Monday, June 30, 2008

Spring Cleaning List

Laundry Room......Check

Yesterday after church I asked David to fetch me the food processor from the top shelf in the laundry room closet so I could crush crackers to bread the fish. When he went in there, he yelled, "Ooooh, what did I step in that is all wet." Not having any idea what it could be, I quickly went in and investigated.

My brand new, used for one load, 150 oz bottle of All laundry detergent with the spigot was leaking not from the spigot but from the cap that screws the spigot onto the bottle, and was now almost half empty, running all over the floor, under the washer, soaking into the rug. UGH!!!! I've used this type of bottle and in particular the brand All for many, many times and this has never happened.

After lunch I began hauling stuff out and cleaning up all that soap. It took rag after rag after rag after rag. I wasn't able to finish yesterday as we had family stop in for a few hours and then took the kids to Kamp Dels to swim.

So today after a morning running a child to the orthodontist and stopping at Sam's Club and the grocery store, I once more began cleaning. All my laundry room stuff was now in the kitchen. More rags used. David took off the laundry room closet doors in order to maneuver the washing machine out so I could clean under it.

UGH!!!! When was the last time you looked under your washing machine and cleaned it? It is not a pretty sight!!!! If you are of feeble disposition, please don't do this alone, have someone there to support you (or better yet do it for you!). David brought me a paint scraper to pick up most of the dust, soap, dirt, and lost items prior to using yet more rags.

But I scrubbed it and washed off the pipes and the back and the wall and the bottom. Then he moved it back and moved out the dryer. This wasn't as bad since no detergent was underneath and I could use the vacuum first.

Once all that scrubbing was done I began putting things back into the closet, reorganizing as I went along. Now it is really nice and clean! I didn't have the energy to wash the windows or wipe the top of the cabinets. But I know dirt - it ain't going nowhere too soon and will dutifully sit awaiting my company one day in the future, not minding one bit how long is meant by "future."

As for all those rags, they went directly into the washing machine and were given extra rinses in order to try and get all that All out.

One bright spot, David called the 1-800 number on the bottle and related to the person what happened. She is sending us a check for $12, the amount it cost and also coupons totaling $12 for All products and also other coupons from their company. I love it when a company does what it can to make the customer happy.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Catechesis - doesn't help if you're not listening

Last week at the CCA, the kids and I attended morning Matins. While waiting for it to begin, I noticed that the first session to immediately follow was "Sample Catechesis: Fifth Commandment Basics Cain and Able and the "Murder of God" led by Pr. Bender. Since the water park didn't open until after the session ended, I told the kids we would stay and listen. They didn't grumble too much and after Matins took the pieces of notepaper and pens available on the table and began doodling while Pr. Bender spoke.

I noticed that Abby (age 6) was writing a letter. I happened to see it and realized that she definitely was not listening to Pr. Bender as he catechized us in the 5th Commandment, teaching us that hating our brother was murder.

Here is her letter, misspellings and all.

Dear Nate
how are you Doeen to
Day you are a Dum pig so
good by O you are a pig

and I am not Joceene So
Do you gitit you are a weerdO
I am nefer toceen to you you are a wich O and stop the gofee Dum
pig never play to Day
Love ABBY

Yes I'm saving it to hand to her as an adult. And yes, Dad did speak to her about her letter and no we didn't let brother read it in order to not deal with more problems.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Ahhh....Home

Yes I always look so forward to vacation and can't wait for it to arrive. But (there is always one isn't there?!) I am always so glad to get back home!

Home where.......it is my bed (select comfort -oooh, comfy!)......my shower.......my smells........my couches.......my computer........ah just home!

Now off to finish unpacking, start some laundry, usher children to bed, and then sit and read.....blogs and emails.....ahhhhhh.....Home!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Checklist

1. Van cleaned out, vacuumed (I even carpet cleaned it), and filled......check
2. Laundry done, mostly........check
3. Bags packed.........almost
4. Library books returned or renewed........check
5. Kid's bathed........check
6. Dog to Grandpa and Grandma's..........check
7. Signed off email list Loopers lest I come home to hundred's of emails.......check

I still need to finish packing, and then load the van, then we're off. Yippeee!

