First Day

A gift made by Claire

Today was our first official day of Christmas vacation. Some of us read, sewed, played with cars, and baked. We had two-o-clock (herbal) tea time accompanied by these precious little jam cookies Claire and I made for the occasion.

They were easy to make and yummy with tea, or hot chocolate!

Our plan for tonight is to drive around and look at Christmas lights - with some sort of treat of course! We did this in my family growing up, and I loved it! Love this time of year!

It's Done!

I finished the embroidery on the pillow case last night while watching "Malcolm in the Middle" on TeenNick TV. Funny, funny show. Anyway, it's done and here it is.

The pillow and mattress - I choses a Rose theme for obvious reasons

I am so pleased with how the painted Rose on the cradle turned out.


The lighting isn't that great, you can't really see the patterns on the fabric. Maybe I'll try taking another picture later.

I had fun working on it, but I'm glad it's done. Ryan thought I was a little bit crazy for spending so much time on it, but that's me. I wanted something beautiful because it would be sitting out in the girls' room and frankly, it's fun to make tiny things for a baby doll. I can make that quilt I've been thinking about forever, but on a small scale that's done quickly!

Snow Day Projects

So this is the second day this week school has been canceled. I usually don't mind it - we always stay busy with projects around the house. Monday, we made gingerbread cookies, I pieced a quilt, we worked on our Christmas puzzle, the kids and I watched fun movies, etc. It was a good day considering we were all trapped inside our little house. Oh and the kids went in and out of the snow a couple of times, resulting in a lot of snow on the kitchen floor, and gloves and hats everywhere you looked. It will truly be a wonderful day when all of the kids can get themselves ready to play in the snow by themselves!

Rose liked the cookies, but the icing was the best part

The project of choice today was finishing Christmas presents. Rose will be getting a nice baby doll from her grandparents for Christmas, and in the spirit of this gift, Claire and I have been busy making "gifts" for the baby. I made a small quilt, mattress and pillow to put inside a repainted cradle I bought at an antiques store. Claire and I stenciled a rose on the cradle today. I'm finishing embroidering the tiny pillow-case today and when it's all done, I'll post a picture.

I have to admit that every time I see the little cradle and bedding, it makes me giggle with delight! It all turned out SO cute!

Our Bread and Butter (literally)

The roads have been cleared, the snow is melting (barely) and my husband is back at work, allowing me to do a little blogging. I did take lots of pictures of our snowed-in weekend, but the camera is really taking lousy pictures, and my photography skills, or lack thereof, doesn't help the matter.

To keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving Day, I had the kids make the butter by shaking cream in little jars. It was so easy and so good, that I think we'll make it a Thanksgiving tradition. It isn't really economical to make butter this way, but it sure was a treat.

After the buttermilk is poured off - you get lovely butter
...and yummy buttermilk for pancakes the next morning!

And what goes better with homemade butter, than homemade bread? So good!

I really do love to bake, but limit my sweet baking to once a week for Family Home Evening. The kids have a great time "helping" - actually, Claire is quite helpful now, getting ingredients and reading the recipe as I mix. And Rose? Well she just enjoys sitting on my mixer, or as she calls it, her boat.
Happy baking this season!

Catch Up

I realized that I didn't put up a picture of the kids in their costumes. I know this is not the best picture, but believe it or not, it's the only one I have of all three kids. Claire was Kirsten - one of the American Girls, William was a ghost (he likes fuss-free costumes) and Rose was a ballerina.

I don't have much of interest going on here. Claire has been home from school with the flu and Ryan has it too. So that pretty much keeps me busy. I had to take Rose with me to Young Womens tonight so that Dad didn't have to deal with her. Rose was very happy and loved the attention.

It's just that time of year again...lots of medicine and trips for more medicine!

And here's a picture of me cutting Claire's Troy (from HS Musical) doll's hair; someone gave it to her for her birthday. He looked a like a girl, so I gave him a little trim. I know you can't tell from the picture, but I was humming "We're All in This Together" as I clipped ;)

Rosie Update

On her 2nd birthday, at the zoo. The guinea pigs were the only animals she was interested in.

