I like to call myself a "housewife", but I should really be home home more often for that to be true. I guess I should just call myself "busy". The past week was a super busy one, and my house and blog suffered as a result.
As I set out to clean house yesterday afternoon, I realized the dust bunnies had entirely too much time on their own this week. As I would round a corner with my broom, they would run away from me with an evil laugh echoing behind them. After some serious talkin'-to, the bunnies did surrender.
And my blog seems to be mocking me with the sounds of crickets chirping when I open it. I haven't even finished blogging about Christmas, for crying out loud! I guess I better remedy that now.
But since Christmas is old news, I'll just share a few of my favorite photos that I haven't had time to share and then I can put 2010 to rest.
As I mentioned here, my brother, sister-in-law, and Edie came to visit for the holidays. It was a lot of fun to watch the 4 kids play together. Edie is not a dainty thing, and she even learned to wrestle my boys to the ground. (Mom, I still need pictures of her taking the boys down!)
One afternoon, we all met at my boys' school to shoot off rockets. Ben and Edie joined us.
I love that picture of her and her daddy. For whatever reason, she has her finger in his ear. I guess it just felt right.
We also took Edie to walk around the Gaylord, which is decorated beautifully with gingerbread creations.
My boys began climbing the rock landscaping on our way back to our car. (Please tell me you let your boys climb the rocks, too!) Naturally, Edie wanted to follow, so I helped her climb a little, and we stopped for a photo opp.
Oh, how I love that girl!
On their last evening, they came to visit us at our house for a little bit. My parents wanted a family picture, so we set out to get that done. It took a lot of silly antics from Uncle Rick to get Edie to cooperate past her bedtime, but she loves Rick and he was able to get her to smile on cue.
(Yes, my boys are wearing pj's again. No, they don't wear them 24/7, although I know it appears that way on the blog. But we are ALL in our pj's as I type, because it's a snowy, sick day over here.)
Now that I've put the dust bunnies and the crickets to rest, it's time for my own nap. I'll be back in a day or two; I promise.
Putting Some Things to Rest
Personalities in a Box
As I was changing the boys' sheets, I stubbed my toes on various forgotten objects that have taken up residence under their beds.
Note to self: Remind the boys that cleaning up does not mean stuffing items under beds.
The one item that does belong under each of their beds is their special box. Each boy has a plastic shoe box with their name. They are able to put "special items" inside their box, and they do not have to share any of these important objects with anyone.
My only rules for these boxes are:
1. The boxes need to be under their beds, unless the boys are playing with them.
2. The boxes cannot overflow.
3. The boys may not raid their brothers' boxes.
As I stubbed my toes, I took a peek under each bed and giggled. I didn't find humor in the extra toys under their beds, but I did have a good chuckle at the sight of the special boxes. Each box gave a good picture of my boys' personalities.
Jack's box:
His bos is not at all full, because he probably forgot about that box two minutes after I gave it to him a year ago.
The contents:
Daddy's driver's license from 1987 and old photos from Daddy's life as a college boy, because Jack loves his Daddy to the core of his being. A broken Star Wars toy, because he loves Star Wars almost as much as he loves his father, but he's a bit rough on toys.
Garrett's box: 
It's not full, because my Mini Me and I, we don't like to keep much of anything. If we don't truly need it, we throw it away.
The contents:
A Cars diary with some scribblings inside, because Type A persons typically journal, even before we can read and write. Aggie football trading cards and magazine clippings, because hello!, anything Aggie-related is worth keeping. A bag of small shells that his biggest brother gave him. Don't forget the maroon rock next to the Aggie cards, because hello!, G bleeds maroon.
Liam's box:
It's overflowing, because this child collects everything, and he's not the least bit concerned about cleanliness, bless his heart.
When I ask him where the box's lid is, he'll say, "What lid?" Mark my words!
The contents:
There's too much junk to list each item individually, but I do see his watch on top. He loves that watch, but he probably has no idea where it is, because hello!, it's a pig sty in there. He loves Garfield, and it's quite natural to see one of his books in this stash. There might be 200 baseball cards thrown in here for good measure.
Oh, my boys...I love them so. They are each so different, and it's funny how these plastic boxes mirror their little personalities.
The Fakers
What do you think? Are they good fakers?
Trust me when I tell you they were far from sleeping!
