Tag Archives: kids

The Playroom, Part 1

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We are still working hard with our purge and clean and re-organize. And it’s going great. It really is. Here’s a few of the pictures I couldn’t get uploaded on Monday.  (Peruse at your own risk.)

Our upstairs consists of the Ladybug’s tiny bedroom. A small bathroom. The boys not so big room. (Seeing a theme here?) and what I guess is technically the “loft.” The open, designated space at the top of the stairs. One day it will probably be a sitting room, library, and sewing space.

But  right now, it’s the Playroom.

This chaos is what I started out with last Friday.

The upstairs is pretty kid-safe, so we tend to be a little (ok, probably a lot) lenient on them playing up there unsupervised. Our house is small. If they’re doing something they should be, you can usually hear them through the floor (or not hear them, as the case may be.)  And we do have some very firm rules we’ve enforced consistently to maintain control.

  • Absolutely no playing in the bathroom. Ever. You potty, wash hands, and get out. (There was an unfortunate series of events involving toothpaste and Selsun Blue. Once.)
  • Absolutely no food, snacks, gum, candy, treats, fruit, fruit snacks, leftovers, crackers, suckers, juice, juice pouches, water, water bottles, drinks, cans, cups, or other ingestable forms of anything are allowed upstairs. (There was an unfortunate series of events involving honey and Crystal Lite powered mixers. Once.)
  • Absolutely no pens, pencils, colored pencils, markers, crayons, giant-overized pencils, white-board markers, chalk, paint, paintbrushes, scissors, glue, tape, glue dots, glitter pens, glitter glue pens, or any other writing utensils or craft supplies are allowed upstairs. (There was a sticker incident. Once. And a pen incident.)

The first pass eliminated everything that was trash or didn't belong upstairs to begin with. Everything broken, missing parts, or just plain ole' junk.

This mess is also a confluence of the regular holiday chaos. The keyboard belongs downstairs, but the Christmas tree was in it’s usual spot. The top of the playhouse/barn that Mr. Fix-It built them is also stacked to the ceiling with Christmas boxes that needed to be put away. And we’ve been home a lot more than usual so the playing has been far ranging and involved a wider spectrum of toys than usual. But it was still totally out of control and partially (ok, mostly) my fault from just general neglect.

Playroom messes rarely (ok, ok, never) get better if you just close your eyes and go back downstairs. (As a matter of fact, they can actually get worse and worse, if you can imagine!)

The second pass involved sorting keeps from donates, and then putting like with like.

But this post is title “Part 1″ because we’re not stopping with just neat this time. Oh no. We’re going with an all out transformation. We’re growing up over here. We’re learning new habits about how to respect our home and our possessions. We’re going to use our spaces more efficiently and simplify down to that which is precious, rather than just that which is mine. We’re going to use our spaces to encourage the growth of our minds and character, as well as enjoy ourselves.

 

This? Over. Gone. Done. Finished. What's new? Respecting our home and possessions.

I’ll also be writing about some of the budget-friendly steps we’re taking because our budget is very small. Very small. As in, practically nothing other than paint if we can help it. Most of our work is re-organizing and re-purposing. We’re “shopping” our own house. See that red chair? It’s going to be come our reading nook chair out by the window in the Playroom (no more little pink table and chairs).

We’re so excited. The better it looks as we go along, the more enthusiastic the kids and I are about it. More pictures to come!

Do you have any big home projects on the horizons for the New Year?

 

Four Day Weekend!

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Do you get to be off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?

How about Lee-Jackson Day?

I’m still enjoying a Friday to Monday, 4 day weekend. Yeah!

And the kiddos only get Monday, so Friday I was home on my own. Yeah! I think.

At first I didn’t know what to do with myself, but then I started cleaning. (I’ll have pictures later this week, but right now I’m having computer/picture/blog communication issues. Yeah, lots of fun.)

And I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I sorted and purged. I took a truckload of clothes and toys and stuff I didn’t even realize we owned to the DAV thrift store. (That’s Disabled American Veterans, btw.) We bagged up dress-up clothes that no one can squeeze into, a stack of family fun from the game cabinet (to make room for new Christmas games!), a Hot Wheels track set, 2 play barns, and that crazy Zhu-Zhu tunnel-wheel thing that I’ve always hated.

