Update on our romantic night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a total failure! :)

I got all the little ones in their rooms except the baby who was terribly fussy and coming down with a cold/flu.(My big children were getting over it and the 3 little ones hadn't gotten it yet)He didn't even seem anywhere NEAR ready for bed so I just decided to make our supper and we would eat with the baby.We sat in front of the fireplace that was soooo hot I coudn't wait  to get away from it and guzzle some water.(Somewhere in here my oldest dd threw up all over her bed because it came on so suddenly that she coudn't make it to the toilet.I had to go help her strip her bed down etc.)We also let our 3yo join us.He got his leftover eggs from supper  to come sit on the couch with us and eat with us lol.We would have glady shared but he wanted his leftovers lol.We had pork steak,garlic pasta and steamed brocolli.Anyhow......After supper I decided to get my bath atleast since baby was still not ready for bed.Get out of bath and it takes baby forever nursing/fussing to finally fall asleep.It took a 1/2 hour to be able to leave the room when I layed him down! Every time I moved a finger he would wake up! I was very frustrated poor little fellow.Hopefully he couldn't tell it.Anyhow,I finally get him down and horray! dh is still awake! :)I go in the bathroom, fix my hair and get all dressed up(Black skirt/sleeveless aqua colored shirt with a black sheer shawl and black gloves that went to my elbows.I did like the outfit  and so did dh and I will definitely wear it again!)......get the table ready.....get dh on the table.....turn some music on and get about 10 minutes into the massage(which he LOVED!) and guess who is awake? Yep....the baby.....I knew that there would be NO laying down for 5 minutes with him to get him back to sleep.We just said forget it......Started a movie and I nursed the baby while we watched.Well,about 15 min later a little boy wakes up crying/coughing and almost throwing up...I get him settled and we go back to the movie.Next thing you know,*another* little boy wakes up wet and coughing.I undress him and get him tucked into our bed.So,we finishthe movie and decide to go to bed....Dh says he is sleeping on the couch because there were 3 sick little boys in our bed .Well,I head to bed with the baby and when I lay down my hand rests in vomit.Upon turning on the lights I realize that my 3yo had vomited on the bed and was laying in it............I had to get that all cleaned up and then slept for about an hour before I had to walk the floors with my baby who was feverish and would not sleep any other way.Finally I was able to slowly lower myself onto the bean bag in the living room and pass out there with the baby and then a wandering 3yo and actually slept good for the rest of the night! lol

Yes! LOL!

I wasn't laughing last night I will tell you that.:)

Oh well..........my dh thanked me for the thought!

My first blog give away!

I made two extra Lady Liners tonight along with an order I had so I could give them away here.They are smalls.One has a PUL backing and the other doesn't.You can go to my DIAPER BLOG to read all about them. If you want to enter to win these just leave a comment and you will be entered! :) I will draw a name out of a hat on Monday.:)

Husband challenge! :)

Two posts in one day! Wow! :)

I have been thinking all day about my plans for tomorrow night.I am going to give my dh a good time and let him know how MUCH I love him! I am turning our table into a massage table and am going to give him a full body massage with oil.(Have done this plenty of times before and he LOVES it!)I am wearing a black skirt and a new sleeveless shirt that I got especially for him.I am going to make a really good supper and a romantic dessert but I am not sure what yet.Candles,music and drinks.......He is going to love it.:)

So that is my challenge for YOU! :) Let your dh know how crazy about him you STILL are! Don't say ANYTHING negative to him the entire night....don't complain about *anything*....don't correct him about anything.Just build him up and treat him like a KING! Let us know here what you are going to do so we might get a few ideas.!

Reminiscing

These are 3 of my favorite Daddy/new baby pictures!All 3 were taken within minutes after birth. I just happen to come accross them and just had to post them! This was after my first water birth! Looking at these gives me major baby fever.....:) They also make me fall in love a little more (Is that possible?) with my man! :):):) See my foot in the last picture? lol I was sitting on the couch and the baby was getting examined by my midwife.

Ok....I am off to clean and get something hot in the crockpot for supper.I have a house full of sick children (on the mend now).I think I will make some cranberry muffins for my dh's lunch tomorrow too.Happy day ladies! :)

Cleaning with natural products instead of chemicals

I had a scare a few weeks ago.I have some cleaner called "Genie cleaner".I bought a whole case of it from a traveling salesman about 10 years ago.I bought it because it seemed to work great and it was "all natural".He even licked the little tube that goes down into the cleaner to show me...:)

It is concentrated though until you mix it and what he licked was mixed.

Anyhow,I don't use any chemical cleaners (well,hardly any).That Genie cleaner was as close to chemical as I have.The other day my 1yo picked up a bottle from under the sink....(I forgot it was even there as I rarely ever use it.) Someone had the lid off! Yes....he tipped that bottle and drank some.I have no idea how much but I assume it wasn't very much.He started choking and gagging on it.I could hear it gurgling in his chest and he ended up throwing up too.To make a long story short,he was fine thank God.I was so thankful though that it wasn't a REALLY bad cleaner! It really scared me.

