To clean or not to clean

I've heard it said that it takes 21 days to form a habit.

There always seem to be things in my life that I would like to turn into a routine, and habits I would like to form as I seek to improve as a mother and housewife.

A while back I saw a "cleaning schedule" on Pinterest. I have never been a great cleaner. I've not been a bad cleaner, but it's been hard to stay motivated to keep up with the deep cleaning of the house. 

I'm not talking about simply doing dishes and picking up toys - because let's be honest, those things have to be done every-single-day-almost-every-hour in order to just have the appearance of a clean house. No, I'm talking about things like cleaning out the fridge. And washing windows. And polishing the wood furniture. And scrubbing the floors. 

It's exhausting keeping a clean house! And with 2 young kids in the house? One might argue that it's impossible. "Cleaning a house with young kids is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos" is more than just a funny saying - it's a reality. 

So I decided to take it upon myself to experiment a little bit with cleaning and figure out a routine that would keep me on top of the deep cleaning, while not stressing me out. I've tried various cleaning ideas - deep cleaning all in one day, all in one weekend, and splitting up tasks over different days - like dusting one day and cleaning all glass (windows/mirrors) another day. 

After seeing yet another cleaning schedule on Pinterest, I gave it a shot. And so far, I like it.

Monday - Thursday I deep clean clean an area of the house.
Mondays: Kitchen. Wipe down counters, clean out fridge, clean microwave wash windows, sweep/scrub floors.
Tuesdays: Living room. Put away everything - mail piles that collect, toys, etc, dust, wash windows, polish wood furniture.
Wednesdays: Bedrooms. Put away /, hang up/put away all laundry that's accumulated, wash windows, dust, polish furniture.
Thursday: Bathrooms. Clean countertops, mirrors, scrub toilets, sweep/wash floors, wash shower/bathtubs

*As a disclaimer, our house is small, so breaking the house up into 4 areas makes each day seem fairly easy.

**As another disclaimer, I have two little kids. Easy is not a very accurate depiction of keeping a house even remotely clean.

A few notes: vacuuming is not on the list. Henry is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so it takes two of us to complete the task - one to vacuum and one to comfort him in the other room. Also, there are tasks I do not do every week (washing windows, polishing furniture). But if I stick to the weekly schedule, I still concentrate on that area on each given day. And if I miss a day, it's not overwhelming to pick it back up the next day.

I also make my own cleaners! To see recipes, check out this post on our other blog: http://familywellnessessentialoils.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/green-cleaning/

Dare I say it's becoming a habit? Not yet...but I'm working on it. With the excuse that because it's a weekly routine, I am giving myself 21 weeks to make it a habit. :)

Fall Fun

We've only had a handful of days this year where it's actually FELT like Fall...but this year I'm celebrating October as Fall month regardless of what the thermometer says.

Someday I want to be able to decorate my house according to seasons/holidays better. More grown up. I want to be crafty and have my house all decked out for things like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Easter.

But for now, I have an almost-5-year old and a 2 1/2 year old. I want them to learn about the wonders of being crafty and discover their own creativity inside them.

So now, when I "decorate" for seasons and holidays, it has my kids' handprints all over the decorations.

As Adele is enjoying all things school right now, she doesn't exactly need help discovering her own creativity - she just simply needs opportunity to enjoy and practice being creative and crafty.

This year for Fall Break, I wanted the kids to enjoy having some extra time at home. I wanted it to be a little different than a weekend, and since it was going to be 4 full days, I also didn't want to go crazy myself.

So we took outings, read numerous books, baked pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread, and did some fun fall crafts.

Painting leaves!

                                             Fall trees and paper pumpkins!

 Spiders to decorate the house!

I suppose, of course, once my kids are older and I decorate my house in a more grown up way for seasons and holidays...I am quite certain that I will miss these days of doing fun crafts with my little kids!

And if any of you have kids who like Curious George and you also have Netflix, you should check out the Curious George special "Halloween Boo." It has become my kids' favorite thing to watch this fall, and here is David re-enacting "No Noggin'".

Couldn't resist...

I know I recently posted some cute saying around our house, but I just couldn't help but post another one today.

