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Today, I have a lot to do. I have to tidy my messy house. We have a busy Sunday, with family visiting for dinner, and then next week is Holiday Bible Club (VBS), and we have friends staying for the whole week. With all the chickenpox time, madly trying to catch up with school afterwards, and then my dryer going on the blink, jobs got somewhat behind.
Everywhere I look, there seems to be MESS!
I know I must not be alone when I say my children seem to trail their things EVERYWHERE! Toys, pencils, hairbands, clothes - all in places they shouldn't be.
I am pretty sure my issue is two-fold - having too MUCH, and not MANAGING them properly. I think, over the summer, those two things need to be taken into hand. A massive, and major de-cluttering needs to happen. Ruthless. That needs to be the order of the day.
Then, I need to train and manage the situation better. I need to be a more effective parent, and sort out the issue of training children not to LEAVE the mess everywhere. I think having less stuff will probably help. A bit.
I think there is also "lazy tidying" going on. What I call "Moving the mess". I am forever telling them off for doing it! I tell them to tidy one thing up, and I find it somewhere else, where it doesn't belong!! I tell them "That's not tidying, that's moving mess"!!!
IT NEEDS TO STOP!!
(Yes, I'm kind of shouting that...)
I also think I still haven't properly found homes for everything. I always maintain that if something has a place it belongs, it's far easier to tidy. So, having a hard look at what the mess tends to be, and why it ends up not being put away, would be a plan.
I need to also have a bit more management of our time and chores.
Currently, we have a nice little morning routine going on. I think I have mentioned before that the oldest 3 have a "Post-breakfast job". One empties the dishwasher, one clears up the breakfast things, and the other sweeps the floor. They all have to make their beds, as well. Those things all happen, pretty much like clockwork. I think my younger ones need more regular jobs, though - and MUMMY needs to make it happen! If I don't train them, and help them to remember what to do, then it's more my fault than theirs!
I plan to try out a new chore system, and will review it later in the summer. It's called Easy Peasy Chores, and is picture based, ideal for the little ones to learn what their duties are! (It's currently available as part of the Build Your Bundle sale, in the "Mom's Bundle", which is only $10!!! That chore system alone retails for $15.99, so by buying that particular bundle, you get loads of other things, as well as Easy Peasy Chores, for less than you'd normally pay for it! If you are interested in the system, this is the way to buy it!). I am hoping that this system may help us on the road to managing our chores better.
I can't have an "M" post, without mentioning my wake up call this morning. 7am, the phone rings. I had a late night last night, working on various things, so I wasn't up yet. Rude awakening a phone ringing by your ear! It was the delivery man, who was to deliver my new dishwasher - telling me he'd be there in 20 minutes!!! YIKES!!! How to make a woman jump out her bed in a hurry! Due to my busy, and late, night that I had, I hadn't emptied the load from the outgoing dishwasher. I hadn't finished tidying the hall they would need to walk through. I hadn't swept the floor. We hadn't taken out the old dishwasher from its spot. I wasn't dressed. It's AMAZING what you can do in a short space of time, given a "shove"!!! We were all ready for them arriving with the new dishwasher, and Robert then quickly got it plumbed in. I'm rather excited about it! We have been struggling with a dying dishwasher for a while, so this should make life easier - especially with a houseful next week!
Music.
It's a subject that has been much lacking in this household, and I have finally gained some inspiration to do more with the children! I bought the Middle School bundle, from the Build Your Bundle sale. Part of the draw, for me, was the fact that it contained not one, but TWO music related products! The first is "Beethoven who?" This is a product which teaches your children all about music - from reading music, to identifying music styles, to learning about composers. It also includes fun hands-on activities you can do, as you learn about music. I also found a programme to teach your children to play the recorder. Some of mine are showing an interest in music, so I figured they could learn to play the recorder, together, and those with further interest could then start learning the piano, once they could already read music.
I learnt to play the piano, and went all the way up to passing Grade 7 with the Associated Board of Music. I went to Uni after that, so didn't have time to do Grade 8, as I had no time to practice! I really ought to get my children learning to play SOMETHING!
I am really looking forward to doing more music when we start back in September, and great thanks to the Build Your Bundle team, for helping me out!
Finally...
MERRIMENT!!!
IT'S THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS FROM SCHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!!!!
Can you tell I am happy???
Honestly, in the home-edding community, the summer break is more for the mother's sanity than for the children's benefit! *grin*
As I mentioned before, I have jobs lined up for myself, but things I will enjoy working with, knowing I can do them at a relaxed pace. I am also really looking forward to sorting and clearing - it's always very satisfying!
Further merriment comes in the form of Holiday Bible Club, this coming week. It's a busy, busy week, but we love being able to share the gospel with boys and girls. Our theme is "Jesus, our Saviour and Friend". I am particularly looking forward to teaching the "missionary lesson", about Corrie Ten Boom. I find her an incredibly inspiring woman, and I have learnt so much from her life. Please pray for me as I share her story - there are elements which are sensitive, and I want to deal with them in the right way. I am praying the the Holy Spirit will guide me in my thoughts and words, and the children will be challenged by the life of this great woman.
