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!!