Here are some funny/cute Adele-isms:

-Recently Adele was perusing a magazine and found a pumpkin all cut and ready for Halloween. She asked if we could carve a pumpkin just like that and I told her to ask her daddy because he is the pumpkin master. She replied, "But...I thought he was the bird expert!"

-We are beginning to see that maybe Adele is getting too used to Oklahoma hot weather. The first time it was only 61 degrees outside she said to me sadly, "I don't think we're going to be able to play outside for recess today. It's too cold...must be already winter."

-Earlier this week it was fire safety day at school. Adele explained to me how you call 911 for emergencies, but call the regular fire department number for a fire alarm that doesn't work. She asked me what the regular number was, and I said I didn't know. So she asked, "Did you learn fire safety in school?" and I said yes I had, so she followed up by saying, "Bet you weren't paying attention when they gave the regular number, were you?"

-This week we dropped David off at school/work and Adele started talking about how she missed him already. I said I did too, but sometimes we need to go off and do things and then come home and hang out as a family. I told her that even though we knew she was loving school and having a great time, we missed her when she was gone. She thought about that for a second and said, "Yeah...I forget to miss you when I'm at school..."

And a cute Henry moment:

-Both kids have skeleton clothing - Adele a shirt, and Henry pajamas. They both put them on and were going to wear them to bed. They loved them, played in them...and then found out they glowed in the dark. Henry was a little afraid of that, and when it was time to go to bed he told me he had to take off his skeleton pajamas, saying "I don't want to see my bones!"

Rain!

Oh rain, how I love thee...

I've never thought of myself as a big fan of rain. Those people live in Seattle...right?

I AM a severe weather fan though. Not because of destruction...but because of the power the severe weather represents.

Growing up in Iowa, we had four distinct seasons. Not exactly the prime location for severe weather, but I took what I got. I would watch radars for thunderstorms in the spring (and the occasional exciting tornado warning), and look for weather updates for the chance of big snowfalls.

I don't remember paying too much attention to just RAIN.

After having lived in Costa Rica for 4 years, and experiencing hours upon hours, days upon days (months upon months) of rain, I couldn't help but develop an appreciation for rain.

You would think I would have gotten sick of it. And of course, there were days when I had enough rain. I was tired of soggy shoes. Never being able to do my hair. Feeling like my rain jacket AND umbrella were permanently attached to me.

October brought two of the rainiest weeks every year. There were multiple times during the month of October where we got stuck in tropical storms, or had landslides along the road.

And yet...I miss the rain. I miss being amazed at the sound of the intense, powerful rain beating down on the roof. Having to quite literally yell at David just so he could hear me over the rain.

And now that it's October, I can't help but think of our rainy days in Costa Rica.

Somehow, rain in Oklahoma just isn't the same as the cloud forest of Costa Rica.

My excitement builds and builds as the forecasters begin predicting rain days in advance. I check regularly the upcoming daily forecast. Then the hourly forecast. And then the radar, as the rain approaches the state of Oklahoma...and then Oklahoma City...

And then, after a short time of wonderful, refreshing rain outside, it ends. Almost just as quickly as it began, the rain is gone.

And I go back to looking at next week's forecast...

A thirst for knowledge

When we used to work at QERC in Costa Rica, facilitating the semester program for college students, we often saw a very exciting thing - once the students began to interact with the neighboring Costa Ricans, they all of a sudden became very eager and motivated to learn Spanish.

David is teaching an Ecology Lab this semester at OU and he often sees a similar phenomenon with his students - once out in the field, they develop a thirst for knowledge and an eagerness to learn more and more.

And now, we are seeing that same thing happen with our 4- (almost 5-) year old.

Now that she has started school, she too has developed an eagerness in areas we haven't seen before. Whether it's practicing spelling and reading words on her Leap Pad, or working her way through her educational books, or even looking at many, many, many books late at night...she simply can't get enough.

And so with it being Fall Break, we are having to come up with some fun-filled fall days so she doesn't miss school too much!

A new blog

In previous blog posts, I've mentioned that my family uses essential oils.

Because that learning process of using essential oils and incorporating them into our daily lives has been...well...a journey, my sisters-in-law and I are attempting to record that journey in a new blog. 

(Clearly my history hasn't proven that I'm able keep up with this blog, but there will be 3 of us contributing to the new one...so...we'll all be at fault if we don't update regularly! And yes, I'm aiming high and keeping this personal blog too.)

