What Effect Does the Internet Have on Your Homemaking?

Yesterday, I attended our women's group book club. Together, we're reading through Carolyn Mahaney's Feminine Appeal: 7 Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother and we just finished the chapter entitled "The Honor of Working at Home." No, it wasn't about how all mothers who work outside of the home are evil and negligent of their family. It just detailed what the Bible has to say about a woman's responsibities within the home as its caretaker. And yes, I definitely do "subscribe" to that philosophy, but that's a different post for a different time. For now, I want to talk about different things that we discussed that distract us from our role as homemakers. Obviously, the main one -- the internet.

I get MAJORLY distracted by the internet. I'm not sure how it is in your house, but in my house, it's nearly impossible to avoid being in constant eye-shot of a computer. Hubby is an IT guy and our house could also be known as a computer graveyard. The laptop I'm using right now is an old one they were going to pitch at work, so he and a friend refurbished it and put everything on it I need. We have two more with the same story. One we bought from a friend for the digital photo card reader, a netbook. And lastly, the most legit laptop we have is my husband's work laptop that was given to him by his employer, very nice. All told, we have five computers (four laptops and one desktop) that are scattered around our house at any given time, all internet capable and fully functioning.

This is ridiculous.

So, I find myself always struggling to get off the dang computer and do some housework! Everywhere I turn, there's a laptop just waiting to be used. It's not like I'm on the computer to the neglect of my children, but definitely more than necessary. You know how it is -- you get on just to check your email, then you realize that maybe you didn't have as many messages as you expected, so you mosey on over to facebook where you waste away the better part of an hour reading and looking at pictures about what your aquaintance in high school did over the weekend and... oh... wasn't there laundry that was sitting in the hallway that I was on my way to put in the wash?

This is what I've been doing and it helps. I watch Little Man during the day and I am terrified to wake him up. So, we've put all of the computers in his room. We have a crib set up in the spare room with a desk for the desktop. So, we finally gathered up all the computers and stacked them up in his room. And he's just four months, so he sleeps a lot. I also try to keep the power cords stationed in there as well, so that when I DO bring the computers out here, I only have a limited time on them before they die. It's been helping.

Some other suggestions were:

• Write down what exactly you're getting on the computer to achieve and keep it next to the keypad
• Set a timer in the other room so you have to get up and turn it off. The stove timer might be especially good for this, as they can sometimes be set to go off every minute for an hour or more. You might get tired of listening to that after awhile. 
• Try to allow yourself a limited number of websites to avoid roaming to various other sites. You could even set the parental controls for yourself!
• Set certain times. For example -- "I'm only going to get online during these specific hours, before the kids get up, while they're down for a nap, while I'm sitting down for lunch, etc. You could also do this to avoid certain times, such as setting a time limit at nighttime so you don't stay up all night (no internet past 8pm)
• Pray! Maybe that should have been first on the list, but seriously! If you know that there's anything that's hindering you from taking care of your home the way you should, ask God to help you focus more on your home and less on other things. 
• Make a rule that you won't get on the computer until you've had your quiet time. You'll find that it helps to put things in perspective a little bit once you've talked to God about your day and you may not even want to get online. 

 In all honesty, the internet can take a serious toll on our family life. It has many redeemable qualities and can be especially helpful in many areas (hello! I'm on the internet RIGHT NOW) such as sharing ideas, information, research, communication. However, one can quickly get sucked into visiting site after site after site and end up wasting valuable time that could be better spent reading your child a story, organizing a clutter area in your home or making meal plans -- things that may seem mundane, but when finished, can produce a certain satisfaction in knowing that your home and family are provided for, everyone has fresh and clean clothes to wear the next day and no one has to argue over what to eat for dinner this week.

Really, there's no "if-I-do-this-everything-will-work-out-and-my-house-will-stay-clean" answer. Every one of these options require will power and the desire to do something more with your time than spend it on the computer. That's the hard part.

So.... what do you guys do to curb your computer time?

(psstt -- I'm still working on this! I'm already up way too late just making this post! Now, ponder the irony in that...)

Even Princesses Have To Do Chores

When there's a baby screaming that cannot be comforted...

...you put on your headphones and make a post!

Okay, so maybe you were looking for something a little more philosophical than that, but not today.

We've had a spectacular day (truly, we have -- big smiles, great moods, it's been awesome!), but the Little Man got startled only 20-ish minutes into a nap by Shiloh having a mega-sneeze in the next room and hasn't been able to be calmed down. I've soothed, I've talked, I've walked, I've checked diapers, not anywhere CLOSE to time for a bottle, so he's crying it out. I hate doing it, but he's going to scream whether or not I'm holding him and I need a little bit of a break. boo. I babysit Little Man during the week, and he has a history of colic, so this isn't totally out of the ordinary, but I had thought we were sort of out of the woods. :oP

Music: "Hangin On" by Britt Nicole :o)

Then, when I went to YouTube to get the video, I found this:


80s videos were so creepy sometimes, what with the shadowy figures and random hands and such. hm.