I sorted a few boxes of magazines down to a few pages of recipes and crafts and we let go of a few books that we’ve outgrown.

I talked to the kids and we decided to share our play kitchen and our pink plastic preschool table to make room for a big-kids table (which is coming from our attic) and the Ladybug gave up her 3 Barbie dolls, 8 of her stuff animals, and 2 baby dolls (like 1/20th of her collection!) to make room for a “new” desk (which is coming from our garage).

Today we’ll be here dusting and vacuuming and moving our new furniture in place. We’ll be talking about hanging a blackboard and making a reading circle, re-stacking the bunk beds and repurposing a cabinet for the upstairs bathroom. We’ll be whispering about new paint and pictures for the walls and a curtain by our new reading nook.

It’s so nice to be out from under all this stuff we didn’t even realize we had!

How’s your weekend been?

Life Skills

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Can I tell you something? Can I admit something as a 32 year old wife and mother of 3? As a woman who’s been married for 10 years?

I can’t cook.

Well, actually, I can a little bit now. But it’s a pretty recent development.

If you ask Mr. Fix-It what in the world we ate before about 2005, he’ll just shake his head and say “A lot of mac and cheese.”

My girl made pork chops the other day.

I don’t intend for that to be my daughter. (Or my sons, actually.)

I do not remember making pork chops when I was 7 yrs old. Or 17. Or 27, for that matter.

I’m not a great cook and I don’t really enjoy cooking like some people do. I’m not an adventurous cook or a creative cook. I have no idea what a leek is and I’m not completely clear on the difference between red-skin potatoes and regular potatoes. (Raw or cooked, they taste the same to me.) But I’ve learned how to follow a recipe.

I showed her how to do the first one and she rolled on by herself from there.

A lot of this came about because of the farm. If we’re going to grow it, I need to know how to cook it.

And a lot of it came about after the Ladybug was born as God began to move my heart to take up true home-making–which includes cooking. A lot of cooking. (And cleaning, but that’s a whole other post!)

She wasn't even very squeamish about it. I was, but I didn't let it show.

I’m a passable cook now. (Mr. Fix-It is thankful.)

I’ve set out this year to start teaching our kids, especially the Ladybug, how to cook and get comfortable in the kitchen. So far it’s going pretty well.

I don't talk about not liking to cook around the kids. I don't want them to pick up any negative vibes.

I’m not sure how you would go about this sort of like-skill training in an organized way. We’re just sort of tackling it by immersion. I just bring one of them along side of me while I’m making something and let them help with whatever steps I think they can handle.

Speedracer is lagging a little bit because he thinks everything is “gooossss!” if it sticks to his fingers. But I think he’s got some time to come around. {grin}

I'm still terrified of her burning herself. But I've survived burns plenty of times, so I'm trying not to let fear rule the day. I just know she's a little klutzy (like her Momma!).

The Cowboy is quite the little baker and the Ladybug is now allowed to help on the hot stovetop and put things in and out of the hot oven. (Shhhh…I’m excited to put together a little cooking Christmas package for her!)

She's got plenty of aprons, so I'm thinking pot holders and maybe her own spatula, wisk, and tongs.

Our kids might not know how to do everything by themselves at first, but they are excellent at following directions, so they’re catching on quickly. And they love to take credit for whatever they helped with! Although, you know that thing where they suggest letting picky-eaters help with the cooking and then they’ll want to eat it because they helped make it? Speedracer’s sunk that theory. He’s willing to help, but he still doesn’t eat anything but bread, yogurt, and peanut butter.

Do you have any ideas for a picky-eater?

Wood, Sweat, and Ticks

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By the end of this Fall, our kids will be firewood stacking professionals. We’ve been cutting and splitting some firewood from my father-in-law’s property down the road, and everyone has a job to do. Mr. Fix-It runs the chainsaw and I work the log splitter and help toss pieces into the back of the truck.

The Cowboy was in the back of the truck stacking with his brother.

The Ladybug gathers up the smaller pieces and tosses them into the truck to be stacked. She also helps unload at stack when we get back home.

We're careful about the Speedracer in the back of the truck by himself when the tailgate is open.

The Cowboy hauls the chunks from the tailgate and stacks them in the bed. After Irene, Speedracer was stacking too, but those pieces were smaller and the tailgate was closed.

