleep.  He kept ranting and raving about life and clutter people in general.  LOL.  He'd follow me around and tell me about his past, all while I was packing up and loading boxes. If we ever slowed down to take a breath, he'd clap his hands and say "Get to work!"  I just kept a smile on my face and kept working.  I rarely ever said anything back. He probably thought I was awesome because he thinks I don't talk. Guys think girls talk to much.  Boy, if only he knew. I have plenty to talk about.  But, 9...hours...of....nonstop....talk....from...a....drunk....guy made me just want to work faster and get out of there.  It was really tough.


How did I handle such annoying behavior and not punch anyone out?  Well, there a few people I'd like to thank.  Imagine me standing at a podium with a fancy dress on.



"Thank you for this award I am receiving for tolerance and patience! I would like to thank several people.

• I'd like to thank my sisters for annoying me to the point of tears. Without you I'd think my kids were the only ones that did this stuff.  Thank you for letting me annoy you back and ten times more so I could get it out of my system before adulthood.

• I'd like to thank all the parentless people who seem to have the very best parenting advice while you're standing in line with a crying child in a store and are getting dirty looks for others.  You've taught me how to do the famous "Just smile and nod".  I use it all the time.

• I'd like to thank those family members who seem to find fault in me all the time in every way. Without you,  I might think I never had faults and could possibly have a big head.  You keep me in my place. P.S. I love you.  

• I'd like to thank the bossy friends growing up who had to order everyone around and say who was allowed to go first on the playground slide or who could be friends with who.  Without you, I might not learn to stand up for myself and be my own person. Thanks for letting me practice on you.

I could give sooo much more but I don't want to take up all your time here at the awards ceremony.  I love you guys and I love you mom and dad!  Peace!  Spread your wings and fly!"

Chores for Kids vs. Kid Slaves

But first I wanted to mention that I can't wait for summer!

Even the messes that come with it. I love that I get to wake up and the only agenda of the day is do our chores, go swimming, play games, and find fun places to go to.  Just have fun!  

We need to make a fun list of all the places we wish to visit.  Even the aquatic centers.  I'm sure others have them too but in our area, these are like smaller water parks that don't cost us a million bucks to go to.  It still has fun slides, toddler areas, diving boards, beach style pools.  So fun and only $1.50 for adults so kids are cheaper. Can't wait to make this list and put in my Brain Dumper.  The only thing is that because my husband works for a school district, that means no work in the summer.  So getting out will have to be creative money wise.  Ahhh... we'll find a way though!  :D

I think we'll have some play zones, like the kitchen tables will hold puzzles and board games.  Another area will be the lego area.  They have their Wii, PS2, and the XBox 360 with Kinect is coming soon.  I can't wait for some exercise programs I'll be using with it!  Another one they have is where you can "Play at the zoo" and act like you are actually touching the animals.  That is so cool!  I love creative games like that.  I really need to get a kickboxing one for myself.  Then I can record myself doing it so we can all have something to laugh at for late night entertainment.  Haha!  Also, for at night we already have a volleyball net up with spotlights.  

Aww...I know with 6 kids at home the messes in the house will be HUGE but that's why I switch to chores twice a day in the summer vs. only once a day during school season

By the way, on the subject or chores and the title of this blog.  I need to mention that I don't make the kids clean up after me...ever. The chores they have are only areas that they've had something to do with.  I don't make them clean my room, my kitchen, my bathroom.  Things like that.  They only focus on areas they are involved in including the living room and their own bathroom.  I didn't have kids to be my slave and nothing frustrates me more than jokes about how people had kids to have someone clean up after them.  Probably one of my biggest pet peeves. I'm still a homemaker and have my own responsibilities. However, if I had super clean kids that didn't make such super messes in areas they go in, I'd find a chore for them just because of work ethics.  THAT'S NOT our scenario so for now they're learning to pick up after all their stuff and it's actually a good amount for them.  When they get in their teens of course things could change. Especially in the kitchen but I'm not there yet.  Thank goodness.  I KNOW I have several cooks on my hands that are gonna want to take over which is fine with me. 

Our Chore List

I used to attend this excellent group called Homemaker by Choice and they touched on the subject of chores and organization often.  They also mentioned about the issues of kid slaves.  I wish I could've kept going to their weekly meetings because it really helped me a lot.  Now they are on the radio with Focus on the Family which is really neat.  I went there when I was a new mom and I probably came in with wide eyes because I had no idea what I was doing at that point.  Ha! Lots of big families were there so they were definitely an influence on me.  Or maybe it was the bible.   There was one weird lady though that actually freaked out when I told her I was pregnant with my 3rd.  She said it was unfair to the other kids and how could I do that to my children?  My mouth dropped open and no one said anything to correct her.  That was my first experience to getting comments on family size.  Now, I get them all the time and I just smile and nod.  No point arguing with stinker heads.