I know, can you believe your eyes? It's been several months since I've been on here. Blogging fell way down on my list of things to do; towards the bottom, really. But I have lately been missing it and wanted to post some funny pictures of my girl, Rose. She had her birthday in October and is now two years old. I love hearing her talk and she is learning new words daily. Thankfully, she is less "busy" and plays with toys a little more. But there is still a lot about her little personality that keeps me busy. Love this girl!






Hopefully, I can stay a little more up-to-date on here, but I'm not promising anything. Our remaining computer runs very slowly, so all of our pictures are on an external hard drive. So in order to access any pictures, I have to plug in the drive, making the computer run even more slowly. It is quite the process. So there you go: my lame excuse...

The Girls

Some of my best girls

One of the best things about our move to Illinois, has been getting to know some of the most amazing women. It had been years since I had a good friend nearby - many had moved on to other places. I haven't lived near family in 11 years, and it doesn't look like that will be changing anytime soon. But amazingly, our little church ward was chalk full of awesome ladies. I have learned so much from them (I get the best advice and support from them) and they are always there. I know I can at least count on one of them being available, should I need something. Illinois would be a very lonely place without the girls!

Firsts

Today was the first day of school for the big kids. They have both been so excited; school and all of the logistics is all we have talked about all week. I too was very excited for them to go - it was definitely time for school to start again. William started Kindergarten this year. Tomorrow is a half day for both kids and then Monday is the first full day.

After watching Claire ride the bus for three years, William will finally get his turn.

My big 3rd grader

Some other firsts...the kids and I took a week-long trip to Texas last week. We had a great time seeing my brothers and their families and my parents. My brother Dan rented a ski-boat for a couple of hours and took all of us for a ride on the lake near their place. We had so much fun. My mom and I were the first to experience Dan's merciless driving. But it wasn't until later when I went on the tube with my sister-in-law Katie that Dan let us have it. He about killed me and I know he was holding back a little for his wimpy big sister.

Here's Claire and her cousin - they did so well and had a great time - no fear, these two

We spent a couple of hours at the lake, boating, eating and swimming. Thanks to my Dad, who was able to watch Rose, I was able to play in the lake with my brothers and sisters-in-law. What a fun group they are. What I wouldn't give to live closer.


Another first: Rose is sleeping in a twin bed now. The night we got back from Texas, Rose figured out how to climb out of her crib. The first time was successful, second ended with a sore head. So down went the crib, and out came the big bed. She loves the freedom, but looks so tiny on the bed.

What a busy, busy day. Well, it's a school night; better get ready for bed!

Vintage

Sometimes I wonder what part of my kids' childhood will they remember? Which house will be "home", which toys will be the ones they remember, which music, movies and TV shows will hold the fondest memories? What years will be the most poignant, which will they almost entirely forget?

Thinking back to my own childhood, I'm sure my mom could have never predicted what we would fondly remember. When my parent's sold my (and my sibling's) childhood home, there were mixed feelings. My parents needed to get out of that neighborhood and their new home was a dream of theirs. But at the same time, I would miss visiting my parents in that home, even though I ceased to live there 12 years ago. I was also amazed at their apparent total lack of sadness; they were ready to dump that place.

But now that I'm a home owner with kids, I know how they felt. This house isn't "home" to me. It's just where we live right now. But it's all my kids have known. William was Rose's age when we moved here; he doesn't remember anything else. Claire was four and though she barely remembers our apartment in University City, when we first moved to the area in 2004, she loves this house. Rose was born here (well, not technically, but you know what I mean). This house is their world. If they, for some reason, were to spend the rest of their childhood here, it would seal their attachment as mine was to that house on Colonial Dr. While I will look back at this house with fond memories and a little sadness, it wouldn't be what my kids would feel.

I don't know if any house will ever feel like "home" again. There is so much uncertainty in the world these days; it's a rare thing when child is left to grow in one place their whole childhood, as I was.

