Dishwasher wheels... falling off track

We loved the house that we rented for a week for our vaction in Maine last week.  The kitchen was far better equipped than we expected!  Working in that kitchen for a week showed me a lot about what I needed in a kitchen and what I didn't!  

One of the things that came up was the dishwasher, a GE Profile black dishwasher.  I noticed the first day that the bottom rack kept coming off track.  So, I looked closer at it.  I noticed that 2 of the wheels were missing.  Another one broke when I tried to move it to a more stable spot.  The rack was also much more flimsy than ours at home.  We stopped using the dishwasher altogether 2 days before we left because I was afraid of more wheels coming off.

When I came home, I took a look at my dishwasher.  I discovered that 1 of the wheels was missing!  Our lower rack does periodically come off track as I pull it out.  So, I went online and found a replacement wheel on Amazon for $5.  I checked the part number to the Bosch website before I ordered it to make sure I was ordering the right part.  

The wheel arrived yesterday and it fit!  I am excited to have a tray that will be less likely to come off track!  I had a friend over yesterday and mentioned this to her.  She said this was the same problem they had with the dishwasher at the last house they rented.  So, if your lower rack of your dishwasher is coming off track--maybe yours is missing a wheel, too!

Free Template for Short State Report

I just got an email from Evan-Moor with a link to this free simple state report.  Here's the link.
I'm not sure how long it will be up, but I thought I'd post it anyhow!  I'm already realized that I often have grand plans so I've already printed it as a back up in case we don't have time to do the longer report I have planned!  This year is off to a busy start!

Local News and Garage Sales

I love to garage sale.  It is my favorite hobby.  It is also the primary reason I've subscribed to our local newspaper for the past 7 years.  But, I realized recently how much the cost of that paper has gone up this year.  The paper used to cost $50/year.  Come this December, that rate will be $80/year.   Coincidentally, I noticed this summer that there haven't been that many garage sales listed in the paper through the summer (my primary reason for buying it).  Instead, people have been choosing to list them on Craigs List, which is free.

So, I went to my mom on Monday morning and asked her if she'd be okay if we cancelled our subscription. I emailed her a site where we can get our local news (here) for Harford County, Maryland.  I also discovered two sites that will search for the garage sales for me!  Here they are:
http://garagesalefinder.com/shopper.php  and http://yardsaletreasuremap.com/

I feel bad for not supporting our local paper, but I realize that I have to accept that times are changing.  I always want to be careful with our budget and save money where I can!

Thrifty Preschooling

For Preschool, I use World Book's Scope and Sequence to help me know what my children need to learn.  I also use Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready and How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

But, this morning I found a great site via a friend's blog that seems to have just about everything you'd need to teach your child preschool at home for free.  Here's the site:  http://www.hubbardscupboard.org.  Happy Preschooling!

Money and My Kids

One of my dear friends--whose input I love to hear!--commented on the post I wrote about Mary Hunt's book.  She asked if we give our kids allowances.  

We don't.  Not yet.  Chris and I are talking about it this year, but we aren't sure yet what that will look like and we definitely don't think our younger two are ready.  I think we need to decide the purpose of what the allowance will be for and how much guidance we will give her with it.  I know we don't plan on giving her an allowance to cover everything as Ms. Hunt suggests--a  salary.  But, let me digress.  

My friend commented about Ms. Hunt's approach and how it wouldn't be feasible for her family.  Before I start feeling condemned because I can't pull off what another mom or family can, I think about their lives.  It helps me determine what parts of someone's advice might be applicable to my family and our situation.  

So, here are my observations.  Ms. Hunt and her husband had 2 children--both boys.  She tells a story of when her oldest was learning how to manage his allowance.  After blowing his allowance lickety split at first, her son reacted by becoming a miser for quite some time.  She was okay with letting her son give a very small birthday gift (I think it cost $1 or $2), because it was his money and what he chose to do.  1) I believe that Ms. Hunt did not homeschool.  I've never heard her mention homeschooling.  So, I think her kids went to public school.  The expenses involved in each are different.  Responsibilities for kids are too.  2) She had 2 boys.  2 Boys!  2, not 3, 4, 6, or 10 or 1.  The number and the gender makes a difference, I think.  My brother had the same reaction her boys did when given money.  I, on the other hand, was motivated to get a job so I could participate in the activities at school that I wanted to.  So was my best friend in high school. Neither of us had parents who gave us regular allowances.    My brother just chose to fore go the activities.  And not get a job until he had to.  My friends who got allowances didn't get jobs in high school.

Also, having 2 meant that there were things that Ms. Hunt didn't have to consider.  Since my girls wear the same size (no hand me downs between them :( ) and I have only 1 boy, I take this into consideration with purchases.  I don't have to purchase dress shoes that will make it through more than 1 season.  I need sturdy clothes, but I don't need high quality that will last through a lot of kids.  If I get hand me downs that have a little life left, that's great--they only need to make it through 1 season with my kids.  Whereas, my friends with multiple kids always think, "How many kids will this x item last though?"  I don't think a child is going to think that when they're making a purchase.  I don't mean to criticize Ms. Hunt in any way with these observations.  I just wanted to point out a few differences and I think that those differences shape the voice she speaks with and shaped what she experienced personally with her family.

I think she has some good ideas--that worked for her and her family.  But, that doesn't mean that it would be easy for me to take her ideas and use them like a cookie cutter on my own family.  So, I never read a financial book with that thinking.  Honestly, I always seek my friends out with multiple kids (3 or more) when I'm looking for ideas about money and my kids and even how to save money in general.  The more people in a household, the farther things have to go.  In our case, ours has to go 6 ways plus 1 dog.  My husband recently put on an application that he has 5 dependents.  I wondered what people would think.  It also asked the ages of children--which listed 3.  What they might think!  My husband was including my mom, who lives with us and who we provide room and board for.  He does have 5 dependents.  

It's interesting because my oldest daughter, Autumn, is going into 4th grade.  My husband hasn't wanted them to worry about money and how to spend it, so I've been saving any money that's given to them as gifts.  I think he hasn't wanted them to grow up before they have to.  We have seen that often as soon as people have money they become preoccupied with figuring out how they might spend it.  This consume a lot of their time and energy.  He has wanted to keep our kids from this as long as we can.  We both know the time is coming to teach them about having money themselves and letting it go.  

Last week was a first step in several ways for me and Autumn.  

