Little Cleaning Fairy came while I slept

It's Spring Break.

A break from

6:15 am,

hurried breakfast,

catching the bus,

getting ready to go.

 No alarm this morning.

But,

something did wake me.

The clatter of dishes.

Was someone eating breakfast?

No, I heard the dishwasher rack being pulled.

Dishes stacked.

The kitchen faucet is on, then off.

Someone is cleaning!!!

I bet it's my Whiters.

Love her.

She is my little cleaning fairy.

Can't wait until she can make a full meal!!

Inspiration

I've talked about her on my blog.

My children know her best.

I got to see her speak here.

What a sweetheart.

 Her book, 

Heaven Is Here

will be out April 3rd.

My copy will arrive and

I'm very sure 

laundry will have to wait!

Inspiration comes first. 

Right?

Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin

I feel like a pig.
A pig from the infamous fable,
The Three Little Pigs

Let me explain.

The wolf is to me all the 
ugly, 
foul, 
 immoral,
stuff that  exists in our world.
The wolf can get in so easily.

If the house is not strong

and the pig wants to relax and make things easy for himself.

Copyright © URL PBS Kids, Copyright © 2000-06 WGBH Educational Foundation and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. All rights reserved

The pig with the house of bricks.
He's the pig I want to be.
When the wolf huffs and puffs 
 I exclaim,
"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."
and my house won't budge.
 I am safe inside.

I recite this tale to my daughter when I curl her hair.
I tell it a little differently.
I'm teaching my kids why its safer to keep the wolf away.
Rules and commandments are not restrictive.
They bring safety,
they bring freedom.

So bring it on wolf.
We're building a house of bricks.

Sisters

 I'm the big sister.But,sometimes I feel small.I'll give them a call,they'll help me feel tall.That is all.    ♥

Growing a man

 

 This boy of mine.

He loves his mamma.

He asked me for a XBOX.

I said no.

Playstation?

NO.

Our neighbor has one.

I don't mind it a little here and there.

But,

NO.

You may not sit in your room

with your very own big screen TV,

with head phones on,

and play for hours and hours.

NO WAY.

I say, 

I'm raising you into a man.

I'm raising a missionary.

You've got to know how to work.

How to talk.

How to get along with out being plugged in.

I was addicted to Super Mario Brothers.

We didn't have it at home,

thank goodness.

Just at our cousins.

He has a DS.

I don't really like it much either.

He only has 1 game right now.

He does pretty good.

In the winter I've got to remind him to put it away.

I'm so thankful for our ease of life.

We don't have to hunt for food,

or build or own home from the trees on our land.

But man,

I bet families back in those days knew how to really get things done.

Everyone must have had to pitch in.

I hated work when I was a kid,

but now I see what it did for me.

Ethan.

He's learning way before I did.

Its not easy for him.

See's how some live a different way than we do.

But,

 he's not a brat about it.

He hugs me.

He says he understands.

I'm thankful for him.

He's a sweet boy.

 ♥

Snow Day

 Jeff and the kids stayed home from their duties today.It's pretty nasty outside.Frozen rain on top of snow.  I was thinking,a blanket of snow brings commonality to the world.Most weather does.I had to go out yesterday.I was trying to get around  along with everyone around me. Living still happens even when itscold,wet,icy,dangerous.I had to get help with my cart of groceries.Couldn't get them out to the van without a good Samaritan.She pulled and I pushed.I thanked her over and over again.Having something in common makes people more loving.I wish I could cover the world in my own "blanket of snow". So many commonalities are gone these days.Manners,Good language,Chastity.Living on one income.The one income thing has been on my mind.Stuff would be cheaper,if we all wanted less. Just my thoughts.So happy to be warm.So happy to be home.

    ♥

LICE!! How we finally conquered them at our house.

 There's a new naughty word at our house. Lice.

Gilles San Martin

Are you scratching your head yet?

 I can't talk about it without getting all itchy. Whitney was the lucky recipient.We found it a few days after the letter from school came."Please be aware that there is lice at school......"I read it.I didn't worry one bit.I should have.In fact.If you have a little girland she has hair,adopt the paranoia that I will share now.  1stMake her invisible. Add some tea tree oil into a squirt bottle with water.Spray your daughter's hair.Put her hair up.Get it off her shoulders.When?Everyday.Lice like humans not trees.Tea tree oil is awesome.I found my bottle at Walgreens.Should've been doing this as soon as cold weather hit.Hats.Coats.Backpacks.I'll hung close together.Perfect for Lice.Request that her coat goes in a bag on the back of her chair.    2ndTeach your daughter how to avoid it.Drill it in her sweet head.Don't throw your coat on a heap with your friend's coats.Don't share your hat.Don't share your hair brush.  3rdDon't be ignorant.If your daughter gets lice.Put your hair up.Don't snuggle her close to your head. Christmas Eve, I found lice in my hair.Not fun. Unless, you'd like your husband to spend hours and hours combing through your thick hair. Google "lice".They don't jump.
 4th Research.Read up on lice and understand them.Their life cycle,what will kill them.How to get rid of them.So much info online. The shampoo's and sprays are worthless.DO NOT use the spray on your furniture or mattresses.Its poison.I'd rather have lice than kill my family.I used Nix shampoo on Whitney's head.I picked 30 live Lice of her scalp after I used the shampoo.All over the internet it says the shampoo doesn't work.I agree.Olive oil.All over your head.Shower cap.Towel over shower cap.Sleep on it.14 hours I kept it on.Use regular shampoo,took about 4 rinses.Leave in some conditioner.Comb through hair with nit comb.over and over and overNo lice after that. 
 5thEmpty her room and the house.Soft toys.Extra blankets.Outside in garbage bags.  
Cover your couch with a mattress bed-wetting cover sheet.She sleeps on the couch.Give her new bedding everyday.(Throw bedding in the dryer for 20 minutes w/ heat.)No dirty clothes on the floor. Take clothes out of her drawers. All clothes come from a quarantined spot.My garden tub was perfect.Every towel, every pillow,every soft thinghas to be clean before use.Couch pillows outside too.Cover your car's seats with garbage bags. Do all of this until you see no evidence for 2 weeks. 