So I thought I would post about some of my favorite natural cleaners.

I LOVE for my house to smell good.I am not one of those who does not like scent! I really do love scented cleaners.laundry soaps,bleach,fabric softner etc. I used to love to use my Lysol.!I also really miss my Downy! I don't use either anymore(and haven't for years) though because I don't trust them.Anyhow,I really do NOT like to use stuff like plain white vinegar for cleaning.Yuck!

ESSENTIAL OILS are the answer!!!!! :):)

Orange,grapefruit,lemon,cinnamon,tea tree and lemongrass are my favorites!!

For a disinfectant spray mix 3 cups of water.1 cup of vinegar and several drops of essentila oil.

Furniture polish/dusting stuff mix 1 cup oil with 1/4 cup vinegar and several drops of essential oil.

Mix baking soda and salt with several drops of essential oil to make a neat carpet fresh powder.I also like to mix actual cinnamon and cloves in it.Let sit for 15 min and vacuum up.

I like to put several drops of essential oil in my diapers to disinfect them and make them smell good.

Save your orange and lemon peels and put them in a quart jar and cover with vinegar and let sit for 2 weeks.It makes a wonderful citrus smelling vinegar!!!

I used to love air freshener spray and always had it on hand but essentail oil diffusers are much healthier and smell wonderful.You can get plug in kinds or little rings to sit on top of a light bulb in a lamp.

Anyhow,I know this stuff is no secret.Lots of Mammas use natural cleaners but you never know,you might see one that you have never thought of before.If you have any other neat ones please comment and let me know! :)

Snickerdoodles

Everyone is crazy about these cookies and they are cheap and easy to make! My little ones were thrilled today to have them with some fresh,raw milk and my dh is going to love having some with his coffee when he gets home! :)

Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter (or 2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Beat butter,sugar and vanilla.Add eggs and beat.If you are a cook like me,don't mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.....Just put the flour on top of the butter mixture and then the cream of tartar,soda and salt on top of the flour.Stir with a spoon.It mixes together FINE! :) I do it all the time with all of my cookies.

Make large balls of dough and roll in the below mixture.

14/ cup sugar
4 tsp cinnamon

No need to grease the pan :)

Bake at 350 for 8-11 minutes or until light brown around the edges.

Don't overbake or they will be crispy! They are still good but not NEAR as good as the crinkly chewy ones! :)

Give them plenty of space as they will spread.

How we divide our chores up

In my last post about scheduling you can see that we do our "territories" or "daily chores" a few times a day.Then we have a 1/2 hour for each person to do a weekly chore.They are chores that only need done once a week and we all have a different one for each day.We do monthly chores on Saturdays.

So...........

Mamma......:)

Territories: Laundry/porch/sweep hard floors/vacuum

WEEKLY chores:

MON-Mop
TUE- Main refrigerator
WED-Sewing room
THUR- Dust/vacuum/clean mirrored doors in our room
FRI-Scrub stove

**12yo ds...

Territories-Downstairs shop/bathroom/bedroom/trash

WEEKLY chores:

MON-Outside pickup
TUE- Vehicle care (Check ALL fluids in all vehicles and grease equipment) He is to let us know what he needs as far as any oil/grease etc.
WED-Bring in the weeks wood
THUR-Barn pickup
FRI-Bird feeders filled

**10yodd...

Territories-Basement and basement stairs picked up and swept/bedroom

WEEKLY chores:

MON-Refrigerator on porch
TUE-Scrub both kitchen sinks and dish strainer
WED-Dust
THUR-Downstairs bathroom
FRI-Cement slab(BIG one) outside in front of house picked up and swept

**7yodd

Territories-Island/Top of stairs/Computer desk/table/bookshelf/hutch (none of these things are usually very dirty so while it sounds like alot,it isn't)

WEEKLY chores:

MON-Hearth around wood stove in living room swept and polished
TUE-Wipe down dressers in bedroom
WED-Vacuum bedroom
THUR-Clean out porch closet
FRI-Coffee station cleaned

**5yods

Territories-Hard floors/living room/bedroom and bring wood upstairs for upstairs stove

WEEKLY chores:

MON-Under couch and chair cushions vacuumed
TUE-Vacuum toy box
WED-His and his little brothers desks organized and wiped
THUR-Tooth paste drawer cleaned and organized
FRI-Organize toys

3yo ds has a few territories but no weekly chores :):)

Fold kitchen towels/Toybox/help bring up wood :)

MONTHLY chores.......

We have 4 sets of chores for 4 weeks.

Organize and wash cabinets
All cobwebs in the entire house and basement mopped
Ceiling fans cleaned and woodwork polished
Pull out appliances (as needed) and van

We will spend a couple of hours every SAT. morning.Everything on the list will be done by the end of the month.After cleaning is tea party time with my girls! :)

FRIDAY is our kitchen day and we eliminate a few things to have more time for it.
TUESDAY Grandma comes down at 12:30 for a craft day and so we adjust things for that too! :)

I think thats it!