The "Karate Kid" method . . .

Check out these posts about "going Karate Kid" on your kids . . . or in other words, teaching them how to do simple tasks through repitition.  LOTS of repitition.

I LOVE it!!  And am DEFINATELY going to try it.  :)

Here is the post from raising lemons -- and here is one from Power of Moms.

 . . . Have fun!

Cleaning Inspectors...

As you've heard me mention, we are selling our home (goes on the MLS today!! YIKES!!!)  so in preparation to listing it we have been in dejunking, decluttering, and in heavy duty cleaning mode! We are pretty good at day to day cleaning and picking up after our selves but when it comes to having it in "perfect  model condition" I'm sad to say we fall short!! We definitely LIVE in our house if you know what I mean! 

don't get me wrong, our kids have chores and work hard to keep things in order  and let me tell you...teaching 5 little people how to care about cleanliness and order is no easy feat! It requires time (takes WAY longer to teach a kiddo to clean than to just do it yourself), patience, love, persistence, and consistency.. just like it would to develop any good habit.  I know it is important and it will help them in so many areas of their life. 
Especially if you have some naturally unorganized boys kids that need help  in this area. We have worked hard over the years to instill good cleaning habits and have done routine chore lists, charts, incentives...we have tried LOTS of things that work and find that when it stops working we adapt or try something new.

 When they were smaller we did "miracle music" where getting the chores done was like a game- we played a series of songs that had a set job/chore associated with each particular song and the challenge was to get each chore done by the end of each song. they got a point for each song/chore they completed and on their chart they would write down how many points they got. When they got to 100pts (about a month if they got all their pts each time) they got to go on a date and pick what to do with mom or dad - which was written on their chart as a reminder to what they were working towards. They loved it and it totally worked for quite a while. It even worked for mom and dad too, while the monkeys cleaned, Mike and I would clean up the kitchen mess from dinner and pick up around the house until the songs where over (which were fast paced classical music that made me want to move fast!)- it was about 20 minutes of music (4-5 songs) while everyone in the house age 2 and up would clean like mad! It was awesome!!! After a few years of that they got tired of the songs and so we changed it up.Recently we've done "10 for 10" or "20 for 20" still to music of our choice (10 or 20 mins of cleaning depending on how much cleaning is involved in exchange for 10 or 20 minutes of family dance or family wii afterwards) this works good too...

But now with the higher expectation of having it look "perfect" and like nobody lives here, we have had to step up our game...so we came up with "cleaning inspectors" . We recently hired an inspector come to tell us what things needed fixing before we listed the house. The kids saw him inspect each room carefully and thoroughly...kind of like I was doing each night with each and every single room in the house before bed. I quickly grew tired of telling each child that while "yes, it looks cleaner than before and by our usual standards it works" (neat and tidy with nothing on floor things put away, but still a few books on dresser or dolls in the corner ) but for SHOWING our home to potential buyers it was NOT clean enough...poor kids! I was feeling like a super picky, naggy momma! So we came up with a game to get each child to "catch the vision" of what we were looking for with out it having to be such a drag!! So each kiddo (J,Z,S,B) has a night that they get to be "Cleaning Inspector" (the other 2 nights Mike and I trade off and we don't do it on Sunday:)

here are the rules:

1. Inspector goes around inspecting how everyone is doing during our "20 for 20" routine (it's longer these days since we are aiming for perfection;) and the inspector just observes and can (if he/she is a nice inspector) give tips or point out areas they may be missing.

2. Inspector gives 5 minute warning when it's almost time to be done. Then a 1 minute warning.

3. Each kiddo has to report to the inspector when their assigned area is complete

4. The inspector then carefully evaluates each area and then can give 1 warning if they missed something and they have 2 minutes to fix this while he goes on to inspect the other areas. afterwards the inspector will reevaluate and approve or disapprove.

5. If the inspector approves he/she can give out a piece of candy like a starburst or something small as their reward (if it's late I stick the candy in their lunch box the next day)

6. If the other kiddos report that the inspector did a good job (was nice and not mean to them or was helpful to them) the inspector gets 1 piece of candy

7. After the inspector reports that the house is clean, Mike or I go through and make sure the inspector did his job- if it's totally perfect the inspector gets another piece of candy

So the inspector can earn up to 2 pieces of candy AND doesn't have to do any actual work, other than gently guiding and supervising the work and make sure it is getting done. They love it because they get 2 pieces of candy with out having to work 1 x a week and they feel like they get to be in charge. I love this because it is helping them learn how to do things more thoroughly and develop a critical eye...AND it keeps me from hovering and nagging and frees up my time to do other things they can't do like packing or putting away my own laundry (though Sav could and would probably do this for me- she's a sassy one;) 

So far this is working! I'm hoping we can keep it up till the house sells and hopefully put it into practice in our new home too! Wish me luck!! I know there are millions of ideas out there on how to teach our kiddos the value of hard work and I love hearing what others do that works for them...do you have something that works for you? 

Do share! 
(they're never too young to start-right?:)

It was an accident!

