Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday: What's Happening?
PK received his Eagle Scout award in April. It was a great evening. We celebrated the fact that he finished something big. He has, unfortunately, not had the best track record when it comes to finishing things. So this was a major accomplishment for this boy! He has had some great scout leaders through the years and it was a neat opportunity for him to pay tribute to them as well.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday's Terrific Tip
With the start of school comes the daily deluge of paper. In my opinion, conquering paper clutter is the key to better organization. Like many homes, my kitchen is the hub of before-school and after-school activity. So the kitchen is where my paper system begins. I have this setup on one of the counters.
The left side holds file folders standing up. Each member of the family has a file folder. These folders hold papers that we need to refer to often. Carpool schedules, school calendars, projects in progress, scout calendars, any paper that you need to keep handy. The horizontal slots on the right are holding areas. The top slot is the active file. These are things that I need my husband to look at that day-- important mail, papers to review, sign, etc. The middle slot is a holding area for my husband. He can put his papers there and get to them when he is ready. The bottom slot is for papers that need to be scanned or filed.
After school, the kids are responsible to empty their backpacks and put their papers in a pile on the counter. Then I go through the pile. I pull out what needs to be saved-- flyers, calendars, etc, and file them in that child's individual folder. Papers that need to be signed and returned to school are signed right then and returned to the backpacks. Then I put all of their completed work in their laundry room cubby. When that pile gets big (and when the child is NOT around) I go through the papers and save what is meaningful and throw the rest away. Art projects are hung on the wall for awile. Then I take a picture of them before they get filed or tossed.
To store cherished school papers, I have a plastic file box for each child with hanging folders for each grade. Items that are too big for the box get photographed and then tossed out. It sounds a little harsh but most of the time we display things for awhile and I find that I am more emotionally attached to these things than my children are. Many times I throw things out at the end of the school year. By that time the child is not as attached.
We have this setup in our laundry room. The binders and baskets on the top are for my husbands stuff. There is a basket for work papers, scout papers and personal papers. The top row of squares is for backpacks. The second row of squares is for school papers. The third row has a basket for each child. They keep whatever they want in these baskets. Swimming goggles in the summer, gloves in the winter, etc. It has been SO helpful to give each child a place to keep their "whatever."
The left side holds file folders standing up. Each member of the family has a file folder. These folders hold papers that we need to refer to often. Carpool schedules, school calendars, projects in progress, scout calendars, any paper that you need to keep handy. The horizontal slots on the right are holding areas. The top slot is the active file. These are things that I need my husband to look at that day-- important mail, papers to review, sign, etc. The middle slot is a holding area for my husband. He can put his papers there and get to them when he is ready. The bottom slot is for papers that need to be scanned or filed.
After school, the kids are responsible to empty their backpacks and put their papers in a pile on the counter. Then I go through the pile. I pull out what needs to be saved-- flyers, calendars, etc, and file them in that child's individual folder. Papers that need to be signed and returned to school are signed right then and returned to the backpacks. Then I put all of their completed work in their laundry room cubby. When that pile gets big (and when the child is NOT around) I go through the papers and save what is meaningful and throw the rest away. Art projects are hung on the wall for awile. Then I take a picture of them before they get filed or tossed.
To store cherished school papers, I have a plastic file box for each child with hanging folders for each grade. Items that are too big for the box get photographed and then tossed out. It sounds a little harsh but most of the time we display things for awhile and I find that I am more emotionally attached to these things than my children are. Many times I throw things out at the end of the school year. By that time the child is not as attached.
We have this setup in our laundry room. The binders and baskets on the top are for my husbands stuff. There is a basket for work papers, scout papers and personal papers. The top row of squares is for backpacks. The second row of squares is for school papers. The third row has a basket for each child. They keep whatever they want in these baskets. Swimming goggles in the summer, gloves in the winter, etc. It has been SO helpful to give each child a place to keep their "whatever."
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday's Memory
The kids watched "The Aristocats" yesterday. It hasn't been seen at our house for several years. In fact, Mr. E had no idea what it was about. The olders told him that they used to watch it all the time and I think they were excited to watch it again. After watching the first few minutes of the movie, Mr. E exclaimed, "YOU GUYS used to watch THIS????!!!!" Yes, Mr. E, they did and if I hadn't have been there to witness it myself, I wouldn't have believed it etither. They watched it over and over and over. And I was pretty tired of listening to it.