Some favorite shows when I was little, depending upon the age:
Maya the Bee
Noozles
The Smurfs
David the Gnome
The Jetsons
Anything Tom and Jerry, Disney cartoons (Micky, Donald, Goofy, etc) and Bugs Bunny
Pinwheel
Today's Special, though the dark, quiet set did unsettle me a little
Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers
Eureka's Castle
Maple Town
Some show about Koalas, I can still sing the theme song, but I can't remember the name...Koalas lead the way, on a sunny day, we all love to play...

There are more I'm sure, but this is all I can think of right now. For personal history purposes, maybe I should write some of this stuff down in my journal...

Chaos

Our weekend was very busy, and very tiring. All day Friday was working on the yard/house/shed. Saturday was full of more painting, running errands, a birthday party, and Youth Conference. Sunday was the usual craziness that is supposed to be a day of rest. And here we are to Monday; weekend recovery day.

So I hinted in my last post that I was working on the scary corner of our yard. Well, Ryan and I did manage to paint the shed - though it turned out to be a much brighter green than on the paint sample. I considered just painting it white after putting on a coat of primer, but when I went outside the next morning, the sun reflecting off the crisp primed shed was absolutely blinding. So I went with the green after all. We finished Saturday night as rain clouds were rolling in. Thanks to three tarps and a lot of firewood to act as weights, we saved our paint job; though I'm convinced our neighbors think we're fools.

Next project: William's birthday this week.

Rose discovering the joy of ketchup

Happenings

It has become clear to me, that my yard is trying to kill me. I have never seen so many weeds, as I have in this area. A bare patch of dirt, left unchecked, will be completely covered with weeds in less than a week. It is truly unbelievable - I have never seen anything like it.

So what have I been up to? Well, last night I spent TWO HOURS edging our yard while Ryan spent that time mowing the yard. TWO HOURS people.

Today I moved our wood pile to another place in the yard (no small feat) in order to get behind the shed, clean out behind it and mow down the weeds that have grown between the shed and the fence. In the process, I discovered several red ant nests, many, many spiders, a wasp nest, a black ant nest (complete with giant eggs - that one was really gross) and unfortunately, I sliced a toad in half with my weed whacker. I was armed with heavy duty insecticide and a can of wasp spray. It was not pretty.

THEN, I hosed down the fence and shed. I started priming the shed; it was a hand-me-down from some friends and has been super useful, but ugly. With a new coat of paint, some weed killing paper topped with pavers and mulch, that part of the yard will be much less scary and hopefully look somewhat nice. So that's it. After receiving a small sunburn, I'll finish priming this evening, when it cools down a little. Whew

Speaking of weeds, here is one of my nieces adorning Claire's hair with one.

This house has made me think twice about having a big yard at our next location. It's nice in theory, but those commercials and magazine pictures of families out playing in their yard with a ball or wading pool only shows the happy kids. What's not pictured are the parents in the other part of the yard, sweaty and filthy as they hack down the grass with heavy machinery or one of them sitting on the weedy yard, trying to decipher the instructions of when exactly to put down the weed and feed granuals... and then praying that the rain cooperates because there is no way a garden hose can possibly reach all of the yard...

Hello NY - not NYC that is

This past week, we had the pleasure of traveling to New York for a family reunion. All of my siblings and their families and my parents all flew in from various states for the occasion. We did more that I can possibly tell in one post, so I will share a little here and there. In a nutshell we saw/did:

-around town in Buffalo
-Niagara Falls
-The Hill Cumorah Pageant
-The Palmyra Temple
-The Hill Cumorah monument
-The printing press where the Book of Mormon was first published
-All of the Joseph Smith sites in Palmyra (log home, frame home, Sacred Grove, etc.)
-Erie Canal
-a day at Seneca Lake (one of the finger lakes)
-attended church with my Grandma in Pittsford and saw her home there
-had one fun-filled day with ALL of the family at my Aunt's home

I feel like I'm leaving something out - it was a busy 7 days!

The Smith Log Home

Maid of the Mist boat ride to see Niagara Falls

Some of the cousins hanging out by the Erie Canal in Palmyra

Unfortunately, I didn't take that many pictures. Most of my time was spent visiting with my family or keeping my kids under control! We had a lot of fun, but it is good to be home, even if Illinois tried to drown us with the humidity. Hopefully I'll get back into a schedule and will be blogging more frequently. Thanks for stopping by!