I was on a vacuuming tear one day last week when I asked Jack and Garrett to pull the couch cushions to the floor.
Let's just pretend that I vacuum my couches every week. I'm a good faker, too.
Anyway, I vacuumed the couches and then moved on to another room while J&G played with the cushions. Before I knew it, they had built a tower of cushions on top of the couch and Garrett was teetering on the very top, contemplating a jump that would have landed him on top of the coffee table. I quickly intervened and prevented a run to the ER.
Then, I said, "You can either put the cushions back into their correct spots, or you can rest on them while they are FLAT ON THE FLOOR."
They chose the latter. They certainly didn't sleep, but I did find that "resting" on the cushions gave me some free time to finish cleaning. I need to try that tactic again, so maybe I will vacuum my couches every week after all.
The Project
I'm not really the only worker around here. The Lord blessed me with a helpmate in my husband. Rick's especially helpful with the boys and cooking. In fact, I rarely have to bathe the boys or cook a weekend meal.
But what has been taking up most of his free time for the past two months is this:
That table is an antique that my parents gave us or loaned us (I guess now is a good time to ask...Mom, am I supposed to give it back?) when we moved into this house. The five of us gathered around it for 4 1/2 years.
With the boys getting older, we were finding 5 to be a crowd around that table. I dreamed of a large table where we could sit comfortably and even have company join us without adding a dinky card table to the end.
Nothing says we have class like a blue card table standing adjacent to our beaten-down breakfast table.
Early in December, my sweet man surprised me with this:
My dream table. It's so perty. It's so roomy. We can all sit around it and not rub elbows.
And it says, "We have class."
During Christmas break, Rick was home for a little over a week, and he became restless on day 3. And I told him, "If you can't be happy at home, why don't you go back to work?"
He quietly planned a project and went to The Home Depot to gather his supplies.
(As a side note, I had to add "The" to "The Home Depot". It cracks me up every time I see an ad for them and how they proudly add "The" to their name. We don't shop at The Walmart or The Albertson's, but we do shop at The Home Depot.)
I was shocked when he came home an hour later with supplies to refinish our table. I had mentioned how I wanted the little table to look nice for our dining room, but I assumed it would be another one of those projects that we would put off for another 5 years. But my man is full of surprises and spontaneity.
That's when the sanding and refinishing of the little table began. Let's call it the Refinishing Project of 2009-2010. I don't think either one of us realized it would take two months to finish this project. If we had, we might have stuck with the plan to put it off for 5 years.
But I'm so glad my man finished. It looks so pretty.Rick, thank you for working so hard to make this look nice for me. I know you did it to please me. And I am indeed pleased with how it looks. But more importantly, I'm proud of you.
I replaced the seat cushions and fabric. Now, all that room needs are curtains and a centerpiece. Maybe a rug. There's always something.
Incidentally, we have not used the table for eating yet. But it's a great place for folding laundry.
The Only Worker
As we were finishing lunch yesterday, the dryer buzzed for the 24th time to tell me that the clothes were dry and ready for my attention. I looked at Winston, the Boston Terrier, and said, "Winston, can you take care of that laundry for me?"
I got the response I expected. Winston tapped his toes on my lap and begged for lunch scraps. He's really helpful.
Jack and Garrett laughed hysterically.
Jack: Winston can't help you!
Garrett: Yea, he's a dog!
Me: Oh? Dogs can't help?
J&G: NO!!! [more laughter]
M: Oh man, that stinks.
G: Dogs don't do work. They're just dogs.
J: You're the only worker around here, Mommy.
M: Oh, you noticed?
J&G: Yep.
They're observant.
But never fear...the older the boys get, the less work I will do.
Note
Note to Dryer:
I promise to never ever make you dry six days' worth of laundry in one day again. Please forgive me for the overwhelming work.
Note to Husband:
I promise to never ever make you go to work without an undershirt again. Please forgive me for the lack of clean clothing.
Note to Self:
I promise to never ever let the laundry consume a full day again.
Signed,
The Very Tired Laundry Lady
T-shirt Expert
Have you ever watched this video on how to fold a t-shirt?
I've watched it a time or twenty, and try if I might, I still couldn't catch on. It's as if I needed a the dummies version.
Rick, my hero, found just exactly that the other night.
