What I've Been Up To - Home Improvements, Craftiness, All the Things

Haven't done one of these in a while, so how 'bout a good ole fashioned random recap of stuff that maybe no one will read but it's fun to write anyway?  And of course, what's a random round-up post without lots of mediocre phone pics :) :)  :)  

How far back should I go...................   I never shared our pics from the County Fair in August.................

Kidding :)

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We've been having lots of stuff done around the house.  Back in October, we finally had our living room ceiling repaired from the water damage that happened last winter.  And as long as they were tearing up the ceiling, we had them install recessed lighting while they were at it.  Our living room is pretty big, and we've only ever had two little lamps lighting it.  In the winter it felt like we were living in a cave, even during the day.  At night -- well, how's a girl supposed to crochet in a dimly lit cave???  So, the new lights have been the best change of all!  And while the worker guys were at it, we had them paint the walls.  And the trim.   And then we decided to get new carpet.  And to replace our furniture of almost 10 years. And now, I LOVE our living room!! 

Before

watching them tear out our ceiling

lights!!!!!!!

during

the work crew we had were awesome!

after

after

after

And then we sort of got carried away and had a neighbor (who's a painter...) paint the dining room.   (The new color is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt)

before

before

after

And then he painted the kitchen.  It's also Sea Salt, but I don't have a pic.  

And then Russ and I did the half bathroom.  It was pink (was that way when we moved in seven years ago) and we finally painted it Sherwin Williams Rainwashed.  And I have some of the kids' lovely handiwork hanging in there, which I love!

before (it was pink when we moved in)

Fresh paint seriously refreshes everything!   

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All Saint's Day was celebrated.  There were costumes.  I made most of them, but the big kids helped a little.  They looked awesome for three seconds and then the kids started undressing themselves and by the end of the All Saint's Day party they looked like ragamuffins instead of saints.  Happens every year, and still, we make costumes.....  All costumes brought to you by Champion T-shirts from Target.  Just like every year ;)

St. Katier, St. Patrick, St. Pascual, Our Lady of Guadalupe
(my oldest was out of town...)

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I decided I wanted to see what the chalk paint and chalkboard paint crazes were all about so the kids and I headed to the thrift store to look for some projects.  You just never know what you're going to find in those places...

I decided to paint some frames and make some chalkboards for our home because I want to be more like Heather.  There is some seriously ugly art at thrift stores.  But I got some fabulous frames, and now I've got some awesome chalkboards.  Was it bad that I painted over a scary picture of Jesus??

the boys had already memorized the first half, so we just needed the last bit up for review :)

that's Jesus under that there chalkboard...

These frames cost about $5 each at thrift stores.  That plus the cost of the paint makes them WAY less expensive than comparable chalkboards I've seen on Etsy.  So there.  

Then I saw this at JoAnn's and wanted to make one for myself.......

So I did....... And mind ended up cheaper and cuter ;)

I already had the frame from my thrift store escapades.  I just bought the burlap for the backing - $3.99 a yard, baby!

Finally I still have this frame waiting for a future.  They were asking $20 for this beauty at Salvation Army, and I asked the cashier if that was for real.  She ended up giving it to me for $10, which was still way too much, but it is huge and it will make a fun project when I figure out what that is.

*   *   *   *   *   *

I came up with a storage idea for our puzzles and arranging games that I thought was sort of ingenious.  I put them in a clothes hanger-thing in our coast closet so that they're organized and they're behind closed doors so that the big kids can get them but James CAN NOT.  Genius.  

what did I tell you about mediocre photos, huh?!?

*   *   *   *   *   *

I KonMari'd our photos!!!  It. felt. awesome.  I didn't want to eliminate all physical photos because the kids really enjoy looking at them, and I think they provide a sense of family history for all of us beyond the stories we tell.  But I was able to weed out over 50% of our photos and consolidate nearly 10 of those small space-eating albums into two large books.  I bought these books, and they're great!  The best part about this project was that I bought these large albums three years ago and have put off making the switch because I thought it was going to be a huge 3 month-long project.  It wasn't.  I finished it in two nights!!  Now I can go back and order prints for the last four years...... we don't have any family pics since just before Clare was born :(  

some of the old stupid albums

new awesome albums that hardly take up any room!!

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Ok, I've got to wrap this up.  If you made it to the end, thanks!  I've really enjoyed the changes we've been making around here and it was fun to share them with you :)   It's so nice to make improvements that make you fall in love with your own home!