It's a Hard Knock Life

It's no secret that I keep a clean house. It's one of the few consistent aspects of my personality. I go through phases and crazes like a mad woman. But through it all, I keep my room/home clean and orderly. When I was first married, Ryan thought I was crazy for cleaning everyday. Well, how else are you supposed to clean? According to him, once a week. Well, needless to say, we have adopted my style in our household.

But here's the question I get from everyone - how do you do it? How? I tell them the truth - child labor. I am a firm believer in the kids helping to keep the house tidy. If they make the mess, they clean it up. I have been teaching my kids since they were one-year-old. They started with picking up their toys and putting them in the box. I add more responsibilities the older they get. It takes more work initially to teach them how to clean, but in the end, it is so worth it.

We do not assign chores, nor do my kids get paid an allowance to clean. The rule of the Christensen household is, everyone start with taking care of yourself. Clean up your messes, make your bed, take care of your things. That takes most of the work off me, but the next part is crucial - in a family, everyone works together to get the job done quickly. No one person is stuck in the kitchen washing dishes while everyone else gets to watch TV. EVERYONE stays in the kitchen working until it's cleaned. Also, as things need to be done, I ask people to do them. When the kids get older and I get busier, I'm sure I'll leave notes of things they need to do.

Because the kids are still little, I do most of the work (laundry, dishes, deep cleaning, etc). But they can do a lot. Here are our rules:

Clean as you go (no marathon cleaning sessions here)
Be responsible for your stuff
Everyone works together
If you can't get along or are "bored" you will be put to work
The older you get, the more you are responsible for
When you're done playing, put everything away
You may be called to help at any time
If you don't take care of your things/space, it will be taken away

Harsh? I don't think so. It's real life lessons. We are crammed in this little house, we have to work together or we're going to drive ourselves out.

Here are some pics of the kids cleaning

Towels they folded - ready for me to put them away. I continually teach them how to fold properly. We're still working on it.

"Mopping" the dining/kitchen area. They use rags and then dry it afterwards.

Gathering trash and putting in new liners

William loves to vacuum

Dusting, with the help of a little ghost

Claire cleaning her sister's room

Showing off the shiny sink

Putting away dishes

Here's a list of things my kids can do (except Rose of course):
Vacuum the house and the car
Dust
Clean glass
Wash/dry/put away dishes
Gather trash
Sort and wash clothes (with a little help with the machines)
Fold clothes/towels
Make beds
Sweep
Wipe down bathroom sinks
Put away clothes and toys
Wash the car

As an example - if my kids put their hands all over the glass door, they're going to have to clean it off - so they tend not to. They don't wipe their hands on the wall, or take food on the carpet. If I ever find a dirty hand print on the wall or food in the living room, it is addressed and they have to clean it up. That is part of taking care of our things we have been blessed with.

The key here is that with help on the daily maintenance, I have more time to do the deep cleaning on a regular basis.

I instruct and inspect as they clean. If I find it done wrong, they have to fix it. You would think my kids hate me for all of this, but they love it. They feel such pride in our house and love how clean and nice it is. They are beaming when they finish a job. It's fun to watch Claire instruct William on how to do various things - I even have my own little teaching assistant.

So that's it folks. Oh and one more thing - we are not afraid to get rid of things and do so frequently. It's hard to keep a house clean with stuff everywhere. It's all about daily maintenance and NOT BEING A SLAVE TO MY KIDS!!

Claire's Point of View

It's been awhile, I have to admit; I've probably lost what little readers I had. Claire got a hold of the camera one day after church and took a bunch of random pictures from around the house. Most turned out really blurry, but she had a good time.

Our new shutters. I still have to put on the trim, but that's for another day. I'm not sure how I liked how the green turned out, but too late now!!

The photographer in the reflection

What have we been up to? Not much to blog about, though we stay busy. Maybe I'll retrace some of our past adventures on an upcoming post. That is, if I get around to posting again! While other things come up, some things have to go away for a while. My blog, being highly expendable, is usually one of the first to go. Hope to see you around again soon!