The Accomplished & Experimental One
I feel so accomplished today. I got so many of the ‘little’ things done: dusting fans, washing walls, getting stickers off the floor and chairs, etc. As well as laundry and dishes and mopping and sweeping.
I also researched a few days ago and found I was waaayyy over watering my herbs, so I haven’t watered them since and they are springing back to life. Yay!
I’ve also been super experimental with my cooking lately. I did that pasta sauce w/ tomatoes and cucumbers the other night, tho some people thought it would be gross. It was yummy!! Then I did a pasta salad w/ vingrette dressing instead of mayo and put broccoli and apples in it and it was good. Tonight’s experiment is roasted red potatoe cold salad. I’ll let you know how it goes. 
I am roasting the red potatoes now w/ a bit of olive oil, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh chives and pepper. Then I’ll let them cool and mix it w/ red wine vinegrette, peppers, broccoli and maybe hard boiled eggs. I can’t decide on that yet.
The One Written Outside
I’m blogging from the beautiful outdoors. I was curious to see if my router would work out in the back yard and it does!! Yay. Not that I plan to use this outside much, but nice to know
We’ve had a busy day… and haven’t even gotten to our schoolwork yet! Since everyone was sick over the past week or so we have gotten a little behind on the housework. So today we got to it and cleaned, decluttered and scrubbed. The house looks great now.. tho the kitchen still needs to be mopped. I’m thinking about taking today off from school… it’s so beautiful outside that I think we need to just live out here today. Although the bees are also enjoying this beautiful day and Levi is having a rough time with that. I’ve never seen him so keyed up. He’s bouncing and acting very nervous. We talked a little and I tried to show him one of the bees up close, but he was too freaked. And he’s not even the kid who has been stung!! I wonder if getting stung would calm his fears or make them worse??
We had a wonderful Easter celebration at my Moms. I really enjoy it when the whole family gets together… especially when we are able to relax and play game and just enjoy each other’s company. We didn’t have time to color eggs though, so the kids & I added that to today’s ‘jobs’. It was a fun job…. and we did it outside in this beautiful weather.
Now it’s lunchtime… and because of the bees we’re going to head inside for lunch. I can only imagine how Levi would act if a bee got near his sandwich!!!
The One About Changes
This year I have actually set goals and want to make some changes in my life. I usually throw the idea of resolutions right out the window, but I felt like setting some realistic goals for myself this year. These are MY personal goals. We also have family goals set.
Devotions at least a few times/week
Loose 25 lbs or more
Read 40 books
All of these are do-able and definitely worth it.
Another change I’ve made goes along the lines of my previous chore post. I’ve thrown most of our scheduling out the window and have put the children in charge of their day in a way. Meals/Snacks are still at the same time & I do have to dictate when we do school… but I’ve let them take control of when they do their chores & play times. IF they want computer/ TV time they must complete their chores for the day before they can do that. If they don’t want those times, the only stipulation on chores is that it’s done by bed time. OR if I ask them to put their clothes away or unload the dishwasher cause i need to load it, etc. SO far so good. Even James, who I struggle so much with, is excelling at it and I think it’s because he feels like he is in charge… and he is. He’s learning that if he wants to do the fun stuff, he needs to work first, which is what we all need to learn, right?
I also had a big epiphany about parenting. This has come through conversations with friends over the past few weeks. I know it may not seem like a big deal and many may disagree with me… but I am feeling so strongly lately that where your heart is is the most important thing in parenting. Each family needs to choose what works best for them & what their belief system is. As long as you are seeking the Lord and following what He has given in your heart you are doing the right thing. (Short of abuse, of course… but if you are abusing you aren’t following the Lord’s heart) I think that you can use punitive discipline in a loving manner w/ the right heart. You can also use positive discipline in a loving manner w/ the right heart. What matters most is the heart behind it.
The One About Chores
I’m blogging from my living room… on my BRAND NEW LAPTOP! Mom got a good deal on it and gave it to me for Christmas! I’m so shocked! I LOVE IT!
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about children and chores. Why must it be such a chore to get them to do their chores? We use incentives as in allowance… *I* use nagging *blush* Doesn’t work too well, really. So, after reading a book and chatting w/ a friend I’m coming up with a new system.
They will each have their daily required chores. Then there will be ‘extras’ that they can choose to do. All chores are worth 10 cents, so they can earn more or less depending on how many extras they do. Then, for extra bonus, if they do it promptly & w/out arguing about it, they get a sticker for the day. Once they earn 10 stickers they get 100 “Mima’s Moolah” bucks. (Something my MIL invented) They can then use those “Mima’s Moolah” bucks to “buy” something from the “Mima’s Moolah” box.
I talked to them about it this morning and they all said it sounded like a good plan. It puts them more in control of their chores and attitude about their chores, so we’ll see how it goes…
The One With Various Topics
Topic 1: It snowed a lot last night, so we made sure to get some good outside time after school was done. It’s not too cold, thankfully. It’s much easier to enjoy the snowy outdoors when it’s not below 20 degrees. Even Alyssa was happy out there. My goal is to get some outdoor time daily, but that’s difficult to do in the winter, especially when it get below 0, so I’m trying to get out as much as possible now cause I know we’ll be cooped up later.
Topic 2: I was thinking the other day how much that we, even as adults, need our parents. I know some of us have “shunned” our parents in a way, but many of us still call them for various reasons. This hit me because of Sammy’s tonsillitis. Who did I call when his fever hit 105? Not my Dr… I called Mom. And the time we were at my Moms house and Beth fell down and passed out? I called my step-dad to come help cause I was too scared. Over the years, tho I’m married & have children of my own I still find that I rely on my parents to keep me reassured when things are a bit scary… or to offer advice when I’m not sure what to do. I know it’s not like this for all families, so I feel blessed that I am able to still have a good relationship with them.
Topic 3: Why can’t children just do their chores w/out complaining? They have a chore chart, they are required to do the chores daily… and still it’s a daily hour (or more!!) of complaining and me redirecting them back to doing their chores. (Cause they get distracted while doing them.) Case in point: Right now it’s chore time. I’m sitting in the kitchen because James and Levi tend to bicker if I’m not w/ them. Annoying phase, but hopefully will be over soon… anyway. James’ shirt is wet, so he needed to go change it. That was 3 minutes ago and he’s still not back. Beth is cleaning the living room, but what she does is pick up one book, look it over for a while, then put it away. Then she picks up another book and does the same, etc, etc, until it’s done. *sigh* I think part of my issues w/ it is that I just want it DONE. I don’t see why they have to dawdle… it just needs to be done.
Topic 4: Dairy is extremely difficult to avoid.