Funny Things

Christian: "Mommy, can I go outside and observe nature?"
Mommy: Laughing out loud...wheres the bathroom?... might pee my pants...
Christian: "Mommy, why are you laughing?"
Mommy: "Oh nothing...yes you can go outside and observe nature"(snicker)

Sometimes I cannot believe that I gave birth to these creatures.
What in the heck is he going to be when he grows up?

How To Live On Less

If you are from this planet, you have seen the decline of the economy effect you in small and big ways. As an Oregonian, the unemployment rate is upwards of 12% right now. Those calculations seem small to me. Do they take into account those who do not file jobless claims or who are underemployed? Gas is beginning to climb again. We are living very meagerly right now as I suspect many out there are. In my quest to make ends meet, I have researched and experimented with a few cost cutting measures.

1. Make your own Laundry detergent. 2 cups of borax powder, 2 cups of Washing Soda powder and a grated bar of Fels Naptha soap makes a great alternative to Tide and it is like 7 cents a load. You only use 2 tablespoons a load (I have a front loader and it works just fine.)

2. Potty Train toddlers. My guy is two, almost three. It's summer, the perfect time to let little hinies run around naked and learn where to go potty.

3. Use powdered milk. Everything you bake or cook, you can use powdered milk. It tastes almost the same. You can even make sweetened condensed milk from powdered milk. Saves needless trips to the grocery store...

4. Turn down your water heater. We keep it just barely hot enough that you can't run your hand through it when you wash dishes. We just turn it up when we know that everyone in our family takes showers...(at our house, Patrick and I are daily showerers, but our children are 2 times a week. Don't get grossed out. They are little kids. They don't play sports. That is how the Europeans do it. If they are really dirty, we do more, but that is what running through the sprinklers is for! LOL!) We have a well, so we don't pay for our water, but seriously, have your kids share bathtub water...better yet share the shower as spouses.

5. Don't use the air conditioning if you have it. Let's face it people, we are a bunch of pansies! If you live in Oregon, and you are trying to shave some pennies off, get yourself a fan and a spray bottle. Open your windows at night. Close the blinds in the morning on really hot days. Some of us don't have the option of which I am grateful. I'm sure in August, I'll be taking cold showers, but 85-90 degrees is tolerable without air if you are smart about it.

6. Gym Membership...Yeah right!!! Take walks around the neighborhood with weights. Clean out your garage and check out exercise videos from the library or a friend.

7. Recycle more. Get a smaller Garbage can. Our garbage service has 3 sizes. I wont tell you to stop it all together and just throw it in some business garbage because that would be illegal....but I wont say that in desperation, I haven't done it myself.

8. Make as much as you can from scratch. I make all of my own bread, cereal, granola bars, cookies, cakes, biscuits, gravy, soups, etc. I also make waffles, pancakes, and french toast and then freeze them for quick breakfasts. I am going to try my hand at crackers this week. The more processed a food is, the less nutritional value it has. Try air popped popcorn. It's so much cheaper and has less fat and salt. It's amazing how far we have strayed from real food. Can you pronounce everything on your food labels?

9. Don't eat out. We are only one generation removed from a life that rarely saw a restaurant. You'll get healthier. You'll sit at the table with your kids more. Make double and freeze one meal so that you can have fast food that is healthy.

10. Cut the cable. It really makes no sense to my family, who rarely watches TV to have cable. We had it for a few months last year and honestly, it just made the house messy. The library has movies you can check out for a week...and it's free! We watch movies. And while I am in the kitchen, cooking all this food, I watch various online TV programs for free. Ok well it's not free, but we have to have Internet for my husbands job, so we only have to pay for one thing. There are plenty of free games and educational things on the Internet for kids. You can even use it to call people, as of yet, I haven't figured that one out yet.

11. Get rid of your land line or cell phone. We had no land line for a year. It saved us tons of money. Unfortunately, you must live in an area that gets your cell phone provider coverage. Living out in the boonies, we have shotty reception. I can't leave my kids without a way to get a hold of me or emergency services. But we have scaled back on our phone plans.

12. Make your own cleaning products. Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, bon ami, dish soap are really all you need. Almost everything can be cleaned with these substances. I do enjoy a good magic eraser and some bleach, but besides that, you don't need all those chemicals. Your house will be healthier and you will save tons of dough!