We plan on talking about things we've learned, discussing ways to use essential oils, and sharing stories of success that we've experienced along the way. 

If you use essential oils, or have heard about them and are intrigued to learn more, or simply just enjoy reading a little bit about my life, you can follow along at https://familywellnessessentialoils.wordpress.com.

Fridays are tough

Adele had still been taking a "rest" time in the afternoons before school started - and quite often, falling asleep. You can imagine that the transition to afternoon Pre-K might be tough on a girl.

Here's proof of that. Friday afternoons we pick David up from work - and in the 5 minute drive from our house to his work, the inevitable happens.

This particular Friday we even stopped by the
bank and got a sucker! She still fell asleep.

 



Yesterday we actually picked David up from school first, so I thought I might not get my Friday sleeping picture of Adele. But soon after we got home, this is what I found:

My most favorite place...in the U.S.

My family started vacationing in Estes Park in 1987. I was 7 years old. Each summer we would get up at 4:00am and take off on the long 12-hour drive for our week in Colorado.

I can vividly remember the stops we would take for breakfast, our lunch stop, and...well that's all I remember of the drive until we hit the canyon with enormous rock walls as we neared Estes Park. I would sleep pretty much the entire drive, sprawling across my sisters and getting as comfortable as possible while still technically wearing a seatbelt. 

For many years we rented a cabin at the YMCA in Estes Park. During the week we would pick a few days and us kids would attend the day camp offered. We'd go horseback riding, mini golfing, take some hikes, learn camp songs, and make new friends. As a family we'd spent countless hours in Rocky Mountain National Park, searching for elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. 

A while back, my parents got a time share in Estes Park and in our adult years we would stay just outside of RMNP. However, on each visit, we would still spend a lot of time at the YMCA - reliving our memories getting ice cream at the administration building, and going horseback riding through the Y camp on tours that took us through RMNP. 

When David and I started dating and then were married, he gladly jumped into family vacations in Colorado. Each year we continued to reminisce our old memories, and David added to the family by pointing out birds on the trail (and the bear that we all would have walked by without seeing).

This fall, David had the opportunity to attend an American Ornithological Union conference and present his research. Once we found out the conference would be held at the YMCA in Estes Park, we were all excited. While the kids and I didn't HAVE to go with him to the conference...it seemed like a no-brainer that we would join him. As a bonus, my parents have been using their time share week in September in recent years, and had conveniently already booked their week in Colorado for the SAME TIME we were planning on being there. 

So last week, we spent 4 full days in Estes Park. While David attended presentation after presentation about ornithology, the kids and I joined my parents (and my Uncle Mark for half the time!) as we re-lived some of my favorite memories growing up.

The kids enjoyed some Daddy time when he was finished for the day!

Henry walking around the YMCA with Grandma and Grandpa

Having two little kids with us was sort of like starting over in life. Rather than planning our days around which long hikes we were going to do, we planned our activities around the kids.

Instead of taking a couple hour horseback ride through Rocky Mountain National Park, we took the kids on pony rides and I was reminded of my younger sisters when they would ride the infamous pony Minnie.

Adele riding the pony Strawberry, led by my Uncle Mark

Flashback to my sister Rachel, riding Minnie

Instead of taking hours to peruse the shops in downtown Estes Park, we quickly went in a couple of places and instead spent hours playing on the playground inside the YMCA.

Instead of long day hikes, we "hiked" the 0.8 miles around Bear Lake, and the kids climbed almost every rock along the short trail.

But some things never change. The views inside Rocky Mountain National Park are stunning, the herds of elk are impressive, and the cinnamon rolls at Glen Haven are delicious.

The view from up at Rainbow Curve, inside Rocky Mountain National Park

And being there in the fall is truly unforgettable. The stark contrast of the yellow and orange leaves on the aspen trees against the dark green forest. The male elk that bugle loudly to attract the female elk, while they gather them in a harem and fight off other interested males. The beautiful weather.

And nature that is enthralling for kids and adults alike - the ability to see elk and deer 5 feet outside the cabin window, the walks around the YMCA collecting wildflowers, and seeing mountains from every view.

This male elk and his harem of about 18 females 

liked to hang out around our cabin!