Update on our meals. Here is how it worked:
Monday supper: Hot roast beef (leftover in the freezer) that I heated and made a gravy then served with mashed potatoes, the rest of the fresh green beans and bread.
Tuesday breakfast: Cereal (used up one open gallon of milk)
dinner: Fried chicken, the rest of the mashed potatoes, the little bit of green beans, a few baked beans and the leftover biscuits from Sunday's meal of biscuits and gravy.
supper: Bacon and corn bread
Wednesday's breakfast: will be left over corn bread and fried eggs or muffins that Hannah and Sam made for our trip.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Too Much Stuff

How come all this stuff can drive me up a wall. I can decide I'm going to clean it up and get rid of most of it. But when I start, I can't seem to give it up? Some stuff is easy.

1. Books - extras or ones we don't read? List them on paperback swap.
2. Papers - trash them, file them, or give them to the proper child to deal with.
3. Things misplaced - put them where they go.

But it is the stuff that I don't know what to do with or think I might need or the kids might want or need. Ugh! Oh well, I'll just stack it in a nice pile and deal with it later.

Meals

Coming up with meals is the bane of every cook. Cooking them is the easy part, figuring out what to cook is the headache. Even more so days before vacation.

We still need to eat, but I don't want to leave any leftovers. But then to come up with meals that either a. have enough leftovers to cover two meals or b. don't have any leftovers AND are relatively nutritious is a challenge.

I can't say yes every meal (although I want to and we did have hamburgers for Father's Day supper and hotdogs for today's lunch!) to hotdogs or hamburgers or frozen pizza because on vacation we will have to eat at restaurants and having just ate junk food at home makes eating junk food out less appealing.

I can't say yes to my new favorite lunch of cut-up veggies, fruit, cheese, summer sausage and crackers or bread because I'm saving that for our lunch in the van on the drive.

I'll come up with something, I just want to be on vacation now.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

O God, My Faithful God

This hymn (LSB 696) is the Hymn for the Day this coming Sunday and therefore the hymn we are trying to learn by heart through this week's Congregation at Prayer. Pastor chose vs 1 and 4 for the goal of learning by heart. I'm really enjoying verse 4:

Lord, let me win my foes
With kindly words and actions,
And let me find good friends
For counsel and correction.
Help me, as You have taught,
To love both great and small
And by Your Spirit's might
To live in peace with all.

Those lines "and let me find good friends for counsel and correction" struck home this time more than ever. I think of all you who do this for me and I thank God for giving me you. Dear friends, know I'm thinking and praying for you more this week than normal.

Kids Say the Darndest Things..

...right Amused Mama? This is the conversation last night coming home in our van.

8yr old son in all seriousness: "Dad have you ever been inside the funeral home?"

Dad barely containing his laughter: "Nathan, do you know what I do for a living?"

8yr old son: "Yeah, you're a pastor."

Dad: "So, then, yes I've been in the funeral home many, many times."

8yr old son incredulous: "I don't see what that has to do with it. "

By then the rest of us were all laughing and poor Nathan was still trying to figure it all out.

Friday, June 13, 2008

I feel like nothing has gotten done

But as I make this list, apparently my *feelings* don't jive with reality.

1. We've started back into regular school mornings, accomplishing some Math, Science, and History each day. David has been teaching Latin and Greek whenever his schedule allows.

2. I've washed all the sheets in the house (one young sons, - ev-er-y- mor-ning- as he still does not awaken before relieving himself).