13.Grow a garden! Pots on balconies, inbetween flowers around the house. Stick a pumpkin plant in a flower bed and instant fall decor! Really, you can save tons of money and eat so much better. Food is starting to crawl up in price. Fresh produce is outrageously expensive. Grow what you eat. My family hates peppers. We don't grow them. But we love squash...all kinds so I have several varieties growing in my garden. We eat a ton of basil, but not eggplant. You get the picture. Also...give at least 10 percent of that produce away to others...you'll be blessed.

14.Learn how to mend and sew. It's not cost effective to sew your own clothing these days. But if you are frugal about it, it can really stretch your clothing. Learning how to sew on buttons, holes in socks, hemming pants is a great skill to have. I know that as I am losing lots of weight, I have had to learn how to alter my clothing out of necessity. It's not really cost effective to have to buy smaller clothing when I am still losing weight. On the subject of clothing, find a friend that has kids that wants to swap hand me downs. I have three boys and some of the clothes my oldest wore are now on my youngest and still nice. Look for clearance, sales. My oldest girl is growing. She needs clothes for summer. I found a great shirt for church but it was sewn wrong and so it was on clearance. It took fifteen minutes and a needle and thread to fix. Now she doesn't have to wear velvet dresses in the summer to church.

15. Don't buy anything new. Well I stop at underwear, but Craigslist is amazing. We need a lawnmower. We will be getting it on craigslist. Thrift stores and Antique shops are great places for finds.

16. Limit car use. Lump errands together. Do most things online. Ever thought about one car? Have a grocery list and go once a week. I used to use a tank of gas every 4-5 days. Now I can go almost two weeks. Not fun sometimes, but it is doable.

17.Most of all, don't be judgemental or stingy if you are going through a rough time. If you have extra, give it to someone who could use it. It'll come back around when you really need it most. It has for me. Just because you are going through a hard time doesn't somehow let you off the hook. Your neighbors and friends are probably in the same boat. If we all help each other, we can make it through this tight economy and come away better for it. Remember the story of Stone Soup?

Hope these help some of you out there that are trying to shave off the pennies.

Today

a recent shot of me on my deck...getting smaller


Today I had to water the garden. Today I laid out on my deck for an hour and a half. Today I cleaned someone else's house for service. Today, I should have put sunscreen on. Today my kids played in the water fountain at a park in Tualatin. Today I wore a short sleeve shirt at 7:00 in the morning on my run and didn't freeze. Today I wore flip flops and Capri pants. Today I am harvesting the Broccolini from my garden...the first thing I grew from seed that I get to eat this year. Today, I can park my large vehicle in the garage, but instead it will become my own personal dance floor (now all I need is a ballet bar and some mirrors.) Today is the last day that I will have a jungle growing outside as it will be mowed and weeded tomorrow by someone other than me for free! Today is a good day. Tomorrow is going to be even better! I can just feel it...

SEX...

The bee in my bonnet will not shut up! The past two weeks, Ive been bombarded by other peoples nervousness about the S word and more specifically about teaching your kids about it. Let me just start by saying, I was raised by a mother who is a Make Love Not War Hippie. She has her degree in Health Education and Dance. Needless to say, I know most everything there is to know about the subject. Being highly educated on the subject gave me the unofficial job of calming the fears of all the innocent girls that got married when I was at college. They would come to me before leaving for home to get married and I would lay it all out in the open for them. Some of them were terrified. Some of them were misinformed. Some of them had absolutely NO clue what was about to happen. Seriously folks, for the love of PETE, please educate your children! I don't want my daughter to have to start giving classes her freshman year at BYU on Wedding Night Antics and How To Enjoy Yourself.

