summer 2010- for the love of books.

i like to pick a summer theme.
2009- Be a HERO
2008- Doing GREAT Things- about creation and inventions.
2010, we are doing "for the love of BOOKS."

i was a bit nervous doing books because we always use books to support our theme... i was worried that books alone would be limiting.
but, i'm really excited about this theme.

Here are some of the things we're doing...
-library once a week
-goodwill once a week, to buy books (for 20 cents)
-i bought a bunch of blank books from www.barebooks.com so we can write our own stories.
-we are visiting a printing press.
-i'm still looking for a typewriter, because writing our own books is more fun with a typewriter!
-i have a whole list of fun books to read and movies to watch when we're finished.
-every time someone finishes a book, they get to go out for ice cream alone with mom or dad to have a book chat.  (i think i'll be eating a lot of ice cream!)
tomorrow for family night, the kids are doing their goal posters.
each kid will make their own list of summer goals...  i love self motivated kids.
-the kids each picked something they want to learn this summer.
anna- wants to garden and sew a lap quilt
(i don't have a big garden, but i'm going to let each kid plant a terra cotta planter in the back yard).
ellie- wants to learn sculpting and painting.
drew- wants to learn to fish and type.
jakob- wants to learn oragami and bike stunts.
so fun.
each of the kids will take some time looking up information about their new skill and planning out how they are going to accomplish their goals.

i liked the idea of summer buckets from shana at my mix of six.
i have compiled summer buckets to give each of the kids on the last day of school, but mine are mostly full of things the kids can do...  (no picture yet because they are actually summer walmart bags waiting to be made cute- i have till thursday)
for example-- i bought each kid a fun baking mix (ex. sprinkle cupcakes and icing, brownies, sugar cookies, etc.) for them to bake sometime.
i wrote a card with the address of a "Learn to type" website for drew, a web address for oragmi ideas for jakob, sculpey for ellie, how to grow tomatoes for anna, etc..
i have movie tickets to some shows here in lubbock, one local theatre sells tickets for $5 for 10 shows if you buy them in advance.
they each get their first blank books.
i got them each the first book in a series...  Hardy Boys, Percy Jackson, Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, etc. hopefully they will catch the summer reading bug!
i still need to pick up sidewalk chalk, new crayons, markers and paint for our art projects.
this is the first year that i'm not going to do summer workbooks.
i'm going to stick with strict reading times... 

that's all.  i'm really excited to have them all home with me all day.  it is SO FUN having lots of kids.
NEVER a dull moment.
this summer i really want to create memories of being outdoors in nature.
living in our small home with our small yard, this just means we have to be more creative and go find creeks and canyons to explore... fields to lay in as we read stories, lakes to dig in and find frogs...  oh, and lots of worms for our fishing trips.  i already have one sweet friend, a true texan, who promised to take us fishin' for catfish.  she says you just rip off their skin and it squeeks as it comes off... she says she'll cook us up some good cornbreaded cat fish.  i can't wait!!

only 3 1/2 more days.
oh.  but i will miss my quiet afternoons, when the babies are sleeping and my whole house is perfectly clean.
hello pool time and towels and sunscreen and fun...
goodbye sweet vacuumed afternoons... i will find you again in the fall.

the best cleaning supplies. (in my humble opinion).

i'm full in the midst of my spring cleaning redecorating.
and i have oh so much to show you.
but... i can't forget to mention my NEW FAVORITE thing.

i have gotten rid of these...

and fell in love with these...

Don Aslett, he's my man.  If he can't do it, no one can.--
RAH!  RAH!!
want to spend money on CLEANING SUPPLIES??
go here!! (http://www.cleanreport.com/)
personally, i love everything i've bought from him.
 
