Archive for html404
Re-organizing Closets and Office
I finally found some time on Friday to do a bit more organizing. I cleaned out our closet. Still have to do the top shelves but it is looking a lot better than it was. I also put the two little boys clothes cubby in our linen closet/now my husband’s office. We decided to leave the desk in there so he can have a place do bill paying etc. He’s a happy man.
The other photos of what I still need to organize. The boxes and piles are what is in the middle of my bedroom floor. This is baby stuff and clothes that need to be packed up because we are no longer using it, there are books that still need to be unpacked and there is old office equipment and files that need to be put in the basement out of the way. Hoping dh will do that for me after we re-organize and re-pack everything!
Our utility/preserve storage closet got a once, twice over by my boys, but I think it needs a thrice over by mom to get it up to par. So many shoes! Ugh. The little shoe caddy only works if people use it! And it isn’t big enough for boots. I just wanted it cleaned up so the children had a place to take off all their snow gear and a place to hang it up to dry. Even though the closet is mostly picked up, snow clothes are still laying on the floor in the hallway…..still working on some habits around here.
The last photo is of the office and as you can see it is more cluttered. Maybe by Monday I will have it looking better as it is a weekend project and I am writing this Friday night! Here’s to hoping anyways!
Children at Work & at Play!
I captured some shots of our children at work and at play yesterday. I used the flickr slide show again. I just wanted to try it this week to see how I liked them and how you all liked them. Might try something different next week. Not sure what yet.
The first photo is of one of our older daughters (the third oldest) playing with her horses. I snapped a shot because soon enough she won’t be playing with them any more. Sniff. Sniff. She’s growing up! The second one is of our youngest daughter with our reading lesson book, 100 Easy Lessons, which I have used with all six older children to teach them to read. Blondie is doing wonderful and I really believe that the foundation that ABCmouse.com – Over 3,000 Educational Activities – First Month Free – Click here! gives the children has helped her supersede where she would have been otherwise. She is nearly sounding out the words silently and saying them fast – we are only on lesson 14! We are very pleased with ABCMouse.com. I don’t have to conj-ole or bribe the children to do their school work on ABCMouse. It’s that much fun. Ok, enough of my shameless, unpaid plug! 😉 (Update: I have since added an affiliate link above due to the amount of searches for it leading here! So we earn a few dollars if you click on our link and purchase a subscription.)
Back to the photos…next comes the blocks that were scattered on the floor. And if I was participating in my old friend’s “The Children Were Here” posts this is one that I would post as we always seem to have these blocks scattered. Then I shot one of a couple of school books that were laying around.
The next photo after that is of our two older boys shoveling the driveway for their Dad. The thing is I didn’t send them out there to do it, they volunteered. Granted they have always loved to shovel snow for some reason, but still it does this mama’s heart good when they do things like this without asking and especially thinking of their Dad who had to drive home on messy roads!
My oldest daughter has taken a dislike of being caught on camera, she’d rather be behind the lense these days! So when she put her laptop up in front of her face today as I was snapping a picture I told her I was going to post it! So that’s why that one is there! She’s a hard worker that one and has some solid work ethics already. She won’t go to the barn if she has too much work to do, nor will she goof off until her work is done. We are proud of her.
The rest of the photos are of two of the younger children doing their best to help shovel a little bit, the snow plow (the boys wanted me to get one of all the snow flying over the truck but I kept missing it) and just of our time outside.
The last photo is of a masked man…not sure where he came from or what he was doing in my house but my daughter caught him red handed! Isn’t he positively evil looking? Ha! 😉
Yummy Fun with Food Fridays
Most of these food photos were taken by my oldest daughter. She loves taking close ups of food. I have to admit that I think it’s cool too how the camera/the eye captures particular shots. This week, I only took the one of my son and the chocolate cake. The cake was made by my other two daughters. The chili and homemade pancake photos were taken by Virtuous. Yummy fun with food Fridays!
Country Views in Winter
Love, love, love my country views this winter! So picturesque and pleasing to this country girl’s eyes!