I do come up with a polite remark at times.  Never a rude comment.  For example, "My, your hands are full!" My response:  I know, it's like a party all the time!  We're having a lot of fun".  :D  I NEVER get a negative response back to that one.  

Well, I helped a friend move till 4am and then got back up at 6:45am so I'm a Mombie today.  Not much is getting done as I'm just focused on keeping my kids alive today.  Maybe a burst of energy will hit me and I'll do something crazy like put away some clean socks. But who knows, that might do me in.

Making Laundry Piles Less Scary

The bigger the family the more the laundry piles grow.  I mean, I know I've always wanted to hike some really well known mountains but when it comes to climbing laundry piles, I'd rather not.  We were only using one of these bins for our four boys.  But since I only wash all boys clothes every Friday, it would easily overflow EVERYWHERE.  Also, I don't always need to wash everything. Because the boys have so many shirts, I can just skip washing shirts till the next week and wash other stuff that's needed.  However, I would have to empty the huge bin in search for what I wanted to wash.  How annoying.  Instead, I separated everything.  

I KNOW it might seem weird to some people that I use (clean) garbage bins for hampers.  But has anyone else ran into actual hampers these size?  I haven't.  Now, if Friday comes and they have plenty of pants and shorts but still need shirts or other things washed, I can go straight to those bins.  There is enough room to not have it all overflowing anymore.  Oh, thank goodness!  We will be doing this in the girls room and in mine and Charles' closet.   Except for my closet, we'll use the 3 smaller hampers ran than these huge bins.

 Here is how I labeled them and since all the boys can read, well, this will be a cinch for them.  They are good at separating things.  Now if only I can get them to pick up after themselves all the time....ahhh...

Welp, they'll finally get it when they are gone and married at least. Hopefully.  I train them on it every-single-day.

They don't use up enough of these items to require separate bins so this works.  

Well, since I won't be hiking mountains in their room anymore, I guess I'd better go buy a treadmill or something.

Fabulous Homemade Bread

I KNOW I post a lot of different bread recipes.  I'm just always in search of my favorite. :D  Ha!  This bread is mostly white and can make 6 loaves at a time for you big family people.  I only have 6 kids so I make 3 loaves at a time.  Usually last about a day and a half.  With this recipe, I make 3 of the loaves right away and save the other half of the dough to make another time.  I even stayed up till 2 in the morning to make this since we were out of bread.  Ohh, this bread is moist and doesn't crumble.  It's fantastic.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/2 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 cup bread flour, and yeast. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.
2. Measure oats, 4 1/2 cups warm water, whole wheat flour, salt, 2/3 cup sugar, and 2/3 cup oil into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from the edge of the bowl. It is normal for the dough to be sticky.
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Shape loaves, and place in greased 8 x 4 inch pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rim of pans, usually 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Easter Fun and Crazy Stuff!

Easter was really great this year and also full of surprises and mishaps.

I got up extra early Sunday morning to make sure I could get us all looking nice and out the door in time for church.  I mean, we go to church 3 times a week but Easter is extra special.  :)

While looking down and writing notes in my new organized binder I made (in the church section) I heard a commotion and looked up.  I saw a guy flying up the stairs and out one of the emergency exit doors in the front of the sanctuary.  I've never heard such a stampede in church before.  I just know I saw about 10 or more men chasing this guy!  What the heck?  What freaked me out was that this guy came running up from where the nursery and women are downstairs.  My baby was down there!  There is no reason for any guy to go down there unless they are a dad.  But this guy was a stranger carrying a backpack and it was the second time he was caught down there.  The ushers had asked him to go back upstairs but he refused. To top it off, they had to tell the nursery workers to lock their doors.  The same time he was down there was when the workers heard the door handles being jiggled.  No moms go down there during the service unless they are called.  Our workers are awesome like that because they take such good care of the babies.  So I guess since this was happening and he was acting really strange, something happened a chase was in pursuit.  Good grief! I was shaking sitting in my seat wondering if all the babies were safe.  I didn't know that the workers were all told to lock their doors.  Thank goodness.  The other men ran out of instinct to make sure nobody or nothing was taken so the ushers were just protecting everyone.

