Reading, too much of a good thing?

Do you have voracious readers in your house?  I do.

Some days it makes me crazy.  Like yesterday.  It was beautiful outside.   I walked through the house & saw children INSIDE reading.  I was appalled!

I just won’t put up with that.  I sent them outside to play. 

Seriously reading can be come an obsession just like any other activity.  Like playing on the computer—stepping back from that land mine.

Cartoon books—oh my.  I find them everywhere!  We have an old collection of Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes, Beetle Bailey etc.  I have to say—only on Sundays because if I don’t I find them curled up with a comic book avoiding their math.  Sigh.  This is a serious problem can’t you tell?

I should know since I LOVE to read.  As a teen I used to stay up until 2, 3, 4 . . in the morning finishing a book.  My mom did (?still does?) the same thing.

Very rarely can I do that now.  I have some how realized that sleep is more important than good book.  HA!

I don’t have much time to sit down and read.  Too many other projects, duties & responsibilities.  Sort of sad in a way.

A friend of mine was asking about good books for her son and I started making a list.  Mainly because her son is a bit older my Joshua, who is working his way through the Redwall series right now. 

I need to be ready for when he finishes though.  I read most of the books the kids do(or I used to) but this is one series I never read.  It is about mice with strange accents—I know from all the quoting of the books that happens around here.

Luckily for me his older sister(affectionately called the librarian) has read a TON of books.  Oh and his older brother used to have time to read(before college and math took over his life) so we have walked this road before.

I want this spring/summer to be a time for deliberate reading.  Not just pleasure reading(their choice) but assigned reading(my choice) that isn’t based upon our current history study.  So I need to make some book lists.  As I work these out I will be posting them here for everyone to use!

However, since we already have a problem with “over” reading in the house, we are going to have to balance time in ACTIVITIES and time with our nose in a book.  Such a sad problem to have.

Actually it is a good problem to have and I am glad to have it. 

Messes I keep running into

Things are back to normal around here. 

Not in a good way either.

Everywhere I turned today there was a mess.

 

I am frustrated at the lack of helpers.  I am frustrated at my lack of consistent consequences for their slacking.  Besides I have been slacking so how can I hold them accountable?

Grrrr!  I am trying not to react and be upset. 

It is hard. 

It  is difficult not to take it personally.  Everyone did such a great job when I was down and out & unable to _____(do dishes, laundry, clean etc).  But now that I can  . . . well we just aren’t there yet.

It isn’t everywhere.  Mainly just in the bedrooms.  So we are going to work there on Saturday. 

Some of it is day to day stuff.  8 year olds should be able to remember to make their beds each day right?  Somehow that isn’t happening.

Everything in me looks outside and yearns to just chuck chores, school & house cleaning and go out and enjoy it.

We will, it will just be the reward for working inside.

Piles of stuff, season change clothes & papers—be gone!

Sigh

It is hard to be the grown up around here.

Love the little ones

Nope she’s not his. 

He’s home from college for the weekend.  My niece was baptised  this Sunday.  I caught P with this little one afterward(name withheld to protect the guilty). 

She is a sweetie and he just can’t resist.

Keeping up with Mount Washmore

Oh how to manage LAUNDRY?  My least favorite task is this never ending chore. 

I’d rather mow the grass or shovel snow.  At least that stays done for a while.  Every time I turn around I find a dirty sock ora shirt that is shed when some one is hot. 

Kids = Laundry

I don’t like having a bad attitude about this chore but how to make it more joyful?  How to turn a chore in to a blessing?  I do love having clean laundry when I need it but how to not feel like it is a heavy burden? 

I needed a plan.

Laundry Plan!!

A very wise friend shared with me over a year ago how she keeps ahead of the accumulating loads.  She has 8 kids, so she should know right?

Each child gets a day to do their laundry & at their house one other load—whites.  She only buys white towels by the way. 

We’ve arranged it a bit differently but it works for our family.

Monday—Mom & Dad

Tuesday—Megan

Wednesday—Joshua—yep my 8 year old does his own laundry

Thursday—Elizabeth

Friday—Mom & Dad

Weekends are reserved for if Michael brings his laundry home from college or if not then we don’t do any.

The kids share the whites/towels/sheets on Wed & Friday.  It is part of the chores that they do. 

When I couldn’t do the stairs they girls did my laundry as well.  

They handled it wonderfully!

Benefits of having a Laundry System

• I love knowing that when they leave the house they will be able to handle their laundry.
• It is awesome to not have the entire responsibility of the family laundry on me.  I don’t refer to the basement as the dungeon quite so often now!
• Each day the washer & dryer are empty.  The load(s) are completed and there are no sour smelling clothes to deal with the next day.
• No blame.  If my clothes aren't clean--well it's my own fault.

So that is how we roll with the laundry here. 

How do you do keep Mount Washmore under control?  I'd love to know!

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