The first situation was when Autumn's Grandma gave her $5 as a get well present--she's been miserable with  an illness.  She wanted to go to Target and look at the dollar section.  So, we did, but she didn't find anything she wanted.  So, we meandered over to the toy aisle.  Sami had plenty of ideas about what she should spend it on.  Autumn was very disappointed, because we had just finished our money chapter and she understood she didn't have enough money to purchase any of the things Sami was pointing out.  She also had wanted to get something to share with her siblings and something for herself.  I explained to her that she could save it.  But, she told me she didn't want to, because then it would eat at her about wanting to spend it.  So, I suggested that she get an edible treat to share and then save the rest.  She could save it for something bigger.  She replied that she doesn't get money so how would she save?  She had a good point there.  I reminded her about birthdays and Christmas.  She replied that she knew that she was supposed to save that for college some day.  I told her that we would give her part of any money she received then (which my husband and I had already discussed).  That satisfied her and we went off to the food section of the store.  She found a back of ring pops for $1.49 (plus tax).  We took them home and she savored her treat.  The rest of the money is sitting in her wallet in her dresser to my knowledge.

The second situation began a week ago in Target's shoe section.  I have always bought my girls practical Mary Jane's from Payless or Target for winter dress shoes.  My girls love to run (especially Sami) and I have been so fearful of them in slick soled shoes.   We were at Target and Autumn found some flats that she loved.  They looked so grown up!  I cringed.  My little girl--growing up.  I still wanted to hold on to her and so I stalled.  I spoke with my husband about it and he encouraged me to let her get some flats.  It was time.  I had 2 $10 off $25 or more coupons for Payless this week, so I took the girls there yesterday.  I am very thankful for the Lord's blessing in this--I found these sweet flats that were grown up looking, but had a strap across.  The girls loved them immediately!  Then, I asked them to try on the traditional black Mary Jane's.  I had an idea that I proposed to them.  How about wearing the flats to church on Sundays and the Mary Jane's the rest of the week?  My girls really don't like tennis shoes most of the time and are always asking to wear there church shoes.  It seemed like a good solution and they were thrilled!  They did like the Mary Jane's, but they had wanted to feel grown up, too.  With the coupons and a tax-free clothing week for back to school shopping, the two pairs cost the same as 1 would have cost for each of the girls.  I was very thankful and so were they.  The one thing I'm very conscious of when picking out clothing and shoes for my kids is trying to find a balance between what's best and practical (and modest) and something they like.  My husband tells a story of a pair of shoes he once had that he hated.  I've never forgotten how that experience has impacted him.  I understand that it's good for my girls to have some choice within some boundaries.  I have to remember my budget and they have to get shoes and clothing that will work for our family.  

This Payless story is a good example though of how having only 3 kids changes things for me.  If I had multiple kids and I needed my shoes to last through more than 1 child, I'd probably head to the Stride Rite Outlet and watch for the Stride Rite sales regularly.  The Payless shoes will only last a season, if that.  I had to replace Autumn's Payless sandals in the middle of the summer this year.  I know that her new sandals will get passed on to a friend's child who will be able to use them, though, and that comforts me.  

I'm not sure that this has been much but a rambling post, but I better scoot and wrap up this up.  My kids are off to breakfast this morning with their free coupons that they earned from the summer library reading program!

It may be free, but...

Every once in a while, I'll get a coupon book for McDonald's in the mail.  I'll save it in case we're out and I can use one of the $1 coupons or free drink coupons.  But, sometimes what is free isn't necessarily good for us.  

A few weeks ago, a friend shared with me how much she likes McDonald's Sweet Tea.  I agreed with her.  I like it, but it's almost too sweet.  I found out why in the next minute.  She said she and her husband had calculated how much sugar was in a drink--1/2 cup.  1/2 cup!!  Ay Ay Ay!  I shrank inside.  Ew.

So, yesterday, my girls and I were out.  My daughter has been dealing with a cold sore/skin infection this week on her lip and I felt so bad for her.  I was trying to figure out something nice to do for her.  I considered going to McDonald's.  There was a coupon for sweet tea and I had some coupons for the kids for ice cream.  I thought of the sweet tea and it made me cringe.  So, I decided instead to go to the library and let Autumn pick out a video to watch.  

I realized that although it would taste good in the moment, I would be drinking 1/2 cup of sugar!  It would have been free, but not very good for me.  

Quite a Surprise of a Book

Several years ago, I read various books by Ellie Kay, Jonni McCoy, Mary Hunt, Larry Burkett, and others.  Then, I went to look at the websites for each author.  I have been struck by a singular irony about the websites.   The stated mission and goal of each of these Christian authors is to help families in financial crisis. But, most of the websites have a fee to access the information on the site.  I found the same thing last week with the Economides' website.  It seems very strange to me.  I do understand that the authors need to make a living and this is one of the ways that they earn money.  But, I wish it didn't have to be that way.  I wonder how much money they make from their books vs. their websites and whether there might be more ways these authors and organizations could share their knowledge freely (with no strings attached as a free trial offer) to help families in need.  I was thankful to find this morning that on some of the websites, there is a lot information available than others.

Here are a few things I did find:  
1) Ellie Kay's site has all sorts of free calculators on it under the tools tab.  Ms. Kay's book Heroes at Home is a financial book for soldiers and their families that I really enjoyed and agreed with.
2) Jonni McCoy's site has all sorts of information on it--recipes, tips, articles, links... and the content has free.  She's changed her site a lot from the last time I looked at it and it is much easier to read now and find information on.
3) Matt Bell is discontinuing his site and has joined Sound Mind Investing.  This is the kind of site that really bothers me.  I just took a look at it.  It took me several minutes to find how much it actually costs to subscribe to the site.  It costs $10/month.  I am saddened that Matt Bell has joined the site and is discontinuing his own site.  There is some good budgeting information on his site that will only be there for a little longer if you're interested.  It's similar to the budgeting forms I invented for my own family.  
4) Mary Hunt has no content available on her site without a membership that costs $29/year.  This seems less expensive than it used to be.  But, there were a few things that bother me about her site.  There's a lot of advertising on it.  It also uses the same gimics that secular financial advertising uses--offering "free" things that aren't really free (these kind of ads make me cringe).
5) Crown Financial Ministries (started by Larry Burkett) site has made a lot more information available online for free!  I am very pleased with this and glad that they are doing this for families.  I looked at their site a few years ago and very little was available for free.
6) Dave Ramsey's site is also $9.95/month like the one Matt Bell is joining.  Similar tools and fee, just a different person.

