Tuesday, July 16, 2013

New Discoveries

I love when I learn something new!

I love it even more when it makes my life easier :)

I learned today that Hydrogen Peroxide is magic. Pure magic in a brown bottle.

When we bought our house, it was carpeted in beige. It still is. Well, beige + extras. We have two kids people ~ one 5 and one 8. Things get spilled. A lot.

Listen to me ~ blaming the kids ;). Truth be told I spill just as much as them.

I try to clean it up. I really do. But, there is usually something left behind to remind me.

Then, last night our dog got sick off of cheap, generic dog treats. The kind of sick that doesn't need details or you may not read my blog again. But, let's just say that our marginal carpet was suddenly horrible. It was with Herculean self-control that I didn't just rip up the entire mess of carpet before hubby got home from work.

Then I remembered a friend told me about a hydrogen peroxide mixture for spot cleaning. I looked it up and there it was! But, even better, I found out that you can use straight peroxide for those "tougher, hard to treat stains". I looked around ~ yep, it fit that bill! The warning (which I share with you so you don't blast me with complaints) was to test it and make sure it didn't discolor your carpet. Again, I looked around and thought "couldn't get discolored worse than it already is". So, I got out a spray bottle and just dumped a bunch of peroxide in (from the $1.00 HUGE bottle in my medicine cabinet) and had a spray party.

Guess what???

It worked!!! Amazingly well. I couldn't believe it!! Neither could hubby when he got home from work. And it cost me pennies compared to commercial cleaners and worked in a fraction of the time with hardly any effort!

I'm so excited to have a new trick up my sleeve. Now for the energy to do the remainder of the floors!

I'm only sad it came from our sweet dog  being under the weather :(

So, let's recap ~ $1.00 for horrible dog treats or $1.00 for multipurpose hydrogen peroxide....

Pretty sure I know which belongs in the garbage and which belongs in my house!

What uses have you found for this magic household staple?


Monday, July 15, 2013

Sometimes you need a bucket dumped on your head!

It's hot here. Really hot.

So, where do you go when it's hot?

For us, the answer is "To the water". So, today we visited one of the local splash parks.

I knew it would be a good day when we arrived because I found a place to park our stuff in the shade of a gigantic tree right next to the water action. The day got even better when I remembered I had the beach toys in the car ~ beach toys that included BUCKETS!

Every other time we've gone to a splash park, my kids are begging to dump out the bottled water so they have SOMETHING to collect the water. Today was different. I had buckets. Big, sandcastle buckets.

Today I was the cool hero mom.

And, how did they repay the hero?

By dumping bucket after bucket of water over my head.

They started tentatively, as if they wondered if this would really be as great as they imagined. My unbridled laughter and joy were all the motivation they needed. I have no idea how many buckets they poured over me. All I know is that somewhere after the third water dump, I felt the tension and stress from the last few days wash away.

And, all I saw on my kid's faces was sheer joy.

In this shot I caught our youngest mid shower from stretching his swim shirt over the spray of the toy structure.

I loved this day :)


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I am learning....

Here I am ~ it is summer. Mid summer actually! Where does the time go anyway? 

I am deep in planning mode for the upcoming school year. I spent about 4 months feeling my wheels spin over next school year. Whether or not we would continue to homeschool was not in question. What WAS in question is what exactly we would study and HOW it would look. 

I researched. I talked to people. I researched some more. I talked to people ~ again. I finally sat down a few days ago to start ordering materials. And then I went cold.

Suddenly nothing seemed right. I thought I had made up my mind. But, there was no peace. And, I couldn't for the life of me figure what was causing the unease.

Wait, did you catch that? ~ I thought I had made up MY mind.

Like I'm the director of this life we lead.

I'm reminded of the story in Matthew 7 of the wise and foolish men who built their houses on rock and sand. In this story, Jesus is explaining that people who hear His words and put them into practice are like the man who builds his house on a rock. When the rains come, the house stands strong. This stands in contrast to a man who would build his house on the sand. When rain comes, the sand is washed away and so is his house! 

I think I've always subconsciously thought the man who built his house on the sand was either lazy or stupid. It never occurred to me that these men could have both been hard workers or good builders. It takes a lot of work and skill to build a house. Blood, sweat and tears. It never says these men were lazy.And, it also doesn't say one was smart and the other stupid. It says one made a wise choice and the other made a foolish choice as to where they built their house. 

I can imagine the one who built his house on the sand walking around and saying "Hey, this looks like a nice spot for a house. Beautiful view. Soft yard. I can see my ship from here" and set to work building. I imagine he worked hard and probably had a beautiful house But here's the thing ~ he started on the wrong foundation.

Kind of like me. I am more like that man than I would care to admit. I set about doing what I think is best and most effective. I try and make our school "just so". I want it to run smoothly. I want our kids to have "enough" (whatever that is). I want to be set up for success.

But, I forget to stop and find our Rock. I forget to make sure the foundation is secure before I set to work.

Three days ago I remembered that I forgot. And I went back to the drawing board.

I prayed. I asked the One who loves us all more than life what was the best course for our school. I asked Him to show me what was best for each of my kids.

Then something crazy happened.

The spinning stopped. 

He led me back to big picture of goals for the year for each child. His goals.

And, once we had goals, we could make a plan.

Everyone knows that storms will come ~ regardless of your spot in life. It is inevitable. As a homeschool family, sometimes those storms come to our school. I have weathered many stormy days. But, I am realizing something. When I feel I am being washed under the bridge by the storm, maybe I was building on myself  instead of Someone stronger than me.

I pray I remember this the next time it rains.