Man, I never felt so SAFE in my life at church.  Sheesh.  Seeing all those guys out of instinct chase after him made me realize that I am sitting in one awesome church.  lol.

After that we went to see family at their house and it was wonderful to see people we hadn't seen in a couple of years!  While playing, the kids got really, really dirty and since we had to go straight back to church for the evening service, I was grateful that I had packed an emergency suitcase for the van.  Before we got to church, everyone that was dirty was able to change.

What a crazy, fun day!

LifeShare Custom Photo Cards Mother's Day Promotion

LifeShare let me try using their online program to make a Mother's Day card for my mom.  I'm not an overly creative person when making stuff but it was fun to go through and try different styles of cards. If you like scrapbooking, you'll love this program too.  

The card came out absolutely beautiful and I loved the quality of it too!  It's way better than any I've bought in a store.  To top it off, and this is my favorite, all I do is make the card exactly the way I like and then they ship it!  They work very fast in getting these out so I'm really impressed.  They also have great customer service so if you have any questions you can definitely get a hold of them easy through email, phone, or Facebook.

Since I got package #1004 which is $15.08 for the 7 large cards plus postage option, I get to go back and make more!!  Whoo hoo!  I'm excited about making more. That's only $2.15 PER card.  Awesome deal!  If you order, please tell them that Meet Virginia sent you!




Product Information:
LifeShare is the newest online photo sharing company.   We print, address and mail high quality custom photo cards that are 30% larger and 40% less than competitors.  LifeShare is easy and fun to use. Simply log in to your secure account, upload photos and create cards with templates, papers and embellishments.  At LifeShare, we specialize in the personal touch. Create just one card at a time and get the same great price! You will love using LifeShare and the reaction you get from all who receive a custom card sent by you!




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Happy Easter 2011!

Happy Easter to all my blogging friends!  Today we are at church celebrating Jesus' resurrection.  Have a wonderful day. :D

Ivy on Easter of 2006

Organizationally Challenged

I've lived in my house now for 4 years and I've slowly (quickly?) seen my house become more and more cluttered. When I first moved in I remember saying  to my husband "Man, it is so easy to clean because we don't have any clutter!"  Now, I can't say that anymore. Actually, I'm not a compulsive shopper.  It's just stuff given to me through hand-me-downs, birthdays, Christmas, for no reason, etc.  In fact, today my husband and I went out to the mall, then to Big Lots, and some other places.  I constantly was gasping at the prices of things and would put it back.  It also makes me put something back when I realize we don't need it. If we don't need it, I don't want.

So I found Organization Junkie through A Slob Comes Clean and I'm gonna start on their current project called 52 Weeks of Organizing.  It's just a different project every week to tackle so it's not overwhelming.  Between homeschooling, meals, laundry, mothering, rescuing, diapering, and being an attentive wife, it's just hard to find the extra time to organize.  I can't break things down in simple steps so I really need this help.  I just look at the whole picture and think "no way."  So here is to a simpler and organized home!

My new "Brain Dumber!"

Another weakness I have is losing track of dates and needs.  So I went out and bought a notebook and put in dividers of different sections of things I need to keep track of.












Includes:

• Reviews
• Grocery
• Bills
• Meals
• Church
• Projects
• Needs/Wants
• Appointments
• 52 weeks Plan

Book on left is Get it Together by Cindi Ferrini

I'm in LOVE!  I may be disorganized but that is why I'm a list lover.  When I don't dump out my brain onto a planner, it just weighs on my mind.  I'll lay awake thinking about it.  What am I forgetting?  Didn't someone say something about needing something?  Isn't there an appointment coming soon?  Agh!!  So I'm excited!

Tabs to make it simple and easy to find.  ;) Here's to Virginia being less stressed and more blessed.  :D

Can vote once a day!


BY THE WAY. Check out this sweet garage door!

Another Distraction from Good Friday

BUT FIRST..... Another Blooper from me. Sigh.

It seems like embarrassing moments follow me.  I don't know.  Maybe I'm all on my own here but they seem to happen to me at church.

Last night I had my friend's kid sit next to us in church.  He had his zipper down the whole time. After awhile I'm like "how does he not notice his zipper is ALL the way down the WHOLE night?  Through the song service, preaching, going to the bathroom and back.  I thought maybe in the bathroom he redeemed himself by pulling it up.  Nope.  Finally after it was all done and I'm heading back to my van, I adjust my jean skirt and just happen to feel my zipper.  It was down too.  The WHOLE time. ARGH!