We watched the dummies version together and then pulled out two shirts to practice with. I completed the task like an expert on my first attempt.
I just might have been too proud about it, because I wasn't able to repeat with such precision for the rest of the night. I'll just blame it on the swine flu. I wasn't quite myself with all the coughing and aching.
Rick, however, caught on after his second attempt. In fact, he was so successful that he proceeded to pull out all of his t-shirts and expertly fold every last one.
He was so pleased with himself that he wanted me to get out the camera and document for the blog. I declined, because the chair on which I was sitting my achy body was more inviting than photography.
Ladies, can I let you in on a little secret?
Lean closer.
Are you listening?
If you can get your husband to watch the video, he might find such pleasure in folding t-shirts that he'll proclaim, "Honey, I'll fold all t-shirts from now on."
And you'll gladly hand him the laundry basket tomorrow.
LOOK! A RECIPE!
Have you noticed that I don't share recipes with you on this here blog? That would be for your benefit.
You're welcome.
Cooking and I don't go hand in hand naturally. I informed Rick of this fact on our first date. He still fell for me. What a sucker!
Our second date consisted of Mr. Wonderful cooking a tasty dinner for moi. I was sold at that point.
Within two months, we were engaged. And our prenuptials stated that Rick would handle the cooking, and I would take care of all cleaning.
No, we don't really have prenuptials. But we did make the cooking and cleaning very clear to one another. He didn't want to starve, and I didn't want to live in a pig sty.
And it worked for 7 years. About two years ago, however, I began feeling convicted that I should really be trying to pull my weight in the kitchen. Why should Rick work away from the home all day and come home to slaving away at the stove?
I began slowly by cooking easy meals, such as spaghetti. Over time, I've expanded my repertoire considerably.
But that doesn't mean that it's been an easy transition. There was a period of time where, I swear, the stove screamed at the horror of seeing me. There were numerous burned meals. Too many to count.
But the stove and I have made amends, and we get along much better now. I am a far cry from being an expert, and that is why I don't share recipes with you. I'm sure most of you are much more experienced in the kitchen, and I wouldn't want to insult your cooking intelligence.
Anyway, I mentioned yesterday that we enjoyed fried fish and homemade vanilla ice cream on the 4th. Yours truly tried her hand at making ice cream for the first time ever! (I did not, however, fry the fish. That would have been classified as overachieving.)
I was very nervous about making ice cream. I told my sister-in-law and brother-in-law that if it didn't turn out correctly, I would run to the store for some Blue Bell. Some of you are probably saying, "Oh, come on, it's so easy." Could you please humor me and pretend to be impressed?
For those looking for an oh-so-yummy homemade vanilla ice cream recipe, here it is. Drum roll please.
Ingredients for a 6 quart ice cream maker:
6 eggs
3 3/4 cup sugar
3 cans evaporated milk
1/2 gallon milk
6 3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1 can Eagle brand milk
Directions:
Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar gradually. Beat until stiff. Add remaining ingredients and mix extremely well. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze using rock salt and ice according to your ice cream maker's directions. (You didn't expect me to spell it all out for you, did you?)
We added chocolate syrup and sprinkles. The house was silent while 8 adults and 7 children devoured a large heap.
Let me know if you try it!
In case you're wondering, I still handle the cleaning, as well. The day I hand that over to Rick, you can go ahead and commit me to the asylum.
Super Woman or Super Tired?
Do you ever have one of those days where you feel super productive?
Today, we have done the following:
- held preK class for Jack and Garrett
- held kindergarten class for Liam
- painted some masterpieces
- played outside
- eaten 2 good meals
- and I've washed, folded, and put away all laundry.
- I'm Super Woman.
- I'll need to go to bed at 8pm.
A side note: Yes, we are having "summer school". We began school this week, because summer in Texas is only good for swimming and air conditioning. Our skin can only handle so much sun and chlorine, which forces us to find many indoor activities. But summer school will allow us to finish our school year in April and enjoy our refreshing spring next year.
Status Report
Camping: We had a great time over Labor Day weekend. We relaxed, ate junk food, rode bikes, fished, ate more junk food, napped,.... You get the idea. No one got sick! It did rain, but not enough to send us packing.
Aggie game: We have won our first two games. Whoop! The Aggies are giving us heart palpitations, however, with some of their antics.