It was really interesting looking at all of these sites and others.  The financial bloggers I looked through have a ton of advertising on their sites.  The sites are hard to look at, because they are so busy.  Honestly, I'd rather buy a book and read it than look through one of the sites.

But, today my purpose is to review a book by Mary Hunt, Raising Financially Confident Kids.  I have read other books by Mary Hunt before.  I didn't expect to like a lot in this book.  Surprisingly, I did.  This book is about how she and her husband taught their kids about finances and raised them to be good stewards of their finances.  I would read this book--try and think of her as a regular mom.  Don't look at her website first and shield your eyes from the commercialism of her other books.  Just take this singular book on its own.  I don't fully intend to follow all of her ideas (especially the one about giving preschoolers your coupons and lists at the store--that is quite stressful when they drop that really important coupon along your trip and even after retracing your steps you can't find it!), but there were some great ideas too about how to expose your kids to financial gimics like home shopping networks.  I did like her ideas for different age children.  The ideas may help you or spur you on to come up with your own ideas that fit for your family.

What I most liked (and was surprised by) in this book was that, in contrast to the Economides book, is that Ms. Hunt brings God into the picture.  She doesn't go as far as Crown Financial Ministries does and how I feel--that our children need to understand that God has given them what they have and it is important to be good stewards of this, but she almost gets there.  I also like that at the end, she states "God's plan is for children to grow wings and fly away.  Our job as parents is to prepare them for the flight.  Building financial confidence is one important way" (p. 205).  Ms. Hunt seems to realize in this statement that finances are just one part of our lives.  They shouldn't consume us, lest they become an idol.  

A great portion of this book is devoted to talking about debt and how we debt-proof our kids--essentially how we teach them to avoid debt.  Her website is titled debt-proof living.  Debt is becoming a greater and greater part of our world and it is becoming more and more accepted.  We have to teach our kids that they need to live within their means and not expect to live beyond them.

In the end, I am glad that I read this book.  It helped me feel better about Mary Hunt's perspective on finances and what she teaches.  There were some good ideas in this book about how and what to teach our children about finances.  I obviously have my own opinions about the fee for access websites when it comes to Christian financial websites, including Mary Hunt's.  I hope someday she will consider how she can help people who can't afford her site and possibly making some content on her site available without a membership fee.  What I just realized as I finished writing this review is that for years I have been viewing people who work with Christians and their finances as working in ministry, but really these are businesses. I would be wise to remember this and see folks like Mary Hunt as business owners, not ministry leaders or parachurch missionaries.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of Mary Hunt's book from Revel Publishing for review.

Team Effort

One of my friends and I sat down last week to talk about budgeting and saving money.  It was a fun conversation.  I enjoyed talking with her about the things she already does and other possible things she could do.  I talked to her a few days later and she said her husband was having fun with it and she was really encouraged.

One area that has a particular high bill for them is their water bill.  Where they live (like where we live) water is really expensive!  But, they didn't realize it because they had nothing to compare it to.  I went home and compared her water usage and bill to ours and realized that her cost for water is even higher than ours.  I emailed her right away to let her know how high their water cost is.  Knowing this motivated her and her husband to work on cutting down that bill.  She shared her stories with me over the phone later and I smiled.  

We had dinner at a friend's house last weekend with her family and another family.  I smiled the next day when I reflected on our visit.  One thing that had really struck me was that she and her husband had the same vision for their finances and generosity.  They were definitely on the same page and loved being frugal and saving money--together.  In their case, I know it's a whole family effort and vision as well.  They are also wonderfully giving people who love the people in their lives well.

I called my other friend to leave her this message...  "I wanted to leave you a message because I was so encouraged by our conversation the other day.  It's exciting to me to watch God working in your marriage.  I am realizing see how God works to give us a common vision and goals with our husbands when it comes to finances.  God works in so many ways and it's neat for me to see this one.  It's definitely a journey and often not an easy one, but eventually we get there--on the same page together."

The interesting thing to me is that the vision isn't identical in every marriage.  Every family has their own priorities and needs.  We have different family traditions.  

Truly, it makes me smile to see God glorified this way in our marriages.  The point of money management and budgeting is not so that we can feel more self sufficient, but so we can be good stewards of what He has given us and to be thankful for how He has provided.  Each month when I balance our budget, I share with my husband how things turn out.  Last Saturday was one such day.  I gave my husband the rundown and his reply was, "Really?"  He and I both thanked the Lord for providing for our family.  

Teaching Kids About Money

My children are growing up.  Just like I did once.  I had a saver mom and a spendthrift dad.  I am thankful that I ended up more like my mom than my dad in this regard.  Please don't get me wrong--I inherited some good traits from my dad that have held me in good stead.  I want my children to grow up with good money managing skills and able to manage their own finances.  So, I enjoy reading books about kids and finances.  


A year or two ago, I began looking for a book to help me outline what I need to teach my children.  I found two that I ordered.  One was a book Howard Dayton wrote for kids in grades K-2, The ABCs of Handling Money God's Way.  It was a nice little story and the workbook had some good questions.  And I did like that it addressed how God wants us to view money.  But, it didn't cover a lot.  I also ordered a little book titled I want to teach my child about Money by Kathie and Doug Rechkemmer.  I am very visual, so when it arrived and turned out to be a very small book (in size), I was disappointed and set it aside.  It covered what I wanted to teach, but the format was so small that it would be difficult to look at together with my kids.

Then recently two books came across my desk on teaching kids about money.  Of course, I was curious.  The first is The Money Smart Family System, by Steve and Annette Economides, published by Thomas Nelson.  They have a website www.americascheapestfamily.com that you can subscribe to for $20 to gain access to their content.  Some is available for free, but I don't know how much.  This couple paid off a lot of debt about 16 years ago and then began to give advice to other families.  Basically, this book could be a "how to" teach your child about spending tool.  They've raised several kids and homeschooled (5 kids from beginning to end for $1000).  I'm pretty frugal, but I can't imagine homeschooling K-12 for $1000 in total without making a lot of sacrifices when it comes to curriculum or allocating what falls under homeschooling to other budgeting areas.  


