Quinn's 2nd Birthday

Last week we celebrated Quinn's second birthday with him.  He likes dinosaurs, so we had a little bit of a dinosaur theme.   I served bagels for breakfast.   In the morning, we made dinosaur sticker papers.  They adorned the table for the rest of the day as part of his decorations.  After lunch we played outside and drew some dinosaurs on the driveway with chalk.  Jeff came home early and we went to the playground, then came home and had pizza for supper.  Grammy and Riley (the dog) came over for cake and brought a present. 

Quinn is 2.

Special Place Setting

Birthday balloon

Dinosaur cake and some dinosaur papers.

Time for cake

at the playground

Time for presents

34 Weeks of Clean: Week 4 - Fridge, Freezers, and Floors

This week I was excited about this challenge.  I dove in face first last week as soon as I knew what the challenge was.  The freezer in my kitchen fridge was in great shape.  I only keep a few select items in it that are used frequently.  I cleaned my quickly emptying fridge, since I knew I would be going shopping the next day.  I also looked over the front of my fridge and cleaned off old and useless items that went straight into the trash can and wiped off the dusty top.  I also found a few items that hadn't been used and were beyond usable.

Before

Before

Trash :(

After

After

The rest of the week I kept thinking I need to get to the other fridge and straighten up the upright freezer and wash the kitchen floor.  Sadly, I didn't get to it, but we did enjoy a birthday celebration day and had company for dinner one evening.  I also planned to finish taking down the Christmas stuff from week one.  I didn't finish that either, but I did pack up all our Christmas books and put them away in the closet for next year.  One small step in the right direction is better than none.  I usually tackle the upright freezer in the spring when it is warm and I can defrost it before I have my garden providing produce that I want to freeze.  I know I'll get to that.  The garage fridge isn't too bad.  The floors still need washing, since they only usually get spot washed as needed I'm sure they are pretty dirty.  Hopefully I'll do better on next week's challenge.  

34 Weeks of Clean - Week 3: Kitchen Cabinets

Yesterday I had a little time in the afternoon to work on this weeks cleaning project.  The assignment was to clean and purge from the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen.

I didn't work the on drawers because for the most part they are pretty straight.  A few months ago I began to rearrange a few things in my cabinets, but didn't get to finish.  I worked on finishing up what I had previously started.

Previously, I moved all my small plastic storage containers to a deep drawer in which I had been using for some utensils.  Here is the current picture.  There was so much space in the deep drawer that I felt I could make a better use of it.  While we do have to put them in just right it doesn't bother me as much as it does one of my children who is on dish duty.  I like having my dishes all stacked neatly so I can quickly grab the size I want and find the matching lid. 

I hadn't finished rearranging the cabinets after moving the plastics, so this is what I started with yesterday.

My spices were spread out over two cabinets and six shelves.  I moved all may savory/ cooking spices to the cabinet where I wanted them.  And rearranged all my sweet/baking spices to take up a much smaller amount of space.  I threw away several old spices and packages and out of date imitation flavorings that I hadn't used in forever.  I decided I probably wasn't going to use them.  I also cleaned up the counter space by the coffee maker and made the space usable again.

Here are the after pictures of my spice rearranging.

I use baskets to help hold some of my spices.  I've found it helps me keep them neater and I can quickly pull the basket out of the cupboard when I am looking for a spice that I don't use as often.
 I also moved the mugs from the cupboard on the right and put them in the cupboard near the coffee pot.  Then I moved several vases that were on top of the fridge to the shelf above the mugs.  In my cup cupboard I put my measuring cups where the mugs had been.  They were displaced after rearranging the spices.







Next I worked on the cupboard under the counter that I had cleared off.  It's been bothering me for a while at how messy it was and hard to find a paper plate, cup, straw, or a tray.  I found probably 75-100 loose paper napkins in this cupboard, and since I only keep special party napkins in this cupboard I put all the other ones out to be used.  There were several items I tossed into the trash and a few items I set aside to put in my giveaway box, because I probably won't need them.  I keep my plastic ware in re-purposed coffee tins.  This helps keep them neat and easy for anyone to access.  You can't see them well because they are lined up behind the cabinet divider.

I'm looking forward to the challenge for Week 4.  You can visit this blog to see what it is and choose to join the challenge.