Hey, by the way!  Happy Gaudete Sunday!!  REJOICE!

Our Chore System is Use All the Chore Systems

Moms are often talking about kids and chores, aren't they?  

How do you get your kids to do chores?  What age do kids start doing chores?  What are age appropriate chores?  Do you pay your kids to do chores?   Do you use a chart or reward system for chores?  Do they do chores in the morning or afternoon?  Do you use chores for punishment or as a disciplinary measure?  If you make your kids do chores will they grow to resent you and develop a warped and unprincipled attitude toward work and you will have been the direct cause of their miscreant lifestyle punctuated by their habitual dependence on government handouts and subsistence on free food samples at the grocery store (where they would never deign to work)?   

You see?  The worrying and wondering about kids and chores can go on and on.  I don't worry or wonder about chores anymore.  Over the years, our system of household chores has morphed into "use all the systems" and maybe one day, if the stars align themselves properly, there will be a 12 minute period in which all the household things have been done.  

We haven't had those 12 minutes yet, but I'd say my chore system of "use all the systems" is working for us.  

Our kids start chores young (shh!  don't tell the baby that he's not just "playing" with the Swiffer!) and we actually call them "chores."  (Some childhood specialists think you should call them "helpfulness tasks" or some other such nonsense, to which I say, "that's nonsense.")  

I'd like to tell you that my children do chores because I have lofty and noble goals about teaching them life skills and responsibility, the beauty of familial efforts, the value of hard work, and lessons in labor, reward, reimbursement, and banking........  but honestly, I'm just trying to keep my head above water here.  I mean, we could walk around on crumbs on the kitchen floor all morning and leave a welcome mat out for the rats that we've seen on our deck, or I can make sweeping a mandatory chore for a kid.  I pick the kid sweeping.  Everyone's helping and everyone contributes, all in the name of survival and keeping the rats at bay.   

Here's how we survive, I mean empower our children to be helpfulness task partners, around the house:

Method 1: DAILY MANDATORY CHORES (on a CHORE CHART) - Our kids have mandatory, non-negotiable chores to do each morning.  I think most families have this, right?  They are your basic, everyday chores for personal and household upkeep.  They don't earn you any rewards or reimbursements and they must be done in a reasonable amount of time.  The jobs are outlined on a magnetic board. They are done right after breakfast and before anything else can happen.  They are always the same, no surprises.  

The kids can trade jobs with each other if they want.  They can also ask a younger sibling for help; surprisingly, the younger ones often say yes... Once in a while, they even offer to help a sibling finish a job quicker.  (awesome, right?!)  

Each child has make your bed, get dressed (lame chore...), brush teeth.

My 5-year old daughter also has brush hair, put the girls' dirty laundry down the chute, and sometimes dust the stairs.

The older boys share these chores: wash the dining room table and chairs, vacuum the dining room, empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher, sweep the kitchen floor, collect the garbage from the trash bins around the house, take the garbage and recycling cans to the curb (if it's trash day and there isn't two feet snow outside), wipe down the bathroom sinks and toilets (only about every other day, usually).

Method 2: CHORES as a CONSEQUENCE - Kids misbehaving may be asked to do chores instead of a time out or other time-wasting consequence.  It's Mom's choice as to what gets done.  I love it!  It can be anything (folding laundry, picking up a room, washing the windows and mirrors on the first floor, organizing the toy closet, organizing the book shelves, mopping the kitchen floor, keeping the baby out of my hair for ten minutes) and it must be done to my satisfaction if the child expects to return to his playing, or whatever he was doing......  

Method 3: KIDS are PAID to do CHORES - If I have extra work that needs to be done, I'll offer it to someone for a specified amount of money.  Or if a child wants to earn some extra change, he can ask if there's anything extra that needs to be done.  Some of the chores that can earn cash around here include washing the car, cleaning out the inside of the van, weeding the garden, washing the kitchen cupboards, sweeping and mopping the bathroom floors.  We usually pay between 50 cents and $1 for chores.  