Before I go any farther, I want to rabbit trail to our pastor's sermon from last Sunday (click here).  It was about awaiting Christ's return and being awake.  In the sermon, he mentions that if we don't look to Christ's return and are only focused on our life here and now, then our faith becomes a tool simply to a better life here.  What he says about this has really stuck in my mind.  That Sunday night in our small group, I realized that this is my concern about many Christian "self-help" type books.  It is as if faith in God isn't about glorifying God in our lives--it is really just a means to a better life for us and our families here and now.  I think this is really important that we have to be careful about how we view our lives and God's role in our life.


So, back to the Money Smart family System.  This book is a book that reflects the judeo-Christian values that Dr. Dobson often talks about on Focus on the Family, except that God is never (to my notice) mentioned in the book.  When the Economides pair recommends books, many Focus on the Family type of books are referenced and authors that I've heard from years past on the show.  I was particularly interested in how they explain giving.  
Here are a few quotes:
"We must help our children comprehend that the money they earn is not solely intended for their personal use or enjoyment--they have a responsibility to be a conduit of benefit to others." p. 70
"If we can consistently help our children see the benefits that come with sharing the simplest things, they will be inoculated against greed and miserly thinking as they grow older." p. 71
Reasons for giving include things like how it reduces clutter and opens their eyes (leading to compassion) and teaching the joy of giving.  Note, God isn't mentioned in this chapter.  Later in the book, there is a chapter on activities to develop activities for character, strength, and scholarships.  In this chapter, religious activities are talked about.  The positive reason for mission trips?  "Being immersed in a different culture and learning how other people live can breed a deeper appreciation and greater satisfaction for life at home.    Beyond that, it could open your child's heart to a possible career or avocation helping others in need." p. 123.  Really?  What about God?  Serving Him and loving others because He first loved us.  


This book is not what I'd recommend to a Christian family.  God isn't a part of the picture this book presents.  Is it a book I'd recommend to a family that wants to live a moral life, but doesn't believe in God?  Yes.  That's who this book is for.  Is there a danger to a Christian family following this model?  I think so.  I think one of the greatest pitfalls for our children to believing in God is the strong American value that we can do it ourselves.  We don't need help or need anyone else.  We are always hearing "Believe in yourself" .  We need to be careful to teach our children, I believe, that everything we have comes from the Lord and we are to be good stewards of it.  


To sum it all up:  if you're looking for a list of age appropriate chores, check this book out of the library.  Aside from that, I don't recommend this book.  


I'm going to be reviewing Mary Hunt's book on raising financially responsible kids next week.  So, it'll be fun to dig into this subject again!


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing.

What if you had nothing?

A week or two ago, something happened in our extended family that caused us to pause and ask this question:  What would we do if we had nothing?  


We live on one income with two cars and a roof over our head.  I am able to homeschool and stay home with our children.  We help support both of our mothers.  We are thankful to the Lord for all of these things. 


But, what would we do of things changed?  Unexpected expenses?  Job change?  A lower income?  Would we cope?


When one's income changes, hard decisions have to be made.  I had a roommate once who never adjusted her spending level downward when her income level changed downward.  She began to live deeply in debt, paying the minimum on her credit cards each month.  Her experience made a deep impression on me.


So, if in such a position, what would we change?  No cable.  No internet.  What we ate would change.  One car, not two.  Change the coverage on our car insurance.  No extras.  Plant wildflowers in the lawn so as not to have to mow more grass and use more gas for the lawnmower.  Raise the thermostat in the summer and lower it in winter.  We already have prepaid cell phones, but if we hadn't already switched, we would.  Use the library for internet access and more for curriculum use than purchasing books for homeschooling.  I could work part time.  Cheaper coffee.  Sticking to our budget.  


At what point, would one make such changes?  Or should we always be mindful of such things?  I remember a good piece of advice I read in a book once.  Consider your time and what you can do with your time that will save you the most money.  We already do budget, which I think is extremely important.  If we don't budget, it would be very difficult to know if our efforts in saving money and spending less were effective or not.


We are expecting my husband's income to drop in a few years.  So, should I tighten our belts now or in a few years?  I think it would be easier to do what we can now and live wisely and carefully so that we don't have to make drastic adjustments all at once.  


In the end, it all comes down to two basic questions.  What are our needs? and What are our wants?  I'll never forget when my mom asked me when I was in 4th grade if I needed a sweatshirt that I really wanted.  She asked me if I needed it.  I had to admit that I didn't.  This morning my daughter told me that she wanted to get some bath crayons.  I explained to her that it wasn't a need.  We have plenty of toys and fun things to play with.  I realize that I can tell her this, but I hope that someday soon she will be able to think through this question, "Do you need it?" and answer the question truthfully about something she wants.  It will be a moment that profoundly changes her life, I hope, as it did mine.

How to get through a book

I've had a lot of people over the years ask me how I read books so quickly.  I think I must be a fast reader.  I also know that I'm good at skimming and figuring out what I need to read in a book and don't.  But, the pace of my reading has slowed down a lot lately!  I've actually been doing very little outside the college class I'm working on (for the renewal of my teaching credential).  But, there are two books I've been really wanting to read!  North and South and Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell are two of my favorite miniseries.  I've wanted to read them, but can't seem to find the time right now.  I was googling today and found this site:  http://dailylit.com/books/wives-and-daughters/1.  You can read a book via email bit by bit--enough, but not too much to read in a day.  I have to admit though that I don't know if I would be able to read a suspenseful story this way!  I'd be waiting and waiting and waiting for the next day to come!  I fear I'd probably just end up buying the book anyways.


But, if there's a book you've always wanted to read and can't seem to get through, Dailylit might be a way to do it.  I believe most of their books are free, but I'm not sure if all are.


As a side note, if you do have an Amazon Prime Membership, I have a few favorite miniseries that are available free with Amazon Prime for streaming:
Under the Greenwood Tree
Wives and Daughters
North and South
Downton Abbey
Bleak House (not as much a favorite of mine, but it is good)
Cadfael
Foyle's War (not literary)

Getting Away

My kids are getting older.  We're past the toddler stage and Eli's a competent 4 year old.  The girls are older at 6 and 8 years old now, too.  One of the blessings of their growing up is that my husband and I finally feel comfortable for leaving them for a night or two or even three with their grandparents.  


Last year was the first time we had been away from our kids in 7 years.  We were in upstate New York at the time, so we left the kids with my mother in law and went away for a night to Ithaca, NY.  We stayed at a great inn--the La Tourelle Inn.  I found a special rate that included an amazing breakfast at the inn!  While in Ithaca, we ate dinner at a great Tapas restaurant, saw an outdoor movie (Bringing Up Baby) at Cornell, and went to the art museum on the Cornell campus.  