1.  For FLOORS.
My floors are TILE.  dirt brown tile. with grout and texture.
I have a love/hate relationship with mopping and sweeping.
My floors need lots of TLC, but i hate sweeping and still seeing junk on the floor.
I hate mopping and it still seems dirty or streaky.
WHY?! when my time is precious would i want to spend time for less than optimal results.
at christmas time i splurged on a swiffer wet jet.
many i know love this.
i hate it.
yes, it's easy, but i never felt that my floor was clean.
i hate the "ripping of a maxi-pad" feeling
i hate the streaks
i hate the "i have to buy more stuff before i can clean" feeling.
i like this kind of "broom"

and a reusable, washable, microfiber mop.
just spray and wipe.

i use this dust broom-- every day.

i mop about twice a week.  (Bathrooms and entryway, once.  Kitchen, at least twice.)
If i'm feeling clean-y i take a wet microfiber rag and spray and wipe all the edges and corners by hand after i sweep.  Then i wet-mop.
I've tried MANY, MANY products and don has my favorite.
Clean and Brite--- it's a concentrate that you just pour into a spray bottle and add water.
love it.

2. For BATHROOMS.
E-A-S-Y.
that's why i like this stuff.
the johnny mop- quick and FUN for toilets.  (I do this once a week, unless i see a yucky toilet in between)
bathroom spray for counters and quick wipe-downs (I do this probably twice a week-- takes 30 seconds!)

mirrors with window spray.

and this magical stuff for hardwater--- showers and tubs (I do this about once a month)
seriously-- MAGIC.

3.  DUSTING.
i did like swiffer dusters.
but, i like this better.

i keep this cute mit in my little cleaning caddy and just swipe dust.
I can see the dirt on the mit, and when I'm done I just wash the mit... no re-buying.
Ever.

4. SPRAYS n stuff.
I really like having 4 types of cleaner that I use for everything.

bathroom (this is a disinfectant- i also use it on my kitchen).
heavy duty cleaner (this is for greasy, hard to clean things).
fake windex.  (i also bought don's outdoor squeegie and wiper and joy-see the video below...  to do the outside of my windows, but i like my fake windex for quick cleaning.)
clean and brite (for floors).

i used to use a lot of swiffer stuff and clorox wipes- now i use spray bottles and washable microfiber.
and, i love it.
i like don's heavy duty spray bottles and his cute little packages of stuff.  You just fill your bottle to the line with water and add the package of concentrate.  I hate throwing out plastic bottles- this way i don't have to.
it just feels good and smart to use less.

 AND- these are the cleaning supplies our church uses in all their temples and church buildings.  I'm sure of it.

What I bought.
-Complete Cleaning Kit (note- the mop handle and the wet/dry mop come with this kit)
(http://www.cleanreport.com/p941/Complete-Cleaning-Kit/product_info.html)
- Mini Pro Dust Mop- just the attachment
(http://www.cleanreport.com/p1152/Mini-Pro-Dust-Mop-Complete/product_info.html)
-window squeegie and yellow wiper
(http://www.cleanreport.com/p933/Window-Scrubber/product_info.html)

-wood and furniture polish for my cabinets
(http://www.cleanreport.com/p1126/Wood-&-Furniture-Polish/product_info.html)
-and extra bothroom, window and heavy duty cleaning packs
(http://www.cleanreport.com/p884/Heavy-Duty-Cleaner/product_info.html)

What I wish i bought.
-an extra clean and brite (so i don't have to reorder forever)
-an extra wet/dry mop pad
(because i want two in case i mop before i do laundry- although they are not hard to rinse out in the sink).

That's all my cleaning goodness.
i cleaned my house yesterday, so today, i'm feelin' all CLEAN and BRITE!!
don- love him!  and, if he came and cleaned my house, the professor just might be in trouble...

pictures from my day... white-ish.

i've been painting, and thrifting, and training, and painting, and waking up early.

isn't life beautiful?
ps- no, i'm not really potty training lily yet... she's not ready.  but, i do sit her on the potty often, especially when i can tell she is pushing.  this was a picture of her first poopy in the potty.  yay!!

white.

sewing for the home.

i always do this.
before i sew, i make a page of all the ideas i've collected and print it out.
i like to have these idea sheets near me as i sew...
so i can modify and copy.
i need to get busy... only 2 more weeks with my kids in school all day.
perhaps the professor will make dinner?

wimps!

how about these chair covers?

they look easy to remove when we have friends with messy kids (rachel or becky) over for spaghetti...
easy to wash...
my kids NEVER spill...
i think they are just fabric with no pad underneath- easy huh?

