cleaning.......

 People are vastly different on how they clean, and trust me, I used to use everything under the sun. Until I worked with my sister in law. {she has her own cleaning company} {"Touched by Angels"}
 Then she taught me about cleaning products and what is ok to use and what you should not use.
My kids have severe allergies and bad asthma. So this year I started using her recommendations on cleaners and this was the first year that we did NOT have pneumonia in our house. Everything she recommends is plant based environmentally friendly, and aromatherapy based. Mrs. Meyers is the first one I got, and used it faithfully, learned that the bottle you get is a concentrate and you can change it up, add bleach or make it not as strong for each individual application needed. The next was Caldrea,{ this is Mrs. Meyers big sister.} And she rocks! Same said for all the uses and the bonus is that they smell good, they work very well, and your house doesn't smell like a chemical lab! The other thing she recommends is:  if you use a vacuum, look at how it works, does it suck well? If you have a bag version, do you change your bag? How often? Where is the exit valve? In the back or front? Are you confused? Well I will clear it up for you. First, canister vacuums in my opinion {remember I said my opinion} are not very good at their job. I have used plenty and I'm hear to tell you that they are not that great. They generally have the blower {exit valve} in the front and where is your canister???? That is right, in the front. Blowing back the dust mites you just sucked up....You can clean out your canister to stop it from keep blowing out those particles and maintain your valves. If your concerned, about how well your vacuum suction is, put some paper clippings on the floor and see how much it picks up. Also what will help in the suction department, are you changing your bag once a month? {at least...} I vacuum everyday, that is right everyday. {kids with allergies and a husband that won't take out the carpet.}I change the bags every three weeks. The next thing to check is your front brush, take it out and clean it off. Open underneath and get in the nooks and crannies to get out the stuck dust inside. If you have carpet and pets and shoes coming and going, are your carpets clean? Are you breathing in cleaner air or dirty air? A vacuum is an investment. You need to remember carpet is only clean when you have a good vacuum. Hope you find some of these tips handy!

busy

as a stay at home momma I have this guilty conscience. and let me tell you sometimes its on overload. I secretly think that sometimes, I don't do enough. seriously. I think I am not worthy of staying at home and doing all that I do...... which frustrates me to no end. I know what I do. sometimes I write down what I do each day for a week and look at it. its really a lot. so this week my kids had the opportunity to see what its going to be like for them with a momma that works. my oldest decided to do her own laundry..... did you hear me??!! her OWN laundry. I shudder to think it would happen again, but she did it. I like the idea of being able to work, make money, {which helps the house hold} but want to be able to keep the ship running..... so that is what is happening this week. i have had many people ask how do you do what you do? so I am going to give anyone who is going to be reading this, a clue into my insanity........

long weekend.......

So for this long weekend, {which I love, by the way!} my oldest ended up getting ill. Normally I would be a little pill about the whole thing, and not be able to get anything finished, but on the contrary I got alot done. Remarkable. However, I really am not great at taking time for myself {ok there I admit it, in black and white.....} so this weekend with baskeball games, and First communion classes, and a superbowl, I decided to just let me be, do what I wanted {with in reason, I mean I have a sick kid at home...} and got to watch all of my favorite design shows, {it helps when your daughter likes the same ones...} caught a couple of movies, and did a few craft projects......and best of all we snuggled...... nothing like snuggling your soon to be teenager to make you feel great!!!!! and needed!!! xo Enjoy your weekend!

disapontment.......remix....

So in an earlier post I was disappointed in the wall behind my piano, which happens to be in my dining room...All because there was a this very ugly light in that space...However I am proud to announce that the divine Mr. P. delivered!! and its gone! bye bye! whoo!~ the eyesore has left {not really its in the garage..} and now in its place is nothing! clean and purty! I also took some inspiration from a lovely lady: Emily Jones.....and her design blog. I will be posting pics to follow so you can see how pretty it turned out! Keep posted and have more fun stuff to come!~ xoxo