I have to admit that vacation planning is difficult for me.  It is actually quite stressful.  Trying to figure out where to go and what to do and make the most of this little nugget of time you have!  But, that little getaway turned out great. 


This year we were again stumped. My husband was stressed and so was I.  We wanted to get away for our anniversary, but weren't sure where to go.  I finally told him to just pick a place!  I'm glad I did.  He picked a great one.


We went up to Eagles Mere, PA, for 3 nights/4 days.  Eagles Mere is a little town 20 miles outside Williamsport, PA.  It used to be a resort town for families in the early 1900s.  There was a single line railroad track that took passengers up the mountain.  Today it is a privately owned lake community.  The lake is owned by the residents.  We stayed at the Eagles Mere Inn, the last remaining inn from those days gone by.  Our room was small, but adequate.  My husband was thrilled that there was no television in the room (though wifi was available for free).  Breakfast and a 5 course dinner were included.  The food was locally sourced and very good.  My favorites were the salads at dinner and the bacon at breakfast.  Having the meals included took a lot of the stress out of our vacation.  We didn't have to figure out where to eat.  I didn't realize until afterwards how helpful this was!

The town was very uncommercialized.  No power boats allowed on the lake--so it's very quiet.  Not many shops.  No grocery store or gas station.  There's a private beach on the lake and a path that circles the lake that's about 3 miles long.  We did a lot of walking throughout the streets.  


There are two state parks nearby--Rickets Glenn and World's End.  We went to both and enjoyed the hiking.  Both have campgrounds and beaches for families to enjoy.  There's horseback riding nearby as well.


One of the special things we enjoyed were the folks that came to play on Friday and Saturday night at the pub downstairs at the Inn.  We miss hearing live music because it's difficult to get to concerts with little ones.  Something unexpected always seems to prevent us from going! But the music at the pub was great--bluegrass.  


So, if you're looking for a getaway with your spouse--I'd definitely recommend checking out Eagles Mere--take a bunch of books and get away!


Here's a few pictures I took while we were there...

For more info, http://www.eaglesmereinn.com/index.htm 

  

Christian Audio Kids Recordings Sale

I just got an email with info about several audio recordings on sale at Christian Audio (www.christianaudio.com)  this month.  I have a friend who's family has really enjoyed the Jonathon Park series--which is why I paid attention to the ad.  Now through July 31st, the Jonthan Park sets are on sale at the site for $5 each for download.  That's a great price if you like the series.  Several books from the Box Car Children series are also available the same price.  


Also, on the site is a free download for this month for The Sword.  I have really enjoyed this series.  I just received the third book in the mail this week and will soon be writing a review of it.  It isn't for children under 15 in my opinion.  It would be great listening for a commute on the way to work, though.  It falls under the category of "dystopic fiction".  It is an anomaly for my reading, but the writing is so good that it is a thoroughly engaging and interesting story!

"Paper doll" horses

Where I grew up in California, you only rode a horse if your family was very well off.  Equestrian sports were available only to a few.  Where we live now, many people we know love and ride horses.  One of our friend's daughters has a pony of her own.  I feel a little like I live in horse country now. 


I think because of the horses that we see all the time as we drive through the country, my girls, just like every other little girl I've met here, love horses.  When I saw a book titled Pop-Out and Paint Horse Breeds, I was sure they'd love it.  Today happens to be a summer "snow" day of sorts because it is so hot outside, so I thought I'd bring out the book and start a project with them.  They were very excited when I brought out the horse book and explained what we were going to do.

Pop-Out and Paint Horse Breeds by Cindy A. Littlefield is a book published by Storey Publishing.  In the book, there are 10 different templates for different breeds of horses.  When I read the word "template", I thought that meant that you needed to trace the horse forms.  You actually have two options.  You can trace them or you can punch them out and make 10 horses.  Since I have three kids, punching out the templates and tracing them was the best option.  Both my girls wanted the same horse, of course.  


After tracing and cutting out your horse forms, there are great directions for how to make the main, tail, and how to add any other details you would like to.  There are even directions on how to make stands for the horse and secure them to the horses.  There are also directions for how to make a tabletop barn and other horse accessories.  

I am quite impressed by this book.  My girls are 6 and 8.  My son is 4 and even he was excited to paint his horse.  All of them can make the horses with help.  This is definitely an activity to do with them at their ages.  If they were 10 or 11, I know I would be able to hand them the book and they would be lost in the making of horses for hours.  But, at this age, a lot of help is needed.  A few weeks ago, I did hand the book to a friend's daughter who is 10.  She struggled to trace and cut out the horse form.  If she had simply been able to use the template as a 1 time use horse, I think she would have been fine.  This is one of those books that has a lot of potential for family enjoyment.  It would be much more enjoyable and less frustrating as a mom and daughter activity.  For the crafty mom, this would be a great book for you to share that love with your daughters.  


At a little less than $12 on Amazon, this would be a fun activity book to store for a rainy day or for a birthday gift.  The supplies that are needed are things you'll generally have around your house--yarn, a little paint, a paintbrush, paper clips, and a few other things I'm sure you'll have.  


I think this book is a surprisingly nifty book and worth the money if your daughter loves crafts and horses.


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Storey Publishing.

Be guarded

My husband and I got some unexpected news last night.  Credit card fraud--on our credit card!  Ay Ay Ay! Among the words one dreads hearing.  We have our credit monitored by a monthly service.  We are careful with our info.  The problem is you can never be careful enough, so safeguards are helpful.  


Safeguards that are out there...


1) Always have an internet virus protection program on your computer if you have a pc.  I understand that macs are not as vulnerable.


2) Use complicated passwords, not simple ones that have anything to do with basic information about you.


3) If you don't want to have a monthly credit monitoring service, definitely get a copy of your credit report once a year.  A friend of mine had a credit card opened in her name by her ex-husband and the card was maxed out.  Even though it was done illegally, it was still on her report.  She closed the account, paid it off, and began to monitor her credit more regularly.


4)  Don't give out your date of birth unless you really have to.  Guard this piece of information carefully.


5)  Be careful with facebook.  I have been told by multiple computer folks about how easy facebook is to hack into.  Teenagers have no idea how much info they put on there unwittingly.  It's interesting to me that facebook is looking into ways to have accounts for children and that many parents already allow their children to lie about their ages and open accounts.  