Method 4: CHORES as PART of SUMMERTIME BINGO - I don't know why, but doing extra chores always seems to be a popular choice on the BINGO charts.  Just another way the kids contribute to getting stuff done around here while working toward a fudge bar treat in the process ;)

Method 5: CHORES as a NATURAL TRANSITION from ONE ACTIVITY to ANOTHER - This method is clutch.  You can use it for pretty much ANY scenario --- "We're leaving for swim in 10 minutes, please clean up the living room."  "Our friends are coming over after lunch, please put away all the toys laying around the backyard."  "We can't watch Wild Kratts until all the laundry is put away and those 5,000 crayons are picked up off the floor."  "No one is going to Papa and Grandma's until the shoes are put away."  If the boys ever ask me if they can play iPad games, all I have to do is start glancing around the room and they know I'm assessing how much needs to be done before they can do games... I've had a lot of success with the "no iPad/Netflix unless the living room and play room are spotless" policy.  

For us, the variety of methods works.  The important stuff gets done daily, the extras get done when they fit into the schedule, and so far none of my kids have suffered from "labor confusion" (you know that bizarre-o condition child psychiatrists think will happen if you don't stick with one method or another for chores; it's especially intensified by toying with a child's mind by paying for some work and expecting other work to be done without compensation --- because the gifts of life, food, and shelter don't really count, of course.)   

I guess in a way, my system of "use all the systems" is sort of preparing them for real life.  Once they're out there in the "real world," no one is going to pay them to brush their teeth, put their own laundry away, or vacuum their own rugs, but they'll hopefully have the wherewithall by that time to know that those things must be done.  They will, most likely, have the opportunity to work for pay, reward, or reimbursement, when they're old enough to go out into the wide wide world to seek their fortune and soon realize that that really means "get a job."   They'll undoubtedly be in situations where they'll have to ask for help with tasks, or ask for additional tasks to make ends meet, or to offer their services (labor and talents) to those in need.   I suppose if they enter religious life they'll be given chores that they must complete under obedience.  Who knows, they may even need to work as a consequence (do they still have chain gangs??).  So, perhaps I should start pretending that my system really is intentional and "for the good of the children."

I'm pretty sure we're going to keep doing what we're doing as far as household chores are concerned.  I'm pretty sure my kids aren't being worked too hard.  I'm pretty sure they get that we all have to chip in to keep the house from swallowing up the family.   I'm a little less sure that they'd do as much around here if I abandoned my systems and just hoped they'd take matters into their own hands when they saw something that needed to be done.  But, that's why I'm the mom, and I'm in charge, and we'll keep using the "use all the systems" systems as long as it keeps working for us!

I Want the Tidying Up, But Not KonMari's Brand of "Life-Changing Magic"

I recently finished the popular and much-discussed book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.  I spent several months on a virtual public library queue waiting for it to be my turn to read this thing.  Come on, people!  Have you seen my house?  I need this book yesterday!  

It took me about a week to read it, but that's because I only stole snippets of reading time here and there.  It's a quick and easy read.  I was very engaged through the whole first half. The first half is about getting rid of stuff, and I've always wanted to have the guts to do that in a major way.   I sped through the second half about storing things because the book was overdue (and the library seems to think that other people on the queue take priority over my renewal needs...)  And then the last few pages left me deflated.  And sad for Ms. Kondo...

But let me back up a little...

She calls her method the KonMari Method (it's a derivative of her name).  The basic principles of the book are these:

* You keep only the things that "spark joy"  (Riiiight -- basically, you keep things that swell your heart or give you a thrill when you touch them.  Soooo, that's a little weird, but I can work with it...)

* Following Kondo's categories of belongings (and in the order she tells you to tackle them) you physically handle every item in your home and discard those that don't bring you joy.  According to her, this is probably about 2/3 to 3/4 of what you currently own.  

* Once you have kept only those things that spark joy, you must identify the place where they belong and commit to storing things in their proper spots.

* You rarely need new-fangled storage solutions with her method.  You're not really tidying if you're just hiding things from view in clever organizational contraptions.  You just need to eliminate the things that don't bring you joy and use the storage space you already have for all that's left.

* If you do her method the "right" way, Kondo is emphatic that you will never have to do it again.  For her, tidying is a one time life event (usually spanning 6 to 12 months), and once done properly, you will never submit to clutter again.

* Your real life begins after putting your house in order.  The act of tidying is not the purpose of life, but a tidy home allows for your space and mind and time and energies to pursue "what brings you the most joy, your mission in life."

