Teaching Children to Work

My good mother grew up on a fruit farm, so she learned to work at a young age, and she learned to work hard.  I can't express how grateful I am that she taught her daughters to work. My sister Kelli remembers learning to use the washing machine and dryer at the age of 5. We always had a "list," and I KNOW that we are better people because of it (You said I'd thank you one day, Mom... so THANK YOU!) Strangely, my Mom took a bit of heat from some people because she actually expected her kids to do housework, but those people's children went to college and didn't know how to do their own laundry. One newly-wed couple I know went to eat every dinner at her parents house for the first two years of marriage, because the young bride didn't know how to cook. The point is - teaching my children the value of work, and how to be responsible, functioning adults is a high priority to me.

So, when this book was published in 2005, I snatched up a copy IMMEDIATELY.
It has a plan... THE PLAN.

I've heard this book described as "the instruction manual that the hospital should give you when your child is born!" The fact remains that teaching kids to work is actually a lot harder than just doing it yourself. It takes more effort, more patience, and more time, but that's what being a great parent is all about. And I love, Love, LOVE having a great plan to work from.

Sister Boyack (Mother of 4 sons) paints a clear picture of how children gain real self-esteem and confidence by being able to do things on their own.

She says, "Let's begin with the end in mind. Pull out a piece of paper and write on it, "How I want my children to turn out... What basic things do you want your children to know and be? Write at least five main goals or results. This part of The Plan is absolutely crucial. You will be spending many hours of many days doing things that seem trivial or pointless, and you have to have the end goal firmly in mind to get yourself through them. So when you're teaching your daughter for the umpteenth time how to thoroughly clean a toilet, you can say to yourself, "We're training an independent adult here, THIS IS IMPORTANT." Besides, just think how desirable your kids will be! Trust me, they'll be irresistible! I already have parents lining up their daughters for my sons because they know they can take care of a car, whip up a meal, garden, and clean the blessed toilet!"

The Plan breaks things down by age from Three Years Old to Eighteen Years Old.

Samples from The Plan:

Six Years Old	Ten Years Old	14-15 Years Old
Take Shower	Do own laundry completely	Do basic interior decorating
Dust	Set personal goals	Understand basic food storage
Load Dishwasher	Play Musical Instrument	Memorize Social Security number
Empty Dishwasher	Maintain personal journal	Understand and use a debit card
Clean Sinks	Participate in exercise program	Learn interest, debt, securities
Run Microwave	Rent videos	Learn about make-up (girls!)
Water Plants	Clean stove & oven	Identify business skills to get experience with  sales
Make/Answer Phone Calls	Make several salads	Learn basic civics & politics
	Understand basic nutrition	Accompany a parent to vote
	Use a leaf blower	Perform thorough car detailing
	Plant plants	Change flat tire.
	Place a collect call
	Use a pay phone
	Know Articles of Faith

The plan is flexible, you can cater it to your families needs and values, but boy, DOES IT GET YOU THINKING!!! A couple of years ago, I typed up The Plan, tweaked it for our family, and made a copy for each child to use as a check list for keeping us on track.

The book offers tips on how to train the kids, how long it takes them to learn, when to train, by whom (you don't have to do it all yourself,) and how to dump your guilt and just get to it.  I really like that part because this last year with toddler Jared, Matt starting his own business, and the kids all going to a new school, have knocked us a bit off course.  But blogging like this helps me refocus, and I'm already feeling very motivated to get us back on The Plan. ; D

http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Breakthrough

Kids' "Stations"

My refrigerator was maxed out! 

Every exterior inch of it was covered in artwork, announcements, school papers, invitations, and reminders. Half of which ended up under the fridge or in the garbage because they committed the sin of being within Jared's grasp. We struggled to keep track of whose paper was whose,  what's coming up next, and what needed to be done to prepare. There were too many people using too small a space.

Something had to be done!

I had the idea for each of the school-age kids to have a 'station' where their own artwork & awards could be displayed, invitations & papers could be stored temporarily, and "To Do" lists or notes to that child could be written.
After searching, I found these great quality organizers by Expo at Walmart.com.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Expo-Combo-Dry-Erase-Board-Black-Wood-Frame/14150598

Each station is 18" high x 24" wide. They have a pocket for papers, elastic cross-bands for holding small items, and a magnet dry-erase board. I bought a packet of vinyl lettering from Hobby Lobby and mounted each station and a child's name on a small wall facing our dining room. It's out of the public eye, but it's visible at meal times, when we often discuss what's going on for the day or the week.

