Weekly P.E. Time With Dad

Every Friday Jim spends an hour or so doing something special with the kids in the line of Physical Education for our homeschool. It has been a lot of fun for the kids, and an opportunity to learn a lot about staying in shape and having fun while working together as a team. Recently he put up a special pull-up bar on the tree house so that the kids could do pull-ups (and so he could do them too, of course!). The kids found it a lot harder than it looked. Most of them could not even do one. Jim did something like 15 - woah! I was impressed. I am not even going to try it, because I KNOW that I won't be able to do one.

He also has a personal fitness goal of doing 100 pushups at one time. He is working on it little by little.

Using the PROM Principle to Clean My House

Keeping the house clean has always been something that I strive to do well. It has been particularly challenging doing this in the part of West Africa where I live, where 7 months out of the year it is dry season, and the harmattan winds carry dust daily into my house, covering everything with a thin layer every few days. Having four children certainly makes the job all the more challenging. 2 years ago Linda Koenig, a homeschool mom of 10, led a seminar that I attended in which she described the way she keeps her house clean while homeschooling 10 kids - it was amazing. I have always done things sort of like she did, but her ideas motivated me to do it more routinely and in a more organized fashion. Some of her ideas come from the MOTH book ("Manages Of Their Homes" by Teri Maxwell), a celebrated book among large families. These ideas help me keep my sanity in organizing my home.

Another good resource is a book "Totally Together: an Organizational Journal for the Busy Household" by Stephanie O'Dea, whose ideas she shares on her blog http://www.totallytogetherjournal.com. There she describes some cleaning/organizing steps under the acronym she calls "PROM". I thought I would share here some of her ideas with notes on how I adapt it to my situation:

P

Purge. Stephanie: Grab a large plastic garbage bag, and go through quickly and just start tossing. If something is obvious garbage, get it out of your sight, and out of your house. There is no reason to save a random puzzle piece or a Barbie shoe. Just toss it. After your first pass through a room (or drawer, toy box, etc.) go back with another bag or bin for charity. If you have items that are no longer beneficial to your family, pass them along to someone who could truly need your give-aways. Do not give away items that are badly worn, damaged, or missing parts. That’s not fair to anyone.

(Karen's note: I do this by dividing up the house mentally into 6 sections, and I work on each section

one day a week under ideal situations. I take a basket with me for the decluttering part, and throw anything that doesn't belong in the room, including trash, in that basket. Most of the time there is a LOT of trash. When the room is clean, I distribute the items in the basket into their proper "pookah" or container or place in the house where they belong. In our house everything has a place it belongs. We also have a box for things to return to other people, as suggested by Linda Koenig, and a labeled box for library books and videos ready to return, tucked out of the way. Linda Koenig has a little different twist to this: she suggests labelling four boxes while cleaning a room to put those items in that don't belong:

Put Away Give Away Throw Away Store Away

R

Remove. Stephanie: Once you have purged items, seal the bag or box up securely and do NOT look inside. Keep purged items away from children who will gladly rifle through cast-aways to discover lost treasure. Take garbage to the outdoor bin or to the local dump. Give still-useful items to charity. There are numerous organizations who will gladly accept your items. If your family would prefer to hold a garage sale, schedule one right away. Holding on to items for too long is just as bad as never purging in the first place. Craigslist and freecycle are your friends; use them.

(Karen's note: Almost weekly I remove things from our house to give away. I am constantly going through the clothes finding stained ones or torn ones to get rid of, or small ones that go in storage for the next kid to grow into, and sifting through books and toys that the kids never play with, etc. We keep boxes in storage for garage sales. We also have a "recycle bin" for toilet paper rolls, plastic containers, etc that the kids use for crafts. Many of those crafts also get thrown out on a regular basis when I do the "Purge" part, and we have a "pookah" for crafts too. We recycle jars for canning; in Africa we store our overflow of plastic bottles, tin cans and jars in a box till it is full; then we take the full box out to the neighborhood and set it down. Usually before I can even set it down the whole neighborhood converges on it and takes what they need. I love the way the local children recycle tin cans by reshaping them into little cars and trucks.)

O

Stephanie: O is for organize. Take the time to group like items together and put in storage containers that are sturdy, accessible, and attractive. These containers do NOT need to cost a lot of money, nor do they necessarily need to match. Your local dollar store has lots of baskets and containers that will do just fine for storage. When storing children’s items, label clearly on the outside of a solid container what is housed inside. When I ran

preeschool centers, I’d often take a photo of the toys, or cut a picture out of a catalog or magazine to help pre-readers identify what lived inside each box or bin.

