Table Chores

I thought it was so funny that my fellow Blogger over at To Love, Honor and Vacuum did a post today on children's chores because today was the first day I started a new chore for my own kiddos...table chores/AKA: cleaning up after breakfast. There are always the following things left on our table after breakfast: food, OJ, milk, silverware, bowls, plates, etc. Every morning, while the kids do their morning chores (getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc.), I oversee the cleaning up of breakfast. Well, today I got out the spray and two wash cloths and let Avy and Linkster help out. They loved helping wash down the table top and chairs. I don't let them do the spray because there is a level of bleach in it, but they do love helping with their washcloths. Avy also helped me put away the OJ and milk into the fridge and my kids from an early age have always put their own dirty dishes into the sink. We had a sparkling table in a matter of minutes!



*The little feet in this picture are of the other baby we're watching during the day. He's such a sweetheart and he's 3 weeks older than Norah.

Diapers and Carseats

Well, it looks like the leader is the Bumgenius cloth diaper. I've received some great info. from other moms out there that have used them and they said that this one is the best. After researching it, I'm thinking the same. Now, I'm just waiting until tax return time rolls around for the extra funds to buy them. They're cheaper than disposables when you add it up (way cheaper!), but it's the initial purchase of buying them all upfront in one bulk payment that can seem intimidating. The great thing is that when I'm done using them, I can sell them back to our local kids' consignment shop and get store credit for other things, hence making them even more of a benefit!

The other large purchase we're waiting on making is a new carseat for Avonlea and Lincoln. They're almost the same in weight (believe it or not!) and their carseats they have now are too small. I've checked around at our consignment stores, but there are RARELY ever carseats available, especially a 5-point harness that fits up to 80 lbs., which is the safest and what I'm looking for. I don't know if it's a legal thing where the store doesn't want to be responsible for a carseat that doesn't work or something, but they're hard to find. Anyway, my pediatrician reccommended THESE BRITAX carseats that we'll get in February. Avonlea has already decided that she wants pink and that "Lincoln should have blue because blue is always for boys". So, if anyone is in need of two smaller sized-carseats, let me know cause they can be yours in February for free. =) I'm keeping the third one for Norah when she gets bigger though.

Bumgenius

Picture Day!!!

Note to self...never take three young children to the mall to get their pictures taken again without help! We had two massive "poop situations", puke, one overyly giddy girl and one VERY late photographer. Our appointment was at noon, but we started at 12:45. Good thing I packed the older kids' lunches and we ate them while we were waiting. Whew! Anybody out there good at photography and make HOUSE VISITS? =)

Happy Birthday Avonlea!!! #4

What an adventure today! It's late, the kids are in bed and as Rob watches The Amazing Race, I'm going to share with you our day today. Let's just say it started out EARLY! We went to Sea World yesterday (gotta love the Florida passes where you go once and come back all year for FREE!) and then to Down Town Disney where we ate at the new T-Rex restaraunt. It was very realistic and so much fun. Norah was a saint. I had her in the Baby Bjorn front carrier and she slept, was awake and pretty much did everything in it all day. When she only weighs 13 pounds, it's not hard to carry her all day. It's when she's 20+ pounds in a few months that I worry about.=) That's when we switch to the backpack. Anyway, back to Seaworld...the kids pet dolphins, we saw lots of neat shows, Rob rode the new roller coaster, Manta, and we didn't have a meltdown all day (sweetness). HOWEVER, we did pay for it today! Today was actually Avonlea's birthday (the big #4) and they woke up earlier than we thought. Lincoln was awake the whole ride home last night and after returning at midnight, he was still awake when we pulled up into the driveway! We all went to bed, but they were up early and ready to open gifts in our room. Avonlea was so grateful and sweet about her special day and the Linkster, well, let's just say that it was probably Rob's and my most difficult day in disciplining him. He even got a 3 hour nap, but apparently that didn't matter. I think we're entering a new phase of "Lincoln bootcamp" this week. We've always been really consistent with him, but we're going to have to take it to the next step up apparently.





Back to Avonlea's day...we went grocery shopping (which is now done on weekends since I have four little ones during the day), came home and had lunch, then down for naps. The kids slept great (and long), but Lincoln still woke up a grouch. Avonlea was as chipper as ever and we told her we'd go to the video store to pick out a movie tonight. She picked Strawberry Shortcake and a dinosaur movie. The kids are both going through a dinosaur phase right now and are obsessed with anything having to do with them (I'm not kidding!). Lincoln has this very LARGE dinosaur that he takes everywhere with him. It sleeps with him and everything. After the movie, we sang "Happy Birthday", ate cake, brushed teeth and went to bed.