I put these up in December as a Christmas gift to myself ;D, and they have been SO helpful! I have a place to put the kids projects or homework when it's time to set the table for dinner. The kids hang their own pictures and even write their own "To Do's" or reminders on their boards; and if a paper goes missing, we can often find it in their station. It's so much easier to keep track of what's going on with the kid's individually (like who has a birthday party on Saturday, a talk on Sunday, or who needs to use their Pizza Hut Book-it coupon.) I can easily file school papers at the end of each week and toss outdated invites or newsletters. I'm liking these so much, that I may go ahead and buy stations for Jared and the bambino on the way, just to keep them uniform in the future.

Happy organizing!

Sacrifice & Forgiveness

Today's lesson in Relief Society was fantastic! So much food for thought. It was taken from the Gospel Essentials Manual and the chapter was on sacrifice.

The instructor wanted to move everyone's thinking away from sacrifice as a something negative or hard. Someone said, "Well, is it really a sacrifice if it isn't hard?"

I thought a lot about that question during the lesson, and I kept thinking that sacrifices may seem hard in the beginning (perhaps tithing, as an example), but as we faithfully obey (sacrifice regularly) it doesn't feel hard anymore. Sacrificing is still part of it, but our growth in faith makes any burden seem light.

Marie commented on this so eloquently, that I have to write down what she said.
"The word sacrifice comes from the same root as the word sacred. So to sacrifice means to make something sacred. It has nothing to do with it being hard. We can go through the motions of being obedient, but it is not a sacrifice until our attitude and our actions have made it sacred." (I hope my memory is doing justice to her words.)

I think we stay-at-home mother's sacrifice a lot for our families. Or at least I think we give up a lot of worldly praise, recognition, & money. But Marie's words made me want to make sure that this service to my family was truly sacred in my thoughts and actions.

Sister Shumway also brought out something I'd never thought about before. Forgiveness is a sacrifice. We are giving up our anger & our desire for retribution. She talked about struggling to forgive people who had truly wronged her and with whom she WANTED to be angry - felt justified in being angry. She then heard someone say that when we don't forgive others, it's as though we have rejected the atonement of the Savior on their behalf. We are rejecting his sacrifice.

That's a sobering thought. No wonder he says, "I will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." We can't reject his sacrifice for others and expect to partake of it ourselves.

This helps me understand a little better, how the atonement can be a healing balm for the sins committed against us. The healing of our pain was part of the price he paid.

It makes me want to fully forgive and makes it seem easier to forgive those who may not even be repentant at the moment. It makes forgiveness something truly sacred as you hand that burden back to Lord without fear or reservation and let his healing begin.

I'm so thankful for the way great teachers sacrifice their time to bring the Spirit into our meetings, and feed my soul for the coming week - wonderful!

The Mane Man

Today was haircut day at our house. I grew up in a family of all girls, so I had no idea that I would one day be responsible for cutting and styling four little heads of manly hair. I have to thank my husband for insisting early-on in our marriage that I learn how to cut HIS hair. The curl in Matt's hair made it a very forgiving practice mane, and after 16 years of doing this, I am very thankful for the small fortune we save each month in getting these guys trimmed.

As my boys have grown older, they've become more interested in more cutting edge styles like Zach's spikes

or Gabe's Faux-hawk.

But after they managed to talk me into trying them, we realized that these styles required some SERIOUS product. We tried a dozen before we found our favorite.
Got2Be Glued.

The name says it all. But it's the only thing I can find to hold their silky-fine hair in place for the day.

Lookin' good, guys!

*This amendment is in response to Rachel's comment and question about cutting the boys hair.

This is our home salon...

These are my supplies:

• 2 aprons from a beauty supply store (one large for ages 8 & up, one small for 7 & under,) 
• Haircutting scissor, 
• Grooming brush (the white bristled one for brushing hair from ears, faces, & necks when finished,) 
• Comb & Spray bottle with water
• Full size electric trimmer
• Small "Peanut" electric trimmer. 

Both trimmers are made by Wahl, but Matt had an Oster brand trimmer that lasted for 12 years prior to this, and it was great. Each trimmer comes with a set of 'guide combs' of different lengths (the black set for the large trimmer & the cream set for the Peanut.) I recommend trimmers with cords instead of cordless ones for more power and no recharging hassles. The cords on these trimmers are long enough to get the job done without any trouble. I usually have the boys sitting an a bar stool near the kitchen counter and I can manage just fine. You can find these trimmers in stores or online at Walmart.com or Amazon.com. Sets range from $20 to $60 depending on the accessories and some kits have both the large and Peanut trimmers together.

