Sunday, October 24, 2010

Busy boys are less work

The kids were home for a long weekend. I had to keep them busy so they wouldn't pick on each other and drive me insane. So I did.

Thursday I had them building a compost bin (about time, I hate throwing away things that my garden could use in a few years). We did this with some fence destined for the garbage at my parent's. Then I had the boys make wrapping paper for baby gifts we were giving that night.

On Friday I had the boys pulling dried remains of my garden to add carbon to my compost bin, I also had them organize our entry and closets and re-pot some herbs for our greenhouse this winter.

Overall I felt it was quite a successful in keeping the boys busy and getting a lot of little things done.

I learned the concept from the Book of Mormon in a story in which the army had to keep guard on hundreds of prisoners of war. They found out that if they kept them busy building fortifications (manual labor) then they were much easier to guard. The lesson seems to apply to children too.

Maybe I should grow a farm here. Then I could work on keeping the boys consistently busy :)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sometimes it is the little victories that count

The little victories that make a long term difference, The little things that when gotten to in time - you know will save you a headache latter on.

Yesterday we fixed some of the shelving supports in our bathroom and bedroom, 1/2 hour with a hammer and screwdriver, was enough to provide sufficient support for trusting the shelves with their heavy burdens.

Another minor victory this week was finally getting around to scrubbing the toilets and sinks and bathtubs. I got all the hard water build up off. It is amazing what you can do with a rag, baking soda and a little vinegar.

To do list this week:
See about building wall and ceiling in downstairs bathroom.
Pick up yard, (prep for winter- hoses in)
Transfer herbs into containers- move into green house.
Keep working on Shanny's room and master bed room

Monday, October 11, 2010

My Laundry room looks like a Monday

It is Monday again, and the whirlwinds that are my children are back in school, leaving behind them a disaster zone usually rated high on the scales.

I've just spent 2 hours sweeping, picking up and wiping. Then I was finally able to enter the laundry room. The only time we ever have piles of laundry is Monday. I have 4 sets of wet bedding to wash, plus Saturday night's towels in addition to the usual clothing abuse the boys call wearing. With the sunshine, clothlines and dryer all going at once, I am sure we can get through it all today. Then I got the kitchen to rearrange, the fridge to wipe out and a few bathrooms to scrub before the orange residue becomes iron stains on my beautiful white porcelains. There is also the entry that I have ignored since Friday and it too needs my attention to even be walked through again. But we did find 6 out of 7 people winter boots to wear in there. Then we get to size coats, hats, mitts and snow pants!

Outside has been in status since the summer weather is keeping us from closing things up for the winter. I've got plans on what needs to be done. We'll see if the universe cooperates. :)

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

why I nap

When I am tired and ornery, I end up getting sarcastic and sometimes almost funny. Some mothers almost always blog from this state and their blogs are big hits. I find it takes too much out of me to maintain that state long enough to produce anything funny from it, but plain and simple sarcasm comes much easier. However funny it may be it is not a state of mind that invites the calming spirit that I, as a tired mother, so desperately need. And as I learned with Galen whatever emotions I show will be amplified 100 times and returned to me.

So to return to calm and peaceful is the goal, and then there might even be a slight chance that the kids may actually sleep tonight, so I can too.