I'm also listening to a certain 5 yr-old singing a song to the tune of "The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock" except she has changed the words to "Why's My Hat Backwards On The Clock." :o)

What do you guys do when you NEED a minute? Do you go outside and take a deep breath? Do you read a book? Go to your room and close the door? Have a good cry? I've found for me, I have to just leave. Leave the room. Go somewhere quiet, pray a quick prayer something to the tune of "HELP ME PLEASE!" and take a few deep breaths. Listen to some music. Get on the computer for a minute. Alone. It helps.

We all have those times when being a mom (or caretaker of little ones) pushes your buttons and makes you want to scream. I have found, though, that it's SO important to have a plan, something that you know will allow you to press the "restart" button and come back ready to try again.

Speaking of which, I think it's time for me to go try again with Little Man. I feel better now, maybe he does, too. :o)

Update: He calmed down enough for a bottle, then had a huge dirty diaper, and is currently asleep in his car seat, after having a lengthy conversation with an orange washrag. I'm glad he feels better. :o)

The Homemade Natural Cleaners We Use

Today I made laundry detergent and every time I mention that I do that, someone asks me for the recipe. So, I thought I'd share on here the various recipes that I use for household cleaners. This really falls under the category of "saves me a lot of money," although the ingredients that I use are also all-natural, so it's also a "green" alternative as well. ;o)

Laundry Detergent
This is a recipe that I got from my friend Cheryl who has been making her own laundry detergent for much much longer than I have.

• 6 cups water
• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha or Ivory Soap, grated
  
• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax
• bucket for mixing
• large container or several small containers for storing
• 8 cups boiling water
• 10 cups hot water
  

1. Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 6 cups of water, and heat until dissolved.
   
2. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until it starts to get thick, and remove from heat. (Let me add here that mine never really thickens and it turns out fine. I just keep stirring it until the grated soap pieces dissolve.)
   
3. Add 4 cups hot water to bucket.
   
4. Add soap mixture, and mix well.
   
5. Add another 8 cups boiling hot water and 6 cups hot water and mix well.
   
6. Pour the mixture into your containers after it isn't boiling hot anymore.
   
7. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens.
   
8. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per regular load. I;ve found that if I'm using anything other than Fels Naptha, I use about 1 cup per load.
   

I use Fels Naptha bar soap, and you can find it in the laundry aisle. I was never able to find it at Walmart, but a grocery store like Schucks (where I buy mine), Kroger or something to that effect might have it. The Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and Borax are also in the laundry aisle. I was able to find the Borax at Walmart, but not the Washing Soda. I had to get that at Schnuck's, also.

Also, I usually don 't wait the 24 hours, just until it isn't steaming. Be sure to stir it several times during the "setting" process before it turns to gel. You will need to shake it before using it at every load, and it will not always be liquid. After cooling, it won't turn back completely into a gel. You might get some clumps of gel with some liquid thereafter, but I've never noticed any difference either way. It still always work great for me!

As far as cost effectiveness goes, for me, it works out to be about $.08- $0.12 per load vs Tide or some other leading product, which works out to be about $0.20-$0.50 per load or more, depending on the type of detergent you use. Now that I know the recipe by memory, it takes about 10-15 minutes to make, aside from letting it set.

We use this recipe for all kinds of laundry and is especially helpful if someone in your house suffers from allergies or asthma, as there are no perfumes involved. We also use this for baby laundry as well and all the... um... special stains that go along with that. ;o)


Household All-Purpose Cleaner

This one's pretty simple.

• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Water

1. Mix equal parts baking soda and white vinegar, depending on how much you want. For a typical 20-oz spray bottle, I usually do 2-3 T of baking soda as well as vinegar.
   
2. Fill 3/4 of the bottle with warm water.
3. Add 2-4 drops of lemon juice (this makes it smell nice).
4. Shake it up!

I use this cleaner for, as the name implies, nearly all purposes. I use it to clean in the kitchen, the bathroom, mopping the floor, cleaning the walls. There isn't much of anything for which I don't use this cleaner. There may be some times when I have to add a little elbow grease, but I much prefer using something homemade and natural (and cheap!) to something store-bought, so I don't mind. :o)

The only area that I use something different is for windows and mirrors. When you use this mixture on windows and mirrors, it definitely leaves hard-to-remove streaks. Instead, I use this:

• One part vinegar to 4 parts warm water

Dishwasher Detergent

This one is sort of not all-natural. However, it IS incredibly cost-effective.