But I will admit that I sang along while listening to it yesterday!
Here's my little Aristocats fans, PK, Miss A and PC
But I will admit that I sang along while listening to it yesterday!
Here's my little Aristocats fans, PK, Miss A and PC
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Thoughtful Thursday: Summer 2011
It was a good summer. Looking back it seemed pretty uneventful and yet there was still a lot going on. Mr. Whitty was in the middle of closing down his office. This was a big, big, bummer of a task and caused a lot of stress for both of us. It also caused a lot of penny pinching over the summer and only 1 quick family vacation over the 4th of July weekend. But the kids all ended up having a great time anyway. PK went to scout camp, the lake and several skate parks. PC went to scout camp, the lake, ice skating with friends, movies with friends, and swimming and swimming and swimming with friends. Miss A had 2 dream jobs this summer. The first was babysitting cousins on a houseboat at Lake Powell. The second was babysitting another set of cousins at a guest ranch in the mountains. She was in heaven. Mr. E spent lots of time playing and pool hopping with friends. He also was invited to movies, birthday parties and went to the lake for the first time. I guess I owe the parents of all of my children's friends a big THANK YOU for providing so much entertainment this summer.
And me, I spent some time on some organizing projects. I did a lot of reading. And I also spent a lot of time keeping the peace. Here are some of the things that I learned over the summer.
1. I am incredibly more motivated in June than I am in July. I am awesome in June! I keep the summer routine going strong with chores and projects and meals and games, etc. By the end of July you can find one child on the computer playing a game, one child on my laptop playing a game, one child on the Wii downstairs and another child watching TV upstairs. It really goes downhill from there. We get hot and cranky and just hang in there til school starts in August.
2. Having teenagers is a lot like having little kids. I found that even though 3 out of my 4 children are old enough to stay home alone, it was really hard for me to go anywhere. There was always the fight over who has to stay home with the youngest one. And there were about 20 calls to my on my cell phone as soon as I left the house. I'll admit that most of those calls were about who was fighting with who. I couldn't leave the house with a kitchen full of 13 year old boys "doing a little cooking". And I won't leave the 15 year old boys playing on the computer home alone either.
3. You can never have enough brownie mixes. (See reference above to the 13 year olds.)
4. When my two older boys were playing Words With Friends with each other on their ipods, I counted it as family together time. Even though they were in different rooms. I totally counted it.
5. Summer is a really hard time to pinch pennies. I think I will start a little summer savings fund for next year. Without older kids and no swimming pool, you really do run out of things to do.
6. A snowcone machine is worth its weight in gold.
7. Every year it is the same. At the beginning, I look forward to staying up late, sleeping in and kicking back and relaxing. By the end, I need the schedule and the routine. And every year, we marvel at how short summer seems to be!
And me, I spent some time on some organizing projects. I did a lot of reading. And I also spent a lot of time keeping the peace. Here are some of the things that I learned over the summer.
1. I am incredibly more motivated in June than I am in July. I am awesome in June! I keep the summer routine going strong with chores and projects and meals and games, etc. By the end of July you can find one child on the computer playing a game, one child on my laptop playing a game, one child on the Wii downstairs and another child watching TV upstairs. It really goes downhill from there. We get hot and cranky and just hang in there til school starts in August.
2. Having teenagers is a lot like having little kids. I found that even though 3 out of my 4 children are old enough to stay home alone, it was really hard for me to go anywhere. There was always the fight over who has to stay home with the youngest one. And there were about 20 calls to my on my cell phone as soon as I left the house. I'll admit that most of those calls were about who was fighting with who. I couldn't leave the house with a kitchen full of 13 year old boys "doing a little cooking". And I won't leave the 15 year old boys playing on the computer home alone either.
3. You can never have enough brownie mixes. (See reference above to the 13 year olds.)
4. When my two older boys were playing Words With Friends with each other on their ipods, I counted it as family together time. Even though they were in different rooms. I totally counted it.
5. Summer is a really hard time to pinch pennies. I think I will start a little summer savings fund for next year. Without older kids and no swimming pool, you really do run out of things to do.