Cleaning: My house is clean from top to bottom. [Do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus playing?] If only we could move out for one month, in order to keep it spotless!
Inquiry: As I was sweating buckets and working my bum off this past week to accomplish detailed housecleaning, I kept thinking of all of you, my dear readers. I kept wondering how you keep your houses clean? I'm assuming that your homes are spotless and beautiful 24/7. No, actually, I won't hold you to that kind of perfection. But I am curious as to what sort of system you use for deep cleaning? I have a working system in place for the daily and general household upkeep. It's keeping the blinds, windows, ceiling fans, and baseboards clean that I'm inquiring about. Do you have a working system in place for the deep cleaning in your home? If so, I would love to hear about it in my comments section!
The Eleventh Commandment
I have a rule in my life that really should be made the eleventh commandment: Thou Shalt Not Remain Home on a Three-day Weekend. Absolutely not. No way. Don't even think about how much you could accomplish around here in three days. Just pack your bags and hit the road.
So we're going to try some camping again. When I report back to you about this weekend's camping expedition, I hope to not include any details such as train derailments, gate closures, rain or vomiting, but I make no promises. Whenever we pull out the camper, it rains and something goes wrong. But we're excited nonetheless.
Besides, this trip is planned around Aggie football! We're camping at Lake Somerville, which is not too far from Aggieland (a.k.a. God's Country). This will allow us to take my dad to his first Texas A&M football game, which is an experience everyone should enjoy at least once in life. (Truly! It's not just a game. It's a fun-filled event of traditions!) My mom will keep the boys at the camper. What a great mom!
And because this house is in shambles, I will be taking a break from blogging next week. I feel pretty certain that not one of you would like to volunteer to come clean my windows, blinds, baseboards, ceiling fans, or toilets, so I'll be busy with that next week. I'm hoping that telling you this now will help hold me accountable. If I post anything next week, you have my permission to slap me silly.
But I will be back on Monday, September 10 to fill you in on all the exciting details of camping and cleaning. Y'all be good while I'm gone.
Gig 'em, Aggies!
WFMW: No More Forgotten Stains
If you're like me, your brain seems to forget minor details between the time you start a load of clothes in the washer and the time that the clothes need to moved to the dryer. By the time I remember to move those wet clothes to the dryer, I've forgotten that there was a red stain on that white shirt. When I remember that red stain, it's too late and that pesky stain is set after being heated in the dryer.
This dry erase board holds my memory and hangs on the wall next to the washer. As I treat a stained piece of clothing and place it in the washer, I put a simple note on this board next to that person's initial. For instance, if Jack's khaki shorts are stained, I write "khaki shorts" next to his initial. When it's time to move that load of wet clothes to the dryer, my note helps me remember to check those shorts for cleanliness before putting them in the dryer.
Accomplishments
Mondays are usually our days to stay home. We stay busy on the weekends, so I use Mondays to get the boys back into our routine, and I typically try to clean the house. Well, I haven't gotten much cleaning done today, but I must not be too concerned, being that I'm sitting here with you.
Take a good look at Liam's socks. He loves those socks, and I, uh, don't. They came in one of those cheap packets that comes with, you know, 100 pair of multiple colors, when all you really need is a couple pair of blue and black. When I bought them, I didn't read the fine print on the package that said, "WARNING! These socks come up to your child's navel!" Which is exactly why I don't like them. But he loves them. When I was getting everyone ready for our ride/run, I told Liam to go get some socks out of his dresser. In my head, I said, "It's okay if he comes downstairs with those ugly socks. It's really okay. We're only exercising, so we don't have to look fashionable." Sure enough, he came down with those army green, up-to-the-navel socks!
And here are Jack and Garrett being silly for the camera. They love to ride in the jogging stroller, whether I be running, walking, or pulling them behind my bike. Notice that all three boys are still in pj's. No, we don't stay in our pj's all day, but I didn't feel the need to get them dressed before our workout.
But don't you worry. I did dress myself, since exercising in my pj's in public might not be a good idea. But I will not be showing a photo of myself in workout gear, no, I will not.
Okay, so back to my accomplishments for the day. I told you there were two. My second accomplishment is enjoying my boys. We have laughed and been silly together for a good part of the day. If I had cleaned house, then I would have missed out on the opportunities to dance, sing, play instruments, read books, and make silly faces with my boys.