CUTTING SIDES: I begin by using 5/8" guide on the large trimmers to cut all around the sides of the boys' hair (the hair is dry at this time.) I use a 1/2" guide on the Peanut for Jared.  In fact, the "Peanut" Wahl trimmer is ideal for small children (BUT Rachel, with your boys THICK hair, you MAY HAVE TO use the regular trimmers on them.) I also use the Peanut without a guide to trim the bottom edges of everybody's hair (the neck line, around the ears, sideburns, etc.) It's designed to not pinch or hurt when using quick strokes in these areas.
CUTTING THE TOP:   During the school year, I always trim the tops of the boys' hair with scissors. I wet it first. Each of my boys has different cowlicks, hair texture and hair lines, so I've just learned to do what works best on each of them.

• Gabe's hair cooperates best when left a little longer than his brothers (about 2" in the front and tapering to 1 1/2" at the back) - that length is also why it works in a faux-hawk. 
• Zach has a bit of Matt's natural curl, so I like it longer on top too (about 1 1/2" in the front and tapering to 1" near the back.) 
• Max & Jared still have baby fine hair and funny hairlines that don't cooperate with spiking or flipping up in the front, so we just go short (about 1") on them.  

*Finally, I use the scissors to go around the 'crown' area of the head to blend where the trimmer cut hair meets the scissor cut hair. I hope this helps, Rach, and I'd love to see pics of your handsome boys with their new "Do's." :D

Family Friday: January 21, 2011

I’d like to keep these entries up to date weekly, but this one will include some catch-up from the last couple of months.

Matt: Been working in Atlanta this week, but arrives home this evening. Things are going very well with his business - almost too well. There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. When he’s able to step away from his office or the phone for a little while, he spends his time with us or catching up on his sleep. We miss him a lot, but we’re also very grateful for the way he works so hard for our family and shows his love for us.

Candace: I guess the cat’s out of the bag... or should I say... there’s a bun in the oven. That’s right, we’re expecting baby #6 in August. I had my first doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and then lab-work done yesterday. I’m feeling surprisingly well this pregnancy - a little queasy if I go too long without a meal - but really great compared to my previous pregnancies. I’m just grateful to have the energy to keep the family going. One highlight for the week was the night that the kids and I sat around the kitchen table, listening to Harry Potter on CD, eating popcorn, and painting.  

Lauren: Made it through her second semester of Jr. High - yeah! The transition to middle school has been a big one for Lauren, but she’s really come a long way in stepping up to the added responsibilities. In December, she received the Character Award for Diligence and she also won 3rd place in the School Science Fair. Congratulations Lauren! Highlight #1: was the night she asked to sleep in my room (Matt was out of town.) We turned it into a girls night, and snuggled up and watched a chick-flick on my laptop.  I loved every minute of it! Highlight #2: Making & eating brownies.

Zach: Also won the Character Award for Diligence in December - Awesome! I love that my kids work hard. In fact, I need to take a moment to recognize what a hard worker Zach is. Zach  wakes up on his own and heads straight to the piano for practice at 6:30 each morning - he’s so self-disciplined, he amazes me! He just pays attention to what he’s supposed to do and then does it without being reminded. Such a GREAT kid!  Highlight: He began skiing lessons last Friday at Sundance and he really liked it. There are 4 more lesson over the next couple months, so I’ll have to keep you posted on how those are going. Lowpoint: staying home with the stomach flu this morning and missing out on playing at his buddy's house. :-( 

Gabe: Won the Character Award in January for Respect - Way to go, Gabe! He also started skiing lessons with Zach (they were organized through the PTO for 2nd grade and up.) He also loved the first ski lesson - he just wished they could have skied longer! :D  Highlight #2: Beginning piano lessons last Wednesday. He’s really enjoying it, and doing well. He’s already earned 26 music bucks, and he loves the piano academy and all of his teachers.

Max: Ah, Max. He’s just been going through a tough time lately. He’s finally adjusted to going back to school, but he’s been so short-tempered with his brothers and sister lately that he’s been a real handful at home. He wishes he could join his brothers for skiing lessons so much, he can hardly stand it. He still loves all things "art" - especially painting. Highlight of the Week: Decorating for Valentine’s Day with me as a surprise for the rest of the family, and learning to make snowflakes in conjunction. Snowflake making is his new obsession. I love his interest and the snowflakes he’s making, but we need to reign in the paper scraps that are littering the house and keep the scissors out of Jared’s little paws.