6th

Look for Lice often.

Even if you don't get a letter from school.If you do catch lice- Go through hair 3 times a day.Record your findings.How many lice, how many nits (eggs).Make sure you have somewhere to place them when you find them.a small garbage does the trick,or a bowl.Empty it outside in the big trash.Find a newly hatched lice (nymph).They're very small. 

Actual size of the three lice forms compared to a penny. (CDC Photo)

 Place it in a cereal bowl with tweezers.Pull a hair from your head.Run the strand of hair over the nymph.Be amazed and very scared.Like a magnet it clings.Be consistent.Be a bit paranoid.Work hard.Give up your all the things you did for fun.Oh, and if you think you've conquered them.think again,Give it a good 2 weeks.Before you think you're in the clear.

7thTry to stay calm.Ha. Good luck.I was plagued for a month.Getting lice flat out stinks. Going through thisI'd remember all the stories of other womens' trials.They were strong.They didn't cave to frustration.You know the stories.The ones that are told from the memory of a prophet, some noble gentleman,or a great women. "My mother was the epitome of patience and fortitude."
I cried like a baby one day.so frustrated !!!!!!!!!!!It was the first day back to school-after Christmas break.I had day of plans,the girls were happy to see friends again.I checked again,just to make sure.You guessed it!Lice.Thought we were done.Nope.Not out of the clear unless its been like 3 weeks.I haven't seen anything for 2.I'm still checking.These bitty things.These horrible pests. They broke me. At first I was confident and calm. But day after day it got to me. My daughters may never be prominentor great now. Are their stories really true?The children of those women must have selective memory. In the moment the thought was to handle it better butcrying along with them seemed like the perfect solutionalong with getting even more paranoid, more consistent,and CRAZY!Ya it hurts my pride now.But life goes on.I will say,during it all I tried to count my blessings.(In order of importance.)A little girl's prayer. Netflix Wallace and GrommetGoogle   My patient husband Clothes Dryer  Washing MachineFriends with experience Freezer Shower capsHead lampsLeather couch  
I'm gonna go check my head.
 

I call plates and bowls!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I call plates and bowls!!!!!!!!!!!

Love it when she says this.

I announce for them to clean two item types

out of the dishwasher.

Everyone is in a hurry to get first pick.

Whitney is often first.

Wish I would've thought of this long ago.

My dishwasher gets cleaned out FAST these days!

After dinner

sometimes I have to say.

"Um, this isn't Hotel Wiberg,

come back in here and help. 

I used to let them leave me alone with a mess.

I didn't make it mandatory.

They used to whine 

it was easier to let them go.

But now its tradition.

I make dinner.

You help set the table.

You clear the table.

You put away leftovers.

You sweep the floor.

or um you don't eat.

Besides its sooo rude.

We all live here together,

and to my delight

My kids get this.

Finally.

When I was a kid.

I didn't get it.

Maybe I didn't feel ownership.

I was a slave,

I thought.

Vowed my kids would understand 

why and how to contribute.

Tonight,

Abby

went to her dad,

said," May I take your plate?"

Sweetest words from her lips all day.

 A new season of motherhood has arrived.

My kids are getting it.

Sometimes I see-

selflessness,

obedience,

charity, 

independence. 

I'm relieved.

I have hope.

That maybe.

Just maybe.

Despite all my mistakes

and their mistakes too.

They'll grow up

contribute,

work hard,

and be happy adults.

And they'll teach their kids, 

the things I taught them.

Pics taken a few years back.

At our first house.

 When getting there help was more work for me.

♥

Fun in the Winter sun

We went out in the warm winter sun.School started the next day.The kids LOVE to be outside.Devon got a camera for Christmas.Best purchase I've ever made for him.He loves it so much.The kids want a pet.Thinking of a Rat or a Guinea Pig.The lady at the pet store said, "A Ball Python is a good pet for kids."She has 50 animals living at her house!!We want something fuzzy and soft, that's not intended to be eaten. We had a bunny last year.Thumper.He died.Broke Whitney's heart. Never seen a girl so in love with animals. I lost a kitty when I was 8.Whiskers.Cried.All my kitties either got ran over or the dogs killed them.I grew up with animals.Horses,Dogs,Cows,Cats,Pigs,Chickens when I was young.We even had peacocks next door.There was always work to be done.Sometimes I think I'd like that for my kids.Workand Animals.If had a pasture I'd make sure there were underground sprinklers though.I hated changing sprinkler pipes.twice a day.All through the summer.     ♥