ABC's of Homemaking

I got this from Melissa and since I haven't posted anything FOREVER - I thought this would be an easy way to get something posted.

These are the ABC's of homemaking.

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aprons- y/n? if y, what does your favorite look like?
I own 1 apron. It is plain blue. very non-creative. I only wear an apron on Sunday's when I'm cooking in my Sunday clothes.

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baking- favorite thing to bake:
I love to bake all sorts of unhealthy things - but only in the winter. In the summer I hate to turn on the stove - it adds too much heat tot he house. cookies, cakes, and candies. - but I LOVE fresh hot Cinnamon rolls and hot homemade wheat bread.

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clothesline- y/n?

yes - use it all summer long

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donuts- have you ever made them?

Not an official donut recipe. I have made "donuts" using bread dough when I'm making bread.

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everyday- one homemaking thing you do every day.

I make my bed everyday - (Except for the days when I am feeling so nauseous that I am IN the bed all day)

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freezer- do you have a separate deep freeze?

yes.

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garbage disposal- y/n?

Yes - Tim and I differ on how much it should be used - but since I'm the one who generally does the kitchen/food clean up work - I get the finally say.

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handbook- what is your favorite homemaking resource?

Flylady.com - my Flying CD, the music gets me pumping so I can get into my work.

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ironing- love it or hate it?

Ironing? What's Ironing? I actually do OWN an iron, but I couldn't tell you the time I used it.

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junk drawer- y/n? where is it?

In the kitchen

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kitchen- color and decorating scheme?

walls painted Botany Beige, ceiling and trim painted Coconut Colada (ie beige and white) No decorating scheme at all. I am so NON CREATIVE when it comes to this kind of stuff!

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love- what is your favorite part of homemaking?

If and when I actually feel like I got something done! I love it when I can walk through the house and feel like it is clean. I love that peaceful content feeling that comes with a clean house. Needless to say, I haven't really felt that feeling for about 8 weeks, but I am hopeful that in another 2 or 3 weeks I'll be back to feeling like I can tackle mt life again.

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mop- y/n?

only like a couple times a day! Well, that's not exactly true. The kitchen floor needs mopping that often, but I usually only do it once a day. (and right now it's more like every 2 or 3 days, or when I can't take the stickiness any more!)

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nylons- wash by hand or in the washing machine?

machine. Anything I can't wash in a machine, I don't own. I don't actually have any real "nylons." I have knit tight kind of things for wearing in the winter and knee high stocking kind of things for summer

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oven- do you use the window or open the oven door to check?

Open the door.

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pizza- what do you put on yours?

BBQ Chicken pizza with pineapple and nuts is my favorite.

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quiet- what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

Right now I lie down and try to catch a quick snooze. Normally - probably read

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recipe card box- y/n? what does it look like?

I have the Healthy Meals in Minutes set that I use quite a bit, and I have a little plain plastic blue recipe card box that I got from Mercy for Christmas one year.

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style of house- what style is your house?

Split Level - (Wouldn't do it again! - I'm going for a rambler on my next house)

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tablecloths and napkins- y/n?

I own 1 table cloth, and I use it on "special occasions." I don't own any cloth napkins. I do have paper napkins in the pantry, but my kids are convinced that the work napkin means paper towel.

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under the kitchen sink- organized or toxic wasteland?

Pretty organized (thanks to flylady and pre-pregnant days)

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vacuum-

how many times per week?
Not enough. With the kids, dog, and cat I should vacuum everyday, but it's more like 2 or 3 times a week. ( on a good week)

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wash- how many loads of laundry do you do per week?

I try to do one load per day. so like 6 loads per week. In the winter it is a few more, since jeans and sweaters take more space int he washer than shorts and t-shirts

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x's- do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?

I used to do it more than I do now. Flylady encourages to get into "routines," so while I may do the same things everyday, it is more of a mental check of list. (And to be honest, right now I'm not getting much of anything done...)

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yard- y/n? who does what?

Our house is on .24 acre, so not too big, not too small. I generally take care of our small veggie garden, and I enjoy mowing the lawn. Tim also enjoys working outside and doing "projects," so he's always involved in something outside.

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zzz's- what is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?

After I finally get all the kids to bed, I check that all the doors are locked, let the dog out, feed the fish, and CRASH!

"Miss-Fix-It"

...OR NOT!

I have always thought of myself (and been rather proud of the fact) that I am moderately handy when it comes to fixing things. I really enjoy working with tools and I love feeling capable and semi- independent when it comes to many fix-it projects around the house.

I've had my miss-fix-it confidence rocked this morning.

Tim bought me a new dishwasher yesterday - our former dishwasher was part of a GE recall and was a fire hazard, so we took the opportunity($150 rebate) to get a new one. Being as I installed the last one completely on my own, I was feeling extremely confident that I could totally handle this project. Tim started the install, but I soon (ever so subtly, I'm sure) took over. (It's a good thing I married a patient and humble man, eh?)
Well, here it is Saturday at 11:30, and I finally finished it! Lest you think I'm a total moron - the dishwasher was working fine last night, already run a load, emptied it this morning, and started filling it again. My problem was that I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get the kick plate on right. I finally just put it on and decided to call it good. Well, I opened the door, and low and behold, it wouldn't open all the way (at least not without putting some serious pushing and pressure on the kick plate.) I took it all off again, then was trying different angles and such, when suddenly (FINALLY) I noticed some little notches and pegs that just 'might' fit together. they did - and viola' it is done!

(I think I'd better stick to my "stay at home mom' job.)

We're home!