I buy into a lot of what she has to offer, and in fact, my husband and I, even though we weren't following her method to a T, got the decluttering bug and in three days we hauled out four huge bags of garbage, five huge bags of stuff to donate, and put several large items - like old high chairs and baby seats - at the curb.  It's addicting!  I'm on a roll, and will share about our decluttering in a forthcoming post.  (I don't want to confuse my thoughts on the book with the practical applications ;) ) 

Like many other Christian bloggers have referred to, there were several suggestions in the book that I did not take to heart... things like greeting your home when you enter it, thanking your belongings for a job well done, treating your clothes to a refreshing break after they've done "a hard day's work," not stacking items in your home because that squeezes the life out of them, totally emptying your purse at the end of the day (really????)  This isn't the way we do things around here.  Especially not the purse part, and especially not the talking to our house and possessions part.  It is right to appreciate the place of belongings in our life, but it is infinitely more appropriate and fulfilling to thank God for the blessing of those things.  In addition, we should be good stewards of the gifts we've been given, but giving undue importance to objects is at best weird, and at worst, idolatry. 

It's this last point that left me feeling uneasy at the end of the book.  For Kondo, a tidy home becomes the idol - the source of supreme happiness.  Since her childhood, the author admits to feeling ignored in family life and out of place at school because her interests led her to pursue activities not typical to a traditional childhood.  Discarding, organizing, storing, and tidying have always fascinated her and became her ultimate  happiness.  She writes, "I can think of no greater happiness in life than to be surrounded only by the things I love....  All you need to do is get rid of anything that doesn't touch your heart.  There is no simpler way to contentment.  What else could this be called but "the magic of tidying up."

All the things that I considered ridiculous up to this point in her book had been easy to ignore, or replace with a faith-based alternative. But this last bit sounded too sad for words.  In the end, a tidy home afforded Kondo her  "greatest happiness"  - being surrounded by the things she loved.  Not people.  Not a relationship with the living God, or any god.  Not faith or hope.  Not love.  

Like many, I too, long for a tidy home.  I long to live clutter-free.  I long to have a place for everything and everything in its place.  I long for my children to improve at putting away toys and books when they're done using them.  I long to have beautiful things surrounding me.  I long to keep my counter tops clear.  I long to "know" where my shoes belong because I tend to leave them everywhere.  (I'm the only one in the family w/o a designated shoe bin or spot and it shows....)  I long for all these things, but not because my greatest happiness will be fulfilled by sitting in the midst of my beloved belongings.  I desire a tidy home because it lends itself to virtue.  I desire a tidy home ...so that my family members become the obvious focus of every room ...so that loving and serving my family can be done with ease of motion (!) and without the distraction of clutter ...so that I do not trip on stuff when serving aforementioned family ...so that we can pray in a room that allows our hearts and minds to focus on God instead of what needs to be picked up around here ...so that we can sit down to a meal without having to move piles of school books and craft supplies ... so that we can extend holy hospitality to our friends and so that our guests feel at ease and at home and not concerned about disturbing the precarious piles of stuff ...so that I can eliminate all swearing due to stepping on Lego pieces ...so that our home is a reflection of the gratitude we feel for these blessings - four walls, a solid roof, our food and material possessions - all a testament to God's goodness in the specific ways he cares for our family ...so that we can share our bounty with others ...so that we can use our belongings as tools for growth in joy, friendship, and wisdom ...so that we can appreciate our things instead of grumble about them ... And lastly, (and this is totally and completely confidential between you and me.  pinky swear?  ok.) I desire a tidy home so as to break free from the clutter-induced temper tantrums from which I occasionally suffer (embarrassingly, this a real thing for me).    

Kondo has so much wisdom and experience to offer - indeed, plenty to keep me busy for some time!  We've only just begun, but it has already had a liberating effect :)  And I truly can't wait to continue our decluttering and to implement some of her method in earnest.  But where the book falls short, my prayer will pick up the slack.  God is the giver of all good things; he alone will be granted my prayers of thanksgiving and praise.  And my deepest desire, the prayer of my heart, will be that the efforts we put into discarding, sorting, and storing our belongings will reap mighty and holy rewards in the heart of our family.  For when we are more fully able to love and serve each other, and in turn love and serve Jesus Christ, there we will find true joy and happiness, and that is the "life-changing magic" that I want.  