Yesterday I was schooled on the current "hip" stuff going on in the bus ride to and from school. Some of the boys have developed sayings going along with body parts...VIP, GPS, PIMP....all having to do with Vagina's and Penis'....these are 3rd graders and 6th graders. All I have to say, is don't wait for your kids to talk to you and bring questions to the forum. They are getting schooled all the time. If you are really freaked out about the "Maturation Program" make sure your kids know everything before they watch the movie. My daughter gets to watch it for the second time next week because she switched schools and they already had seen it at her previous school. Don't bury your head in the sand. The world we live in is bombarded by sex all the time. Cartoons even have innuendos about sex. Stop denying it is there and start empowering your kids by giving them the truth about intimacy. I know it's not an easy subject to talk about, but it gets easier the more open you are about it. My kids get the talk when they are 8 after they are baptized. It's a little tradition. Some of you may feel that is too young. Trust me, it's not. Unless you live in some kind of bubble out in the sticks, they have been exposed. Give them the truth. Teach them that they fought a war in heaven to gain a body. Tell them how it will change. Let them know that all the feelings and emotions are normal and natural. Teach them that it's ok and wonderful to want to share yourself with someone and that it's not just about having babies. Let them know about the natural consequences of not waiting until your married to have sex. Be honest. Be open. Teach them line upon line. Stop the cycle of ignorance, unhealthy curiosity, and fear associated with sex. My daughter was grossed out by the whole thing, but she knew everything they talked about in the movie before it was shown. We've talked about Gay and Lesbians. My kids are very aware that Mom and Dad love each other and we are not afraid or embarrassed to kiss in front of them. PDA's show your kids what a healthy relationship looks like. Don't you want them to have a spouse that showers them with love? My kids are grossed out when my husband and I kiss in front of them, but they know that we love each other...

Most of all, let us remember that the author of shame regarding our bodies is Satan. The first thing Adam and Eve were ashamed of was being naked. I'm not saying to live in a nudist environment, but stop the shame! Let them know that it is a gift! One of God's greatest. Keeping it in the bounds of matrimony is the only way to rid yourself of unnecessary consequences that can lead to a life time of pain and anguish for you and your posterity. Let them know that is is sacred. Let them know that it is enjoyable and desirable (just off limits for now).

I could go on for hours about this topic, but I'll leave you with this. Teach your kids. Sit down and explain the plan to them. Make it special. It involves God so how can it be bad?....Thanks for the vent.

Chore Sticks...

Family Fun April 2008


My kids hate doing their chores. But what I hate more than them hating their chores is having to keep track of them and the rewards that go along with them... I've posted a chore chart that I tried twice and failed. My brain is not organized. I'd prefer to mix it up all the time, and so do my kids. Twirly charts, mark offs, money, the store have all failed. The sticks are easy. The sticks make it fair and fun. It becomes a game and a competition for my kids. Since it's been two weeks and I haven't found the sticks yet (at least I'm honest) I've just been assigning chores everyday to the kids randomly after they get home from school. I'm not one of those mothers who expects their kids to have clean rooms...that, they do once a week when laundry is due. My house is lived in. But my kids have to clean the entry of coats, boots, shoes, etc... They have to clear, set, and wipe down the table, sweep, pick up the toys, straighten the pillows on the sofas, feed the Zoo of animals and clean the toilets. Make your list of things you absolutely want the kids to do. Take them out of the mix if you did them already or they don't need to be done that day. When someone gets sick, everyone gets extra sticks. It's really a perfect system and teaches so many lessons.
1. Make a list of daily chores that have to be done
2. Make a list of things you want done by your kids on a more inconsistent basis, like a couple times a week or weekly etc...
3. Divide them into difficulty
4. Paint Popsicle sticks in different colors for different levels of difficulty and a group that you do only once in a while.
5. Write with Sharpie the various chores. Add in blank ones in every color.
6. Store them in a decorated can or in a baggie.
7. Everyday, have the drawing...everyone gets to draw, even mom (or dad if he is around and actually does the chores too)
8. Everyone enjoys a break, and the look of defeat of getting a hard job, but also the thrill that you probably don't have to do it the next day.
This actually works for me. We don't do allowance. It's extremely flexible and also fun.
Just a side note. I am a mean mom. If my kids don't bring me their dirty laundry, they go to school wearing dirty clothes or do their own laundry. They find their own shoes or risk wearing snow boots to class. They have natural consequences to all of their actions. If the living room is clean, and there is time, we can play a game. If they didn't give me their dirty thermos' at night, then they have to wash them in the morning by themselves. If they don't do their homework, I let them suffer the consequences. So the natural rewards my kids get for doing their jobs is time...to play with a friend, to shoot hoops, to watch transformers on the Internet...so this really works for me.