That's a pretty neat stack for a 4 year old!

This time Speedracer’s main job seemed to be drinking water. (His secondary job was sitting around asking for water.)

Well, he was sweating like everyone else anyway.

They got to take some breaks to play too. Those big, downed trees were perfect for climbing and crawling on, hunting up big black beetles, and playing make-believe. I overheard something about “falling in the water” and “crawling like puppies” and one reference to snakes that got my immediate attention for no reason.

You couldn't ask for a better jungle-gym.

Unfortunately, when we got home to wash up, we found out that the kids had brought some little tagalongs home with them. Actually, a lotof little tagalongs. The Ladybug and Speedracer both had 10 little ticks on them. Not the big, disease carrying, deer ticks, but the teeny-tiny little wood ticks that you can practically only see because their skin is soooo fair. Mr. Fix-It had one.

The Ladybug worked hard "doing wood" on Saturday.

And the Cowboy, my little adventurer, my little trailblazing reptile hunter, took the prize with 39–yes 39!–ticks. The bug spray didn’t seem to make the slightest difference! A lot of them were still crawling when we found them. Ladybug and Speedracer only have one or two actual bites. The Cowboy has a bunch and they itch really, really bad, but it’s still only about a quarter of the number of buggers we found. We’re bathing him in Aveeno oatmeal baths and I’m keeping him slathered in Cortizone, but if anyone else knows of some home remedy that works better, please let me know!

Meanwhile, we’ve got another load or two to go before we’re done for the winter. What were you up to this weekend?

Cleaning Up and Moving On

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We pretty much skipped breakfast on Sunday to get outside and see what Hurricane Irene had left us with. (Mr. Fix-It was a little stir-crazy and hopped in the truck as soon as it was light out.) By 8 am our chainsaw was running.

Mostly we had limbs down, but there was some solid wood to be cut for firewood.

The kids helped a lot. Most of the branches were just their size if they worked together and we had a log splitter running so even the bigger pieces ended up their size for stacking. Penny was helping too, although usually it was more by accident as she tried to play tug-of-war with everything being dragged around.

Even Speedracer worked--mostly stacking and carrying, not dragging. He get's tangled too easily.

We had a few unpleasant incidents. Penny knocked Speedracer flat in the mud, which upset him more than hurt him. He doesn’t like having dirt on his hands (I don’t know how he manages to have that kind of fetish around here!) so he started crying and ran over to wipe it all off on my pants. (Thankfully I don’t have the same issues with dirt!)

They were proud of helping clean up and helping provide heat for the winter.

Then I had a wood bee crawl up my pant leg. Thankfully I felt him crawling and squished him in the seam of my jeans before he stung me, but I was creeped out for a while anyway. Yuck! That also might have added to the Cowboy’s situation. Shortly thereafter, the Cowboy started screaming bloody murder by the truck, swatting at his ear and doing his little “I’m freaking out” dance, tears streaming down his dirty red face. There was a waspy-bee thing buzzing around his ear and on his shoulder.

We’re not really sure what it was because he was screaming and dancing and we were swatting and soothing and checking him for stings–which he had all over according to him, but we didn’t find anywhere–and the little bugger got away. I think. Penny might have eaten him, she was right in the thick of things too.

What did I do to deserve this grown-up girl of mine?

We finally got him calmed down and checked over with no sign of any actual injury. So he took his moment of pity to start asking for food and water–which is when it occurred to me that we sort of skipped breakfast. So we wrapped up with the tree we were working on and headed back around the field. We ate an early lunch and had a little “quiet” time before heading out again.

They grow so fast!

We checked in on our neighbors and family and ran Penny ragged learning to follow the Ranger around the farm. (She slept like a log!) Then we cleaned up some more branches and checked over all our fence lines and thanked God again that we didn’t have any serious damage and that we still had power!

At least this one's probably going to need me for a little while longer.

And we all went to bed tired.

I can’t believe we’re already fully into the school year again, already heading toward Thanksgiving and Christmas! The weather since the storm has been lovely, cool and breezy and in the 65-80 degree range. This morning I needed a jacket!  It’s time to start thinking about the holidays, about how we’re going to celebrate this year, about crafty projects for our home and family, and about prepping the farm for the winter.

What’s on your mind lately?