6. A snowcone machine is worth its weight in gold.
7. Every year it is the same. At the beginning, I look forward to staying up late, sleeping in and kicking back and relaxing. By the end, I need the schedule and the routine. And every year, we marvel at how short summer seems to be!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sixteen
A lot can happen in sixteen years.
And I am so very, very glad that it did.
Happy birthday PK!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Overnight
Growth spurts. The most dramatic growth spurt happens during a child's first year when they triple their birth weight and increase their lenght by 50%. After that, their growth rate evens out a bit, but they are still growing like crazy. Have you ever picked up your baby out of the crib in the morning and thought, "Wait a minute, you're bigger this morning than you were last night." I remember times when my children were little and they would spend a few days eating and eating and eating. And then one morning they would walk down the stairs and I would say, "Wait a minute, I could swear that you grew a few inches during the night."
But I'm finding that there is another dramatic growth spurt that happens between the ages of 12 and 16. It's called puberty. Ewww! Does the word bring back awkward memories of fifth grade health class? Puberty may have been awkward when you were going through it, but it's down right CRAZY to you watch your children go through it. Because I'm back to having those "Wait a minute" moments like I did when they were little. Only this time it's, "Wait a minute, your voice is deeper." Or "Wait a minute, didn't I just buy those pants that are now too short?" Or "Wait a minute, you have hair in your armpits."
Today I had another one of those "Wait a minute" moments. I was scanning through Facebook and saw some pictures of my son that were posted by some of his new friends from EFY.
>
Ok, Wait a minute, when did you start looking so handsome? When did you start looking so comfortable with your arm around a really cute girl? When did you grow up?
I could swear it happened overnight.
By the way, he did hang out with some realy great guys during the week, too.
But I'm finding that there is another dramatic growth spurt that happens between the ages of 12 and 16. It's called puberty. Ewww! Does the word bring back awkward memories of fifth grade health class? Puberty may have been awkward when you were going through it, but it's down right CRAZY to you watch your children go through it. Because I'm back to having those "Wait a minute" moments like I did when they were little. Only this time it's, "Wait a minute, your voice is deeper." Or "Wait a minute, didn't I just buy those pants that are now too short?" Or "Wait a minute, you have hair in your armpits."
Today I had another one of those "Wait a minute" moments. I was scanning through Facebook and saw some pictures of my son that were posted by some of his new friends from EFY.
>
Ok, Wait a minute, when did you start looking so handsome? When did you start looking so comfortable with your arm around a really cute girl? When did you grow up?
I could swear it happened overnight.
By the way, he did hang out with some realy great guys during the week, too.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thank you. You're welcome.
"You're welcome." Two words. A simple thing to say. And yet, I seem to hear it less and less often. It seems that "You're welcome" is being replaced with "You bet" or "No problem" or "Yep" or worse yet, just a nod of the head. I miss "You're welcome." I would be the first to call myself old-fashioned in a lot of my views. I like good, old-fashioned politeness. I am sad to see some of these polite traditions fall away.
When I say thank-you, I really mean it. It is a way to express my sincere gratitude. When my thank-you is followed by you're welcome, it means that you understand that I am grateful for what you have done. You acknowledge my feeling of gratitude. I don't get that acknowledgement with "You bet" or "Yep." I really, really don't feel acknowledged with a head nod. Or how about, "No need to thank me." Well, yes, I do want to thank you. And it would be nice for you to simply accept my thanks. I've also noticed countless times when my "Thank you" is returned by "No problem." That one makes me a little bit sad. It's like saying that what you did really doesn't mean anything at all to you. You just brush it away with "No problem." Well, it means something to me. Funny, I didn't think I was causing a problem for you. Wait, was I causing a problem for you? I really get annoyed when store or restaurant employees answer my "Thank you" with "No problem." Of course it's not a problem. Helping me is what you get paid to do. (And kudos to Chick-Fil-A. I love hearing their employees answer every time with "My pleasure." Ooohh, that is so nice to hear!)
At this point, I am probably sounding a little whiny and annoyed. I'm really not. But I was really interested in an article I read the other day that talked about accepting compliments.
"That's a cute shirt." This thing? I got it on the clearance rack.
"What a delicious meal." It was nothing. Just something I threw together.
"You look pretty today." Oh, please! I'm a wreck!
