Anyone can Clean

It is time to clean the house .... AGAIN. I guess the nesting will stop once the baby arrives but in the meantime I have enlisted the help of everyone in the home.

Those who know me well know that Don Aslett is one of my heros. You can imagine how excited I was when a Don Aslett cleaning center was opened right here in UT. It was worth the drive to South Jordan to pick up all sorts of great cleaning supplies like these dust mops, squeegees, and microfiber cleaning cloths. Maryanna is wearing one of the baby sized dust mitts I sewed out of a microfiber cleaning cloth. And don't worry she was safe standing on the back of the couch.

When I was little I remember my mom pouring sudsy water around the kitchen floor then giving each child a couple of rags to put on our feet so we could "ice skate" around the kitchen floor. It worked! We thought we were playing while we were actually helping and cleaning. Here are some of the games I now play with my own kids.... dust mop racing, dirty dust mitt contests, vaccum tag, and clean the shark's teeth (wiping down the ladder back kitchen chairs).

I was once criticized for making my children work. I was told "children should not be the servants in a home...they should instead be given opportunities to be enriched - you should hire a maid". Well.... I have had a cleaning lady in the past because the fact is the kids don't do the best cleaning and I myself am unable to do it all. But I do believe in getting children to work. I was inspired by Merrilee Boyack and her ideas in this book. In addition was lucky to have a few personal consulting sessions with Marie Ricks - that was a great Christmas present!

So you all can have a good laugh imagining me, even bigger than I was here, scrubbing bathroom floors, changing bedding, and hauling all sorts of laundry around the house. My friend Marie' was right when she told me..."awaiting the arrival of a baby is a lot like selling your house, you always got to be ready and the house cannot get messy". Well at least keeping the house in order keeps me somewhat distracted.

Art Therapy

I am running out of projects to finish. I also admit that I am feeling big, immobile and a bit restless.

I started taking an art class in 2005 to help relieve some of the stress from our home remodel. It was great therapy for me. So I showed up at art class on Saturday after almost an 8 week break and not only was I able to enjoy the company of fellow classmates (ages 9-60) but I finally finished this watercolor painting. I started it in September but have been slow to finish since my only time to paint is at art class. Unlike sewing, it is very difficult for me to multi-task and take care of kids while immersed in an art project. Probably because it is messier and takes more of my brain capacity. When doing art I have to completely "check out" which is why I rarely have a chance to do it and also why I enjoy it so much.

I was once told "mothers with five young children should not be taking an art class". I think that is completely false! Some mothers like to go shopping, go to lunch, get their nails done, why shouldn't I go to an art class once a week? I think it is important to be recharged and have an outlet outside the home.

The picture I painted is from a photograph I took of William and Peter looking down at the fish pond at Red Butte Garden. Upon returning home I pulled out the kids unfinished foamcore paintings. They like using acrylic since the colors are vibrant and more fun to mix than kids' washable paints. Paul joined in to help James finish his squares and realized he had not painted since elementary school. So we all got to enjoy a little art therapy this weekend.

Master Schedule Board

Back to my practical self. This is a project I originally did with Mary when my life was a bit simpler with only three kids. It is now time for a new and improved schedule board. The creation of this system was inspired by the concepts in this book .

The background is just a plumbing sheet picked up at Home Depot. The little icons were designed on power point, printed out on cardstock, laminated and attatched by a small piece of magnetic tape. I will note it would have been wise to color code each individual but there was too much arguing amongst the boys as to who got which color. I'm confident it will still work and especially be helpful to those who take over when I finally do have the baby.

I still have half the plumbing sheet open to post up meal plans, job charts, and other useful info like weekly vocab words and individual goals.

The idea is to promote self initiative and eliminate dawdling and whining by the kids and nagging on my part. Some may argue that such a schedule may be stifling but I believe it gives us more freedom. The kids are content knowing what is expected and more likely to perform their tasks quickly knowing afterwards they will have free time. All in all being on a good routine makes us all more efficient and leaves more time to do what we really want to do.

I will not say that every day runs smoothly, especially with the combination of 2 very spirited girls too young to understand the concept. But it does help me establish order in a home that could easily turn to chaos. I will also add that since I have never had a real career it is fun to take my role as a mother and homemaker very seriously.

Still Waiting

Yes...I'm still waiting and I guess feeling a bit sorry for myself because after my appointment with the midwife I had to make a quick detour to the mall. I very ackwardly tried on boxes of shoes then couldn't resist this pair. Maybe these new shoes will give me the courage to show up at church on Sunday and once again face "when is the baby coming"?, "I thought you were suppose to have the baby weeks ago". Who knows, maybe the shoes will offer up enough distraction to avoid the baby subject all together.

Maybe if I wear them around the house (with the only pants that still comfortably fit me - my very old Old Navy Yoga Pants) I'll go into labor. Or maybe I should wear them on a bigger outing like to the zoo and I'd be sure to go into labor.

Either way this was a great little pick me up. Besides, it has been over a year since I last bought myself a pair of shoes and it is nice to feel pretty even if it is just my feet.

My Ant Farm

By William

I got an ant farm last Christmas. It said the ants would come in the mail. It tooks months for the ants to come. I felt surprised when we got them because I was waiting so long. The ants came with a feeding chart, an ant information poster, a magnifying glass, and an activity book. I learned little interesting facts about ants. I discovered my ants were red ants. That made me feel nervous about them climbing out. They are harvester ants and harvester ants love to dig. Harvester ants are dangerous because they can bite. I also read about army ants. Army ants are also dangerous because they could kill big animals like horses and rattle snakes. Peter was getting afraid because he never wants to see a colony of millions of army ants eating a rattle snake near our house. Last Sunday we watered the ants, they drank the water. I check on them everyday to make sure no ants are fighting each other. When I look at them they stop fighting and start digging holes. There is a button, we pressed it and the ant farm was glowing.

Farewell My Faithful Mini Van

By Peter

I was so sad when we sold our mini van. It felt kind of like if I had a really fun thing and somebody broke it. When the man picked up the mini van I was just crying. I wanted to keep it for James for when he is 16.

I love the mini-van because of the look. I put a Michigan sticker on the back and an elephant sticker on the back. We drove the mini van to lots of fun places like Yellowstone, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Philadelphia, Michigan, North Carolina, Atlanta zoo, Costco, the Aquarium, Mapleton, St. George, church, 7-11, the playground, and the Dinosaur museum.

Now we have a new car so the baby could have a seat. I call it the beast because it is hard to climb up in. I like the spinners and DVD players.

4 more days to go....

maybe more but lets hope for less. I don't think I'll be posting any more sewing projects because as you can see I can barely fit behind my sewing machine. I can't remember if I have ever been this big before but I pretty much am doing all my tasks sideways and only have a few items of clothing that will keep this big bulge covered.

This week will be filled with long naps, and careful study of this book, an early baby gift that Paul gave me.