It has been a while since I have typed a blog entry. I had internet issues for a long time and then I just had to slowly catch up on having regular access again. Hopefully I will beging being more regular.
We have adjusted some of our family patterns and it has helped a lot. Since the dishwasher died I have made everyone do one thing to help clean up after the meals. For the kids they get to unload the top, bottom or silverwear of our dishdrainer. Sometimes they can put away the food or whipe the table, take out the compost, wipe the stove or microwave, etc. Not only are they learning how to take responsibility since they also benifit from our meal times, but it is helping me stay on top of doing things. If I want them to clear the dish drainer I have to have washed the dishes! The better I am at doing my role the smoother the more efficient their help is.
Also we have added in a 15 minute cleanup ever night. The whole family does it together. We start in one room and work at it till it is done and then move to the next. After our trip which was right after lots of sickness our house was a disaster. So the 15 minutes plus my day long efforts didn't seem to go so far. But now... Well we have cleaned the floors of 4 rooms on our main living area and then moved upstairs before the timer beeped. That was awesome. Usually it is about 3 rooms that we get done. Life feels much more manageble. That was truly inspiration. 15 minutes is about all my little kids can keep focused for and it still takes very involved parents. But then it is a family project. We all do it. And they like the results. (Even thought there is a lot of complaining sometimes. We just remind them that everyone gets to help since we are a family and it is all of our house. If they refuse anything of theirs goes to time out (to be earned back by doing a chore on a later day) and they lose out one their alone time with mom or dad just before bed. So far they have decided to help.
We also adjusted dinner time approximately 4:30pm (they are always hungry by then). The best help for me with dinner is the crockpot. With that I get the food ready in the early part of the day when I have the most energy and then it cooks slowly and is ready when we want to eat. (I rarely want to cook at 3:30!) After dinner and their kitchen help is done, the kids get to play for about an hour. Then we do the family cleanup followed by scriptures and a snack. Run and get jammies on brush teeth and start minutes. 'Minutes' is the 10 or 11 minutes of one-on-one time that they get just before bed. As long as it is calm (and not tv related because we don't do tv/games after dinner) they get to decide. That is sacred time to them. They love it and it is good for us. When I have to do it alone I try to Rebekah 1st. followed by Ella, then Isak then Joseph. Isak and Joseph get reading time after they are in Jammies until 9:00pm. That is a privilage that they enjoy. It also helps us to maintain the calm environment we need at night. When it is both of us we try to each do two kids.
When Daniel is here the kids love to do arabic with him for their minutes. They are learing it via Rosetta Stones program. I often read something with them or work on a quiet project. Sometimes they just want to snuggle. With Rebekah it is often pointin out the cats on her bed and meowing and planing with stuffed Dogs and barking.
I am itching to start gardening but still want to sew a lot. So that is what I try to do too. Also I try to work on one of the house projects a little every day. Today Ella and I were taking tons of nails out of the wall where old style masonite wallpaper had been tacked up. We did it the other day too. About 1 or 2 more hours I think will get the upstairs hall clear of it. The biggest problem with house projects is it is hard to find ones I can do while Rebekah is awake.
Anyway, I will try to come back with more another day. I think these changes were inspired and life feels manageble. There is a little progress every day and we do things together. That is good. Daniel takes the kids outside and runs around with them while he is working up his endurance he wants to be able to run an hour with out stopping. More another time.
We have adjusted some of our family patterns and it has helped a lot. Since the dishwasher died I have made everyone do one thing to help clean up after the meals. For the kids they get to unload the top, bottom or silverwear of our dishdrainer. Sometimes they can put away the food or whipe the table, take out the compost, wipe the stove or microwave, etc. Not only are they learning how to take responsibility since they also benifit from our meal times, but it is helping me stay on top of doing things. If I want them to clear the dish drainer I have to have washed the dishes! The better I am at doing my role the smoother the more efficient their help is.
Also we have added in a 15 minute cleanup ever night. The whole family does it together. We start in one room and work at it till it is done and then move to the next. After our trip which was right after lots of sickness our house was a disaster. So the 15 minutes plus my day long efforts didn't seem to go so far. But now... Well we have cleaned the floors of 4 rooms on our main living area and then moved upstairs before the timer beeped. That was awesome. Usually it is about 3 rooms that we get done. Life feels much more manageble. That was truly inspiration. 15 minutes is about all my little kids can keep focused for and it still takes very involved parents. But then it is a family project. We all do it. And they like the results. (Even thought there is a lot of complaining sometimes. We just remind them that everyone gets to help since we are a family and it is all of our house. If they refuse anything of theirs goes to time out (to be earned back by doing a chore on a later day) and they lose out one their alone time with mom or dad just before bed. So far they have decided to help.
We also adjusted dinner time approximately 4:30pm (they are always hungry by then). The best help for me with dinner is the crockpot. With that I get the food ready in the early part of the day when I have the most energy and then it cooks slowly and is ready when we want to eat. (I rarely want to cook at 3:30!) After dinner and their kitchen help is done, the kids get to play for about an hour. Then we do the family cleanup followed by scriptures and a snack. Run and get jammies on brush teeth and start minutes. 'Minutes' is the 10 or 11 minutes of one-on-one time that they get just before bed. As long as it is calm (and not tv related because we don't do tv/games after dinner) they get to decide. That is sacred time to them. They love it and it is good for us. When I have to do it alone I try to Rebekah 1st. followed by Ella, then Isak then Joseph. Isak and Joseph get reading time after they are in Jammies until 9:00pm. That is a privilage that they enjoy. It also helps us to maintain the calm environment we need at night. When it is both of us we try to each do two kids.
When Daniel is here the kids love to do arabic with him for their minutes. They are learing it via Rosetta Stones program. I often read something with them or work on a quiet project. Sometimes they just want to snuggle. With Rebekah it is often pointin out the cats on her bed and meowing and planing with stuffed Dogs and barking.
I am itching to start gardening but still want to sew a lot. So that is what I try to do too. Also I try to work on one of the house projects a little every day. Today Ella and I were taking tons of nails out of the wall where old style masonite wallpaper had been tacked up. We did it the other day too. About 1 or 2 more hours I think will get the upstairs hall clear of it. The biggest problem with house projects is it is hard to find ones I can do while Rebekah is awake.
Anyway, I will try to come back with more another day. I think these changes were inspired and life feels manageble. There is a little progress every day and we do things together. That is good. Daniel takes the kids outside and runs around with them while he is working up his endurance he wants to be able to run an hour with out stopping. More another time.
I think it's cool how you've created a way for all of your children to be actively involved with helping the family. I love the "minutes" that you spend with them before bed, it is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteCrock pots are awesome. Nuff said.