Lord, True joy and happiness come from you!  In you alone do we find the peace, comfort, order and solace we want to convey in our homes, to our spouses, our children, and our guests.  Give us your guidance as we tidy our homes, and in turn our hearts and minds, so that there may be more of you and less distraction and clutter.  Grant us the grace to grow in virtue as we order our homes to better and love and serve you.  Amen.  

Be it Ever So Random... (Seven Quick Takes)

I don't even have anything significant or cohesive to say today, but Russ took the afternoon off, so I've got some extra time to write some trivial and disjointed things...  sounds like Seven Quick Takes if you ask me.

(1)

Summer Clothes.  All the drama.  The weeks when we switch the clothes - seasons and sizes - are the worst around here.  There are clothes flying everywhere, too-tight wool sweaters are mixed in with strappy sundresses that are two sizes too big, no one can find what they want.  Every year, the first warm day in spring, the kids freak out because they have no short sleeve shirts or sandals to wear.   "Mom!  How could you?!?!?!  How could you not have the right size sandals for me to wear on this very first day above 70 degrees?!?!?!?"   No one ever cares that in these here parts we were just wearing hats and mittens yesterday and it's probably going to snow tomorrow...  All that matters is that today it feels like the dog days of summer and Mom dropped the ball again and we're all stuck wearing wool socks and snow boots until the end of May.

(2)

That being said, this morning I packed my five kids into the car and took them to Payless... for shoes that are not winter boots.  From the very beginning of this little family of ours, Russ and I have left "family planning" up to God.  God really worked it out for us in terms of hand-me-downs.  Each season I really only have to buy shoes for two children - the oldest boy and the oldest girl.  Except I'm starting to find that older boys can decimate a pair of sandals in a summer and all that's left to hand down in the end are rubber and canvas shreds.  But usually, there are some shoes to pass on.  Today I needed five pairs of shoes from Payless.  I confirmed on-line ahead of time that the store had them.  I printed out the list of styles and sizes I needed.  I entered the otherwise empty store and handed my list to the employee, confident that I was doing her a favor by asking for her help locating five specific pairs of shoes, rather than having my horde of children choose their own shoes while I tried to scan the shelves making very distracted, and inevitably regrettable, decisions.  She wasn't thrilled and obviously didn't think my plan was as awesome as I did.  She huffed and puffed and finally helped us, and I ended up getting out of there in record time, with six pairs of shoes, and five well-behaved children.  

(3)

Well-behaved children.  My kids are well-behaved in public 96.333% of the time.  By no means am I bragging about that.  I know that kiddos, especially toddlers, are unpredictable, and can change the tenor of a family outing in a matter of seconds.  But, by the grace of God, and clearly explained and enforced expectations of behavior (at home and in public) we've managed to stay mostly drama free when we head out to run errands.  Today after Payless (where, incidentally, I paid much more for shoes that I thought reasonable) and a quick stop at Old Navy for cheap-o flip-flops, we pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.  I turned around to face the kids in the van and said my usual bit - "The most important thing I need from you in the store is immediate obedience.  And next are helpfulness and cheerfulness.  So if I ask you to go get a bunch of bananas, you will do it right away.  Do you understand??"  They chorused, "Yesssss!"  Then I said, "So what is the most important thing I need from you in the store??"  Clare's little voice piped up... "Bananas?"  

All went well in the grocery store today, too :)

(4)

I have crochet projects flying everywhere.  My husband is so patient with me.  I bet he never imagined he'd be living with a crazy yarn lady in a house that has several square feet resembling a yarn shop.  I have it in my head to finish an afghan for each child to gift them on the first day of fall.  I don't know if this will actually happen, but it sure would be an awesome way to kick off autumn!  I can't carry these big projects everywhere though, so I've got little projects that I carry here and there - I've started a special little surprise for a friend, and have also been working to stock up on mittens again.  I think my kiddos are set for mittens next year, so perhaps I will consider a mitten sale in the fall :)

(5)

Today I swallowed my pride and did a very humbling thing...  admitted to Facebook that I need a house keeper.  I just can't keep up with cleaning (it's because I use all my down time for crocheting and browsing for kids' shoes on-line, obviously.)  Just admitting this need was a huge step for me, so now it comes down to what I do with all the names and references I've been given.  Will I call a house keeper?  Will I pick up the clutter and then pay someone to come peer into the dusty corners of my home?  Will my house be deep cleaned before summer?  Stay tuned... 