We did, however, have to break our stay-at-home-all-day-on-Mondays rule. We had to run to the cleaners, since daddy might want some clean clothes to wear to work tomorrow, and we had to go to the store to buy milk, since these growing boys are working on building strong bones. And this is what Liam wore to run those two errands:
He picked this outfit in its entirety. The shorts and shirt are fine for hangin' around the house. These are his soccer socks. You know, the ones that you fold over their shin guards? Yep, he loves them, because they come up to his arm pits! But I am so proud of myself for allowing him to wear them in public! Will he be able to wear them to church or to our next play date? Um, no, probably not.
And now for some cleaning.... See ya tomorrow.
A Random Post
Besides last Friday's funny, I haven't posted anything worthwhile in weeks, possibly months. (I'm not exactly certain that Friday's funny was "worthwhile", but anything worth a laugh in my house is worth sharing, in my humble opinion.) So, here I sit, with my up-and-running laptop, and I'm not certain where I should begin with today's post. I have many thoughts running around in my head, so let's just see where this takes me.
Maybe I should begin with listing all the things that I accomplished last week while the computer and the husband were away. I cleaned and organized all closets, dusted all ceiling fans, blinds & baseboards, polished kitchen cabinets, touched-up paint throughout the house, picked weeds, and sorted the boys' toys. I feel so much better! When I told Rick about all that I had accomplished in his absence, he asked if he should go away more often. Absolutely not! I'm worn out! But I might need the computer to be taken away from me every few months in order to accomplish household duties. Eek, did I really just say that?!
And since my computer was gone for a total of 19 days, may I suggest where you should NOT take your computer for repairs? Ahem!
I would like to share some recent photos of the boys, but that would require getting up to retrieve the camera. Maybe tomorrow.
Please excuse me while I interrupt this boring post with a celebration! Gig 'em, Aggies! We're gonna' tear it up this Thursday in the Sweet Sixteen! Whoop!
Because There Aren't Enough Hours in the Day
I need to skip out on the blogging world today. The time that I usually spend in Bloggityville needs to be spent on some important things this afternoon. (I'm not sayin' that this blogging world is not important, because it is truly how I stay sane most days.) However, there are some things that must be done from time to time like preparing dinner and cleaning house. I am certain that I will not get it all done today, because there are not enough hours in which I can scrub three toilets and showers, vacuum two stories, mop all the tile floors, dust, and what else was it, oh, prepare dinner! But I'm off to get started. I'll be back tomorrow, or later today, if I give up and decide to blog anyway.
The Filth Calls
Today was supposed to be the day that the children played so well that Mommy was able to clean the entire house. It's 2:45 pm, and Mommy has only cleaned 2 of the 3 bathrooms. That's all that has been done in the cleaning department. That's it. No dusting, vacuuming, or mopping.
Does that tell you how well the children have played today?
Please bear with me, as I take a break from Bloggityville to clean my own villa this afternoon!
If you have figured out how to blog and clean your entire house all in one day, please post a comment!
From Pure Delight to Utter Let-Down
I mentioned yesterday how tired I am of the Christmas decorataions. Did I do anything about it today? Heck, no! I decided that the cash my father and husband gave me for Christmas were calling my name to a much sweeter tune, so I went shopping! And boy did I have fun! I was able to buy two complete outfits, and by "complete", I mean shoes and jewelry to match the ever-so-cute outfits.
I came home pumped. Rick, the sweet man that he is, asked to see my outfits as soon as I walked in the door. I quickly pulled everything out of the bag and explained my delight with two complete outfits. He could hear the excitement in my voice. He complimented each article appropriately with phrases such as, "I like those shoes." (Did I mention how sweet he is?! If your husband would merely grunt a monotone greeting to you when you walked in the door with two complete outfits, raise your hand!)
Then, I walked in here to the computer room to check on the blogging world, and the Christmas let-down hit me again. Not only do I see my Christmas tree and decorations piling up in the corner of this room, but then I see that Shannon has already put her decorations away in an organized manner. So, I must promise myself (and you) that I will put away all Christmas decorations tomorrow. Yes, I must. And then, we can move on to other more fun posts.
If you have already put away your decorations, please post a comment of encouragement to me!