 

Missions School

This past weekend we attended the missions conference at our church.  As a follow-up for the kids I thought they would have fun with a little bit of related school.  Their assignments today were to choose a country where they might be interested in going if they were to be a missionary.  They wrote a short paper about the country they chose and why they choose it and how they might be a missionary there.  Then they had to draw a simple map of the country and research and write a few facts they learned about the country of their choice.  Then they had to choose a recipe to try from that country.  Then Kent, Katy, and Kaomi got to write a letter to a missionary in the country they chose and introduce themselves and ask any questions they had about being a missionary in that country.

       So now I have a menu planned for the next few days.  Here are the foods that we will be preparing.  Tomorrow we will be heading to the grocery store to buy any ingredients we don't have on hand.  Each person has their own shopping list.  Since we already had the food that Katy chose she will get to shop for the items needed to make the Indian Fried Rice which Jeff chose.

Monday:  Quiche Lorraine - France - Katy
Tuesday:  Ham and Cheese Empanadas - Argentina - Kaomi
                French Lentil Salad - France - Felicity
                Cucumbers
Wednesday:  Chicken Nuggets - United States of America - Clark
                      Pineapple - Clark
                      Indian Fried Rice - India - Jeff
                      Poffertjes - Netherlands - Suanna

Thursday:  Spanish Chicken w/Olives - Spain - Kent
                  Green Beans

34 Weeks of Clean -Week 2: Pantry

I've been wanting to blog more, but haven't taken the time to do it.  I found this challenge I wanted to work on, so I thought I'd try starting blogging again with this.




Week 1 was putting all the Christmas stuff away.  We've been really busy on our weekends and I haven't done it yet.  This year we only have our Christmas tree and Christmas books out, so it shouldn't take too long.  Maybe I'll tackle it one evening this coming week.

Week 2 was the pantry.  I've been really needing to make my pantry functional again.  Over the last 2 months it seems like all I did was throw things in it, rather than put them away.  I found a few things that we used up and a few things to throw away, like a can of cream soup that's best by date was in 2012, old candy,  and a bunch of onion and garlic skins.  I only worked on it one day this week, but my pantry is almost back to normal, even though I didn't finish going through every shelf.  Over the last couple years I've learned that just doing a little bit can make a big difference even if you know you don't have the time to finish something.

Here are my before and after pictures.

Before

After

Just putting away the stuff that was on the floor made a big difference, because we can now walk into the pantry to get what we want or put away what we are done with.

Week 3 is working on straightening and de-cluttering the kitchen cabinets and drawers.  I started this back in October, but I am looking forward to hopefully finishing some of the ideas I want to implement in my cabinets over the next week.

Out the Window

All the excited children,
Gathered 'round the door,
Peering through the window
Into the dark,
To see the snow flying through the air
And accumulating on the grill.

Kaomi's Birthday -2014

She turned 7 this week.  We took her to pick out a bicycle for her birthday on Labor Day. 

Special Place Setting

Happy 7th Birthday!

She had a bagel with strawberry cream cheese for breakfast.  Then we went outside so she could try riding her bike again.  We had a Frozen themed day.  We made snowmen while listening to the song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"  Later we designed sparkly/icy necklaces with iridescent and glitter pony beads.  In the afternoon, I got the doll clothes out for their 18" dolls and the girls had fun picking out new outfits and accessories for their dolls to wear.  Then we had a snack of pink princess goldfish crackers.

Snowmen!

After dinner, we had ice cream cake.  She wanted a strawberry cake, but I couldn't find good strawberry ice cream.  It was vanilla ice cream with strawberry filling.  Kaomi said it was good.

After she opened her presents from her brothers and sisters we went to the playground.  Grammy came by while we were there to wish Kaomi "Happy Birthday".  She left a present for Kaomi at the house.  It was a pink cowboy hat that she was very excited to receive.

After School

From July 7th

Yesterday we worked on school, but took a break to go to the summer library program.  The library program was about colors.  The kids got to pick two colors of paint to mix in a ziplock bag and make a butterfly.  They came out really fun looking.  I hung them up in the window where the sun shines through in the late afternoon and evening and they looked really neat.

 

Before we went to the library Lissie and Clark were learning about Joshua fighting the Battle of Jericho.  We built the "city of Jericho" and they got to march around and knock the walls down.

 

Jeff thinks its crazy of me to keep a 2 ft. + stack of open egg cartons in the closet upstairs, but they are just perfect for building things for school.