Okay, tomorrow is Earth Day.  Is it my imagination or did someone just try to get the focus off of Good Friday and how Jesus died on the cross for us?  I don't know but it just seems like now all I'm hearing is Earth day, Earth day, Earth Day.  I've heard very little about Good Friday.  I bet my kids even think they have tomorrow off from school for Earth Day.  I'm gonna have to talk to them about it again tonight.  I mean, I already know the bunny is a distraction from Jesus rising from the dead, Santa is a distraction from Jesus' birth.  Goodness.  So Earth Day really couldn't be on any other month? So then I did some research and realized that Earth day is always on April 22nd (for only the last 40 years) and since Good Friday (which has been for a LOT LONGER) rotates on different Fridays, they coincided this year.  Ahhhh... okay.  STILL, it's NO coincidence that Christian holidays seem to always get overridden by secular ones that get invented later.  So, although I'm gonna talk with my kids TODAY about earth day and how we honor God's creation alllll year around, tomorrow we'll talk about Good Friday on the actual day.

I did some history research on Earth Day and this is what I discovered.  EEK.

"Earth Day" is steeped in New Age ideology. It's more about the worship of Gaia "Mother Earth" and Global Warming propaganda than anything religious. At many events taking place around the world you will find meditation circles and crystals being sold to be used during the "healing rituals" taking place."

Bringing in cans to the Disney Store

Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of the earth God created.  I recycle everything I possibly can and rarely drive my big ol' van.  Mostly just for church 3 times a week and a family activity once a week.  I absolutely hate littering and even grab a garbage bag and help pick up the trash in areas around us in open fields.  The kids always go with me so they can learn too.

I'm a sucker for freebies so I wanted to share a few that are going on right now and some only for tomorrow.

• Earth Day Deals and Freebies
• Free Extra Ordinary Mother Book 
• ThredUp, Kids Clothing Swap. First Box Free 

I'm looking for more to add here!  :)


Pssst...can vote once a day!

Mother-ease Cloth Diapers Review

Mother-ease Cloth Diapers sent me their All in One cloth diaper.  I was surprised how comfortable it looked and wondered how easy it would be to use and also wash.

I put it on while Caleb played around the house and I loved the snaps on the side that are adjustable for size!  Even around the legs.  I had bad experiences back 7 years ago when putting my son in cloth diapers.  He soaked through all the time and it just took too much time, energy, and ruined clothes so I went to disposables.  A few years later and now I'm excited to give it another try with better cloth diapers that I didn't know existed.  Mother-ease Cloth Diapers has been around since 1991 but I didn't know about them the first time.

The next test was nap time!  I laid him down.  I have to admit, this cloth diaper looked super comfy.  Once he woke up, guess what?  He did a pretty good soaking but it stayed in the cloth diaper.  Then I put it in the wash. After washing and drying I pulled it out to inspect and it looked great still!

Convenience at its Best

Just as handy as any disposable and much more leakproof, our Mother ease All In One cloth diapers are highly breathable with the same side venting and adjustable snap enclosures as the Air Flow™ Snap Cover. Elastic all around gives the baby a comfortable, "no restriction" stretchy fit. The inner fabric is made of our knit cotton terry. The outer waterproof fabric is the same as we use in our covers, 100% polyester bonded to a durable urethane. 

Environmentally Friendly

The Mother-ease factory is powered by 100% green energy generated mostly from wind power but also solar panels and geothermal energy.

If this is your reason to cloth diaper, you have found the company which was built on being Environmentally Friendly.

NO Offshore or Outsourced manufacturing! 

For more information about our Mother ease all in one cloth diapers and diaper fabrics, click here.

Cloth Diapers

Wondering about the cost?

A Cost Comparison of Prefolded Diapers,
Mother-ease® One Size™ Diapers and Disposable Diapers
The graph below compares the costs of Prefolded or Contoured diapers and Velcro Wraps with the costs of Disposable diapers and the costs of the Mother-ease® One Size™ Diaper System consisting of 24 One Size™ diapers, 12 Snap In Liners and 12 Air Flow™ covers (4 covers in 4 sizes) This includes the cost of laundering.

*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Works for Me Organizing System!

Laundry around here is a MONSTER.  

M-O-N-S-T-E-R

...and I only have 6 kids. How do larger families do it?  I came up with a partial solution and picked the girls since they go through clothes like I'd never seen.  How can 2 little girls fill up their basket, large one, in just a couple of days?  My kids don't have little baskets.  I know they change their clothes several times a day and then just throw them in the hamper.  Well, I don't do that sniff thing anymore since I almost fainted one time from a foul smell I was unprepared for.  

