Walkabout:  /wok’-uh-bout/ (v.) children looking throughout their home for any of their personal items that have been left out, and then putting the belongings in their appropriate locations.     Ex: Before going outside to play the kids did a walkabout and the house looked great.

There are days when I know something is bugging me but I can’t put my finger on it; my temper seems short(er) and I feel weighed down, but I don’t really know what my problem is… And then it hits me: the house has toys and papers and kid-gadgets scattered everywhere!  Toy-litter can creep up on a home in little bits that grow and grow until every space is overwhelmed with it; I often don’t realize it’s happening until the mess is crazy.

Enter: the walkabout.  This handy little routine has become a daily task that helps things to not get out of control.  I like to send the kids on a walkabout before supper (so the house looks nice and welcoming for Nate) and periodically throughout the day if the kids are dragging out more than their usual ’supplies.’  This helps with the overall tidyness of the house, and it keeps the clutter at a manageable level for the kids.

If you’re game, try it with your own brood: give each kid a grocery bag and walk them through every room of your house to collect their ‘property.’  If you’re teaching little ones (as young as toddlers can learn this) you may need to point out their toys or carry the bag for them, as well as help them put it all away.  A little bit of training with this goes a long way…

Cleaning a shower/tub is no picnic.  Who enjoys getting on their knees and bending over to scrub soap scum?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Me neither.  My kids, however, think it’s a blast.

A few weeks ago I enlisted the help of Josiah (8) to ’serve’ Mommy and Daddy by cleaning our shower; this is actually something I’m trying to train our kids in– purposefully serving others– so I didn’t feel too bad about getting Josiah to do something I didn’t want to do.  I also added in an element of fun: he got to wear his swim trunks while cleaning.  When I first told him, he looked at me like it was a trick (it wasn’t really…) and then he bolted to his room to change his clothes.  He thought it was pretty cool and was in there for quite a while, making sure everything was good and clean.

I don’t know if it’s because it’s February and they don’t normally get to wear their swimsuits, or if somehow the apparel actually makes the scrubbing fun… but word spread throughout the ranks and I’ve got my other 2 kids begging for their turn to clean in the bathroom!  Hooray–  Now I need to think up some ideas for getting them excited about vacuuming…

If you are anything like me, your computer area is almost always in chaos.  My desk is just off the kitchen, right where we walk in the door (hence a major drop-off,) and where we do bills, so it gets it’s share of junk that doesn’t belong there.

Here’s my area; let’s play I Spy!  Can you find hidden in this picture: 2 Christmas ornaments, a camera (need it to take the picture,) 14 writing utensils, 4 cell phone cords (!?!?) a spy-shooter, 3 Bibles, a card from my Grandma, and the coupons for Going Bonkers that my sister Shelby left at my house for the second week in a row.  Speaking of going bonkers…

Today’s Mission has to be to clean up around the computer area, otherwise I’d have to give up the computer– that is noh-h-h-t going to happen, so I set the timer for 15 minutes and ended up spending only 7 minutes putting things where they belong. 

Ahh, much better.  I even dusted!  Stop reading and take a look around your space; see if a few minutes wouldn’t make a difference for you, too.  :)

As we were leaving Small Group tonight my hands were full and I was spinning like a dog chasing it’s tail, looking to make sure I had all my kids and they had all their stuff (and their coats on…)  I reached to open the door but saw it was being held open by Camryn, a six-year old.  I realized she’d gone out first and had patiently held the door open for everyone that was leaving, not just me.

That may seem like a minor thing, but not to me!  Not only did it help me at that jumbled moment, but it encouraged me to keep working with my kids on that conduct.  My friends Kim and Brian (Camryn’s parents) have obviously spent time teaching this simple yet thoughtful behavior.

I’ve tried to teach this to my own kids, and the times they’ve done it for someone other than our family they have almost always gotten a suprised and pleased response.  But then I’ve also had times when we’ve gone to a store and my kids just stood there, three in a row, waiting for me to open the door!  I believe this is a character trait that has to be built– looking to serve others in a concious way– and I want it to become second nature to my children.  I’m definitely going to be spending time on this with my kids this week.  Maybe we’ll have a couple of ‘practice sessions’ where we pretend to leave through the front door…