Top Secret Cleaning Techniques From Housekeepers
In case you haven’t already heard, Reader’s Digest is coming out with 13 Top Secret Cleaning Techniques From Housekeepers and I actually learned a couple of new and interesting things. I will say that lemon juice and baking soda are good for tough stains on counters, toilets and sinks, but may leave a baking soda residue depending on how much you use – I haven’t quite got the portion thing down yet.
Win an iPad2 in the Alienation Givaway!
Win an iPad from @JonSLewis and @NelsonFiction in the Alienation iPad2 Giveaway!
The invasion was only the beginning! Jon Lewis is celebrating the next adventure in his fast-paced C.H.A.O.S. series with an explosive giveaway!
One thrill-seeker will receive:
- iPad2 with Wi-Fi
- Copies of the C.H.A.O.S. novels, Invasion and Alienation
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on February 7th. Winner will be announced at the Alienation Facebook Party on 2/7. Jon will be hosting an Author Chat, giving away copies of the books and gift certificates to iTunes and Amazon.com! Don’t miss a second of the intrigue!
Grab your copy of Alienation and join Jon on the evening of February 7th for an author chat, spy training (How much do you know about alien invaders?) and lots of giveaways.
Don’t miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 31st!
Costa Concordia Cruise Ship & Future Men
I have been reading bits here and there of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster and I have to say if reports are true, the captain and his crew were very ill equipped to handle the emergency situation they found themselves in. To be frank, they were cowards. I read one passenger’s description liken their experience to that of the Titanic, but I would add “except for the crew members and captain.” The Titanic’s crew had poise and chivalry (for the most part) and the Titanic’s captain displayed heroic courage to stay with his ship, whereas the Costa Concordia’s captain went AWOL and his crew members were like lost puppies, desperately lacking character and courage.
Actual Photos here.
Where are the men of chivalry and courage today? Who will lead when no one else will? I am not going to beat on men, but rather their courage and leadership skills. Their display of chivalry. The crew of Costa Concordia were lost without their captain and no one stood up to the plate to lead the rest of the crew and passengers when their captain abandoned them and his ship. It’s terrible. If only one or two crew members could have led the rest how many of the lives lost could have been saved. After all they were so close to land!
I don’t know about you but I want to raise sons of courage and sons who will strongly lead when others only follow. I don’t want my sons to be wimpy and lack the thought power that it takes to step up to the plate and do what a man has to do to save lives, to save his family, fellow man or his country. As much as it scares me to death to think of my son’s being in harms way, I would much rather them be true heros in the sense of the word than to bring shame on their gender and themselves.
As mothers, we owe it to our sons and the future of this country to raise them to be strong, able men. Not brutes, not wimps, but men who are not afraid to love, not afraid to do the hard thing when the opportunity arises and not afraid to lead others with courage and chivalry of old. It is my hope and prayer that God will equip each of us raising sons to do the right thing by them and teach them to be men, not boys.
Stepping down off my soapbox now.
Re-Organizing: Monday Motivation
Nearly six months ago we moved into this home. It is incredible that we have lived here that long already. One of the home’s appeals was the basement, 4+ bedrooms, 2.5 baths and an office. However, by the time we moved in, settled, had our internet working and phone working, it was nearly a month later. That is when we discovered that the internet and phone jacks in the office did not work! 🙁 A little disappointing to say the least. After lots of time on the phone, trying several areas of the house and getting tired of having my work in piles around the house, we talked about me taking over one of the kids bedrooms where the internet and phone connection were good. I decided on the older girls room, which meant moving the boys to another bedroom so the older girls could have their room. The girls were delighted at the prospect of getting a bigger room with a bigger closet. The boys on the other hand were not so thrilled initially, but after time to think about it and after their first night in their new room they seem to have accepted the change. Off to a good start.
Now I am re-organizing! It feels as though I have moved and I have, but you know that feeling of, “Oh there’s so much to do!” That’s the feeling I am experiencing today. Just slightly overwhelmed. It’s probably because I am tired too because I stayed up late burning photos and documents to CDs so I could delete them off my laptop and try to speed it up a bit to avoid screens freezing up on me. 🙁 So far it seems to be working. Just need to run a virus scan too. Fun techie stuff.
Here are a couple of before and after photos:
Old office, now linen closet and the new office:
So obviously, my Monday Motivation is to get things a bit more organized!