One thing Avonlea has been asking for is to sleep on her top bunk. Rob and I decided that when she turned 4, we would turn the ladder around and she could sleep up top. So, two nights ago, Rob spent about 45 minutes disassembling her top bunk to move the ladder to the outside (we had it turned around towards the wall for safety reasons). She crawled up in it, got comfortable and then said, "Daddy, it's too hot up here. I want to sleep on the bottom bunk." I think he was going to loose it. He spent all this time turning it around and she wound up sleeping on the bottom anyway! Ug. Tonight, she's trying it again though and so far, so good.





Needless to say, although we had a difficult day with Lincoln, Avonlea felt very blessed and was so grateful for her special day. Her party isn't until next weekend where we'll have a few friends and family. She chose a carnival/fall costume party and we'll be busy bees getting everything ready this week. Can't wait.

Cloth Diapering...

I've always admired the cloth-diapering mommys out there, but never gave it much thought myself. I do love disposables! My mother used cloth diapers with me, my 2 sisters and brother. I see the economical benefits and the environmental benefits and have started doing some reasearch of my own. I go to a local kids' consignment shop often and have asked if they get in cloth diapers, but everytime I go, they aren't carrying any at the time. So, I've researched what it would cost at buying them new. There's a deal HERE that I'm looking at. The cost of adding up diapers is SO pricey that I'm wondering if I bite the bullet and just buy a pack now, I won't have to pay for diapers until Norah is done with them and in underpants. I do use coupons and shop at Sam's Club for diapers, but every month, they REALLY add up, even with the diapers we received from our baby showers. These diapers go from newborn until the child is potty training. Pretty impressive! We'll see. Now the question is what brand to buy. Obviously, I want something that works well, but I refuse to pay for the more expensive brands.

If anyone has tried cloth diapering, knows what brand(s) are good or knows of a website/blog that has great information, please shoot it my way! =)

Dryer Fixed!

Good news! Rob fixed our dryer for a mere $14.00 (this included the cost of the new belt, wheel and shipping costs). The kiddos even helped him with their tools and wha-la! Fixed. =) Praise Jesus is all I can say! Although I haven't completely given up on line-drying clothes, I've given up line-drying clothes during Florida's rainy season! It downpoured twice on a two full loads of laundry this week, thus taking 2 days to dry. It's nice to have both options.

Needs Fixin'

This would be our broken dryer. It's not in it's entirety I know, but after Rob came home the other night and we researched online how expensive it is to buy a new dryer, he went out into the garage, grabbed his tools and started taking apart our dryer. Although he has never done this before, it didn't stop my man! =) He just started unscrewing pieces and before you know it, he came inside and said, "I think we need a new belt", holding up a broken one. He looked online to see where we could get the part and he had to order it. $11.00 for a new belt beats $300.00 for a new dryer anytime!

What I thought was extremely adorable was how Lincoln followed him into the garage, sat down next to him and tried to help him fix it. Afterwards, he went into his room and started playing with his tools like a "little Daddy". Too cute!

Our next project after fixing our dryer will be to fix our ductwork in our attic. It's leaking out condensation BADLY and giving us major stains on our ceiling. Another do-it-yourself project, but I have faith in my amazing husband!

Still line-drying clothes, but there are worse things in life and it's been kind of fun. The kids love helping and then running through the tent-like structure. Norah just sits in her baby carrier and watches as I put up the clothes. Not to mention it's been beautiful out lately. Keepin' my chin up!

Fall Fun

Yesterday was the first official day of fall. Now in Florida, it's just another humid day, but it was fun getting down the bins from the garage and putting up the decorations. The kids enjoyed it and are getting excited about the festivities to come...fall festivals, going to the farm and getting our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, Avonlea's carnival party, my birthday (ug...the big 3-0) around the corner, trick-or-treating, costumes, candy (we do lots of extra teeth brushing this time of year...3 times a day vs. the normal 2), Thanksgiving feast at Gram and Pa-pa's and as my husband always says, "Christmas is right around the corner!"

Here are just a few picutes of some of our fun decorations. Showcase your own and send me your blog link so I can post yours up as well! =)

Fruit of the Spirit Tree

Avonlea has had the fruits of the spirit memorized for some time now and we do talk about them quite frequently, especially the one about self-control (we're working on that one). My sister-in-law suggested this website on her blog and after spending a few short minutes on it, found it was a great site to visit. Check it out and let me know what you think. I think we're going to make one of these ourselves.