(Karen's note: This is the "pookah" part. Our family is really into pookas. I love going to garage sales and buying used containers or "pookahs". Lately though I am steering toward clear sterilite containers that I can see through, and I make labels on everything - I really need to get a label maker!)

M

Stephanie: Maintain. This is the hardest one, I know. We all have good intentions of keeping up with our newly-organized spaces, yet somehow life gets in the way sometimes. It’s okay. If you take the time to think about each and every purchase you make, or item that comes into your home, you will not get overwhelmed. Let well-meaning relatives know that although buying large stuffed animals for gifts can pack a momentary punch, a gift-certificate to the local museum or zoo is a much more useful gift. Take back your home—-when your home feels cluttered, your brain feels cluttered and you’re more apt to anxiety, depression, and a quick-temper.

You can’t expect your house to look like a magazine or design catalog, but you can expect children (and spouses!) to clean up after themselves.

(Karen's note: This is where my family comes in. Everyone has their chore. And everyone must know my system of organization that I have established. I try to train everyone on this on a regular basis, and make adjustments when necessary. We have an older kid teamed up with a younger kid to help keep them accountable to their chore and to keep things put where they belong. Linda Koenig has her kids do this first thing every morning, and they can only get out one "pookah" at a time. She keeps her house "company ready" at all times, something we also strive to do. I also make a schedule for my kids and an activity list so they can clearly see they must finish and clean up after an activity before. We do the cleaning up in the evening, and by bedtime all the toys are put away, floors are swept and mopped, making it easier for me to get started the following day with a clean house, when mornings are already pretty packed full of chores and things to do for everyone. This helps me to not feel so overwhelmed in the mornings. Then I go around the house to my six areas each day of the week and do a super cleaning, de-clutter of that area. This way I do it a little at a time, so if company comes over by surprise there is less of a disaster to deal with.)

A Very Happy Birthday

Today is my birthday. I'm not going to say my age, but let's just say I'm almost half way into my 5th decade. Many people seem shocked when they discover my age - I on the other hand have a constant reminder - not the gray hairs and wrinkles (though they are there), but the aches and pains of arthritis and other ailments. Still, I am thankful for what I can still do, and for all the blessings God has sent my way. My husband and children are some of them. Today my almost 13-year-old daughter baked and decorated a birthday cake for me on her own. I was so proud of her. My 11-year-old son who is really into making stop-motion videos made me one in which the words "Happy Birthday Mommy" magically wrote themselves on the chalk board. My third oldest, Aisha, who is 6 was amazed that I was "born" at one time, and my youngest, Gabriel, who is 4, just wanted to know when we get to eat the cake. They all made me cards and Jim plans to take me out to dinner this evening. It was so nice to be pampered in that way, and to see my children using their talents to bless others.

Check out my other blog

If you are a follower of this blog, I would like to invite you to check out my other blog, "Bettison Adventures". There is where I journal some of the fun things our family has been able to experience over the past several years living in Africa. You can view it at www.bettisonfamily.blogspot.com.

The Art of Cooking

I think too many times today's generation has been short changed. They are so often growing up on fast food and pre-packaged food items, and running from one activity to another, that they never learn the skill of cooking, especially young girls. I was blessed somehow in my childhood to learn some of the basics from my mom in cooking, like making a white sauce, and making many of our family's favorites, but over the years much of what I learned was from trying out many recipes. After moving to rural Africa, where I could not get a lot of ingredients for recipes that called for "canned this" or "1 package of that", I found some wonderful cookbooks that taught how to make many things from scratch. 20 years later I rarely use anything packaged and most of these recipes are ingrained in my mind, I rarely use a recipe. These are the things I want to pass on to my children. I believe passing on life skills is one of the most important roles of a parent.

My oldest daughter, Katie, will soon be 13 and has shown an increasing desire and aptitude for all things cooking. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her in the kitchen showing her the ropes, and letting her put a recipe together herself, or plan a whole meal. Among her recent culinary adventures have been making cheese sauces, chili, deviled eggs, fruit tarts and various baked goods. She has also demonstrated an artistic flare in things like organizing vegetable trays.

