Time to Organize!

I'm trying to organize my life.  I think I have an organization disorder.  I can keep my desk cleaned off.  I am fairly organized there.  At home, it's another story.  I'm a pack rat, but not a hoarder.  I sell things and give things away, but I also keep too many scraps of paper.  I have too many books, and they cover the bookshelves along with a nice little layer of dust.  I really need a maid, but having to pick up for a maid is just not in my schedule.  Paying a maid is not in my budget.  Sometimes I wish Hubby and I had a third person in our family: a wife, to do all the things we don't want to do or don't have the time to do!

I finally did chore charts for the kids.  I titled it "Duties," so the boys of course love to joke about doody.  "I'm doing my doodies, Mom!"  Great.  Boys are potty mouthed their whole life.  It just never goes away!!!  (I'm one to talk, I know.)

I can't take credit for this idea.  On a recent trip to visit my sister, I saw a similar chart at her friends' house.  I made a mental note and then created a spreadsheet the next week.  Here is Son Number One's (I have them for all the kids):

Not only does this help organize their life (and mine), but it creates independence.  Eventually, they won't have to look at the chart to know their duty of putting their school uniform in their cubby, or brushing their teeth (I hope that one comes soon!).  Plus it encourages the kids to be kind to each other and to help.

Each kid has specific chores, but if they help the other or do other chores around the house, they still get a "check" for the specific chore I put on their chart.  We want to encourage helping out, and honestly it doesn't matter what they're helping with as long as they are.

My kids thrive on routine, since they have been in daycare virtually since the day they were born.  They love the chart, and they love getting check marks on their chart.

Weekly Rewards Include:

• Allowance for kids, depending on number of check marks they've received.
• Staying up 15 minutes late -- weekend only
• Playing 15 minutes of an Electronic during the weekday -- only if homework is completed and it's not bedtime
• Treasure Box Rewards (earned from 5 or more bonus points throughout the week): Dollar Tree items, Go someplace with Mommy or Daddy alone, Pick out a $1.00 toy at the store, special treat.

So far it's working for us! 

Butterfly (or MOTH) Life Cycle: Day 1

Yesterday, Hubby and I took the kids over to my parents' house to swim.  My Mom was out of town, so we sat around the pool, watch the kids swim, and spoke to my Dad.  He mentioned he had some caterpillars for us.  These caterpillars had eaten almost a whole tomato plant!  He said he saved three of them then killed the rest.  Nasty little garden culprits!

This will be the third time we've watched the butterfly life cycle.  Dad gave us three: two great big ones and one small.  Last time we had Blue Swallowtails, which were absolutely gorgeous.  These guys look like they may be Swallowtails too, but we've yet to see how they attach to branches.  Swallowtails hang upside down from branches by two strings. 

Taking care of caterpillars is so easy.  All you need is a big jar.  Put paper towels on the bottom, because their voracious eating habits make these guys poop a lot, and you don't want it gathering at the bottom because it can cause mold.  Clean out the paper towel and replace with a new one about once a day. 

Find their food of choice.  Most caterpillars will live off of parsley, dill, tomato plants.  If you know what type of caterpillar they are, then you can research online and figure out what they like to eat.  Watch them eat themselves silly and turn into mega-caterpillars.  Then watch them turn into a chrysalis.  Swallowtails stay in their chrysalis for an average of 9 days.  When they're in the Chrysalis you can clean out the remaining plant matter left in the jar, just be careful not to knock them off their branches.  Butterflies need sticks to stand on to dry their wings on when they emerge. 

 

 

**After doing a little bit more internet research, I'm pretty sure these guys are tomato hornworms.  They will probably turn into moths.  I'm not exactly sure how they cocoon or turn into a chrysalis, so I guess we'll just be surprised! 

 

 

 



Act of Kindness #7

So far, we've completed 7 Acts of Kindness, and I have a few more in the works too!  On Friday, I stopped on the way to the kids' daycare and I ran someones newspaper up to their front porch.  This was thrilling, but almost felt like I was doing something bad like TPing someones house!

We also finished our present to our families from the Volunteer Information Center.  We bought them presents and groceries (the two ladies I worked with shopped two nights until midnight to provide Christmas for these families)!  How amazing!  One of the families came to pick up the gifts, and they were so appreciative!  They hugged us and thanked us about fifty times.  This is what the season is really about. 

Today, I decided to write letters to the soldiers.  I got all the kids in on it, and here is the result!  I added my own personal message in Darling Daughter's message, and Hubby wrote a letter of his own too!

Darling Daughter's letter!

 

Son Number One's letter to a "solger."

 

Son Number Two's letter to a soldier.  That's Spiderman by the way.

 

Our piles of letters will make it out this week, and they'll be put in a care package by Military Missions. They send a ton of letters to soldiers, and they always need people to write them, so why don't you all write some letters and get them in the mail!  It doesn't cost anything, and it will make a soldier's day! 

 

 

 

The address to send them to:

 

Military Missions Inc.

3650 Boston Road

Suite 146

Lexington, KY 40514

 

  7 Complete for Emilie Parker, and the other victims of the Sandy Hook School Shooting