6)  Be careful about phone calls you receive asking for information.  If you are concerned, call the company back yourself with a reliable phone number.  


And if you ever think it will never happen to you, it very possibly could.  Unfortunately.  I hope it doesn't!

Picture Taking, my new hobby

God has this way of helping me understand things about other people sometimes that I don't.  Often I find that the lessons come very unexpectedly.  My husband has a very expensive hobby.  Motorcycling.  He has been riding for 5 years.  I have many thoughts about this subject, but I think those are best saved for another post.  My mention of it here is for a specific reason.  One of the issues, I'm sure you can imagine, has been how much it costs and all of the gear/equipment he has both wanted and needed to be a safe rider.  Thankfully, God has provided and my husband has the gear he needs/wants for the most part.  But, all along the way, I haven't always understood why it was hard for my husband to wait for these needs and wants.  But, this week I got a glimpse of that.


Last year, when I sold my little Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle, my husband encouraged me to get a DSLR camera.  I had an SLR that I'd been given when I graduated high school from my dad.  I just hadn't used it a lot because film is expensive and processing adds up.  I'd only taken it out on special occasions.  When I got my DSLR, I used it a lot at first, but I was limited with my 18-55mm lens that the camera comes with.  Then, in June, some friends came to visit and they told me my old telephoto probably worked on my new camera.  It did!  Yippee!  So, now I could use my 100-300 lens on my DSLR.  It was heavier, but I didn't mind at all.  My picture taking increased.  I primarily used the scene modes and didn't even realize that there was an auto or flash choice on my dial.  There is this funny thing about me that I just don't read manuals.  I wish I did.  

My husband showed me how to use Google's Picasa, a basic photo editing program that's free and I played with it.  I took pictures like this one of the inside of a hot air balloon.  It was easy to make it black and white in Picasa.

I began to take lot of fun pictures of my kids like this one.  I had a sense of composition, but had no idea what I was doing or why.  I was just going on my intuition.


I took pictures through the winter in these scene modes and then just this spring took pictures of my friend's daughter one afternoon.  In 15 minutes, I shot about 50 pictures.  It was fun and they gave me great joy.  The pictures turned out well and I realized that this was something I could give to my friends.  Having a professional photographer take pictures of your family can be quite an expensive proposition!  On one photographer's website, I found a good explanation of all of the costs which gave me a good idea of what I wanted to do and what I didn't, specifically where I wanted to invest my time.


Taking pictures is quick and easy.  Even uploading takes little time.  It is the photo editing that can be extremely time consuming, depending on how much you edit the pictures.  With my telephoto lens, I needed to edit a lot.  But, yesterday, my editing time was thankfully cut down.  To give you an idea of how long it took me with picasa, this is how much time it took me yesterday:
Engagement Photos:  2 1/2 hours picture taking, probably 2 1/2 hours editing
Father/Daughter Photos:  2 hours picture taking, probably 1 1/2-2 hours editing
If I'd taken these pictures before I got my new macro lens on Friday, the editing time would have been doubled.  I often have to play a lot more with the photos from my telephoto than I seemed to with the pictures from my new lens.  I am really glad I was able to do this.  I prayed beforehand and asked the Lord to help me capture some good pictures.


After I took the pictures of my friend's daughter, I realized the I really have so much to learn in order to take better pictures.  So, I ordered a book (of course) that was less expensive than other ones out there.  I even ordered the older edition.  It was extremely helpful and gave me lots of ideas about where I could start.  The book was Photographing Children Photo Workshop: Develop Your Digital Photography Talent by Ginny Felch.  I found it on a list of good photography books about taking pictures of children. I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for something like it.  It would also be a great one just to check out of the library.  


Then, I was talking to a gal at church who also has a Canon DSLR.  She asked me what I was working on with my picture taking.  I mentioned the book.  She said she'd been reading her manual and working with her aperture settings.  Whoa!  I realized at that moment a few things:
1) I'd never even looked at my manual!  That would be a good thing to do.
2) I was content using the auto settings.  To get better, I needed to relearn all the stuff I'd learned in high school about photography.


At the same time that I was looking at photography through the lens of an adult, I decided that I would put together a photography unit for my children for next year.  We are going to do sketching for the fall using the ART CLASS DVD series and then in the spring, I'm going to teach them a quarter of photography.  So, what should I teach them?  I formed a collection of resources and began learning through the eyes of a student.  Later this summer, I'm going to post the curriculum that I come up with.  I've mentioned to several friends that I plan on doing this and they've said that their children are really interested in photography.  My hope is to share what I'm learning on this journey.


As for me, I thought I'd share here a few lessons and tips I'm finding are really helping me.


1)  Photography is very subjective.  What's most important is that you like your pictures.  I stopped taking pictures for several years partly because I was the only one that liked them.  I went to a garage sale recently and the woman (who teaches photography) brought out a picture to show me.  She had photoshopped it so much that I didn't like it at all.  The picture composition also didn't appeal to me.  I shared these thoughts with a friend who I think takes great pictures and she said she felt the same way about the pictures one of her friends takes and she was relieved to hear me say this!  There are some photos that have an almost universal appeal, but others that don't.  Don't worry if your pictures don't have universal appeal.


2)  The eyes have it.  The first thing you see in a picture are the eyes.  I read one photography book for reviewing and this was the one lesson I took from the book.  Your eyes are first drawn to the eyes when you look at a picture.  They make the picture interesting.  They can be looking at you, looking above you, looking to the side of you...  


3)  Your background is important.  


Lines.  If there are lines in building or trees, take this into consideration.  For me, I find that I need things to be parallel not intersecting.  The lines of a building or trees behind a person frame the person you're taking the picture of.  One young girl I was taking a picture of last night slanted her body.  I asked her to stand up straight.  The picture flowed better and I liked the picture I took much better.


Distractions.  You don't want your background to be distracting.  Texture is wonderful, but be careful of patterns!  Distractions are easy to edit out by cropping.


4)  Light is very important.  I love shady days and overcast times of days.  It's easy to bring up the light in editing, but it's very hard to edit out shadows (photoshop...)  I read one tip that you can squint to see where the light is brightest in your subject.


5)  Composition is personal and creative, but there's a lot that you can learn about it.  #2, #3, and #4 all have to do with composition, but the 5th point I learned is a basic one called the Rule of thirds.  Divide a picture frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically by drawing two lines across and two lines down.  If you place the point of interest at the intersection of these lines, then the picture will be more interesting.  Placing a subject dead in the center is not usually the most interesting.  Even a little off center can create a much more interesting picture.