Anyway, I took a whole evening and set up a laundry system just for them in the garage with my washing machine.  It took 3-4 hours to go up and down in the attic and find exactly where I need to drill to hang up a clothes rod.  It needed to go into a post  and not drywall.  I had to do an army crawl it the attic with Kyle holding a light.  All while trying to stay on the boards and not fall through the ceiling.  Finally, I got it and this is what it looks like. The clothes aren't too heavy for the rod, it was already bent.  Sooo, now I just take the clothes right out of the dryer and immediately hang it up or fold it.  The baskets above also keep our towels and blankets.  

I didn't realize we had so many blankets because the kids would play with all of them and get them dirty from being dragged around.  Well, I could never find any because they were stuck in baskets everywhere and taking up hamper space.  Now they are folded and put up high on the shelf. 

Since doing this system, the girls have to come to me first to change their clothes and I retrieve them.  My laundry pile has gone down greatly.  Next we'll be putting in a system for the boys.  Charles and I will keep our clothes in our own closets.

Have you done anything lately, whether it's for cooking, cleaning, organizing, that has worked for you?  Please submit direct link to the post below!  I would love to see other ideas!

Creative Consequences and Sibling Rivalry

Continuing my study on A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family.  There is a topic in it I read that I already have been doing. I'd like to share the success of it.

Creative Consequences
Sometimes consequences are necessary to discourage repeated unkindness between kids. One of the most effective consequences I have found is to have the offender do a job for the child whom he hurt.  A kid can make his sister's bed or fold his brother's laundry or do his Saturday housecleaning chores.  Often, when kids are not getting along, the last thing they want to do is help each other out.  Being assigned to help each is is a strong disincentive to fighting.  


That has worked much better than just doing a time out or even a swat.  Back in the day I used a swat for every single thing.  Growing up I would just get used to the swat and eventually I learned to just do what I wanted and just bear the swat.  Then I'd go back to doing what I wanted.  When my parents started groundings, they got me where it hurt. I started to really think about my bad behavior.  So my conclusion is that swats are only for rebellion (like James Dobson suggests) and be creative in other ways to discipline.  Fitting the punishment to the crime just really has worked for my kids.

Another part of the book that really made a lot of sense to me is:

The Importance of Keeping Kids' Emotional Tanks Full
  I've come to realize that fighting between children is most intense when they are having a hard time getting their own needs met.  If a kid is feeling neglected or out of sorts, he can't have the emotional energy to speak gently to another child, to forgive, to be kind.  Often I can trace an increase of fighting in the family directly to a too-busy schedule, especially a too-busy momma, or to a too-great focus on accomplishment at the expense of family fun.  (There is much more to this chapter that is wonderful to read).

Ivy cheering for her brothers

This chapter completely hit me hard in the chest.  We used to faithfully go out once a week.  Every other Tuesday was library night and the other Tuesdays were family night at the Bass Pro Shop.  I noticed the fighting between my kids was less. Not to mention that their behavior in public was wonderful and we got tons of compliments about them!  Kids need the opportunity to learn behavior in public. Especially in the library where they have to learn to whisper.  This was great training ground. The library near us is huge and beautiful. They even have a big play area for little ones so mom can read while they play.  We always went from 7 till closing time so I always made the kids clean the play area. They would say "But we didn't make this mess all day".  I told them it's okay because we are the last to leave and we should just be good examples.  The workers loved us coming every Tuesday because they actually got to leave earlier and not stay to pick up after all the kids.  Since not getting out as often, I can see what this chapter is explaining.  It's exactly what has happened to us.

Ryan made it to the top!

So last week we started up our tradition again and we hit up Bass Pro Shop's family night.  It's so much fun because they have this HUGE fish tank where you get to see them feeding the fish (using little fish), crafts, free popcorn, rock climbing, archery, and scavenger hunt.  You'll see big families running through the store for the scavenger hunt and they totally welcome it!  Usually once a month we'll pick a special activity.  Our next chosen special activity is the ice skating rink.  Sometimes we need to just put down our work and really connect with our family.

We even put up a volleyball net in our backyard and play 1-2 times a week.  The kids are learning the game fast and we're having a ton of fun right in our backyard!  My husband and I, when we just met and then dated, played volleyball for our dates all the time.  Turns out, it's our kids' favorite sport too and we're playing and learning teamwork.

Can vote once a day!