Imagination is a wonderful thing.  One of Nate’s greatest gifts to our kids has been teaching them to expand and use their imaginations.  I’m more of a practical parent (Hey, Everybody!  Let’s see how fast we can clean together!) but thankfully Nate took the time when the kids were very young to get down on the floor with them and ‘hunt a bear, swim across the river, and fight the bad guys.’ 
A vibrant imagination is a blessing in many ways, like when traveling long distances in a vehicle.  My kids can take a piece of string and a crayon and makeshift a mini zip-line across the back seat for an hour of amusement!  And I remember Kyra, when very, very little, played with her fingers in the car; each finger was a different person in a ‘family’ and she had them all hugging and having conversations for long periods of time. 
This morning Kyra again demonstrated her ability to rise above the situation and make believe:

She had wanted a baby stroller for Christmas, but we just couldn’t get it along with other things on her list.  That didn’t stop her, though!  Kyra came up with this on her own (yes, those are socks on the feet of the chair to make it slide on the hardwood floors;) she walked her baby around in her makeshift stroller and played ‘mommy’ without feeling a bit deprived.  :)

Since I’m on a 10-day commitment to eat differently, I’m changing up some of next week’s menu and serving things I’m not too interested in on the days I’m not eating much.  Hey, that’s one of the perks of being Queen of this kitchen castle!

The Plan:

• Sunday-               fresh fruit (at Small Group– pizzas)
• Monday-              pizza (kids) restaurant (me & Nate Date Night)
• Tuesday-             baked potato soup, toast
• Wednesday-         pad thai (first time for everything– wish me luck!)
• Thursday-            beans, cornbread (skipped it last week)
• Friday-                taco salad
• Saturday-             Small Group Retreat, no cooking for me!  :)

Awesome, that mess is out of my head!  I’ve got a list of groceries still to get, but the thinkin’ part is done!

My kids are becoming proficient typers, all of them: ages 8, 7, and 5.  This is not thanks to my ever-patient instruction :) but a phenomenal website put out by the BBC.  Yes, that’s the British Broadcasting Corporation, and they have a knack for getting things on a kids level and teaching effectively.

In very fun and easy lessons they teach finger placement and build speed and accuracy; I have to set a timer to limit my kids’ time on this site because they love it so much!  I’m thrilled that they’re learning to type; with so much being done on computers now, it’s a skill that is essential.

In case you’re worried about little fingers hitting keys that you’d rather they left alone (let’s not crash Mommy’s computer, Honey!) you may want to try out the Crayola USB EZ-Type Keyboard.  I have not tried this out so I can’t personally endorse it; I’m just letting you know of an option that’s out there.  I was referred to it by my friend Jessie, and there were a couple of customer reviews on the site (it’s Target) so check it out if you’re interested. 

Jessie  gave me another idea, by the way.  My kids now have extra incentive to make it through all levels of the typing game: I’ve agreed to help them each begin a private blog of their own once they are adept at typing.  Won’t THAT be fun!? 

A quick temper?  Me? 

I try reeeeally hard to keep control of my reactions; after all, my kids didn’t try to spill the milk… for the third time… They truly forgot to take off their shoes when they came in the house after accidentally walking through the mud.. even though I reminded them…  They wouldn’t be asking for another snack if it weren’t for being truly hungry and on a growth spurt… for the cabillionth time this year…

My good intentions of keeping a lid on my temper and a bridle on my tongue fall flat on a daily basis; not because my kids are horrible, undisciplined wild things, but because they are children.  I believe that disobedience needs to be dealt with, I believe that foolish behavior needs to be corrected, and I believe that short attention spans can be grown.  But the way I deal with, correct, and grow my children needs to be as Christ-like as possible: with patience, grace, and unconditional love.   

Several years ago someone told me or I read somewhere (I’m sorry to not give credit to whoever this is from!) a little trick to speaking to your kids calmly:  At the beginning of every sentence, call your child “Sweetie” or “Darling” or “Precious Gift of God.”  It is astounding how easy this is, and how fully it works– it is truly impossible to yell or speak in anger while saying, “Cutie-Pie, I told you not to draw on the walls!”  Try it, right now;  you really have to change your tone when using words of love and tenderness.

I’ve found that the split second it takes for me to remember to use a term of endearment is enough time to get a grip on my emotional reaction.  What could have been a blow-up moment (a.k.a. my adult version of a temper-tantrum) can instead be a time of calm instruction and guidance.  With that comes training for the child as well as growth in my self-control.

Parenting is very much about discipling our children, but it is also about our own development in becoming more like our Creator.  The book by Gary L. Thomas, Sacred Parenting, is a great resource to delve deeper into this concept.

Try to use “lovey” words with your family this week and see if it doesn’t make a difference… in you!