Fruit of the Spirit Tree

Thanking the Lord on Monday!

Yep, this is our laundry. It's laundry day in our household. Lately, I've been doing ALL laundry on Mondays and it's been working out very well. Rob and I usually sit down on Monday nights watching our tv shows and folding laundry. Fun stuff! Anyway, I went to change over some laundry this afternoon and smelled something funny. Something burning. Then I noticed that the dryer wasn't circulating around, but still making a noise. So, here is one load of laundry that will have to line dry today and there are 3 more to follow it. Common sun!!! Dry those clothes!!! That is one nice thing about living in the Sunshine State. We've got plenty of sun and there are many people that do line dry their clothes. We only have about 3 "cold" months out of the year and that's only if we actually have cold weather that year. I remember having 80 degree weather a few Christmases ago and although I love my sunshine, it wasn't very "Christmasy" (if that's a word!).

Never-the-less, we have so much to be thankful for and my dryer breaking isn't going to get this girl's spirits down!!!!




Lots of things to do today:


- get a package in the mail for my sister-in-law. I received your planner Kris and after sneaking a few more fun things into the box, I just need to get it to the post (as you say in England...he he).

- get a move on planning Avonlea's 4th birthday party. I got the invitations out late, but they're out and that's what counts right? The theme is a fall festival/carnival party where the kiddos can wear costumes, bob for apples (oh, flu season...need to think about that one...okay, that's off the list), play games and eat carnival food (you know, all the healthy stuff like cotton candy, hotdogs, caramel apples, etc.). I just LOVE planning the kids' parties and this one should be a lot of fun since we're creating a bunch of homemade games (ring toss, bean bag throw, etc.). Avonlea is looking forward to it, but gotta get presents wrapped, cake planned out and get the food.

- line dry more laundry and pray that it doesn't rain today!!

- dinner prepped (thinking about doing weekly dinners instead of going by my 30 days of dinner) You know, Mondays-taco night, Tuesdays- homemade pizza, Wednesdays - beef strogenoff, etc. I know a lot of families do this. It's a great way to save money though because you can constantly keep your fridge/pantry stocked with the same ingridients.

- garden watered with Miricle Grow

- fall decorations out and up

- sweep off back porch and spray down toys

- use bananas for banana bread. I think we have about 8 bananas in the freezer...a trick my mother-in-law showed me...freeze the bananas.


*Thinking about using more videos in our blog. I know I love seeing videos of other's lives and after reading the other Adventures of Supermom blog, I hope to get more videos up and going. It's so much more personal. =)

Check It Out!

I found another fun blog! =) This one I found during a Google search for a Cars potty training chart for Lincoln. She has a princess one as well and you can print it right out after clicking on it. Too cute! She's got some great stuff so be sure to check it out! Click below...

THIS BLOG

Happy Birthday Girls!

September is a BUSY month and one of the reasons for this is because there are lots of family birthdays. The oldest child in each of my husband's siblings' families is a girl and has a September birthday. So... (if you are reading this) HAPPY BIRHDAY ABIGAIL, ISABELLA, MADELYNN AND AVONLEA! You are loved. =)

There's Another Supermom Out There!

Rob and I were talking the other night and he asked me where I got the name for my blog The Adventures of Supermom. I told him that I had thought about it for awhile. I wanted it to be for moms since that's what I am and I felt who would read it the most. I wanted to include recipes, gardening, mom tips, organizational "stuff", disciplinary tactics, etc, etc, etc. So, I thought about using something having to do with "Supermom" (although there are SO many days that I don't feel like one, and yet days that I do). Then I thought of putting "The Adventures of..." in front of it and wha-la! Well, I never thought to do a search of other blogs with the same name, but apparently there are! I found THIS ONE today and although I only scanned through it for a few minutes this afternoon, she looks like a sweet, fun-loving mom of four. I have yet to do more research on other "Supermom" titles/blogs, but if I find a good one, I'll let you know. Oh! One thing I thought was cute was that every Friday, she does a video-taped review of her week. Really neat and so down to earth. Her kids interrupt her and everything, but she keeps going. =)

Run, Run As Fast As You Can...

Our cookies...a few of them looked like ailiens, but hey, it's all about the experience, not the outcome that counts, right?! =)

Our library book

The back of the book had the recipe on it.

Avy has been learning about story-telling this week. We've talked about who the author is, the illustrator and learned about different kinds of stories. One of our favorites is The Gingerbread Man. After reading the book multiple times this week, we baked these gingerbread cookies yesterday and had fun decorating them with icing and raisins. Yummo!