As I look forward to the summer, I am thankful that God has a plan for me, and for my life. I pray that I will calmly follow after whatever God has for me, with great joy.
Everywhere I look, there seems to be MESS!
I know I must not be alone when I say my children seem to trail their things EVERYWHERE! Toys, pencils, hairbands, clothes - all in places they shouldn't be.
I am pretty sure my issue is two-fold - having too MUCH, and not MANAGING them properly. I think, over the summer, those two things need to be taken into hand. A massive, and major de-cluttering needs to happen. Ruthless. That needs to be the order of the day.
Then, I need to train and manage the situation better. I need to be a more effective parent, and sort out the issue of training children not to LEAVE the mess everywhere. I think having less stuff will probably help. A bit.
I think there is also "lazy tidying" going on. What I call "Moving the mess". I am forever telling them off for doing it! I tell them to tidy one thing up, and I find it somewhere else, where it doesn't belong!! I tell them "That's not tidying, that's moving mess"!!!
IT NEEDS TO STOP!!
(Yes, I'm kind of shouting that...)
I also think I still haven't properly found homes for everything. I always maintain that if something has a place it belongs, it's far easier to tidy. So, having a hard look at what the mess tends to be, and why it ends up not being put away, would be a plan.
I need to also have a bit more management of our time and chores.
Currently, we have a nice little morning routine going on. I think I have mentioned before that the oldest 3 have a "Post-breakfast job". One empties the dishwasher, one clears up the breakfast things, and the other sweeps the floor. They all have to make their beds, as well. Those things all happen, pretty much like clockwork. I think my younger ones need more regular jobs, though - and MUMMY needs to make it happen! If I don't train them, and help them to remember what to do, then it's more my fault than theirs!
I plan to try out a new chore system, and will review it later in the summer. It's called Easy Peasy Chores, and is picture based, ideal for the little ones to learn what their duties are! (It's currently available as part of the Build Your Bundle sale, in the "Mom's Bundle", which is only $10!!! That chore system alone retails for $15.99, so by buying that particular bundle, you get loads of other things, as well as Easy Peasy Chores, for less than you'd normally pay for it! If you are interested in the system, this is the way to buy it!). I am hoping that this system may help us on the road to managing our chores better.
I can't have an "M" post, without mentioning my wake up call this morning. 7am, the phone rings. I had a late night last night, working on various things, so I wasn't up yet. Rude awakening a phone ringing by your ear! It was the delivery man, who was to deliver my new dishwasher - telling me he'd be there in 20 minutes!!! YIKES!!! How to make a woman jump out her bed in a hurry! Due to my busy, and late, night that I had, I hadn't emptied the load from the outgoing dishwasher. I hadn't finished tidying the hall they would need to walk through. I hadn't swept the floor. We hadn't taken out the old dishwasher from its spot. I wasn't dressed. It's AMAZING what you can do in a short space of time, given a "shove"!!! We were all ready for them arriving with the new dishwasher, and Robert then quickly got it plumbed in. I'm rather excited about it! We have been struggling with a dying dishwasher for a while, so this should make life easier - especially with a houseful next week!
Music.
It's a subject that has been much lacking in this household, and I have finally gained some inspiration to do more with the children! I bought the Middle School bundle, from the Build Your Bundle sale. Part of the draw, for me, was the fact that it contained not one, but TWO music related products! The first is "Beethoven who?" This is a product which teaches your children all about music - from reading music, to identifying music styles, to learning about composers. It also includes fun hands-on activities you can do, as you learn about music. I also found a programme to teach your children to play the recorder. Some of mine are showing an interest in music, so I figured they could learn to play the recorder, together, and those with further interest could then start learning the piano, once they could already read music.
I learnt to play the piano, and went all the way up to passing Grade 7 with the Associated Board of Music. I went to Uni after that, so didn't have time to do Grade 8, as I had no time to practice! I really ought to get my children learning to play SOMETHING!
I am really looking forward to doing more music when we start back in September, and great thanks to the Build Your Bundle team, for helping me out!
Finally...
MERRIMENT!!!
IT'S THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS FROM SCHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!!!!
Can you tell I am happy???
Honestly, in the home-edding community, the summer break is more for the mother's sanity than for the children's benefit! *grin*
As I mentioned before, I have jobs lined up for myself, but things I will enjoy working with, knowing I can do them at a relaxed pace. I am also really looking forward to sorting and clearing - it's always very satisfying!
Further merriment comes in the form of Holiday Bible Club, this coming week. It's a busy, busy week, but we love being able to share the gospel with boys and girls. Our theme is "Jesus, our Saviour and Friend". I am particularly looking forward to teaching the "missionary lesson", about Corrie Ten Boom. I find her an incredibly inspiring woman, and I have learnt so much from her life. Please pray for me as I share her story - there are elements which are sensitive, and I want to deal with them in the right way. I am praying the the Holy Spirit will guide me in my thoughts and words, and the children will be challenged by the life of this great woman.
As I look forward to the summer, I am thankful that God has a plan for me, and for my life. I pray that I will calmly follow after whatever God has for me, with great joy.
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