3. My kitchen floor and counters have stayed clean this week.

4. We selected paint for our living room and dining room. Both rooms will be the same color as they are one big room with colonnade half wall dividers, dividing the two. We've been thinking of painting since we moved in five years ago. But once we bought new furniture last summer, we began more seriously contemplating paint. I had originally thought I wanted a green, but was afraid these north/west facing rooms which are fairly shaded, might then be too dark. So I just didn't ever decide. Then David , on Tuesday, said he was going to make a hospital visit in the town with The Home Depot. In ten minutes, we picked a paint color and he went and bought it. Fall Mood

5. Accomplished the errands one day - gas fill up (ouch!), library, groceries, oldest girls finally were able to spend their gift certificates they won from their piano teacher in the April "practice time" competition.

6. Hannah recited for us "Paul Revere's Ride" by H.W. Longfellow. She memorized it by herself in a month and then recited it with a handful of mistakes. WOW, David and I were impressed as were Grandpa and Grandma who were visiting that night. I had read this to the children during our study of the American Revolution and challenged them to try and memorize it. Hannah took the challenge and did a tremendous job.

7. I picked out a photo album and supplies for my Germany trip pictures and souvenouirs. My Creative Memories consultant helped. I chose the Chocolate 12x12 coverset with natural pages and the "Earthy" Power Pallete. It should come in this week and I'm looking forward to scrapping.

Now I need to make some more bread, accomplish more laundry (it really never ends, right Laura?), shower, think of lunch, get the oldest to violin for a group performance, and who knows what else.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Good Workout

Yesterday we spent most of the day completing housework and outside chores. I wanted to mop my kitchen floor which was in desperate need. So I spent over three hours scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing. (This is what I get for never being consistent!)

I went two rows of tile (linoleum, not real tile) at a time. First I used the scrub brush, then sprinkled on baking soda, then scrubbed that with a scrubbing sponge, next a rag to wash it off, then a clean rag to rinse it off. Yes it took a loooong time. But it looks better.

The bad thing is that now my triceps muscles are killing me. They ached and ached and ached last night and still have a dull ache this morning. The good thing is that all the while scrubbing I listened to all of Pr. Bender's presentation on "95 Theses for Christian Parents" - (Well, not Quite) Implications of the Fourth commandment for Fathers and Mothers from the 2005 CCA Symposium and part of Pr. Stuckwisch's "How We Teach Our Children to Know Our Father in Heaven" - Jesus' Catechesis on the Lord's Prayer.

So even if you can't attend the CCA next week, or any other time, buy the presentations (go here and click on the online catalog, scroll down to Symposium audio tapes/cds) and listen to them at home or while in the car.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Gardening

My friend Jane posted about her garden. What a lovely plot she has and some yummy things she has planted. Other Loopers talk about growing their own food in the summer, and I have tended to covet and despair that I'm not. My oldest kids have asked to plant some things to grow and I really wanted to do that for them. But frankly we don't have a great place to plant a garden. And I'm okay with that now (after much worrying, fussing, and fuming).

Last year I bought weekly things from our local farmer's market. For example, one day I bought the most beautiful roma tomatoes from one lady, onions and peppers from another, carrots and garlic from another, and went home to can some delicious salsa we've enjoyed all year. I realize now that some of these people count on selling their produce at the market, if I were growing my own, I wouldn't buy as much of theirs.

So I'm going to continue serving my neighbor by not having a garden. I'll buy from the farmer's market what I need for canning purposes and daily eating. I'll pay them for their hours of work in the sun planting, weeding, and harvesting. I'll pray God blesses them with good weather at appropriate times that their gardens may produce abundantly. And I'll trust that He will provide food for me as He always has in the past.

I'll gladly take the produce offered from congregational members who've been blessed with too much and want to share with us. And where would Charlie's joy be if he couldn't tell me each Sunday how much "my sweet corn" has grown or the weeds surrounding it, if I was growing my own?

God be praised for providing my daily bread and all that I need to support this body and life, whether that be in the form of friends offering abundant produce, or buying from the farmer's market, or purchasing at the grocery store. May He continually remind me to receive this daily bread with thanksgiving.