Reading to Norah

As Norah is getting bigger, she's also getting more fun. She's "talking" and telling stories, smiling all the time and loves attention. She also loves being read to, however I don't think this picture portrays this as she's squirming a bit. I think she was sliding down Avy's lap when I took this, but she was smiling before. =) Needless to say, Avonlea is a great big sister.

peas

sunflowers

cucumbers...growing them "up" this year on trellises

green beans

Here's some pictures of the garden this week. Things are really growing. I took these pictues Sunday and since then, the bib lettuce and broccoli have really taken off too, just no pics. I'm a little concerned with the carrots though. Nothing yet. I think they got over-watered with all the rain we've been having. (Still rainy season here.) I might try to throw some more in the ground this weekend. Also, the pumpkins have sprouted well too, just not sure where I'm putting them. I need more planters. Avonlea is excited because I gave her a packet of cucumber seeds to plant her own little garden and she planted them in some random dirt in the backyard and they're GROWING! She's pumped. Can't wait to harvest these great veggies!

Rosemary Chicken and Veggies

Fresh Rosemary from the garden

This is a favorite family dish that I make often. It's Rosemary chicken with new potatoes, carrots and onions. Don't forget the Rosemary!!! I also add some butter and EVOO sprinkled over everything. Then a little salt and pepper. Throw it in the oven for 2 hours (usually 30 minutes per pound in the oven) and wha-la! Enjoy.

New Look!

Notice anything different? Yep, The Adventures of Supermom got a bit of a facelift today. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to change our blog address since it reads "we4bates" and there aren't four of us anymore. Well, after creating a whole new blog, I had been about 1/2 hour into creating it and decided it wasn't worth the hastle!! Too much work, so not to cast Norah out of the number in our family, but the blog address is staying. =) I just decided to give my original one a bit of a new look. Enjoy!

New Planner!

I'm super excited because my new daily planner came in the mail today. I've been using Amy Knapp's planners for years and I found out there's a homeschooling one! Hooray! It's bigger than the average planner, but that's because it leaves room for lesson plans. It has a tear-out grocery list on the left-hand side, your weekly lesson plans to the right of that, then is your weekly planner boxes, to-do/call boxes and then your meal planner boxes at the very right. There's a monthly calendar at the beginning of each month as well. Too cool. You can check out the website HERE.

Messy House and Jogging

It's been a quick and activity-filled week. It was also a 4-day week, so I'm sure that that had something to do with it flying by. We've been so busy that my house hasn't been this messy in I don't know how long! It always amazes me how other moms keep their houses so clean.

I think there are a few factors:

1. They have older children who can clean up faster and more adequately. I'm still training mine to learn where things go.
2. I'm home all day with my kids and there's no real break anymore. I used to have naptime, but now that my son sporatically naps and I'm running between babies most days to keep them quiet and happy, the cleaning happens at night.
3. I'm so tired at night that things that used to get done, don't get done as I'd like them to be.
4. Sometimes, you just have to forego the dishes to sit down, spend some time with your hubby, read a good book or do something for yourself. The dishes will still be there in the morning. =) They don't grow legs.


As I've had to fight for time to myself these days, I've come to the realization that I'm going to have to wake up earlier! I woke up at 6:20 this morning (I usually sleep in until the kids start waking up around 7:30 or so), put on my running shoes and headed out the door for a run. The sun was just starting to come up, the birds were chirping, traffic was non-existant and it was just Riley and me running in the neighborhood. Quiet, peaceful and tranquil. Although I am NOT usually a morning person, I have to say that forcing myself to roll out of bed and discipline myself to run felt really good. It's the only alone time I'll get today and I have to say that although I'm not dieting (still nursing), running this morning made me more self-conscious of what I've been eating today. Maybe I'll loose a few pounds while I'm at it. I've actually never had a time in the morning when I run. Before, it was nearly impossible because I was teaching and I had to be at school at 7:00 a.m. I was already waking up at 5:30...yikes! A perk of homeschooling means not having to rush around in the morning getting my kids to hurry through their chores, scarf down breakfast and get to school is SOOO nice. We can sit down to breakfast and devotions together every morning, get chores done at our pace and then get going on schoolwork. But, back to the jogging. I'm hoping this will become a habbit. I already feel a little sore from this morning, but a good sore. The one thing that I also forgot to mention is that running this morning gave me time to talk with God, thank Him for the morning and ask Him to guide me through the day, giving me patience and understanding with my children. For those of you who have been wanting to do this and make this commitment, I urge you to try it. You may find it rewarding.