6) More composition...  I read somewhere that your subject should either take up 1/3 of your picture or 2/3.  This proportion seems to do well for me.


7) The goal is to get good at photography so that you don't have to edit and fix what's wrong with the picture.  But, I think this takes a lot of effort and a long time to learn.  So, in the meantime, if you have a camera with a lot of MP (over 12mp) leave a little extra room around your subject.  Then, you can crop later to get the exact picture you want.


8) Finding a great locally owned photography shop is the best place to buy lenses and other equipment (not Best Buy or Ritz Camera).  I found that the prices were better or about the same as what I found online (sometimes just a little more), but the help I got was worth it!  The lens I bought on Friday wasn't even listed on Amazon.  In the Baltimore area, there's a great shop on Falls Road called Service Photo.  They also often have used equipment which is helpful for odd lenses that you might want.


9)  Lenses.  Most folks start with the basic lens, an 18-55 that the camera comes with.  The next lens people often get is a telephoto.  I think the standard is a 70-200mm now.  Then, people get what's called a "nifty" fifty.  It has a lower aperture (f/1.8 vs the f/5.6 that's on my telephoto) and allows you to play with blurring backgrounds a lot more.  It's also a very inexpensive lens at about $125.  On Friday, the shop didn't have a nifty fifty and the helpful gal at the shop recommended a f/2.8 60mm Macro lens.  It is usually priced between $400-$500.  I'm sharing this because lenses are expensive.  Good lenses are the biggest purchase in photography.  They are also helping me gain a better understanding of my husband's hobby.  


10)  Photo printing and finishing off.  Mats make a huge difference to pictures and so does photo processing.  I've started to use mpix.com for photo processing.  They don't claim rights to my photos (like Ritz camera, York Photo, Shutterfly, and others do).  Mpix is also much more reasonable for larger pictures--$2 for an 8x10!  Kodak's 8 x 10s ran about $5.  


So, I think that's about it so far.  I realized that last year I wrote a lot about gardening as I was learning about composting and planting.  It made me chuckle when I realized that I think photography will be the same way for me this summer!  I have a lot to learn.  What I'm now playing with is my composition (hence all my notes above) and angles.  I'm getting down to children's levels and crouching to take pictures at different angles.  I used to always just take pictures straight on.  My pictures seem to be turning out better now.  There's a lot more explanation as to why this makes a difference and I'll try and post about it soon!

Remodeling

It's Friday night and I'm sitting in a room that's finally clean and organized.  It's not my girls' room, though, which I discovered to be cluttered and messy just as I was tucking them into bed!  Isn't that the way life is?!
But, I'm trying not to think about their room and instead think about our homeschool room/den where I'm sitting now.  I am relieved and excited.  We remodeled this room this week.  It was the last room in our house that needed a lot of help.

As soon as we moved in back in December, we regretted not pulling up the carpet in the den.  It was uncleanable and had a smell that just wouldn't come out.  The only option was to pull all the carpet up and redo the room. But, we had to wait until our school year was done, because we feared it would disrupt our school year even more than it already had been.  But, our year ended last Monday and simultaneously I started emptying the room of stuff!

Here's what we started with (pre-furniture moving in)

This was the room in transition after we'd painted and put in blinds

In my mind, this project seemed simple enough, but as it grew closer I realized how much we were taking on!  It's far easier to redo a floor when all the furniture is out of the room than when it is in it!  

Fear began to creep in.  We weren't sure what to expect under the carpet.  If it was only wood, we were concerned about having to lay a new subfloor and that the smell of cat urine (from the previous owner's pets) would be very difficult to get rid of.  Thankfully, as we started pulling up the carpet, we discovered it was just tack strips, carpet pad and carpet that we had to deal with.  There was commercial tile underneat.  That made life much easier!

Tuesday morning dawned and I began pulling up carpet.  By mid day, I'd pulled up all of the tack strips and 2/3 of the carpet with the help of my youngest brother in law.  Wednesday morning I started laying the flooring.  It was far easier than I expected!  I was very thankful for this.  Here's the flooring mid-stream (the tile floor underneath that was uncovered actually had quite a lot of fun character)...

And here's the room when we were done!

I am very thankful for this room.  When we moved, I lost a lot of my homeschooling space and it made me really evaluate what I needed and what I didn't.  And like many things, I found myself in a "needing less than I thought I did" situation.

So, a few random thoughts...

The cost to remodel an entire room adds up surprisingly quickly!  In this case, no underlayment was needed,  so that saved us $200.  The flooring though still adds up.  The manufacturer's method of estimated materials would have had us purchase 11 boxes, but we used 12.  My husband added the pendant lights and replaced the light by the door.  We chose inexpensive or middle of the road lights for both.  And then we needed furniture.  We bought a new file cabinet, desk, shelf, table, and chairs. I always forget that IKEA furniture also adds up quickly.  The file cabinet came from Office Depot and I'm so happy with it!  It has rollers  

If you're thinking about putting in laminate flooring...  The adhesive strips are far easier to install than squares.  They also come up since they stick to each other and not the floor.  But, once they're down, they are NOT repositionable as the packaging suggests.  So, be careful.  Put pads and rollers on your furniture, so the floor will be less likely to get scratched.

This room was also complicated because we redid the lighting and had Home Depot install a new back door and storm door.  That was an interesting experience.  I wonder if most people are like me.  I thought that when we had a door installed it would all be done and that there wouldn't be anything left for me to do.  Not so.  After the man left (and he did a good job), I had to prime and paint the doorstoop, prime paint all the inside and outside trim, caulk around the inside trim of the door and the wall, and fit a piece of wood to cover the gap between the door frame and the inside floor (a flooring trip piece also would have worked).

I told my husband and my mom that when I go into the room it feels like I've taken a bath.  It's clean again!  I was surprised that I've had such a strong reaction.  I am very thankful and excited to do school in this room!

Organizing

Over the years, I've heard several comments that have stuck with me about my house.


One friend once said to me--wow!  Your cupboards are really cluttered (I had open kitchen cabinets then and still do.)


Another friend remarked after I had talked about how hard I try to keep my house picked up, "Well, I guess it's not messy."  Her tone reflected that she didn't think it was that neat.


Then, tonight, a friend of mine asked me how I keep my house so clean.