Fourth of July

We got up early to go with Jeff to the 5K Liberty run in which he wanted to participate.  There were many participants.  Jeff thought there were somewhere around 400.  He raced well and came in 29th over all and was in 2nd in his age division. 

After the race, we went to the 4th of July parade in Denton.  Then we ate muffins on the square before we returned home.  In the evening we went to Jeff's brother's home and enjoyed visiting with family from both sides and had dinner together.  Several of us went to watch fireworks when it started to get dark.  This was the first year that we had 5 crying kids that wouldn't calm down, so Jeff and I took them to the van.  Kent got to stay with everyone else to watch the show.  We returned home tired from our busy day, but enjoying the freedoms we have in our country because of those who have been fighting for freedom long before our time.

Return to School

We started back to school part time a couple weeks ago.  Now we are back to full days, three times a week.  This schedule leaves us with flexibility to participate in any other summer activities as they come along.  The kids and I are enjoying the daily routine that school adds to our week.  Here is the artwork that was completed last week.

Kent and Katy painted a tree with a leaf falling from it to go along with a poem by Jack Frost and Kaomi painted the ocean to go along with Columbus' first trip into the unknown.

This week I gave them "special" pencils to use leading up to the 4th of July.

Clark's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Clark's birthday on Monday.  He wanted a "cars" birthday.

He was a little excited about his birthday this year.  He's been eagerly anticipating its arrival since February.  When he came out of his room first thing and he saw the balloon and his special place setting I heard him whisper, "It's my birthday!"  He was excited to have a bagel for breakfast.

After breakfast he played outside for a little while and then watched an episode of "Chuck and Friends"  Then we loaded up the van and picked up Aunt Cathy and the cousins and headed to a local park to play.

After we went to the park we came home and fixed lunch.  Clark wanted leftover mac and cheese and everyone else had ham sandwiches.  After lunch they made scenes with stickers from the movie Cars.  Then I read a couple books to Clark and everyone went to their rooms for quiet time.  During quiet time I decorated Clark's cookie cake.  After quiet time Clark wanted to watch the movie Cars.  Daddy and Clark went to get pizza for supper and then we had cake and presents.  Clark was so excited about all of his gifts.  I really enjoy this age when the anticipation for a present is high and the excitement is catching and the joy upon the gift received is fun to watch.  Grammy came over with Riley (dog) and brought Clark a present too.  After her visit, when she was leaving he told her thank you for the present all by himself.

The Slow Pace

We've been taking it easy since school got out.  The week that we finished school I ended up sick.  So we I took about 10 days of just doing the necessities of the day.  Now, we've been doing our regular chores, playing, reading books, snuggling with little kids, keeping up with Clark and Quinn or watching a little TV.  We're doing the summer reading program through our library, so we go to the library at least once a week.  I've also been trying to tackle one other cleaning area each day that is either in desperate need of my attention or is something that doesn't get done often during the school year.  Staying home, checking my garden and not running around to different activities has been refreshing.  I like the slow pace.

Family Picture - 2014

Jeff, Quinn, and I found a beautiful patch of firewheels in a state park.  We went back the next day to get a family picture.

School's Out

We are done with school for the year.  Everyone passed their work and gets to move on to the next level.  Silly Katy told us after only one day of no school that she was bored without school and wanted someone to print some math worksheets for her.  I made a deal with the older kids.  If they do a good job on their responsibilities and chores they will have more time to play.  If they do a bad job, waste too much time, or complain too much they will get to work for me.  If they owe me work it gets completed at 9:00 in the morning or 4:00 in the afternoon unless I tell them otherwise.  So far I've gotten some doors, window sills and floors washed.  I had some help on a short cleaning project I was tackling and the bookshelf upstairs is on its way to having the books look like they belong on it again.  This morning Clark and Felicity were in the backyard at 7:30 picking yellow flowers for me.  They are so sweet.  Quinn has been up since sometime after 5 am and he even convinced me to give him some breakfast at 6:30.  He'll be ready for a nap soon.

Behind the Scenes During School

I heard lots of playing and giggling from Lissie and Clark one morning, but they weren't fighting, so it was a little while before I checked on them.  They were "going camping".

 While I was teaching math to one child, Kaomi who was waiting her turn with me styled my hair.  I guess that is how to do two things at the same time.