• One part baking soda
• One part borax
• Dishwashing liquid (the kind you use when you wash by hand -- Dawn, Ajax, some other off-brand, whatever you like)
• Vinegar

1. Mix equal parts of baking soda and borax. I keep mine in a medium-sized tupperware container, and it holds about 4 cups. So, I whisk together 2 cups baking soda with 2 cups of borax.
   
2. Scoop 2 T of powder mixture into the detergent loader.
3. Add 2-8 drops of dishwashing liquid.
   
4. Use white vinegar as your rinse agent and fill receiver accordingly.

Notes: My dishwasher is old. And grumpy. So, after using many commercial detergents that did NOT work at all, we turned to making our own and this has proven itself better for us. As I've offered this recipe to other people, I have noticed that what might work for one washer might not work for another. Some have found that the 2T is too much and leaves residue, so they reduce to to 1.5 T or 1 T. Others have found that they needed less dishwashing liquid or more. I tend to use more.

The cost effectiveness of this recipe is amazing. If you buy the products in bulk, you end up washing a load of dishes for just around $0.03 per load!


Carpet Cleaner

For spot cleaning the carpet, I use the all-purpose household cleaner detailed above. If the spot is wet, though (think a dog mess or spilled drink), I first apply the following:

• One part cornstarch
• One part baking soda

1. Mix 'em up!
2. Keep in an airtight container.

I spoon the mixture liberally over the wet spot and let sit for awhile, depending on the size of the spot. The mixture pulls the moisture up out of the carpet and absorbs it. Then, I use a paper towel or cleaning rag to gather it up and throw it away. Next, I spray the spot with the all-purpose cleaner, let sit 5 minutes and scrub it away. Sometimes, I'll go back with a water bottle and spray it again with plain water and scrub that up as well.

***Because we're dealing with carpets, always pre-test on an out-of-the-way spot on your carpet to make sure that it doesn't adversely affect it. You never know, so do this with anything you use on your carpets.


So, those are the recipes that I use to clean my house. Some may work for you, some may not. If you're interested in experimenting, there's tons of resources and different recipes online that you can find. We've been using these recipes for almost 5 years now, and I'd say they work pretty well for us!

Happy cleaning! :o)

Making Weekly Lesson Plans

how do you prepare for homeschool on a weekly basis? I'm sitting down now, on a Sunday night, to write out my lesson plan for the next week:


(I promise I didn't stage that photo, it's just what I was working on when I snapped a pic with my phone.) We use the My Father's World curriculum for kindergarten, which I truly LOVE. Shiloh has learned so much from its focus on Biblical principles and she's reading on an almost first grade level! I'm not a fan of the non-math and have to supplement on my own with that, but I'll make another post about that later.

For now, I keep a large planner. I go through the curriculum handbook and write down all of the activities as well as the credit hours earned. I also keep a running total of hours in an Excel spreadsheet that I update periodically. I would like to say that I update it weekly as I should, but I'm not that organized yet. Every month or so, I'll go back through the planner and update the spreadsheet so I can see if we need more hours in a certain subject or area and I try to plan accordingly.

Luckily, Shiloh's in Kindergarten. that means, that 1) I'm not even required to log my hours, even though I do because I'm paranoid and 2) she only needs half of the hours required for first grade for Kindergarten, so I know that she's getting way more than is necessary at this point. So, really, this is a try-out year where we're just beginning to get our stuff together. And that's okay, I think I'm really beginning to get a feel for how our own homeschool should work.

Next, after I write out our lesson plan, I gather all worksheets and materials needed for that week. If there are still items that I'll need, I make a list and determine to go to the store on a certain day to get said items. Now, if I were really prepared, I would do this several weeks or months in advance so I knew what items I needed and I already had them. Like I said, not quite there yet. Week by week is where we are at this point. ;o)

For example, this is our "homeschool hub" where everything school related is stored.



Our house isn't exactly large and we don't have a basement area in which to conduct school. Therefore, our school space is the kitchen table. This file cabinet sits in the corner of our kitchen area, right next to the table. That might seem frustrating or in-the-way to some people, but it works for us. I don't think it's altogether unseemly when everything is put away, if we had an actual 'decor,' the cabinet isn't so hideous as it would clash with it, and it's just so darn convenient to have everything right there. I keep file folders for all of her school work and all materials that we use on a weekly basis here and now that I'm watching a baby in my house during the day, having a different "out-of-the-way" place to do school wouldn't make much sense -- we'd just end up at the kitchen table anyway.

