Household Management Nirvana

I want to be totally honest with you all (all three of you who are still reading my blog, that is):

I have a lot of trouble keeping house. The problem with that statement is that keeping house is #2 on the list of my full time jobs (#1 being child minding). So when I'm falling down on the job and it is one of my main responsibilities, things around here get a little hairy. Or a lot hairy since we have a long-haired dog, I am long-haired, and another member of this household is just plain hirsute. So the lack of housekeeping was resulting in the kind of tumbleweeds normally seen in the Southwestern United States, among other problems.

I looked at many, many printable chore charts and came away at a loss. I don't need a chart to fill in because I could look at a blank chart all day and just feel overwhelmed at filling in the first blank. It was the same way with actually doing chores. I would get the kids down for a nap, know that there were a lot of tasks waiting for me, couldn't pin point just one that was most urgent, so resorted to tossing in some laundry, picking up some toys and throwing up my hands. Not so productive really. Which chores should be done weekly? Monthly? What jobs should I give to my children? It was all too overwhelming for my little pea-brain. I finally realized I needed a chore chart that was already filled in. Someone needed to tell me what to do. I finally found one over at Motivated Moms.

The nice thing about their chore charts is that the daily tasks are all lined up on the left, and listed on the right there are a few manageable bigger jobs on the right. If you don't manage to check a box one week, the chore comes up again later. Getting even some of those little boxes checked off is, well, motivating. I can manage to keep my house clean and not spend all day cleaning house!

It does cost $8 (or $7 with the discount code giveaways). I would pay the $7 again knowing now how well this system works for me.

I have been using Motivated Moms with Managers of Their Homes for about 3 weeks now and things around here aren't perfect, but they are much better than they used to be. I still fall down on the job a lot. But something that has been key with each of these systems is that when I do fall down I have a place to start back up. I can look at my schedule or my list and gather up the kids and myself and head off again. It's really very encouraging!

Snowed In

Connections Made

Background:

a) Sometimes Steve works the night shift so there is some shushing around here if he is asleep during the day.

b) Ethan has been getting a dime every time he does his jobs around the house (putting away the silverware, Tupperware and pots).

So onto today:

Ethan: :being loud:
Me: Ethan, that is too loud for inside.
Ethan: Shh, Dad's seeping.
Me: No, Dad's not sleeping it is just too loud.
Ethan: Dad's seeping.
Me: No, Dad's at work. Dad's doing his job.
Ethan: Dad gets dimes. Dad's getting dimes.
Me: ...

2010

I remember when I was a kid thinking that 2010 was the future. I mean, of course it was the future, but I mean The Future. Like we'd all be wearing silver jumpsuits and eating our meals in pill form and living in space. Fortunately none of those things have yet to be realized by the human race, unless you are on some crazy diet plan.

I don't make New Year's resolutions. I know that I can't keep resolutions, so I don't make them! Real disciplined of me, huh? But I do have some goals for myself and the kids this year, and here they are:

Me:
--more self-discipline. This one covers pretty much everything else in my life. But, specifically:
--get up before the kids. This is so hard for me, I love love love my sleep. But I think I need the time to wake up before they do so I can respond to their needs better in the morning.
--go to bed earlier. I'm a night owl. I love how quiet it is around here when everyone goes to sleep and I tend to binge on my quiet time to the detriment of the next day.
--be able to do three pull-ups. Steve got a pull-up bar for Christmas. I'm using it sporadically.


Ethan:
--prompt, cheerful obedience. We're in the thick of this. It is going to get harder before it gets easier, but he is showing promise.
--saying, "Yes, Mama" or "Yes, Dad" when he is asked to do something. He does say it now. He can say it. Sometimes he just doesn't want to say it.
--potty training. ugh.
--recognizing all of his numbers, letters, and shapes.
--memorizing the following: Psalm 23, the Lord's Prayer, 20 catechism questions, and the Apostles Creed. This probably seems like a lot, but he's already got some of Psalm 23 and a few catechism questions down (it is just a children's catechism, like "Who made you?" that sort of thing). I'm finding that little toddler brains are just ripe for memorization. I had a hard time believing i when I saw my friends posting YouTube videos of their kids reciting stuff at 2 and 3 years old, but here we are and it is amazing what they can absorb. And it is a whole year, after all.

The most important things are the first two on the list. All of the others (with maybe the exception of potty training) I'm okay with him not doing if he's not there yet.

Matthew:
--growing out of babyhood into toddlerhood. :'(
--not thwarting any of my plans with Ethan.
--sleeping through the whole night reliably. He is one finicky sleeper, this one.
--learning where he is and isn't allowed to go.
--learning how to play with his big brother.

I think that's it for us for 2010.

Happy New Year!

Picture Post

Some fun patchwork that is making me happy!

Play Kitchens

I know there are at least a few people who read my blog that will appreciate these:

So cool!

I want to make one for the boys!

I mean, how many junky old entertainment centers can you find just sitting on Craigslist or Freecycle for nearly nothing?! Project of 2010!

HT: The Common Room

Quilting!

So, what have I been doing lately?

Well other than general wife-ing and mommy-ing, I've been quilting!

Here's the thing: I've always loved fabric and I've owned a sewing machine for going on 5 years and I've done absolutely nothing about with it. But something about having two under two inspired me to start some quilting projects. I think the basic thinking behind this is craziness, or madness, or the idea that I'm already up to my ears in busyness, so adding another hobby can't make that much difference, right?

Anyway, I signed up for a quilting class and in less than two months finished my first quilt. It is rough. There are a lot of bobbles. But I learned so much from making it and my next one (already in progress) is going to be loads better. But I'm not going to point out the flaws because I'm told that's just not done, but here it is all finished and happy.