My New Calling

I will be wearing long jean skirts, khaki skirts and slip on shoes to church for the next year. No rayon, silk, pantyhose, heels, or fancy jewelry will be worn. Can you guess what my new calling is? Your right! Patrick and I will be team teaching 10 little Nursery goers. This will be my 3rd attempt at this calling. Putting in a brand new family in the nursery is not a smart thing to do in my ever so humble opinion, so I am assuming that the Bishop had some divine direction on this one. Nursery is one of my favorite callings. It really is. Especially when your Nursery Coordinator is like the Nursery Nazi! She has all the snacks prepared, handouts, lessons planned. I guess God understood my stress load was a little overloaded right now. Patrick will get his fill of babies (he wants more...) and I will get to play with toys, crayons and hang out on the floor with no shoes on at church...what could be better than that?! (I think it's time to break out the laminator and cutesy primary helper books!)

Rescued!

I can't believe this. Starting in my teen years, I have been a collector of the unwanted. Until last year, I could count on one hand the number of months I went without someone sleeping at my house that technically didn't belong there. My door has always been open. Some people collect stray animals. I collect stray people. Even last year, we did house a family at our home in Hillsboro for a little less than a month. It's the least I can do. I too was homeless for about 4 months when I was 11/12. I know what that feels like. It's heart breaking.
Well evidently, no people want to sleep on our couch right now, so God has seen fit to bless me with 4 little kittens that were left on the side of the road. This morning, while out on my run, I spotted 3 dead kittens in the ditch. No sooner did I start walking away, thinking to myself what poor little creatures, and then something caught my eye...4 little fur balls huddled together wet and cold! I scooped them up into my jacket and walked back home up an extremely steep hill. Then I set about trying to guess how old they were and what to do. So now I am the foster mother to 4 little babies that are 3 weeks old and still drinking from a bottle. Anybody want kittens? The shelters are full so I am going to take them on! I can't help it...I'm a Momma!

The Dawn

Ok, so you all know that I am not a morning person despite the fact that my middle name is Dawn. But I have been itching to work out again despite the chronic tiredness that is plaguing me. 6:00am came early on Tuesday. The sun was shining. The birds were singing and the kids didn't need to be up for at least 30 minutes. Attempting a walk/jog on roads that you have never traversed can be a little tricky. Gravel isn't a great medium for a jog. And the fact that I have lost enough weight that all my pants are too dang loose...note to self, you can't run if your pants keep slipping off! Good thing I am in the middle of no where. Well at least that is what I thought. Around 6:30, I swear it was like a freeway by my house. Evidently all the richy riches that go into town for work leave at 6:30. They were all curteous but too fast. Uphill and downhill, it was a gruelling course but I made it. 50 minutes is quite a morning jaunt to start out with, but I have to get back into the swing of things while I wait for the 36+ pills I have to take everyday to kick in. Honestly it's been so rewarding to hear everyone that knew me two years ago to notice my weight loss. It's pushing me to not care about the fatigue or the soreness.
These Filbert/Hazelnut orchards are everywhere up here on Chehalem Mountain.
About 1/3 of the way on this path I was taking, it started to rain. It is Oregon right? The rainbows were amazing. My Iphone doesn't do them justice at all! So next time, I will look at the WHOLE sky before I step foot outside and not wear a sweatshirt that holds 50 times it's weight in water!

Internet Working!

My Kitchen....the crazy art will be covered soon by drapes.

Sherwood must be the land of the Gods...I am serious. Today, I slept in until 10. Then I took a leisurely bath for an hour. I made lunch for the kids and emptied a few boxes (they don't start school until tomorrow). Then I took a nap. Yes...I am soooo tired. Not just from the move and cleaning, but this crazy illness I have that knocks me out. And like Santa, the internet guy shows up at my door. Normally I wouldn't let a man into my home that I hadn't called, but this guy said he saw that we had tried to hook up the signal and just wanted to know when we would like to sign up...come on in! Christian had somehow got our router hooked up...yes I know what a router is, but haven't a clue how exactly he made this "magic" happen. So they sent this nice man to our home and it was the best wake up call I could have received. Now I am connected again. And I don't even have to pay until the end of the month...How sweet is that?!