Says the author, "I don't know why I say these things. Because the truth is while yes, the shirt was on sale, it is also really cute and I look great in this color. And the dinner took hours to prepare. But for some reason, I dodge compliments as if they are bullets. If I accept one, I feel like a show-off. If I admit that, yeah, I did work hard on that, it might sound like bragging. I cannot simply say the words, 'Thank you.' Or if I do say them, I can't seem to just stop after those two words. It has to be, 'Thank you, but....' Or sometimes, given a compliment, I would serve it right back: 'No, you did a great job! You really are so much better than me!' "
So at this point the author speaks with a expert in the field of social dynamics who says that we've been socialized to do that. We're told that we should be humble and non-competitive. We're not supposed to put ourselves above others. Too much confidence is unattractive. We've learned that the only proper response to a compliment is to deny it.
I agree with this author. It's time to relearn this response. Because we're sending the wrong message. And responding with anything other than acceptance to other people's kind words is a little condescending, as if the person isn't worthy of my gratitude. Says the article, "In a world where plenty of people are happy to point out other's shortcomings, I should just enjoy the fact that somebody noticed me or something I did well."
So maybe I don't think I look pretty today, but if someone else does, thank you.
Thank you for saying I did a nice job. I worked hard.
And thank you for cleaning your plate and saying it was delicious.
Thank you and You're welcome. Who knew there was so much to think about these phrases that we've were taught to say as soon as we could put two words together? For me, I'm trying to say a sincere "You're welcome." And, while accepting a compliment is a little bit harder, I promise to accept yours if you promise to accept mine.
When I say thank-you, I really mean it. It is a way to express my sincere gratitude. When my thank-you is followed by you're welcome, it means that you understand that I am grateful for what you have done. You acknowledge my feeling of gratitude. I don't get that acknowledgement with "You bet" or "Yep." I really, really don't feel acknowledged with a head nod. Or how about, "No need to thank me." Well, yes, I do want to thank you. And it would be nice for you to simply accept my thanks. I've also noticed countless times when my "Thank you" is returned by "No problem." That one makes me a little bit sad. It's like saying that what you did really doesn't mean anything at all to you. You just brush it away with "No problem." Well, it means something to me. Funny, I didn't think I was causing a problem for you. Wait, was I causing a problem for you? I really get annoyed when store or restaurant employees answer my "Thank you" with "No problem." Of course it's not a problem. Helping me is what you get paid to do. (And kudos to Chick-Fil-A. I love hearing their employees answer every time with "My pleasure." Ooohh, that is so nice to hear!)
At this point, I am probably sounding a little whiny and annoyed. I'm really not. But I was really interested in an article I read the other day that talked about accepting compliments.
"That's a cute shirt." This thing? I got it on the clearance rack.
"What a delicious meal." It was nothing. Just something I threw together.
"You look pretty today." Oh, please! I'm a wreck!
Says the author, "I don't know why I say these things. Because the truth is while yes, the shirt was on sale, it is also really cute and I look great in this color. And the dinner took hours to prepare. But for some reason, I dodge compliments as if they are bullets. If I accept one, I feel like a show-off. If I admit that, yeah, I did work hard on that, it might sound like bragging. I cannot simply say the words, 'Thank you.' Or if I do say them, I can't seem to just stop after those two words. It has to be, 'Thank you, but....' Or sometimes, given a compliment, I would serve it right back: 'No, you did a great job! You really are so much better than me!' "
So at this point the author speaks with a expert in the field of social dynamics who says that we've been socialized to do that. We're told that we should be humble and non-competitive. We're not supposed to put ourselves above others. Too much confidence is unattractive. We've learned that the only proper response to a compliment is to deny it.
I agree with this author. It's time to relearn this response. Because we're sending the wrong message. And responding with anything other than acceptance to other people's kind words is a little condescending, as if the person isn't worthy of my gratitude. Says the article, "In a world where plenty of people are happy to point out other's shortcomings, I should just enjoy the fact that somebody noticed me or something I did well."
So maybe I don't think I look pretty today, but if someone else does, thank you.
Thank you for saying I did a nice job. I worked hard.
And thank you for cleaning your plate and saying it was delicious.
Thank you and You're welcome. Who knew there was so much to think about these phrases that we've were taught to say as soon as we could put two words together? For me, I'm trying to say a sincere "You're welcome." And, while accepting a compliment is a little bit harder, I promise to accept yours if you promise to accept mine.
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