This is my cute little 5 year old.

A while back we were all hanging out in the living room when I heard, "Sorry mom, it was an accident." That's when you KNOW its something bad. So I turned around and saw this:

Wax! Not just wax, but RED wax! I managed to stay surprisingly calm. We had had an incident with a crayon in the dryer a month before, so I already had some advice from my mom on how to get it out. She suggested cloth and a warm iron. I never actually tried it on the laundry because it seemed hopeless (it was a load of whites and a green crayon). But since we couldn't just throw out a section of carpet, this time is was worth a shot.

I had some scrap cloth (from the ruined load of laundry mentioned above) that I laid over the wax and then used an iron on a warm setting (not too hot). I gently pressed for a few seconds down the entire spill and then lifted the cloth. Wax came up with it. I was amazed! I also used paper towels because I was curious if they would actually work, and they did. Just as well as the cloth. I did this around 12 times, and this was the result:

Had the wax been white you probably wouldn't be able to see it anymore, but I think this looks pretty amazing. I never even remember that its there.

Hopefully this doesn't happen to you, but if it does...this method is tried and true!

Clean day . . .

After taking down the "holidays" . . . I always find new motivation to put the house back together and do a good, thorough cleaning.  With a 4 month old baby, I've not done such a bang up job this year.  But Mrs. Myers Clean Day is my "go to" to help gain a little instant satisfaction in the clean department.  I always feel better if my counters shine, and my sink and appliances sparkle.

My favorite scent right now is the basil.  I get the sparkle and shine that I seek, but probably the very best benefit I reap from this cleaner is the heavenly scent!  To say I love the smell of a house cleaned with this stuff is an understatement.  On the website it says the basil scent is good to . . . "ease the nerves and perk up the senses", and boy does it ever (and I need both of those things)!   -- Probably why I like it so much . . . it energizes AND relaxes at the same time!  Even my boys comment on how much they love the smell . . . BOYS!  (I KNOW!)  They still have yet to thank me for cleaning, but the fact that they even notice, is just about as good in my book!

*photo from Mrs. Meyer's website - (wish you could scratch and sniff!)

YUM!

(I also use the room spray and soy candle -- for layers of freshness!)

. . . you should try it (they have lots of other scents too)!

Chore Chart and a craft for the kids.

We've been feeling the need, lately, to get organized and find a better system for our daily chores. Everyone knows that kids will be more likely to cooperate if you make it FUN!

We decided to make BUG MAGNETS, to chart our progress each day. This is a great idea, not only for chores, but also just for fun with the kids, to hold their art up on the fridge, OR don't even make magnets. Just make bugs for the kids to play with!

Supplies needed:

• paper (in any color of your choice)
• pencil
• scissors
• permanent marker
• hot glue
• craft glue
• clear beads (those kind that are flat on one side)

the rest are optional, depending on what you want the finished product to look like:

• magnets
• black beads (for heads)
• wire (for legs and antennae)
• wire cutters

Start by tracing one of the clear beads onto one of the pieces of paper

Decorate (or have your little ones decorate) however you like. We made bumble bees, ladybugs, water bugs, etc. The boys even just scribbled on a few. It all looked good in the end.

Cut your circle out and use the craft glue to cover your bug entirely.

Press your bead onto the bug.

It will look cloudy and white at first but should dry clear.

Then use the hot glue gun to glue a magnet to the back.

You can stop here. . . .

OR get creative with wire and black beads, making legs, heads, and antennae.

Here are our finished bugs.

And here are the completed chore charts. (We got a little antsy and just made them by hand)

Each day, as they complete their daily chores, the boys will move the bugs into the appropriate square.

At the end of the day, if their chart is full, they'll get a token (we also made magnets out of the tokens).

Once they've earned 10 tokens, they'll get a surprise. This is usually a family outing or a one on one date with mom or dad (think out to the movies, getting ice cream, making a craft together, getting a new book to read together).

We've been doing it for a few days and, so far, it's working out great! The boys get excited to do their chores because they like to move their bugs. And they know that if they fill up their chart, they'll get a token!

FHE Board and Mini Clipboards

The Crafting Chicks have done it again. This is a great idea to keep the fridge clutter-free. I'm always throwing things away and re-organizing my fridge, but it's a rare thing that it looks THIS good:

Please, can I have it!

Oh, how I love crisp, clean, organized space! Right now I'm dreaming of having this organizational wall in my kitchen.

*via PotteryBarn.com

The problem is that if I had it, I'd still manage to make it look unorganized.

Vintage Suitcase Closet

Why didn't I think of this? I always pass by the old suitcases at the thrift store and love the look. There's something almost romantic about them, to me. It reminds me of a young soldier going off to war. But I can never justify buying one. I saw this idea, from do-it-yourself magazine, on the Armelle Jewelry blog (a blog worth checking out-one of my favorites) and it seems so simple I don't know why it didn't come to my mind before. They suggest stacking a few to make a closet. Just gut and clean, decoupage the inside, and use it to store craft supplies. Brilliant!!