What?!  My house?  The other comments are what rattle around in my brain.


Organization is a thing that I puzzle about--a lot.  I get flustered if there are too many piles around.  I had a friend a long time tell me (she had 5 kids) that with each child, she had to adjust her expectations of how she could keep her home and what she needed to get done.  


I realized early on in my marriage that my husband and I were raised in very different homes.  I think many of us could say that about our marriages.  My mom worked full-time and didn't have a lot of energy when she got home.  She got done what had to be done.  We vacuumed and dusted when needed.  I remember my dad thundering if everything wasn't picked up when he got home.  All of our toys stayed in our rooms.  My husband's home was similar, but different.  There were only two children in my home growing up, but six were in my husband's family.  His mom homeschooled and stayed home with her children.  She didn't like to have extra things around.  Their home was filled with what they needed.  And she loved (and still loves) to clean.  Her home was very clean.


I remember when my husband and I first got married.  I was working full-time, just as he was.  On weekdays, we'd come home, cook dinner together, clean up, get ready for the next day, and then go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  Saturday mornings found me up 2 hours before my husband dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping/mopping and vacuuming the main room (after he woke up).  Life changed when I switched to working part-time.  


My husband and I've been married now 11 years and have 3 kids plus my mom now living with us.  I've noticed a few things along the way and also noticed that I've developed some habits to help me cope.  


Cleaning was a difficult thing for both my husband and I to adjust to.  We had to meet in the middle.  My husband has adjusted and so have I.  I don't clean as much as his mom, but I clean more than my mom did when I was growing up (except for the past few months).  


My favorite hobby of garage saling does not help with keeping an uncluttered house.  I've had to let go of a lot of things for sake of less clutter.  Early in our marriage, I got rid of A LOT of things.  As my husband has grown accustomed to my garage saling and my desire to have what we need when we need it (instead of having to run out and pay a high price), it has grown easier for us.  


What I've found helps:


1) Push in chairs--desk, dining, any chairs
2) Close cupboards and drawers
3) Keep kitchen counters as clear as possible (even if it means that clutter goes in a set drawer where it can't be seen)
4) Sweep the kitchen
5) A light vacuum is more appealing to use than a heavy one.  We have an Oreck which is a huge blessing.  I've had it 3 years now and it's worked far better than any of my other vacuums that we've had.
6) If you have stainless appliances, Norwex cloths are the easiest way to clean them (though they're quite expensive).  
7) We keep our children's toys in their rooms.  They can bring toys out to the living room during the day (now that they're older), but they must go back in before Daddy gets home from work.  When they were little, we kept a basket in the living or family room for them.  We try to keep the house from being taken over by toys.
8) Less is more.  We love books, so we naturally have a lot of clutter.  I noticed that if books are laying horizontal on top of other books, a bookcase immediately looks cluttered.  So, I try to keep the books all standing up!  
9) Vacuuming and sweeping is more noticeable than dusting.  So, I vacuum/sweep before I dust.  And if I don't have time to mop, I don't mind using a rag to clean a spot off the floor.

10) I have a special broom to help with Molly's hair (our golden retriever) that helps a ton!  I also use a defurminator during the time she sheds most.  
11) It isn't the clutter that people notice about your home, it's you.  Do you live in your house?  If a home is spotless, it's actually harder to feel comfortable for fear of spilling something.  
12) Let go.  One way that having children has grown me is that it has helped me let go of my things.  If something broke, I used to get so upset (the hormones from nursing didn't help!).  Now, I remind myself that it's just a thing.  It's not okay to break things, but getting angry solves nothing.  I try to make my home kid proof so that my kids will be comfortable and so will others.  I keep outlet covers on the outlets for two reasons.  a.  They make the outlets look better when the outlet is a different color from the plate and b. they keep children safer.  
13) Adjust your possessions to the space you have.  Smaller spaces get cluttered really fast.  
14) Pick up as you go.  As I'm cooking, I put things away.  I am always making the most of my trips to and from the refrigerator or counter.  This does involve multi-tasking.  When I'm ready to sit down to dinner, my kitchen isn't super cluttered and I don't feel cluttered.  
15) Find what makes you most feel cluttered and take care of that space.  Hooks on walls help, as do shoe racks.  For me, I can't handle dishes in the sink.  I'd rather have a neat pile next to the sink.  But, dishes in the sink for some reason totally make me feel cluttered.  


What I've noticed is that everything is for a time--it isn't forever.  It's getting easier to keep my home picked up now that my girls can pick up their rooms.  
My son is learning and he's getting better too.  Some of the responsibility lies with me, though.  I have to hold them responsible.  It's often easier to tell myself that I can do it quicker.  But, if they can do it--even if it takes them longer--it saves me work.  


Two last thoughts...
1) I once read a book by Vicky Carauna called The Organized Homeschooler (I don't recommend it).  She was quite critical of women who don't keep their homes organized.  She also has a husband who is extremely organized.  I think I know more husbands who don't pick up than do.  If you don't have a husband who picks up, it's easy to become bitter or resentful.  But, that's not good for anyone.  Instead, we need to do what we can and be responsible for ourselves.  Many of the moms of our husbands thought they were doing the best thing by doing everything for their sons.  There was the idea it is woman's work to take care of their home, not the man's.  But, juggling work, children, and home--  It can be very difficult!  We have the opportunity to raise our sons to pick up and help with what needs to be done.  We can raise them so that they will be  a blessing and a help to their future wives.  


Eli will tell me no that he doesn't want to set the table at times.  I respond by asking if he wants to eat dinner?  If he wants me to do my job, then he needs to do his.  I find that he likes to have a job he can do like emptying the bathroom trash.  He also only likes to do the part of the job that he likes.  


2) Homeschooling at the Speed of Light by Marilyn Rockett tells a much more gracious story of organization (which is definitely necessary in homeschooling).  I liked what she had to say.  She had 4 boys who she homeschooled all the way through.  She made an observation that stuck with me.  It's easy to keep a home clean when you don't live in it!  If you're not there all day, there isn't time to make a mess.  So, when you are home all day with your kids, your home is going to get messy!  It's just a part of life.


PS remember people care about you, not whether there's a pile of papers on the counter.  


PPS if you're looking for ideas about what children can do to help around the home and how to help them with the skills they need for live, I love Christine Field's book Life Skills for Kids.  It has a great chart of age appropriate chores that I've used over the years.