OCD

I know people out there that are OCD about cleaning. I am not. I like to keep a clean house but if you look close enough you will be able to tell that I do not have a really high standard. I also know a few people who do not make their kids clean at all. My kids have to help clean. Josh has always been our kid who usually keeps his room clean and organized just the way he wants it. He can tell if someone moves something 2 inches. Josh rarely complains about chores and just does it. He has been able to fold his laundry since he was 3. Notice I say able because I don't always make him do it.

The other day I told the kids that if they wanted to go to the Lagoon and have a Swim Team party all in one day they would have to extra help me clean. They already have to clean their room and do a chore each day and on cleaning day they have to do an extra chore. Josh cleaned both upstairs bathrooms, wash and dried all the bathroom rugs and towels, and then he started dusting. He took all the things off the piano and end table and dusted all of it. I grabbed the camera when he was taking all the books off this book shelf and dusted them and the shelves.

He then organized the desk drawer.

Then when Roger came home he helped Roger make some things with wood.

Don't think for a second this is the only time he has done something like this. So, if you live nearby and want to hire Josh to clean, I know he would be more than willing.
PS- I have also trained him to iron for me on the quilt I am making- That is priceless and Good Fun

Simmy is Four???

Simmy hit a new level of confidence in the swimming pool yesterday so I told him "You did that like a four year old!" He said "I am 4 now!!" and told everyone. I laughed a little about his desperation to be 4 but am finding real value in it. Since he is "4" now HE has decided he can:
-Swim by himself (not quite there yet so that's a bit scary)
-Get dressed by himself ( can't seem to get his shirt off yet)
-Wipe his own bum (again, scary)
-Put his car seat on alone (almost)
-Wear flip flops (if only they would stay on his feet long enough to walk)
-Ride his bike without training wheels (yes, we digressed from earlier post and let me add that if you can not walk with flip flops you can not ride a bike with flip flops)

Here is what I would like him to do by himself on top of being proficient at the previous list
-Pick up after himself
-Stay dry through the night
-Have any desire to pick up a writing/drawing utensil
-Carry his own backpack after he has filled it up and taken it along somewhere
but I am dreaming

Although he has not asked for a birthday party he has asked for presents. By my calculations he is exactly the age he is because he is wanting to be older.

While I am writing about his big boyness I will share a cute video of him. He often asks Roger to give him a piano lesson while we are still eating dinner. This particular lesson he had been playing with Roger for 15 min before I pulled my tired bum from my dinner chair and got the camera. By that time he was done with the lesson and I had to cajole him into sitting back down for a little more. Good Simmy Fun!

Rory- What's your story? Pretty Little Rory Girl That's my Girl

Happy Birthday to a beautiful full of life and love little big girl. We love having you in our family.

We love that you love to be you.

We love that you have found books

Haven't you been 6 forever?

Thank you Grandpa for sharing this with us

Hey Ya'll

Here are a few cute pictures of a fun day with my sisters and their boys when I was in Houston

I've got the Power

I will tell you a secret. I have a Super Mom Power Elixir. If you notice the books I have read this year there is a book call Green for Life. The lady who wrote this book swears that green smoothies provide people with the best digestible form of Chlorophyll and if a quart is swallowed (I used the word swallow for lack of a better word. Is drunken really the right word?) each day that our bodies will be restored to better health for myriads of reasons.
Some of my friends had been drinking spinach smoothies for a while so I decided it couldn't be that bag. With a little trial and error I came up with this really delicious recipe.







Approximately:
3 Cups Frozen Tropical Fruit slightly defrosted in the orange juice
3 cups Orange Juice (I usually just pour it in until it hits the top of the fruit)
1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt (as natural as you can want- I use Mountain Home)
1-2 Bananas
2-3 cups Spinach(or a mixture of different greens- spinach seems mild enough for most people)
1 Tablespoon Flax seeds (sometimes)
Blended for 2 minutes or very very well blended

I have a had quart almost every morning for over a month. My kids and Roger will drink it often too. Since I have been in Houston everyone here will drink as much as I can make because it is so good which ended up not being much due to the cost of ingredients.

I had really high hopes for this drink. I was hoping to lose a little belly chub and need less sleep and such. I did not really see much of a difference until it came time for all these projects and activities I wrote about recently. The last few times I have had high stress(good stress I should say) my body has reacted badly. So badly I thought my life would be different because I would have to scale way back on my activities, responsibilities, and volunteering because my body could not handle it.

When all the things I had to do started coming up I felt great! I tackled anything and yelled (really quietly because you never know what will come up and bite you) to the World "What's Next???" I zoomed from one activity to the next and even kept my house in decent order.

The first time I skipped a day I came down with a sinus infection. I told my allergist and he thought it was coincidence. Maybe it was. Maybe it was not. All I know is that I got a lot of stuff done with more power than my own and had Good Fun all the while.

Dish soap + sprinkler + trampoline + cousins = GOOD FUN!

 

Crashed

Need I say more- I don't think I have ever fallen asleep at a ward party. The kids and I are in Houston for a couple weeks so I thought I would crash.