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Good Morning, all! We got .25" rain last night. Just trying to keep up with all you snow-bound ones!

 

Junie, glad you still have power!

 

Tex, sorry you didn't sleep well. Hope you can squeeze in a little nap today!

 

Ellie, go get 'em! I'd love to hear you speak! Maybe you can stop by the Central Valley on your way to Disneyland!

 

Jean, Happy Birthday to your mom!

 

And Ikslo, regarding the ISBN numbers..... I just don't know what to say!

 

I'm leaving for the coast in a couple of hours! I don't care if it's raining! The coast is beautiful no matter what and it's just dh and me till tomorrow afternoon!

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Ikslo, glad ds is feeling better!  Stay warm.

 

Happy Birthday Jean's Mom!

 

Krissi, have a GREAT time away!

 

prairie, glad you're seeing results with the new meds.  Will the side effects calm down?

 

Susan, as usual, you have surpassed me.  I had a momentary surge of motivation and unloaded the d/w, reloaded the d/w, washed some of the remaining stack of dishes, balanced the checkbook, paid most of the bills, regularly added logs to the fire.  (But I am dressed, lol, sweats, sweatshirt, running shoes - if that counts.)

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Susan, as usual, you have surpassed me. I had a momentary surge of motivation and unloaded the d/w, reloaded the d/w, washed some of the remaining stack of dishes, balanced the checkbook, paid most of the bills, regularly added logs to the fire. (But I am dressed, lol, sweats, sweatshirt, running shoes - if that counts.)

Here is the sad, sad truth. The kids have been so motivated with their new chore cards that they are absolutely putting me to shame. I am trying to redeem myself by actually getting my laundry and other tasks done.

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Here is the sad, sad truth. The kids have been so motivated with their new chore cards that they are absolutely putting me to shame. I am trying to redeem myself by actually getting my laundry and other tasks done.

 

So, what are these chore cards you speak of.  We might need some at our house.  Although, our "15 minutes of cleaning" spurts seem to be working pretty well.

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Here is the sad, sad truth. The kids have been so motivated with their new chore cards that they are absolutely putting me to shame. I am trying to redeem myself by actually getting my laundry and other tasks done.

 

I think this is why I've never really gone for a chore system.  If I'm going to make kids do their chores, I would have to make myself do my own chores, and well, I'm just not grown up enough yet for that. 

 

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So, what are these chore cards you speak of. We might need some at our house. Although, our "15 minutes of cleaning" spurts seem to be working pretty well.

We do spurts as well, but in my effort to keep up better with general cleaning and help my kids remember what needs to be done, I have gone with a chore card system.

 

Each kid has a ribbon (I also have one) and every day they have about 6 2"x3" laminated cards clipped to their ribbon. When they complete the chore, they turn over the card.

 

Some cards they have every day ("Scrub-a-Dub-Dub" = brush teeth and hair, wash face and hands & "67-Second Bedroom Tidy").

 

Some chores rotate daily between the kids ("Bathroom Busters" - clean the bathroom; "Feed the Washer/Dryer" - laundry; "Feed Your Drawers" - put laundry away; "Waste Management" - empty trash cans; etc.)

 

Some chores are just for weekends - "3-Minute Linen Exchange" - change bedding; "Dusting Up A Storm", "Park Ranger" - tidy up yard, sweep sidewalk, "Zoo Keeper" - clean pet habitats, etc.

 

My youngest has a few different chores assigned like wiping baseboards and cleaning walls.

 

I actually made most of the cards years ago and when my pocket holder kept breaking I finally gave up on them. We shall see how long we can keep this up. Sometimes they are rewarded with chocolate.

Edited by Susan in TN
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Happy Birthday, Jean's Mama!!

 

Prairie, I am both happy and sad.  Are the side effects worth the benefits?

 

Go Ellie Go!

 

And Tex too... journaling!  I long to to do that again.  

 

Slache -- have a good baby day.  What week are you at now?  

 

Hugs to all stuck in snow.  The PA thing looks horrific online!   Were the authorities caught off guard?  Usually around here, highways are shut down long before the conditions get that bad.  

 

We are not stuck in snow.  (And I am a bit envious, though dh says that's just because I get to snuggle inside with cocoa while he does the shoveling.)  Anyway, maybe 3 inches by tomorrow, they say?  Plus a little wind.  I see the trees occasionally sway gently.  Such bizarre serenity after last winter. 

 

Finally, I can't find my own posts anymore.  A new photo and I'm wandering lost like a poor 95 year-old woman who keeps escaping the Alzheimer's floor.  BTW - For those who were dying to know, the towel is a teapot, several teacups, and five birds fluttering about on a delicate seafoam background.  From Anthropologie, because I needed some pretty in my life.   It no longer hangs so neatly, though, because someone used it to dry the dishes even though IT IS PRIMARILY DECORATIVE AND ONLY FOR DRYING CLEAN HANDS PEOPLE.  