and, i do remember when i was picking out my crib for jakob that my wise (and wealthy) friends (Covey's, Daine's and Anderson's) all told me to get white.
When i was picking colors for my Michigan house they said go white...  i didn't listen.  i thought wood was better.
i remember wondering why everyone wanted to paint their wood.

now, i understand.
and... i'm not sure if it is current trends, or my age, but i like the consistency of white.
i think i could do white, even if hunter green and magenta come back in...
different shades of brown (especially my cheap laminate pieces) are REALLY not cute.

check this out...
(oh those candle holders... see how they melted one candle to make them seem different heights... love it.)

i'm desiring a cuter way to display my thousands of books...
my SIL, lanette, has a great hutch-thing in her entryway with lots of books...

 i wonder if i could find some big, ugly entertainment center thing and paint it white and stick tons of books in?
like this...

can't you see this in my bedroom full of books?
oh to dream, to dream...

ps.  guess what the professor is doing this morning (and last night)?
yup.  finishing catching fire-- book 2 of hunger games.
he says, not as good as the twilight series.
he wants more words... i love how she says more with less. 
(he's so funny with my YA books.)

dining room.

see this room... i LOVE it.
don't you just want to sit there and sip hot chocolate and eat pastries with a bunch of girl friends? 
or... have edamame as an after school snack with your kiddos?
i love this room.
today, i want to make those chair covers... and these ruffled white curtains for my dining room.
i have some great teal colored paint i could do just my bar stools blue-ish...
and give myself a new kitchen for the cost of a few sheets.

perhaps that will give me a white fix and i won't need to paint my cabinets.

prayer time.

i am a sucker for babies at prayer time.
i teach them to fold their arms, close their eyes, and bow their head...
and then i giggle through the whole prayer.
seriously.
the professor sends me disapproving vibes, but i can't help it.
how can you resist this adorable face?

this is why i have 6 kids.
this is my post about leah's funny prayer face.

i'm gonna miss this...

my kids are adorable.
and young.
and... i'm really going to miss this someday.
jakob-  loves plaid.
(do kids get beat up for this in middle school?)

drew- spends 5 minutes on his hair.

anna- very particular about her socks.  very practical about her shoes.

ellie-can't stand when a baby cries... she runs around all afternoon giving lily anything she screams for.

leah- can get dressed all by herself.  loves her red boots.

lily- ALWAYS has a baby or a blankie... insists on walking with her arms full of treasure even though her balance isn't great.

oh, how i love my job.

hungry and drooling.

got it.
read it.  (till 1 am)
loved it.
needing book two.
it's been a while since i've read fiction...
i feel like i have friends again.

and, i got my root canal yesterday.
right before my kids' piano/violin recital.
seriously, i think i was drooling while i watched.

i made the mistake of reading one of the permission slips i was signing.
it tells all the awful things that can go wrong...
when i met the doctor i laughed and said, "now, don't go dropping any of your dentist tools into the roots of my tooth."
he said, "don't worry, that hardly ever happens."

yup.
it DID!!
i now have a titanium tooth file at the very tip of my canal.
i guess it's not that big of a deal.
and, it would have been way worse if he tried to dig it out.
AHHH!
they'll x-ray again in 6 months.
AND i signed a form that says i know it's in there and if they have to operate again on that tooth it will be HALF PRICE.
blah.
actually, it wasn't that bad.  they numbed me up really well, and because i have 6 kids they gave me nitrous oxide for free.  seriously.  it normally costs $115.  i'm REALLY funny with a little drugs in my system.  i told him that was probably the closest i've ever come to being drunk.
when he heard i had six kids he asked if i was LDS.
i always think that's funny.
MORMONS do believe in birth control.
CATHOLICS don't.
i'm just assuming it wasn't the size of my family the cued him in... it was my MORMON GLOW.
then, he spent the whole time telling me everything he knows about mormons.
from "jack mormons" to Napolean Dynamite.
tina.  i reminded him, tina was the name of the Llama.
he asked if i knew every 80's song and who sang it.
hah!  i guess i'm an 80's music Jack Mormon.

the worst part was that it took a long time and i was worried we'd be late for our recital...
when i went to pay they said, $1,095.
WHAT?!
(that's a mortgage payment during the summer months when we don't get paid.)
the professor said it would only cost us $250.
(that's spending money for a month-- and NOT a summer month when the kids are home all day.)
i had to pay it.  they already did the work.  and, i was late.
i cried a little when i handed them the professor's debit card.
turns out, because i went to a specialist, not just my normal dentist, it costs more.
blah.