Jared Highlight: Jared LOVED our Harry Potter/Painting night. It’s the first time he’s painted before, and he painted his paper, the table, his hands, his face, his brother, the popcorn and his tongue. (Yes, the paints are non-toxic. Yes, I did redirect him from eating paint.) All said, he had a great time! As I write this entry, I am sitting in the lobby of my dentist’s office and little Jared is unconscious in the exam room. Almost two months ago, he was sitting on a toddler chair and suddenly fell forward, smacking his mouth on the edge of a little wooden table. His mouth bled for a full 30 minutes, and the root of his front tooth died and the tooth eventually turned brown. So, he’s having a pulpotomy to prevent the tooth from having further problems and making it last a few more years before it’s supposed to fall out.  I held him as the anesthesiologist gave him a shot in the arm to knock him out, and I have to say it was a little frightening to have him fall to sleep in my arms in such a quick and unnatural way. 

Jared Update: Jared took a little longer than expected to come out of the anesthesia, but his vital signs are good and everything in the procedure went well - yeah! He's cranky & loopy & can't walk in a straight line, but I've been told that's normal - sigh. Now, I’m rushing home to check on Zach and see if he's feeling any better. Cest La Vie! 

Beauty Sleep

Sleep is a glorious thing. It's one area in my life that I've struggled to balance well, but I've done better in recent years and have to admit that I'm a better person when I get enough sleep.

• I'm more patient with my kids, husband, life.
• My thinking is more clear
• I'm more positive
• I get much more done during the day.
• I'm less tempted to eat junk food - especially chocolate.

Did you know that lack of sleep can contribute to being overweight? People to who are overweight are OFTEN sleep deprived. It raises cortisol levels in your blood, which makes your body hold onto it's fat reserves and also makes you CRAVE large quantities of the worst kinds of foods!

I have to credit some of my weight loss success last year to making sleep a higher priority in my life, and this book was a great motivator in getting me to pay attention to my body's need for sleep

"Beauty Sleep," by Michael Breus, Ph.D.

It talks about figuring out how much sleep YOUR body needs, creating an environment that helps you get the deepest and best sleep, all the benefits of great sleep (including looking younger, having more energy, losing weight, etc.) It really changed my attitude towards sleep and subsequently changed my life for the better.

And on that note... I'm off to sleep. :D

Honey-Mustard Chicken & Home Fries

Chicken nuggets and french fries don't qualify as health food, but that doesn't stop my kids from craving them. However, this meal is an easy, tasty, healthy & inexpensive alternative to a trip to McDonald's.

Home Fries

• Baking potatoes, or sweet potatoes
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Mrs. Dash
• Pepper

Wash potatoes and cut into wedges. Drizzle with a little bit of oil (enough to get the spices to stick.) Sprinkle with pepper and Mrs. Dash, and toss. I like to toss it in a plastic container with a lid.

Spray a cookie sheet with oil and spread wedges on the sheet. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour.

The fries are very low in fat, low in sodium and high in magical deliciousness. My kids repeatedly tell me that they like them better than restaurant fries. 

The kids like to dip the regular potato fries in ketchup or fry sauce, but the sweet potato fries don't need anything more - They are heavenly.

Honey-Mustard Chicken

• Chicken Breast
• Honey Mustard
• Bread Crumbs 
• A few Tbsp olive oil

These breasts were a little thick, so I cut them down the middle (lengthwise) to make them thinner & easier to cook. Pat the chicken dry and brush one side with honey-mustard. Dip the honey-mustard side in bread crumbs and then coat the other side with honey-mustard and crumbs. 

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Use just enough oil to thinly cover the bottom of the pan. Then cook the chicken on each side until done (about 5 minutes each side). Cut into the center of each piece to check that it has thoroughly cooked.

The chicken is very lightly breaded and fried, so this is much healthier alternative to fried chicken. The honey-mustard and breading lock in the juices and give the chicken a great flavor. 

I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as mine.

*Final Note: This post would not be complete without acknowledging a fantastic gift that my husband gave me for Christmas - A New Oven!!!  You have to understand that for the last 6 years, I have been cooking for my family of 7 people on a twenty-year-old stove that had 3 itty-bitty burners and only 1 large one - which had an electrical short in it, and would unpredictably ramp up to scalding high heat and burn whatever was on it without warning!