So, we have our folder that we look at every morning in which I've put all worksheets we'll use for the week as well as any other papers or small charts that we use consistently such as her Blend Ladder, ABC Chart, 100 Chart, etc.

I'm still getting the hang of this, but I'm enjoying it immensely and Shiloh is really doing so well.

For those readers who homeschool, how do you organize/plan your lessons? Do you have a set space where you teach every day? Do you keep your plans on the computer or in a planner? Any ideas for how to streamline lesson planning?

What I'm Reading. Plus a Picture.

"Thinking Parent, Thinking Child" by Myrna Shure

I rented this from the library and I've heard positive things about it. We'll see. We're going through a very difficult phase with Shiloh right now and I could use all of the help and extra insight I can get. I'm not sure if it's independence, more self-awareness or just plain stubbornness, but it's a daily challenge.

I've grown accustomed to reading Christian parenting books almost exclusively in recent years, so it's a little difficult to look at this book through those eyes. I'm just in the first bit, so I'm not giong to judge it on that point just yet, but it's just... different. At any rate, I'm not a fan of the book cover. Maybe things like that don't matter to you, but they drive me crazy. The cover image sends a pointed message -- the father is lagging behind with his hands in his pockets while the mother is enthusiastically leading the way. As our brother James would say, "My brothers, this should not be!" (Js 3) As the spiritual leader, the father should be leading the charge and setting the example, not the other way around. Again, it's just a picture. Not a big deal. But it bothers me. Then again, what doesn't...? ;o)

One of the main points of Shure's method seems to be asking children to think about how what they're doing makes them feel and how they think it makes you feel. You're encouraged to ask your children if they can think of a different way to solve problems, the goal being to help them arrive at their own solutions, thus being more willing to carry them out. I completely get the logic. Today, Shiloh was making a slew of bad choices. Very calmly, I asked her to maybe think of some other ways she could solve the problems she was having. "Can you think of a different way to get what you need right now?" I probed. She glared at me with all the hatefulness of a 5 yr-old tantrum and said "No! I like THIS way!!!" ..... Yeah. It's a work in progress. I then proceeded to yell back and after much goings-on, sent her to her room. I had this book in my hand whilst doing so. And yes, I see the irony in that. Like I said, I've only read the first bit. ;o)


"The Raw Food Lifestyle" by Ruthann Russo

Seems to be a good introduction so far. We've been on and off about this for awhile. The benefits seems so numerous and in conjunction with many of our beliefs about health and nutrition, but, admittedly, it's a very difficult lifestyle change.

We're already vegetarians and have been for five years now. We've been vegan, but added dairy back into our diet for a season and are now addicted to cheese again. :o( Shiloh is comfortable with eating many different kinds of food, has never had meat (unless on accident -- think gelatin in fruit snacks given by teachers, friends, etc) and didn't even have dairy until she was 2.5 years old. She eats very well and a wide variety of foods, is always willing to try new things, so I don't think a raw food diet would be a challenge for her at all.

Us, on the other hand...

Our goal is to eventually be at least 80% raw. At that point, a person can reap all of the benefits of going completely raw while still indulging in some cooked food on occasion. That's where I'd like to be. We began our "raw journey" in the fall and it was FABULOUS. I loved it. Avocados, bean sprouts, fresh foods, non-processed, it was amazing. Then it got cold. And so did I. It was really difficult for me to avoid comfort winter foods such as potato soup, chili and even just plain old mac n cheese. I missed it terribly and was freezing all the time. I understand that there are certain "warming" foods that you can eat to prevent this, but it just wasn't the same. It was a difficult transition, and Rick and I both eventually reverted back to our default vegetarian diet. Now that the weather is beginning to warm up and spring is close and we're planning our garden, I'm hoping to get "back on the wagon" and try again. We'll see how it goes.


This picture is just about one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

This past summer, we had to put down our dog Dallas. He had been with us since Rick and I were dating, was the BEST dog. He had an incredibly sweet nature, was just 100+ pounds of furry love. He was a Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix and was 12. He had many health problems and had become incontinent. Shiloh was very attached to him.

She still gets very upset about him having died and will periodically cry about it in the most random of times. In the car the other day, she was having one of these times and we told her to think of where Dallas might be now. She searched around in the car and found some crayons and paper and drew this picture.

It's Dallas with his "weird crazy" hair smelling a flower. Because that would make him happy. And he's in heaven, and heaven is beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that he is completely surrounded by shining stars everywhere he looks and he's always happy.

I love her.

She said that she wanted to hang this in her room so that any time she was upset she could look at it and know that Dallas is happy and she wouldn't miss him so much.

:o)