(6)

I recently treated myself to a couple of new bags from a verrrry swanky and high end bag retailer.  Target.  The purse I bought just because it was a big and turquoise-seafoam-ish (the two qualities a purse must have for it to be worth paying full price.  I really hit this point home by the fact that my other summer purse is huge and turquoise...)  The other big bag I bought specifically for toting around all those crochet projects I mentioned.  Now, no matter what the social event or activity, you can be assured I'll be there totally preoccupied with hook and yarn ;)  And the bag is seafoam, so even if it weren't filled with yarn it would still make the perfect accessory.
  

(7)

(the kids that call me "Mom"... because I don't let them call me Theresa ;) )

This weekend is Mother's Day.  Got any plans?  Not too much going on here.  My own mom is out of town visiting her mom, so our celebrating will be small and simple.  (Hi Mom!  I love you!)  I think I'll be making a Trim Healthy Mama approved cheesecake.  And if anyone wants to get me anything, small, simple gifts are always welcome!  I like gerbera daisies and my favorite color is seafoam.   

Happy Friday, friends!  Don't forget to check out more Quick Takes at Kelly's to kick off your weekend!

Gratitude for Home (Inspiration in My Candlelit Bathroom)

(sorry I'm going to write about a bathroom...)

Yesterday, I cleaned our upstairs bathroom.  I haven't done that in a long time.  Usually Russ will graciously clean the toilet and scrub out the tub, and the kids wipe down the sinks and toilet seats regularly for chores.   But it was starting to look particularly dingy and I hadn't done it in a while...  and I got it into my head that come hell or high water I was going to clean the bathroom before Thursday was over.  And I did.  Scrubbed and scoured and squirted bleach cleaner and used my Method lavender spray and wiped the mirror, window, and floors.  I even took down the shower curtain and liner and put those both through the wash.   Done.  It looked (and smelled) fantastic! 

I have a little ritual, which I'm sure no one else in my family has ever noticed: after I've deep cleaned the bathroom I light the jar candle that I keep in there and let it burn until I go to bed that night.  It makes the entire second floor smell fresh and is a pleasant reminder of the fruits of my labors - a sparkling, sweet-smelling bathroom.  (Rest assured, that candle does not get lit often and is still half full even after five years of living in this house.  So don't think I'm a bathroom cleaning fanatic...)  

Last night, I lit the candle and sat on the edge of the tub thinking, "This is the cleanest room in the house.  I could stay here all night."  I was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for my clean bathroom and even the rest of my home (which isn't clean), in light of the many stories we've all heard recently of the persecuted Iraqi Christians forced out of their homes and driven from their neighborhoods.

What a gift that bathroom was to me in the midst of an ordinary day full of every-day busyness.  I think I need to be a little more intentional about appreciating the beauty and blessings of the big things I often take for granted - like a secure home, freedom to worship, and an intact family.  

For the blessings of home and family...

may the Lord make us truly thankful.

A Fabulously Long Day Book (and Some Answers for Curious Kendra!)

Outside my window...

It's gray and cold.  It's that time of year here when is 70 degrees one day and 35 the next.  Today's a 35 day.  Oh wait - it took me so long to write this it's now sunny and 43.  

I'm hearing...

Mostly blessed silence.  It's my peaceful afternoon time.  The three youngest are sleeping and the boys have their quiet time in the basement.  All I can hear, apart from the tapping of these keys, are strains of Jim Weiss' voice regaling the boys with his version of Kipling's Just So Stories.  We're big Jim Weiss fans around here :)  We have several of his recordings already, but I've started plotting which new ones I'll buy for our summer road trip to Cape Cod...  I'm thinking "Good Luck Duck," "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," "Treasure Island," and the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer."  

From the kitchen...
We certainly feasted on Easter!  We had a big brunch after Mass (which included my favorite homemade baked good of all time - orange kisses.  If only I didn't have kids... I could eat the whole batch myself!) and a delicious grilled salmon dinner.

For the rest of this week, not a whole lot.  I've been struggling lately to keep the grocery bill within the grocery budget.  It seems like by the time I buy all the fresh fruit and vegetables that we eat for breakfast, lunch, and snack, I have just enough left for everyone to have a grain of rice and a black bean for dinner.  I know plenty of "larger" families eat well on a budget, but I haven't yet mastered the art of thrifty grocery-getting.