I am now in cooking HEAVEN!!! 
Thank you, sweetheart!

Separation Anxiety

This is a new one for us. When our kids were very small (infant to toddler age) they experienced a little bit of separation anxiety when being left with a babysitter or in the nursery, but we've been in new territory for the last two weeks.

It's Max.

The last night of the Christmas break, we were watching a video as a family and Max came snuggling up to me on the couch. This was not unusual. But then he seemed to be focusing totally on me instead of the show, and he kept giving me hugs and kissing my cheeks, until I asked, "What's goin' on with you bud?" "Nothing," he said, "I just love you a lot."

Well the next morning it was back to school time and I think he accidentally-on-purpose left his backpack sitting on the living room floor while I was buckling Jared for the ride to school.

The kids had jumped out of the van to go into the school, when Max came running back and said,  "Mom, I forgot my backpack." I thought he'd just left it in the back of the van, but he said he'd left it at home. He was crying and having an unusually emotional reaction to this. After a few minutes of wiping tears and calming him down, I explained that I would bring the backpack before the end of school, so he'd have it in time to turn in his homework, and collect his papers for the day. He seemed calm when he left the van the second time, but as I drove home, I got a call from the school secretary. Max had gone to her desk sobbing. He told her that she needed to call me and tell me that I needed to come get him and just take him home.

I spoke to Max on the phone and he could hardly speak, he was sobbing without restraint. He kept saying, "I just want to go home!" Well, the sweet secretary recognized that he was having some separation anxiety - which apparently is not uncommon for young kids after the Christmas break. She talked with me a few minutes. I had come to the same conclusion, but it was nice to have it confirmed by someone who'd seen it before. I had a very strong feeling that if I brought him home, it would extend the problem and make it worse. So, I was very grateful for the secretary's help in calming him and walking him to class.

Sometimes I think one of the hardest things that parents have to do is  DO NOTHING! Don't you just want to take action? To make it better? I felt guilty for leaving my crying child in the care of someone else, when I could easily turn the car around. But I'm still convinced that rushing to his teary pleas would have been the WRONG thing to do.

So, I went home and spent the next three hours worrying and thinking about him. Where did this come from? Is it because he's one of the youngest in his grade? Though he's LOVED school this year and done very well academically and socially. Is it because his Dad is traveling so much and the thought of being separated from Mom too created a sense of panic? Hmmm. Is there some kind of trouble at school?

I went to the school early with his backpack in hand. The secretary took it from me and asked if she could walk it to his class, because she was concerned about him seeing me. And then I waited for the parade of kindergartners to file out of the school doors.

Max came out like any other day. After a hug 'Hello,' we started talking.

What was going on this morning, Buddy? Is everything all right with your friends?
        Yah, we had fun today.
Is anyone being mean to you?
        No, no one's being mean. 
Are things all right with your teacher?
        Yep.
She's being nice?
        Yep.
Well, what was going on this morning? Is there anything at school that makes you feel worried or afraid?
        No,  I just wanted to be home. We had a lot of fun during the break, and I just really wanted be home with you.
(Oh, how sweet is that!?) Okay.... Well... it IS time to get back to school now, but we can still have fun together. School is really important, Max, and I'm so proud of the good work that you do at school. It's only for three hours a day, that's not very long to be apart.
       Okay.
Did you have a good rest of the day?
       The morning was hard, but the rest of the day was good.
Good.

I thought Tuesday went well. Wrong.
Wednesday at 10 am I got a call from his teacher.

"Max, is really having a hard time being back at school. He's been crying each day, and now he's having a hard time doing his work. I made a deal with him that if he could talk to you for a few minutes on the phone, then he would get back to work."

Max and I talked. He finished the last hour of school all right.
We talked some more after school.

Me: Max, I miss being with you too. Would it help you if we made a plan to have some Mom-and-Max-Time after school each day, and then when you feel upset about being away from home, you can remember that we're going to have some fun together and then concentrate on your work?
Max: (nodding) Yah, I think that would help.

We made a list of things to do.

• coloring/painting
• playing board games
• watching a video
• going to lunch
• going to the fitness center
• reading together
• going sledding

Each morning he's picked something from the list of Mom-and-Max time and it's helped. He struggled the next Monday, I think it's because it was just after the weekend. Once last week, we forgot to pick something in the morning and he had a tearful meltdown, and we had to have another talk on the phone. Last Thursday after school, I got a 'thumbs-up' from his teacher that he was doing much better.