Nate and I decided early in our marriage that we wanted to be as generous as possible with our parents at Christmas; we wanted to express our thankfulness for all they’ve done for us and given to us our whole lives, and when we were financially able we really wanted to share our blessings with them.  And part of it, too, is that we usually don’t do much for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries… we’ve actually forgotten a few birthdays over the years… so Christmas is when we really give to them.

But this past December we were short on cash.  Ok, we’re actually still short on cash, but back in December we were trying to figure out last-minute gifts for some of our family— namely, our parents.  We knew we couldn’t give as we had in the past, but what could we do?  My mom actually gave me the idea: she asked if we’d paint their living room and t.v. room. 

This was significant because I had helped them pick out a beautiful spicy orange for both rooms… a year ago!  They just didn’t have time for a project like that, so it had never gotten done.  I was absolutely thrilled; this meant we could give them something we could obviously afford, and it would be something they really wanted and liked– no gift receipt needed!

Last month I painted their living room, and it was so much fun!  My parents had movies and treats for the kids and just spent time talking to me while I painted; it was a truly enjoyable day for all of us.  I got to start on their t.v. room today and will finish it tomorrow; I can’t wait!  What began as a problem of no money for Christmas grew into a blessing of time spent together, plus beauty in my parents’ home for them to enjoy every day. 

This morning I asked Mom which room she wanted painted for next Christmas, and without missing a beat she said, “The dining room!”  Cool, I’ve got part of my Christmas list done already!

With extra activities going on the past several days I got behind a bit in my laundry, so I decided that today’s Mission would be to catch up.  It’s actually not too bad– I mean, I’ve had days of so much laundry needing to be done that I couldn’t open the door to the laundry room, so 6 loads to do today?  No problem.  

Laundry has always been something I detested, but I have finally, through trial and error, figured out a system that works for me. It’s now something I don’t dread, and rarely is my laundry room overflowing as in the old days.  Here’s what I did:

First, I determined how many loads I needed to wash each week to keep my family in clean clothes and with clean sheets and towels.  It was quite shocking– 10-11 loads a week!  Next I divided that number between the number of days I was willing to do laundry.  Although laundry doesn’t take much actual hands-on time (it’s really just loading, reloading, and folding/putting away,) I have to be home and able to switch out loads when the buzzers go off, so I do laundry in the morning M-T-TH-F.  I run 2 loads T-TH-F and 2 extra loads on M, one of which is usually sheets and towels.  There have been times when life gets hectic and I can’t do 2 loads on most days– then I compensate and either do multiple loads first thing in the morning or a load in the morning and a load at bedtime every day. 

Another thing that helped was buying a 3-section laundry cart (I got mine at Walmart for about $25.) A bit pricey to start out, but well worth it– before getting the cart I used 3 different laundry baskets which worked fine, but they were a bit bulky and clumsy in the laundry area.  I then taught my husband kids to separate dirty clothes into the sections/baskets: darks, lights, and towels/sheets every time they brought in dirty laundry. If a person is old enough to learn their colors, they are old enough to bring clothes into the laundry room and to learn the difference between colors and lights. This training was a pain at first, but it did pay off later.  Now when I go to run a load, the section in the cart that is the most full is the next load.

This part is what transformed the whole laundry issue for me: I had a clothes rod installed near the dryer, and I use all flat surfaces on or very near the w&d (In the past I have used shelves and an ironing board always set up; now I use the tops of our front-loading w&d.) 

• Key Action #1: I set either a timer or the buzzer on the dryer so that when the dryer is done (meaning, the clothes are freshly dry, with no wrinkles) I can put items that need to be hung or ironed immediately onto a hanger and hang them on the clothing rod. This saves on the ironing chore (which I despise even more than laundry)– many clothes hung immediately no longer need to be ironed, or at the very least there will be less deep wrinkles to be ironed out. 
• Key Action #2: All other items I immediately fold and put in piles : Hubby’s, Mine, Child 1, Child 2, Child 3, and Towels/Sheets.  This step is probably the most important because it completely eliminates the steps of 1)unloading the clean clothes from the dryer to a basket, 2)lugging the full basket somewhere to fold, 3)folding and making little piles either on the bed or couch, 4)needing said bed or couch and either piling the stacks on the floor (to be knocked over) or taking them to everyone’s room.  Since I sort clothes into stacks as I fold, this step usually takes only 5 minutes! 

I have the kids check their piles each morning, and they put their clothes away themselves.  I had to work to establish this routine, but my kids have put their own laundry away since they were 2 years old so it was mostly training them to do it every morning as part of their Morning Five. 

Now that the laundry is tamed, I have more time to spend on other things… like cleaning food from under the dining room table!  What are your laundry tips?