"I don't understand the quick clean."

I have developed a system that I use with the kids... the quick clean.  I am sure I am not the first to think of this, in fact Fly Lady suggest you work for 15 minutes on a task and quit when the timer goes off.  Who knows?  I may have stolen the idea from her.  I don't have a specific time limit though.  I just go by what I feel, might be 10 min., might be 30.  Last night, Jackson made the comment that not one inch of the house was clean.  We had been really busy doing lots of fun Father's Day things.  So I suggested a 20 minute quick clean. 

We usually do this while Jackson is not home.  Most often it is to clean up after the day so it will look presentable when he comes home.  I set the timer and the whole family works for the entire time.  Sometimes if the kids are struggling keeping on task, I add minutes.  Before I start the timer, I often give them a list of expectations and even some specific jobs for the younger ones.  Most often I tell them the floor has to be ready to be vacuumed by the end of the timer.  Usually there is a reward at the end, like staying up to watch a show or play a game.   

I knew this would be a challenge for Jackson.  He believes in starting in one room and completely finishing that room before you move on.  I explain the idea behind the quick clean...  Do tasks you can complete quickly, putting things where they belong.  This quick clean was to straighten the living room, family room and kitchen.  We sometimes work on only the upstairs, or only the kitchen, even the backyard or the car... whatever needs cleaned up quickly.  The timer provides a definite end for the kids, and it's almost like a game. 

The quick clean begins and Jackson goes to work in the living room.  The timer ticking away... We even add 5 minutes when the kids start fighting and stop cleaning.  The timer goes off  and I walk into the living room to find the coffee table by the front door, the love seat in front of the coffee table, the ottoman up on the chair and Jackson on his hands and knees where the love seat is supposed to be.  I try to explain to him that you don't clean behind or under furniture in a quick clean, but he says it needed to be done.  1 hour later, he finally finishes the living room! 

The plan was to finish the quick clean, get baths and showers and then watch a show we had recorded about dangerous stunts.  Had we stuck to the plan, it would have been about 8 when we started the show.  We couldn't watch it until the living room was put back together, so we didn't start it until after 9!  All Jackson could say... "I don't understand the quick clean".        

Stuff, Stuff and more Stuff

I was talking to my mom the other day about the drive to have things.  No matter how much I have, I want more.  I am always wondering if I could cure this problem with this thing.  I want things to hang on the walls and things to put other things in.  The strange thing is, I feel like I have to much already, and I can't figure out how to break this cycle.  We had a yard sale this past weekend.  I was impressed by how much was gone after one day of selling things in the driveway.  What I really wanted to do though was take that money and go shopping. 

I look around the house thinking, "If I had some piece of furniture, or some box to store these things in, it would look a lot neater".  That never works though, and I should know this by now.  In our last house, the front door opened into the living room.  I would walk in and drop my bags, jackets, etc. on the ottoman.  It was a large one that accompanied a love seat, so it held tons of stuff.  One night I was complaining about something Jackson left out.  He pointed out that every time I went shopping, I left the goods in the bags in the living room, this apparently drove him nuts.  I, of course, had a great excuse, I almost always have kids with me, or the phone is ringing, or I have to use the bathroom as soon as I get inside.  In all honesty though, I probably did this before we even had kids.  I will probably continue long after we are empty-nesters.  It's just what I do.

I got the brilliant idea that if we get an entry bench, one with hooks and storage, it will give us a landing place and keep things looking neater.  For Christmas that year my mom gave me just the piece I had been longing for.  Our entry organization was on the way.  It has never been successful though.  We have since moved from that house.  Still have the entry bench.  Now it is in the family room.  As I look over my shoulder at it, I see the bench is covered in stuff... library books, papers(that Jackson neatly stacks when he gets tired of the chaos), two bags that I carry things for the baby in, 6 hats hanging from the hooks, a jacket or two(even thought it is 88° outside), and various other things.  And, who knows what is contained in the cabinet beneath the bench? Although everything is within the structure of the entry piece, it almost always looks terrible.  This tells me that no matter what kind of furniture I get, I will probably not become the most organized person, and our family is definitely not going to stop piling things anytime soon. This realization should cure the furniture wants... but if I only had one of those cube things with bins...

Adventures in PTA

Monday night was the first PTA executive get together.  Yes, that's right, on top of everything, I have taken the position of 1st Vice President of the PTA next year.  My dear friend kept asking me to think about it.  Her husband is going to be the President, she is 2nd or 3rd Vice, so I thought... why not?  I went to the vote and had no competition.  Easy election.  A couple of weeks ago we went to a district wide PTA council meeting.  Not knowing exactly what to expect, I came out of that meeting with great ideas.  I am amped up! 