I was a little nervous about school today after the long weekend, but he picked a Mom-and-Max activity this morning and had a great day at school today. YEAH!!!

I asked him if he's feeling better about being back at school again. He said "Yes."

Whew! I hope the transition to first grade in the fall goes more smoothly - in truth, I have separation anxiety when the kids go to first grade. I miss them terribly. Hopefully this experience has given me a good plan for helping both of us make that transition.

Let's Talk Laundry!

Let's face it, the biggest complaint I hear from Moms is, 
"The laundry is a BEAST!"


THE GOALS:

• Reduce the workload for Mom (less washing and ironing.)
• CONVENIENTLY push more responsibility back onto the other family members.
• Rid the house of laundry clutter: No piles of dirty laundry on the floor, OR piles of clean laundry on the couch or bed. 

Our laundry system has evolved over many years, but I'm feeling pretty good about the way things are working now, so I hope that you find an idea or two to help tame the laundry beast at your house.

RULE #1:  If it looks clean and it smells clean, then it is clean!

With kids who wear uniforms to school, we go through multiple outfits every day, and everything isn't dirty after one use. I've also read that washing machines can be harder on clothes than the wearing them, so less unnecessary washing means that clothes fade less and last longer.

My kids have been well rehearsed in this rule, and when they clean their rooms, they're expected to hang the clean clothes and put the dirty ones in their laundry baskets.

Tip #1: Keep a laundry basket in each bedroom. 

Jared insisted on posing with his laundry basket
- he kept stepping in front of the camera and saying, "Teese!"

Ideally, keep a laundry basket in each closet where it's out of sight and easy to use. I got this tip from my mother-in-law. It naturally leads to tip #2

Tip #2: Everyone is responsible for sorting their own laundry and taking empty hangers to the laundry room. 

My kids learn to sort laundry around age 3. It's good for them! They develop those preschool sorting skills and it reinforces their understanding of colors and the concepts of light and dark.

Tip #3: Have laundry baskets for lights and darks in the laundry room.

They can't sort the laundry if they don't have a place to put it. So, I have two baskets for sorting; The whites go in the white basket, and the colors go in the blue basket. I also have an old set of wire shelves that we use for hanging empty hangers.

I've taught my older three kids how to use the washer and dryer, and I have them rotate loads on occasion. But for now, I take responsibility for cleaning the clothes. To reduce ironing work and prevent piles of clean clothes everywhere, I take care of the laundry right out of the dryer and...

Tip #4: Hang & fold everything right out of the dryer.

Tip #4b: Folded towels, sheets, dish-cloths, etc. go into another basket on top of the dryer, whose sole purpose is to collect clean clothes and help me put them away easily. (This is also a good 'laundry helper' job.) The rest of the clothing gets put into my FAVORITE TIP... 

Tip #5: Laundry Drawers!

I discovered this from magazine I read three years ago, and I LOVE IT! I bought two sets of these plastic, 3-drawer units from Walmart (about $15 each.) I lashed them together with heavy duty packing tape, and labeled a drawer for each member of the family. As I fold underwear, pajamas, swimsuits, socks or anything you keep in bedroom drawers, the items go into that persons laundry drawer. *These drawers are also AWESOME for all the little treasures that you find in peoples pockets! Or for a stray belt or shoe or whatever that ends up in the laundry by mistake.  

When kids say, "Mom, I'm out of underwear." I get to say, "Did you check your laundry drawer?" They're so used to this response,  that if they run out of anything, they just go check the drawer themselves. *It's their cue that its time to collect their clean clothes and put them away.

The previous owners of our house installed this clothes rack, but I've used a variety of racks for this purpose.  All pants, shirts and skirts are hung immediately and I even made little dividers out of poster board to sort the clothes as I go.


The laundry drawers and hanging rack accomplish one beautiful thing...

Tip #6: Everyone is responsible for collecting their clean clothes and putting them away! 

That's something I've always hated about doing the laundry... the endless marathon of running clothes to ten different closets and dressers ~ ugh! Once or twice a week, I'll call everyone to the laundry room to collect their hanging clothes and laundry drawers. Then they return their emptied drawer to the 'dresser.' 

One last tip...

Tip #7: The sock basket.