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend.

Outdoor Shower

As my children played in mud puddles in our garden this morning and tracked mud through the house and for sure have clogged up our shower inside, I decided I know what I want for my birthday...yep, an outdoor shower. Living near the beach (sand can be found anywhere and everywhere) and having children that are home with me all day, everyday can present for some pretty messy floors (and walls, doornobs, doors, furniture, etc.). It's not even that I mind sweeping up the dirt, but I'm starting to get worried that our bathroom pipes may be getting clogged from bathing the kids after playing outdoors. I do hose them off before they come in, but you know how dirt can hide in "nooks and crannies" =). There are many different types of outdoor showers and the easiest is to find one that just hooks up to a hose outside. I found one HERE that is pretty neat. I have a husband that can build anything out anything. So, we shall see.

The Bee Farm

The garden

Drinking FRESH milk

Meeting Mr. Marion

Marion was sharing about his cows

Feeding the pigs.

Milking "Dixie"

Lincoln's best buddy. This was in the chicken coop. Need I say more?!!!!! =)

One of the farm dogs in the chicken coop.

Learning about the bees.

Marion and his helper bringing back some honeycomb too look at and observe.

Watching the bees. He used a smoker to calm them down first.

Our honey jar we brought home. He doesn't do anything to it. It's PURE honey.

Rob, the kiddos and I took a trip to the bee farm today. We've been learning about bees this week and a friend from our mom's group told us about a great bee farm in Tampa. We knew this was right up our alley for our preschool homeschooling group we formed months ago. So, we woke up at the crack of dawn today and drove out to the farm. We got there bright and early to see Mr. Marion milk the cow (Dixie), see her baby calf, feed the pigs, see the chicken coop, drink some FRESH milk (unpasturized, yes...this is the way people did it back then and still do) and get a lesson on harvesting honey. It was amazing. Made me want to live there. He had a great garden area (looks like he's getting ready to start his fall crop) and it was the quaintest little place. We did indeed buy some honey and I heard from a friend that eating fresh honey can actually help with children who have asthma. Sign me up (or Avonlea for that matter)! Asthma is really hitting her hard now...lots of breathing treatments already.

Anyway, this place was so neat and I think the kids really enjoyed themselves and learned. It was nice just letting them run free, not worrying about cars. You can check out the website HERE.

Gardening Day!!

Our Garden (Riley likes to chase lizards in our bonfire pit...stinker)

Our new composter

Tomato plants

Potatoes and broccoli

Trellis the peas will grow up

Compost bin with leaves and dirt

Compost with veggies fruit that went bad

Seeds planted and in our butterfly house so the squirrels can't get to them (tomatoes, beans, peppers)

Our butterfly house

We did get our garden planted today...yea!!! We planted cantalope (a last minute thing we added...saw the seedlings at Home Depot for $3.00 and couldn't resist), peas, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes (lots), potatoes, peppers, beans and I'm just waiting on the Buttercrunch lettuce seeds in the mail from Bountiful Gardens. Those will be planted right away when I get them. We transplanted the pineapple plants today, as well as transplanted some other flowers and herbs. I've been rotating some things around and was really pleased with how it turned out today. I was especially pleased with how my husband built us a composter that rotates! I found THIS WEBSITE that shows you how to make one from scratch for a fourth of the cost of other rotating composters, so he built one in about an hour. Fertilizer is essential for good veggies/fruit and it can get quite pricy when you buy it (not that I'm not a Miricle Grow fan. I am. It's just expensive.). So, we made our own and it works wonderfully. Go Rob. We had another compost bin (shaped like a house that opens from the top), but it was VERY difficult to churn the compost and we never got a good compost crop out of it. I think next year, I'm going to try some algae. It's from Norway and Bountiful Gardens sells it. You add just a small amount to the soil in the garden and it's amazing (as so my dad says, and he's used it before and swears by it).

Even though we do have the garden "planted", it's not finished. We'll have another smaller planting day in a few weeks when I transplant all the seedlings (beans, tomatoes and peppers) into the big garden. I can't wait to see results in a few months. I was smarter this year by planting some seedlings that were pretty big, then some smaller seedlings and then using seeds. This way, we won't get a huge crop of one particular veggie/fruit at one time. They'll be spread out. I plan on doing this with the lettuce too. Carrots are great to freeze if you get too many. You can also freeze the broccoli. I can't wait to start walking out to the garden to pick produce for dinner.

If you've done your own planting, I'd love to hear about it. Even if you've just used some simple barrels or buckets on your porch. Take some pictures and share. =)