Monday

This weekend was a long weekend. Not only was it jammed packed with "have too's" but we also had a sick kiddo at home to contend with.... Do you have to deal with "have too's"? I hate them. {very strong word I know but it was necessary here...} I really do. My mother once told me that if you "have too" do something, it means you don't really want to do it. I cannot stand it when she is right. Anyhow, I am a busy person, I have long laundry lists of all of the things I am responsible for and some of those things are "have too's". Does that mean I don't have to do them?? No, because they won't be done by anyone else. You all know that out there in blog land....... For instance, this summer, Mr.P. was especially busy and no one would mow the lawn, did I want to?! No, but I had to because the neighbors would make a comment. {Why they don't tell my hubby when he is home and working outside I don't know, but they must feel like if they tell me I will hop to it......}I would like to know what happens when you finally put your foot down, and say no. Does the world fall apart? Will your house crumble down around you? Will you have a visit from social services because your children's beds aren't made? Do you know how many games I have missed playing because the dishes had to be done? uggghhh. I think PCC needs to offer a class on how to not be busy. I think it would be pretty popular........ Enjoy your Monday!

so on this {what I would call...} a dreary Tuesday, with a mountain of laundry, piles of dishes, 5 unmade beds, and a bored dog....... This is where I wished I was....Me and the hubster on horses, casually trotting along the beach. Of course, now if this was REAL, my dog would be making the horses crazy, my kids would be fighting about who would be riding ahead of the other one, and Mr. P. would be complaining that the saddle was too small and his butt hurt. But I digress....Not many of you know a lot about me, and that is ok, {I am mysterious! hahahah...} I would love to sell off this suburban lifestyle and home school my kids, I would love and I mean love to have a working farm. The simplistic lifestyle that we see from the outside is actually a lot of work...My parents sold their life in suburbia when I got married and my sister finally moved out to do just that. My dad for years wished that we could get out of the city and buy a farm. My mom didn't like that and we never did. However now I see why he wanted it, the quiet, the fresh air, the boundless opportunities to be creative out of doors....Mr. P and I contemplated it, when the kids were little....We would go on the weekends to visit and the chores that you had to do just to keep the place up was enormous, seriously. However the best part of that, was when the chores were done you could see the fruits of your labor. IE: chickens fed, eggs gathered, horse stalls cleaned and horses ready to ride, cows fed and happy..... not like now when you get maybe 2-3 hours of clean house and dishes only to have your kiddos home and destroy it like a tornado came through. {so not complaining, just observation...} The jet set city life has its ups and downs, but farm life is about family, in its essence. The family is a team, you work as a team to get it done. Everyone pitches in. Otherwise it doesn't get done.  When we moved back to Portland, we thought we could do the urban farm thing {which I completely miss..} and have chickens and for that brief time of having them, my kids were completely happy. They wanted to help. It was amazing to them to see how the chickens laid eggs, how many they got, what they loved to eat, and how cool it was to have chickens as a pet instead of the typical dog or cat. Now fast forward 3 years, and I cannot get them to help take the dog for a walk unless its 74 degrees out and not a cloud in the sky! We have conversations about selling and moving to a farm a lot here, and they all would love it, but would miss the city life...  I guess that is why we haven't as of yet, this city mouse is really not ready to be a country mouse quite yet. But someday she will and will be completely content.......So for now I will stare longingly into this photo and wish upon a star that we can be that couple someday..... Mr. P only has 9 more years until retirement, and that isn't that far off...... It may happen just yet! xoxox

disapontment.......

Well do you see it?! Do you see my arch Nemesis? He is right there above the piano......He is red and white with a black line running through him. He looks like someone tried to splatter paint him {oh ya like that is going to make it look any better...} Anyhow, if you happen to have this light in your house {I'm sure its lovely...} but here it is not. I have nothing in my home that looks like it can carry this style {contemporary...} and so, it must go. We have lived in this home for almost two years, and this sucker is still here. My disappointment is not that its still here, but that I myself cannot get it down. I know how to drywall, mud and tape, paint, do tile, and lots of other things....But electrical is not one of them.....However did I tell you that there is someone in this house that can and is qualified to take it down?! That's right the fabulous Mr. P.....But does he?? NO because it is still here. So he is motivated for others, just not me.....{OK not really...but I get a little crabby and think so} What about you? Do you have an arch Nemesis at your home you want to get rid of?? How did you or do you plan on getting it out? As for me, I think a batch of cookies may motivate him today!