My main responsibility is membership.  The goal... 1 membership for each student.  Apparently, that goal is very hard to reach.  This has become my mission in PTA this year.  I may not make the goal, but I am going to get as close to it as possible.  First step, find out how many students there are!  

Seriously though, I have some great ideas for boosting membership.  The most important being push the perks.  As a parent, how many people really know what you can expect from a PTA membership?  Go to meetings, someone nagging you to volunteer, maybe, if you are lucky something like free carnival games.  In our city, there is a whole sheet of discounts from local businesses.  There are also perks on the state level.  In my opinion, perks are the key.   

At the meeting, they kept pressing the idea of keeping a list of what works and what doesn't.  I am hoping I can find a lot of things that work, and I will keep you posted.

On another note, this what works thing is going to be something I pay attention to in my daily life as well.  Such a simple idea, but I am finding that lots of things I try are really not working. 


*UPDATE*  The year is coming to a close.  We just finished a 100% membership drive, but it was pretty unsuccessful.  I think we added 4 new memberships.  The good news is that we made the Missouri Honor Roll for beating our membership totals from last year.  Most of those memberships came in before and during our Fall Block Party/ Carnival.  We had a book exchange that was very successful, and I think it can be a better membership drive next year.  I learned a lot this year, and look forward to doing even better with memberships next year!

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Not much you can do to celebrate Mother's Day when your husband is working and your mom lives too far away for a quick visit.  So after church, I took the kids to a funeral home.  Why, you ask?  They have a nice pond with swans and fish in the memorial park. The swans have a nest and every year about this time the eggs hatch.  There was one baby swan that was swimming with the mother.  We took some old hot dog buns I found while cleaning out the pantry~ a little hard, but not moldy. The kids really enjoyed watching the fish come up and eat the bread.  I think the swans liked it, too.  We watched as a heron swooped across the pond and picked up one of the brilliant orange fish, took it to the bank on the other side and swallowed it whole.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  

Picturing this memory in my mind, I realize it is similar to a time my mom took us on a picnic in a cemetery.  We often give her a hard time about this.  She took us to get lunch on the way to check out a Civil War era cemetery near our hometown.  I don't think the plan was to picnic in the cemetery, but that is where we decided to eat our lunch.  Of course for us kids, it was super creepy and something we will never forget.  Now here I am, taking my kids to a cemetery to celebrate Mother's Day.  Guess I shouldn't tease my mom about it anymore. Oh, she will be proud! 

We spent a quiet afternoon.  I thought I would enjoy having some time alone.  I rarely ever get to be in an empty house.  So Jackson came home from work and took the kids to the park.  It only poses one small problem... I keep wanting to spend my time doing work.  I think I should be relaxing, it is Mother's Day after all, but I can think of a million things that need done and very few that are fun.  There isn't even anything good on the television. I decided to write a quick post.  Now to get on with my evening.  I am afraid they will be home soon and I will have done nothing for myself.

Happy Mother's Day to all!     

Feeding the swans.

My mission~ Live up to the name

In February, our fourth child was born... a son, Paxton.  He was welcomed home by older brothers, Grayson (8), Camden (5), and the only girl in the mix, Madalynn (2).  

I love being pregnant!  My pregnancy with Paxton is when I first heard the name, or at least the first time I remember being called Supermom.  (I think it came from someone in my small group at church.)  It comes as quite a shock to people when you announce you are having your fourth child.  I wanted things to remain as much the same as they could for the other 3.  We didn't cut out any of our usual activities... Church, Boy Scouts, soccer, zumba, etc.  If things were going on, we tried to make it.  Being a stay-at-home mom, those activities are an opportunity for me to get out and relate with other adults, so it was/is as much for my sanity as it is for the kids' enjoyment.  I may have been totally worn out, but we were out in the community. 

After Paxton was born, we continued with life for the rest of the family, making room for our newest addition.  Jackson (my husband), took the boys ice skating the evening Paxton was born and to pinewood derby races and Super Science Saturday the next day.  The kids were so excited to have the new baby home, I left the hospital just over 24 hours after delivery and we went to church the next morning.  Looking back, it was probably a little more than I should have done that first couple of days, but I survived.  

I often have people say to me, "I don't know how you do it".  I'm not really sure either... I just do.  So that is where it began... the Supermom moniker.  I don't feel like I really am a super mom.  I try my best to raise great kids and give them an awesome life.  I want them to be a well-rounded, responsible and respectful adults. I don't want to lose myself in the process, and I want my husband to have a great life, too.  So balance is the key, and I am trying to figure it out as I go.   

I read somewhere that keeping a blog is a wonderful way to hold yourself accountable for the things you want to accomplish.  I decided I would put myself out there~ sharing my successes and failures, what works and what doesn't in the quest to live up to the name. 

Camden, Grayson, Madalynn, and baby Paxton.