A fondness for snails

On Saturday I went out onto the patio to open our little storage shed to get all of the Christmas stuff out...and to my surprise, saw that something had made the shed its' home. I had just been in the shed a few weeks ago, so it must have been recent. But this little mouse sure went to town! It chewed on just about everything plastic... all of our storage containers, making some good-sized holes in a few of them. But it was mostly a nibble here and a nibble there. It also managed to destroy Michael's golf bag and several of his golf balls, both of our air mattresses, the curtains that belong to the owners of our townhome (oops!), and desperately tried to get into two of our emergency buckets, but was luckily unsuccessful! He basically made his mark on almost everything out there, in one way or another. The one thing he basically did leave alone? My four boxes of books! :) Thank you, little mouse.

We had to pull everything out of the shed and figure out how he was getting in. He had a chewed a hole through the back of the shed in the corner and was sneaking in and out. We also found a scattering of empty snail shells. He is probably the same critter who stole the 2 of 3 tomatoes we got this year. :(

Let's just say hubby wasn't too happy about the whole thing.

Favorite Season

Fall is by far my favorite season...sweater weather, beautiful colors, warm fires, hot chocolate, crisp air, you get the drift. :)

I have a lot of childhood memories associated with fall. Raking leaves with my family, getting wheelbarrow rides from dad, making leaf houses with my sister (we would line up leaves to make connected rectangles and squares all over the yard for the rooms), and taking drives in the canyon on Sunday afternoons.

Daughter was busy "decorating" our house too, and wanted me to take a picture of her "pretending to play" with her set-up. I bet my sisters can't guess what part of her decor is my favorite. You gotta know my quirky sense of humor. :)

Happy Fall!!!

Fun, Fun, Fun

The kids picked out the "finest" pumpkin (according to older daughter) they could get at the pumpkin patch and we enjoyed carving it together...and eating apples. ;)

Don't you just want to kiss that little face? He made a very cute cow (or calf?)

Ready to head out to the Halloween Party at our church.

And finally, a sneak peek at my latest project (or nightmare, however you want to look at it)!

If you are ever considering painting chairs, call me first! :) You may think twice...at least if you pick chairs that look like these.

A few more

Younger daughter: "Mommy, you need to buy me a new leotard before I start gymnastics again."

Me: Nodding.

Daughter: "Why don't they let you wear necklaces at gymnastics?"

Me: "Because they can get tangled up when you are doing somersaults and flips and things. "

Daughter: "Do they let you have chapped lips at gymnastics?"

Me: "Yes, they do."

Daughter: "Because those don't get tangled up, right?"

Me: "No."

Older daughter made a cute drawing of a ghost to hang on our window and drew a large speech bubble coming from it's mouth, saying, "BOOB!" :)

Little man is a great talker, but there is one phrase that he says that always cracks me up. He uses it when he wants me to scoot in or out a chair, or to turn the music up in the car.

"Mommy, scool up a lip!"

Smiles

Me: "Ouch! "Little Man"! Quit stepping on my foot!"

Oldest daughter: (in a very firm voice) "Remember Mom, don't react!"

I have been trying to teach the girls not to make a big deal out of when their little brother tries to hurt them (he is going through a hitting/pulling hair phase and wants them to overreact). I guess I should remember my own teachings better, too. :)

Younger daughter: "I am going to make my doll's hair look so gracious."

Oldest daugher: "If I get a pet dog someday and it is a white Poodle, I will name it Snowflake, and if it is a black Poodle, I will name it Cooking Pan."

Crush

Finally figured it out...and loving it...for now :)

With a new baby in tow who is oh-so-sweet, but a non-stop crier, and a busy two-year-old (also mom's shadow), I have come to realize how much I need to rely on the help of my 4 and 6-year-old daughters.

Yes, I have always had them pick up their toys and other things throughout the day, and for the past year they have been helping put their laundry away (after I folded it), make their beds, and they always help set the table at dinner time/clear their dishes at meal time. They also love to help me dust and wash windows. But I have discovered lately that this just isn't quite cutting it.

So....(drum roll please), I finally got around to setting up a REAL chore system! Yay! I made a list of daily morning chores (pics included), daily supper chores, and evening chores. Each day they check them off after they are completed (their fav. part, of course). I can't tell you how much this has helped me, not to mention the overall order and cleanliness of the house. I don't believe in allowance, but think that being a part of our family and living together in our home is reason enough why they need to do their part to help out. But I did make a list of extra chores that they can do to earn money if they want to buy something. They are still young enough that they don't really care about that yet.

Both girls are required to make their beds, get dressed, fold their pajamas and brush their teeth before breakfast (it is amazing how fast and well these things are done when done before they get to eat, instead of after. Brushing teeth should probably be done after breakfast, but I always seem to forget to remind them, so at least it is getting done).

While I am making dinner has been the magical part of our new program. Right before dinner is usually the crazy part of our day and the kids think this is a good time to run wild (while the baby is crying and the two-year-old is fussing and hanging onto my leg). Having the kids complete chores while I am making dinner has really calmed things down and gives them something productive to do. The girls need to have their room picked up and inspected by mom before dinner. Also, I have a supper helper each day (as well as a breakfast helper): middle daughter is on Mon/Wed, oldest on Tues/Thurs, Little Man is on Friday.

Here is oldest daughter's schedule:

Morning Chores: Make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, fold pjs, breakfast helper (Mon/Wed).

Supper Chores: Clean room, Supper helper on Tues/Thurs. (includes helping prepare meal, setting table, unloading/loading dishwasher, putting food away, and wiping table), and wipe out kid's bathroom sink (no more globs of toothpaste building up!).

Evening Chores: Clean up living room

Weekly Chores:

Mon: Pick up in van.

Tues: Fold and put away laundry.

Fri: Organize dresser drawers.

Monthly:

Week 1: Change sheets on bed.

Week 2: Wash windows/mirrors.

Week 3: Clean light switch plates.

Week 4: Help wash the cars.

Obviously, this is still a work in progress. But because I want the kids to be successful, it pushes me to stay on top of things (like getting the dishes done after each meal, instead of letting them pile up all day long). With the demands of the baby, we don't always get everything done, but so far I am loving the new system and the kids are too (Little Man loves being able to set the table and he does a pretty cute job :)). The girls like the satisfaction of checking things off when completed and knowing how proud and grateful mommy is.

Now if only I can keep this up. So I am loving it for now, while it lasts. :)

What do you do in your home? I would love to hear!