Anyway...  I just got a loaf of bread started in the bread machine for tonight. Soup is what's for dinner.  It's cool enough for a soup night :)

Around the house...

Things are in a bit of a state around here as I transition the clothes and gear from winter to spring.  In addition to the messy confusion that inevitably accompanies the wardrobe switch, things are also a bit crazy as I experiment with a new laundry system.  We've always kept everyone's dirty laundry separate and washed each  load once a week.  It's not working so well anymore because (1) the kids get really dirty outside but I won't let them be around the house with dirty clothes, so sometimes they change two or three times a day and they run out of clothes before their designated laundry day and (2) I want to stop buying as many clothes for the kids as I have in the past.  So, we're testing out the old everyone-throws-their-clothes-down-the-chute-in-the-evening-and-it-all-gets-washed-together-overnight system of doing laundry.  I still have to figure out when we'll work in towels, linens, and adult whites...  It's a work in progress.  

I'm watching...

Woah.  There's a lot on my list.  Having given up Internet movie and tv show watching for Lent, there's much to catch up on :)  - a few episodes of "Elementary" on cbs.com, and waiting for me at Netflix are "Foyle's War,"  "Endeavor," "The Paradise," and "Upstairs, Downstairs."  Oh, British television, how I love you!  

Books I'm reading...

I just finished Dumbing Us Down, by John Taylor Gatto and The Hurried Child, by David Elkind.  Lots of thought-provoking stuff to mull over on parenting, childhood, and educational choices.

I have a gigantic stack of books out of the library right now.  I think next I'll be cracking open  Evangelical Catholicism, by George Weigel and a few John Holt classics - Teach Your Own and How Children Learn.

Books I'm reading with the kids...
The Horse and His Boy, by good old Clive Staples
The Story of Money, by Betsy Maestro (we all really enjoyed this one as a social studies / history supplement)
and I just bought a long-time library loan favorite, The Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen.  (For this and other kids books that we love, check out this post here!)

From the Interwebs...

Listened to, and loved this:  How to Teach Boys and Other Kids Who'd Rather be Playing in Forts.

Another thought-provoking read: Newsflash: Motherhood is not the World's Hardest Job.  (If you're a mom and think that it's the hardest job in the world, you're doing it wrong.  And you're probably also doing your children a disservice.)  Read it.  It's good.

I'm pondering...

Oh so many things. 

Kids and money.  We're on the cusp of giving the boys (and maybe Ruth) more responsibility over their own piggy bank money.  I know how we are going to organize it; just have to do it.  But also, the boys in particular, are interested in earning some money to save up for Lego sets they have their eyes on.  I'm still unsure what type of work around the house would merit payment.  We certainly won't be paying them for their daily chores, but I'm having a hard time dreaming up other tasks they could do that I'd be willing to pay them for.  Any ideas?  Russ and I were thinking of 50 cents per extra "chore" (they're still young!)  

Our home and yard.  They are feel considerably smaller than when we moved in here five years ago with just two children!  What accommodations can we make so that our house continues to serve us well?  What can I do for my kiddos so that they can have more outdoor space to explore and create and learn?  

Planning for the summer months...

Stuff to do in Cape Cod.  Really, the only things on my "must do" list are the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and taking the kids to do some really good tide-pooling.  We don't travel a lot, but when we do, we're going to do some awesome location-specific educational things, goshdarnit.  You can't explore tide pools in Western New York, so that's what we're going to do.  How one goes about finding a really good place to go tide-pooling, I do not know.  Maybe ask at Woods Hole, I guess...

I'm also committed to finding another hot air balloon launch we can go to.  Maybe we'll see you at one!  (Here's a schedule for you!)

I'm looking forward to...

My sister, brother-in-law and nephew are moving here this weekend!  Yipee!!!!  And I'm praying for their safe travels and a smooth transition!

I'm creating...

Two crochet blankets, simultaneously.  The boys asked for them, so I jumped right on it!  I chose the pattern and colors according to what I thought would suit each boy.  Here's a sneak preview.  I'll post more when they're done.

I am so very happy that I rediscovered crocheting last fall!  I've enjoyed it so much and I really need "creative time" to re-energize me.  It's much easier to pick up a crochet project around the house whenever I get a spare moment than it is to find time to get up to my attic sewing space.  

What's up with the kids...

One day a couple weeks ago Ruth asked Russ to take the training wheels off her bike.  Two minutes later she was flying down the street!  What a girl!