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Susan-- That sounds similar to my system, though I also have included school tasks and basic life skills broken down into their minutest components (like "change your undies") because otherwise these things don't happen.  And for us, for right now, it's working well.  It keeps them moving with very little intervention from me, so I can do one-on-one schooling in the mornings.  We reward with chocolate, too.   :)

 

 

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Have a great time, Krissi!

 

One of the most helpful chore changes has been changing the time I run the dishwasher. I used to do it at night before bed and then it would never get emptied in time for breakfast so breakfast dishes would pile up and then everything would pile up.

 

Now I run the dishwasher at about 2 or 3:00 and it is emptied before dinner. Dinner dishes, then breakfast and lunch, can go straight in and it seems to work better. When ds20 was home over Christmas break, he hung a sign over the kitchen sink that says "Dishes in Dishwasher!" :D

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Arthritis.

I lived with a family where everyone had to do their own dishes but mom, because it was mom's kitchen. She rinsed hers and whoever cleaned up after the meal washed what she had left. This family in particular didn't own a dishwasher because their kitchen was so small.
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I lived with a family where everyone had to do their own dishes but mom, because it was mom's kitchen. She rinsed hers and whoever cleaned up after the meal washed what she had left. This family in particular didn't own a dishwasher because their kitchen was so small.

 

Ds15, dd13, and dd11 are the only ones tall enough to reach the sink properly.  They take turns with the dishwasher.  It works for us, but we run the dishwasher a lot.

 

Edited to take dd9 off the list and put dd11 on. 

Edited by Junie
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There is a leftover Boston Creme Donut in the fridge.

 

I am not eating it until the kids' room has been cleaned. Hold me to this, friends. (I hate cleaning that room).

Hey, you've got a bunch of kids. What's your house like? Didn't you say they are all in one room? What about toys? And school?

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Any hints on cooking beans from scratch? The simmer for an hour or so method doesn't work for me. I need to do it and forget about it. For whatever reason, the crockpot method isn't going well.  Does anyone have the crock potting thing down or use an instant pot or the like? This vegan-esque eating thing has me going through a lot of beans.

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Ds15, dd13, and dd9 are the only ones tall enough to reach the sink properly. They take turns with the dishwasher. It works for us, but we run the dishwasher a lot.

I think in my house we would have issues with the dishwasher not being unloaded and dishes piling up so the kitchen would always be a mess.

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Ah, that explains it. I thought that you had some mega huge dishwasher that I needed to know about or some awesome dishwasher-packing skills that no one here has.

No - in fact our dishwasher is over 20 years old and my regular dishes don't even fit in it. So between the disposables and hand washing, we can get by with one load a day.

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I think in my house we would have issues with the dishwasher not being unloaded and dishes piling up so the kitchen would always be a mess.

 

Yep.  Unfortunately not all of the kids empty the dishwasher without being told.  And, unfortunately, their mother often forgets to remind them.

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There's a pin on pintrest with two dishwashers. One for dishes, one for pots and pans. Homeschool Mom in AZ (I think) said she serves lunch on paper towels. It's cheaper than paper plates and unless you're serving leftover lasagna it would work.

When I was growing up we would eat frozen pizza on paper towels. Worked pretty well. Poor Ellie is going to have a seizure for sure reading this!

Edited by Susan in TN
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Yep. Unfortunately not all of the kids empty the dishwasher without being told. And, unfortunately, their mother often forgets to remind them.

How do you handle it? Is it someone's job or do you rotate turns. I used to have the most amazing book "The Everyday Family Chore Chart" and I lent it to someone I no longer talk to. I will probably buy it again soon because it's becoming more applicable here.

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We have a chalkboard in the hallway.  We've used it two ways.  I have the following categories written across the top: 

 

Human Care:    Pet Care:  House and Garden Care:  Brain Care:  Spiritual Care:

 

This picture shows things written under each category.  db32pXq.jpg

 

More recently, I've been ignoring the categories and just writing our Saturday cleaning schedule (which rotates) across the board.

 

yOL1RZH.jpg

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Chores this week:

 

Ds15 -- laundry and bathrooms (clean and empty trash)

 

Dd13 -- dining room -- set the table, clear the table after meals, put away leftovers, sweep the floor (at least once a day)

 

Dd11 -- kitchen -- dishes, meal helper

 

Dd9 -- helps dd11

 

Little girls clean up their room and the craft table every night.  Older kids are supposed to clean up their rooms.   :glare:

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Lynn, yes.

 

I knew a family that when the mom said "Would someone please take the trash out?" one of her kids just got up and did it. I asked her what her secret was and she had no idea. All of her kids are awesome. Her daughter was my bridesmaid and the missionary attacked by the tapir.

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I've been thinking and I think the rule was the kid closest to it had to do it. She had six kids in a small place. I know they had chores that rotated weekly or whatever, but the random little things I think the closest had to do it.

 

And now my coffee is cold.

 

Cold coffee booya.

Edited by Slache
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