Socks are still one unruly member of the laundry process, because matches don't always end up in the same load. So, as I'm folding & hanging things from the dryer I just throw all of the socks into a basket, and then match them and put them in drawers once or twice a week. (Actually, sock matching is a 'laundry helper' job. I supervise.) Then the socks go into each laundry drawer. 

There you have it - a ridiculous amount of information about the taming of our laundry beast.  I realize that some people may think there's an awful lot of 'stuff' in this process, but we have an awful lot of laundry. 

All told, my family of 7 uses 7 laundry baskets (4 in the bedrooms & 3 in the laundry room), 6 plastic drawers, 2 hanging racks (1 for clothes & 1 for empty hangers,) and a small basket for socks. 

The laundry chaos in my house without these tools is terrifying, and I love, LOVE, LOVE how they keep us organized and tame the BEAST!

I Will Go...

There seems to be a theme this week. First, my friend Jessie posted a sacrament meeting talk she gave about submitting our will to the will of God and then the concept kept popping up all week.

The sacrament meeting topic for today was about honoring and sustaining our local and general priesthood leaders, but what stood out about the last talk was submitting our will to God.

The speaker told a story about young Joseph F. Smith and how he was in the process of earning a large homestead for his family and needed to work the land for just one more year. The prophet Brigham Young met with young Bro. Smith and told him that the Lord needed him to leave the country to serve as a full-time missionary. Bro. Smith didn't even tell Pres. Young about his circumstances. There was no plea to wait for just one year.  Bro. Smith just prepared for the mission and left.

And he lost the homestead.

Now, we know the end from the beginning. I don't think that we can even keep track of the number of converts who joined the church (and their descendants) as a result of this man's MANY missions and service in the churhc. Bro. Smith eventually became Pres. Joseph F. Smith, prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I suppose we could say, "Those were just the times! People made unbelievable sacrifices in the early days of the church. It was just what they did. It was necessary in those early days."

But I sat there in church thinking, "What would I have done?" In truth, I'm pretty sure I would have MENTIONED the year left on the homestead. Maybe a, "Are you SURE I'm supposed to go NOW, President?" would have slipped into the conversation too.

Is this I-will-go attitude what makes someone worthy to be a prophet? That willingness to do whatever the Lord asks without worrying about the consequences, because your faith is so strong that you just know everything will eventually work out in the end EVEN if it doesn't work out the way you had hoped or planned.

I worry that I'm more like Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, (who we also talked about at church today.) The older Zacharias was told that he and his wife would have a son,  and his thought was, "Well, I don't see how is THAT going to work?" And he was struck dumb until the Lord's will came to pass.

I would like to be more like Mary, mother of Christ, who said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy words." Though she did ask "how SHALL this be," but I guess the SHALL shows her faith in the question. SHALL seems to say, "I believe what you've said, will you please explain it to me a bit."

These words seemed to jump from the scripture pages to me today,
"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

It reminded me of a song my father often sang when I was younger.
"For with God, nothing is impossible,
but you must reach and take his hand...
With Him, nothing is impossible,
those who have ears to hear will understand...
The blind could see....
The lame man could walk away...
And lives were changed from night today
When they know that someone cares."

I think that's were my faith is rooted. I do believe that God cares about me. I KNOW He loves us. We ARE his children, and as such He wants our joy. The scriptures even say that's His goal.

So if he asks us to do something, it must be calculated for our ULTIMATE JOY (eternal and not necessarily temporal.) I think it's the faith and trust and even experience I've had of His love that gives me the strength to say, "Thy will be done."

I don't know if the theme this week means that hard things are around the corner for us, and I will need to exercise more faith, or if I just need to work toward a more humble and faith-filled attitude in general. I just kept thinking, "Who am I? And who am I working to become? A Joseph? A Zacharias? Or a Mary?"

The Blogger's Resolution

Shame on me! 

I blogged a total of 10 times in 2010. sigh. 

And I had this profound thought, "If I’m going to create a blog, I should actually.... 

BLOG!"

Shocking concept for me, but it’s true. 

I’m tired of feeling guilty about not blogging, and I miss using it as an outlet for my thoughts too. After months of reading my friends wonderful blogs, I realized that there is a lot more I could be doing with this one. 

I’ve limited my blogging possibilities to cute-funny stories about my cute-funny kids and about our hectic and sometimes humorous life. If it wasn’t funny, I didn’t think anyone would want to read it. But life isn’t always hilarious, and there’s a lot more on my mind that I’d like to share.

So, I’m taking pages from some of my creative friends books and launching out on a new blogging campaign. (*A note of thanks to Jessie, Nancy, & Krista.)