such is life.
and, at least i'm not dying... or hungry... or living in a country controlled by evil people (i hope)... or having to KILL someone else to survive...

my wise friend tiffany says, "If money can fix it, it's not really a problem."
today.  i got noooo problems.

well, aside from the fact that all the copies of catching fire are already checked out at my library and i'm obsessive.
hah... guess what?  money COULD fix that.  right?  i could go to a store and buy book 2.
so, no problems after all.
just listen to this last line... 

"I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go."

 ohh.  my sweet, sweet friend.  i need book 2, i miss you already.

important lessons from you tube.

and, this is the video i wanted to add before...  watch it again!

just me.

today, i talked to someone to distract me while i straightened up and did laundry.
i'm feeling anxious.
i need a good book.
i want to read hunger games, but i don't have them, so i may re-read the Host
to distract me from my unsatiable urge to paint everything in my house white.
i spent all morning coveting this home...  www.homeandharmony.blogspot.com


i'm kinda mad because i got a really cute french manicure on FRIDAY and it's gone.
peeled off one finger at a time till i couldn't stand it and just used remover.
i do this every time.  i like the look of french manicures, so i pay the extra $5 and they never last long on my mother hands.
i even used gloves to clean the dishes.
(my toes still look cute--thanks to pta)

i spent the weekend with my girls at my mother's house.  it was fun to visit with my little brothers and sister.
i drove home late last night-- Hillary Weeks on my ipod kept me alive.  :)
the professor said he "cleaned every room of the house"  while i was gone.
when i laid down with leah for a nap, on drew's bed, i heard the phone ringing... and found it, stuck with a whole pile of clean laundry UNDER drew's bed.
hmmm.  nice cleaning job boys?!

and, i spent an hour today looking up Kegal exercises on the internet.
random.
but, i do have 6 kids and don't want to be all stretched out.
i enjoy jumping on a trampoline.
and, i have this random hope that i'll be able to find a doctor willing to deliver my 7 and 8th children-- the twin boys i'm going to get pregnant with next-- naturally.
after 2 emergency c-section.
and, i heard Kegal exercises help with delivery.
nope, not pregnant.  just randomly reading about kegal exercises.
it's that kind of day. 

do you know, if i didn't loose the baby i was carrying in september i would be HAVING A BABY this week.
(my good friend and i were due on the same day... we have had 2 other children within days of each other...  she's going natural this time... and just lost her mucus plug... exciting!!!)
oh, how i LOVE babies.

and, i want to make these covers for my dining room chairs.

 AND.  i have to have a root canal tomorrow.
i'm scared, i've never had one before.
my tooth broke last week... it's sharp and i've been sticking wax in it for the past 4 days.
blah.

that's all.
i know, i'm very abnormal today, but such it is.

happy day.

how i LOVE my mothers.
i'm off for a weekend in ft. worth with my mom... and sending love long distance to my mother in law.
they are good woman.
with motherly glow.

 Happy Day to them and to all of you mothers out there.

"All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."  Abe Lincoln

summer in the air.

this week.

two summers ago.

my how time flies... but things stay the same.

today, enjoy the sunshine!!!

because i appreciate.

this is teacher appreciation week.
(it's a national holiday)
and, i appreciate my kids teachers.
really.
i wish i could do great things for them...
like give them gift certificates for dinner, or fly them to Hawaii--
but alas, my humble budget does not allow that type of appreciation.
[especially this month... the professor's clutch is broke $900 and my tooth just broke in half last night $$????]

so-- i show my appreciation by sending them silly edible gifts with silly quotes on them.
trust me-- they feel loved.

I got my ideas from this blog...  go here.  Her gifts are much cuter and scrap booky... you can even print out her colored file.  I don't have colored ink, and i'm not so scrappy, so mine look a bit easier to eat and throw in the trash after they're eaten.  :)
I still have a project for tomorrow.
i want to turn this...

into this...  (again, this is from that blog i told you about.  go here.)

have a great day.
and ask yourself...
have you hugged a teacher lately?