Valentine's Weekend with 10

This past weekend we had the chance to play parents to 8 kids, while we hosted the 4 kids of fellow missionaries as they went out to do a medical clinic, making a total of 10 in our house. We've done this before, and it was great - I know a lot of people think I'm nuts, but I actually find it easier sometimes with more kids, because they all have someone to play with, and I never have anyone come up to me saying they are "bored". We tend to do things in a more organized way just to get everything done in an orderly fashion. Maybe some would call it the "assembly-line" mentality - call it what you want, but it works. I am a creature of routine and order. This weekend we decorated Valentine cookies (around 150 altogether) and they disappeared by the end of the weekend. We also had other friends drop in, the more the merrier! I think there is something in me sometimes that craves the crowd of kids, as if I was made for a large family. I love the special closeness everyone feels, and the sense of belonging to something special that only exists in a big family. I love seeing the older kids pull together to help the little kids along, and everyone sharing a little piece of the bigger task, getting it done faster. It's the same special feeling we get when our whole extended family gathers for the holidays. It is a feeling of community and togetherness, sharing the knoweldge that together we are something more than merely the sum of each individual part.

35 funny things my kids have said

Over the years we have had the habit of writing down the funny or things that have come out of our children's mouths. Here are some of them:

Katie:

1) age 1 ½ “See, I can book!” (See, I can read a book!)

2) age 2 – “ook boys, I’m pretty!” (to some boys as she pulled her dress over her head)

3) age 2 - “Sometimes it takes two” (when asking for mom’s help)

4) age 2 -“Koombah-yah, N’ord” (Koombah-yah, my Lord)

5) age 2 1/2 - “it’s de’icious!”

6) age 2 1/2 - “the cookie-bread man” (the ginger-bread man)

7) age 2 1/2 - “it’s the princess plane!” (when she heard us talking about the president’s plane flying over head)

8) age 2 1/2 - “you have to drink your memomade to make your toe feel better” (said to Mommy after Mommy hurt her toe)

9) age 2 1/2 - “you have to ask nicely” (said to Daddy who asked for more tea in a make-believe tea party)

10) age 2 3/4 - “Are you guys making pie for the Katie-nator and the two guys-nators?” (after we called her younger brother Joshua the “Josh-inator”)

11) age 3 - (anxious to finally start eating breakfast) “Let’s pray...Mommy, will you do the honors?”

12) age 3 - After Mommy came into the room to see why Joshua was crying, I asked Katie, "What happened? Did Joshua fall down?" and Katie replied, "Yeah, and I broke his crown."

13) age 3 – “My shoulders are too high, right here and right here” (pointing to her two shoulders)

14) age 3 -“it’s not a big hot, it’s only a little hot”

15) age 3- Said “busketti” for Spaghetti, “buzzert” for dessert, and “buzzanya” for Lasagna.

16) age 3 - "There are a lot of bees in the forest, and they are very very nice and they can very very sting ya.”

17) age 6 – “When you’re grown up, then you’re getting old.”

18) age 6 - “Can you photocopy me doing it?” (playing the piano)

19) age 6 - Daddy asks Katie, “Don’t you feel good when your room is clean? Doesn’t it look clean?”, to which Katie replied “Yeah, like a leaf.”

20 ) age 8 - “Grandma is a saint because she lives in St. Louis.”

Joshua:

21) age 1 ½ - called chocolate milk “goppit”, somebody “buh-ee”

22) age 2 - called oatmeal "uckmeal", strawberries "strawbabies"

23) age 3 - called a certain person's hairy armpits "a beard"

24) "There’s fire in the hole!” (after sticking a hair pin into an electric socket)

25) age 4 – “Grandma’s name is Grandma Cathi, because she has curly hair; that’s why she’s called Grandma Cathi.”

26) age 5 – “I’m true!” (I’m telling the truth)

27) age 5 - "It’s in the saloon” (It’s in the salon/living room

28) “Let’s go fly a kite and send it snoring!” (from Mary Poppins)

29) age 6 – “The garden is a very hide-iful place.”

30) age 6 - (before bed one night, after having nightmares) “Lord God, help me only have dreams about diamonds sparkling all over the place" and "help me not bleed when I fall down on my bike."

31) age 7 - (Joshua was asked to choose a Bible verse to write out and share with someone to encourage them. After awhile he brought me a paper with Proverbs 5:3 "For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil." Trying not to show too much alarm at the verse he had chosen for me, I asked him, "Joshua, do you know what an adulteress is?" He then looked up quite matter-of-factly at me and said, "Yes, you are; you are an adult, and everything you say is so sweet."

32) age 10 - "reverse physiology" (was supposed to say "reverse psychology", in a story he wrote)

Aisha:

33) age 6 – “Gabriel is not cropolating” (cooperating)

34) “OK, Daddy I scluded Gabriel” (excluded)

Gabriel:

35) age 4 – (sitting on the slowly deflating air mattress he is about to sleep on for the second night in a row while guests were staying with us) “Mommy, my bed is going downer and downer and downer!”