Introducing the New and Improved Blogging Bylaws for  Candace:

Bylaw 1: Blog each day for 30 minutes or less (I should be able to eek out a 1/2 hour of blogging without hurting or neglecting my family.) This time limit is crucial for me or this won’t happen.

Bylaw 2: Blog with a purpose. Share what’s good. Share what’s important.

I’ve even organized a series of themes for the week to help me fulfill this bylaw. 
The daily themes are as follows...

• Sacred Sabbath - Spiritual insights or thoughts, FHE ideas, scripture study ideas, anything gospel related.  

• Home-Making Monday - organizing time, organizing the house, the car, the kids, the laundry, managing the money, or decorating and beautifying our home. 

• Parenting Tuesday - parenting books, ideas, teaching tools that are working for us, parenting struggles that we’re working to overcome. 

• What’s Cooking Wednesday - Recipes, cooking techniques, tips, & tools.

• Thoughtful Thursday - “Reader’s Corner,” or whatever is on my mind that I need to share with my friends *This is often a discussion post, and comments are highly valued.

• Family Friday - The goings-on of our hectic, crazy, hilarious & wonderful, fun-filled family life. 

• Stylin’ Saturday - Family and personal fitness, favorite beauty products (make-up, skin-care, hygiene, etc.), hairstyles (kids & adult), fun fashion finds (kids & adults.)

This blog entry happens to fit under the “Thoughtful Thursday” category, but we’re just gonna roll with it. ;D

Christmas 2010

Most Memorable Holiday Activity

Lauren: "It was being with my family and opening presents on Christmas. I just liked it."

Zach: Playing "Silent Ball" with all the family in St. George. "I didn't win, but I had fun."

Gabe: "Going to Grandma Hunny's house for soup and making gingerbread houses. I just really loved that soup!" *In fact, I don't think he did any gingerbread-house making, but he did have 3 bowls of soup!

Max: "Playing laser tag with my family, because I 'get' people a lot, and it really is fun!"

Jared: Loved the piñata at the Christmas Eve party. He really got into it this year - both hitting it and collecting the candy. Big fun for a little guy!

Matt: "I think it was Christmas morning, opening presents. Sorry to be so generic, but that was fun for me this year. I loved watching the kids open their presents." 

Candace: "Family Time! I just loved all the activities that we did together: the gingerbread houses, nativity, Christmas Eve party, the day at the planetarium and temple square... and the New Year's Eve Party." 

From the mind of Max

Okay, anyone who has a conversation with Max knows that he's hilarious. These are just a few of the conversations we've had this week...

SAFE!
Several of Max's friends have been asking to play with him outside of school, but since I don't know their families, I told him that he can't go anywhere unless I know that the parents and the home are safe. Well, apparently Max told his friends about this rule. So, when I picked him up from school on Tuesday he jumped into the van and announced, "MOM, Jenna told me to tell you that her Mom is SAFE!" and then he collapsed into his seat, like "That just takes care of the whole problem!" 

WORKIN' MAN
I let Jared have a taste of 24 oz strawberry banana shake as we drove in the car. I thought, "This shake is really thick, and the lid and straw are really well sealed, I think he'll be fine for a minute." WRONG!!!!
He THREW the shake at the window of the van. It was everywhere!!! The window seam, the carpet, on his seat, under the seat, on the running board and the into the wheel well where the door rolls open and shut.
NIGHTMARE MESS!!!
Max was my awesome helper. He fetched paper towels, ran Jared's clothes to the laundry and used his little arm to clean in the tight spaces.
I  LOVE HIM!
We finish and I say, "Max, go wash your hands now, okay."
Max: "Wash my hands??? Oh yah, 'cuz I'm feelin' a LOT of dirty work!"

YES, SENSAI!
Max:     Mom, why don't you let us take Karate lessons?
Me:      Well, we looked into it, but in order for all four kids to take lessons, it would cost $400 a month and that's just to expensive with all the other things you guys participate in.
(The wheels in his brain turn for approximately 2 seconds...)
Max:    Hmm.... Well, what if just ONE boy took lessons and then taught everyone else?
Me:      And were you thinking that boy would be YOUUU?
Max:    Yah.... Then I could go to Karate, and I would come home and teach my brothers everything! I'd be a.... Karate teacher!
(and then in 2 seconds more it was as though his idea became a reality)
Max:  (Nodding Matter-of-factly) Yah. I'm a karate teacher.