Well - I took the trip to Montana. Thursday Trina seemed to be feeling better, so I assumed all was good. I had my packing list all written out and I spent the morning running errands and shopping, but by the time I got home I was totally worn out. I tried taking a nap, but it didn't seem to help much. Aaron had coach pitch practice at 6, and I had a stake RS fireside that I needed to go to at 7, so it was a crazy night. Fireside ended at 8:30, and I hurried out, planning to go home, finish packing, and get to bed by 10:00 so that I would be semi-ready to leave at 3am.

Well - I got home to find all 3 kids still awake (bedtime is 8) and Trina was lying on my bed with a fever of 103 and saying her stomach hurt. WHAT TO DO??? I called my pediatrician's after hours clinic and they said it sounded like strep and to bring her in. The nurse said if it was strep, they could put her on the antibiotic and we should still be able to make the trip. So, at 9:20, Aaron, Katrina, and I were arriving at the doctors office. It WAS strep, so we then went to the all night pharmacy where we sat for about an hour waiting for them to fill the prescription. I got home at 11:40, put the kids to bed, then spent 1/2 hour trying to finish packing. I got in bed after midnight, but had trouble falling asleep because I kept thinking of things I forgot to pack... I woke up at 1:30, worried I had slept through the alarm, then again at 2:45. (alarm was set for 3:15) At 2:50 I gave up on sleeping and got up and packed the van. I got to my parents house at 4:00, helped them finish getting all their stuff ready and loaded, and at 4:20 we started the 11 - 12 hour trip. We had been driving for about 30 minutes when my parents remembered they had forgotten Abraham's birthday present. (a new church suit) We turned around and went back to get it.

I was so tired, I had a headache, I get carsick, and I was dealing with typical morning sickness. Suffice it to say, I threw-up like 7 times between Malad, Idaho and Dillon, Montana. YUCK! I took over driving in Dillon and drove the rest of the way to Cut Bank, and that helped with the car sickness...

All this being true - I was glad we went up. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and it was great to be able to visit with my sister and be there for Abraham's baptism. (there were lots of other "funny things" that happened in the course of the trip, but since they are mostly things where "you had to be there," I won't waste any more of your time...

My kids travelled amazingly well. I was so impressed and thankful. My mom told me (after the fact) that she had been dreading making the trip with the kids, certain that it would be an awful 12+ hours of crying and fighting and fussing and noise - she said over and over how surprised she was with how good the kids were. Makes me think we might be able to survive doing it again in July when Laura's baby comes. (I'm still trying to figure out if my going up there would be more of a hindrance or a help...my 3 plus her 4 = 7 kids (plus there will be the new baby) - all of whom are extremely active and busy, are a bit much to handle, feed, and clean up after...) I'm not sure I have it in me to take all of that on. Oh well, I have two months before I have to make any final decisions on that one:)


It's nice to be home. I missed being with Tim on Mother's Day, but overall, it was a good trip.

adventures of motherhood

Nothing incredibly new here. I'm still exhausted and feeling nauseous, and to add even more fun to my life, Katrina got sick yesterday. 102.7 fever and vomiting. Loads of fun. Last night I kept Trina on the floor in my room to hopefully prevent her from sharing even more germs with Aaron (they share a bed - by choice). When Aaron then complained that he couldn't go to sleep because he was too lonely, I explained that I didn't want Trina to throw up in the bed during the middle of the night, so I was keeping her in my room. As a result of the visual imagery, Aaron woke up in the middle of the night screaming - he had had a dream that Trina was throwing up all over him. I also got up twice with Bryan, and once (or twice, it all runs together) with Trina. JOY JOY JOY. As you can guess. I am bit worn out today.

I have been planning to go up to Montana this weekend for my nephew Abraham's baptism. With Trina's sickness, I'm now in limbo. Do I just hope and trust that the other kids will be okay, or do I stay home and plan on dealing with sick children??? I'm already not looking forward to the 11-12 hour drive with 3 young kids, and I can't imagine doing the drive with SICK kids. (Not to mention the fact that I'm sure Laura (my sister) would rather I not bring a van full of germs to her house.) Oh well - I'll wait until tomorrow and then make my final decision. (we're scheduled to leave at like 3:30 in the morning on Friday. Nothin' like leaving it to the last minute, eh?)

Pregnancy note: according to the pregnancy calendar - "Embryo becomes a fetus! Congratulations! All organs necessary to sustain life are formed." Amazing!!!

true confessions

Here I am again. Even though it is a bit early to be making official announcements (hence I'm not yet telling anyone in my ward, but I'm pretty sure none of them check my blog so I feel fairly safe telling YOU guys. My own private little circle of friends) One of the reasons I am so tired and hormonal is because I am 6 weeks along with child number 4. It's rather funny actually. I had just decided that I did want one more child, but I wanted to wait one more year before getting that particular ball rolling, so that I would only have two preschoolers home all day everyday. What can I say... serves me right for thinking I knew what was best... or not counting right, or something like that. Based on my last cycle, the due date should be around December 14th. According to the online pregnancy calendar, here is what the baby looks like today. It is about the size of a coffee bean. I think the fact that our bodies can create a whole new little person is just amazing, and boy oh boy, does it sure suck the life out of me !

So - that's what's going on with me. I am totally exhausted, nauseous, and I am trying to get myself psyched up and mentally prepared to have four children. I have more than my fair share of days when I don't feel like I can take care of the three I have, what am I thinking having one more??? I also seem to be more worried this time - I think because I personally know so many people who in the past year or so have miscarried, or had other serious problems with their pregnancies, or had children born with birth defects... It's just really made me realize what a miracle it is to get a child here safely and in good health.

That's the news. thank you guys for being so supportive. You have been a big, big lift to me when I've needed it these past couple weeks. It is really nice to know that we all go through tough times and that I am not alone.