Dominic has been begging me to do a sewing project, so I just got him started with something simple.  (Ruth joins in doing lacing.)

Aaron's progressing with reading.  He read an entire "Billy and Blaze" book yesterday, and enjoyed it!  Yay!

Clare is a cute handful.  She learned to climb out of her crib.  'Nuf said.

James is so smiley and talkative!  I think he's ridiculously adorable, but I'm his mother, so what do you expect!  

*  *  *  *  *  *

And Curious Kendra asks... (via "Answer Me This" at Catholic All Year) 

What did we wear for Mass on Easter Sunday?   

It's actually a wonder we were even all wearing clothes at Mass on Easter Sunday.   Getting out the door for 8 o'clock Mass is cuh-razy with kids who don't know how to button and buckle and zip and tuck in on their own.  But we made it.  Barely.  I was getting dressed as Russ was buckling the kids in van.  I had wet, unstyled hair and I slopped some makeup on during the 3-minute drive.  As for what we wore, we went for thrifty over nifty this year.  Here it is...

I wore the green dress that I wore when I was the Matron of Honor at aforementioned sister's wedding two and a half years ago... when I was pregnant with Clare.  In fact, that was the last time I wore a dress at all (if you don't count a hospital gown...)  (If you know me at all, you know I'd be perfectly happy to wear sweats all day every day, even Easter if I thought I could get away with it...  Oh  wait, I did change into sweats after Mass when I remembered one of the reasons I don't wear dresses is because they make it very difficult to nurse a baby...)

Russ wore the suit and shirt he wore for our wedding. The boys wore the same shirts and ties they wore last Easter.  Ruth and Clare wore dresses that were lingering in the attic.  I had to buy them new shoes :)  And James, well, he's baby no. 5.  He wore hand-me-downs.  

Easter Bunny - thumbs up or thumbs down?

Thumbs way down.   We just don't do stuff like that around here.  

The "significant" reason (insofar as it applies to me and my family and I don't apply it to anyone else's personal or familial practices...) is that we try to avoid a thing that might minimize or distract  from the Truth of the celebration.   I have a hard enough time with the monumental task of dispensing the truths of the Faith to my children, I hardly need to juggle the confusion that holiday "characters" breed.  (Easter Bunny!!  Breed!!  Get it?!?) There are other serious reasons, but perhaps another time...

The casual, flippant reason, is I just don't get it.  And I don't want to spend my time cultivating... whatever it is.  And if the Mom doesn't want to do it, we don't do it.  (I didn't even manage to pull together an Easter basket this year.  The kids got bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a chocolate bunny in a plastic shopping bag.  I don't think they're scarred for life...)

Do you prefer to celebrate holidays at our place or elsewhere?  

HERE!!  Absolutely, here!  I am a homebody through and through.  Then there's the convenience of being where all our "stuff" is - the diapers and wipes, clean clothes, cribs and favorite blankets.  And there's also the breath-easy aspect of being at home - if something gets dirty or broken, it's ours, not someone else's thing that we dirtied or broke :)  

Favorite kind of candy?

This question is killing me, as I'm trying to avoid candy right now...  what a dumb idea.  (Have to avoid it because I love it too much!)  I love Sour Patch Kids and Take 5 candy bars.  

Do I like video games?

I don't know.  Does computer Tetris of the 1990's count?  I've never played a real video game.  Sometimes I wonder if my kids wouldn't benefit from something like a Wii Fit, but when I start talking about it I realize I have no idea what I'm talking about.  Russ says maybe they'd like an Atari.  But I don't know what that is either.  It must be really cutting edge if I haven't heard of it yet...

Do I speak another language?

Huh.  I have a degree in French.  Do I speak it?  I used to be decent, but now?  Non.   I can say my prayers in French, so I do that occasionally to keep up the accent.  Once in a while, I bust out with a mean and melodious rendition of Frere Jacques.  But these days, with the boys doing Song School Latin, you're much more likely to hear me going around the house singing (to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic), "I am a mighty miles, I can swing a sword.  My gladius is my best friend when I go off to war... A bellum is a tragedy, but a miles still must go.  Pugno in rain or snow!"  So, yeah.  I speak Latin.  Er, I mean, Dico Latin.  


And if you're still reading all this... wow.  You must really be a fan!  Thanks!  

Happy Wednesday!