tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9350487178961952562024-03-17T20:03:38.658-07:00Our Country RoadLisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.comBlogger772125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-43707273426918505262019-07-12T00:33:00.000-07:002019-07-12T00:39:17.203-07:00The House ~ Part 5Now that we were both on board for wanting the house, I had a phone call to make.<br />
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I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that, unless you found this post by searching USDA auctions...you've never bought a house through a USDA auction. I mean, yes, they happen, but it's kinda rare. I mean, when we started looking at this house there were a total of EIGHT in my whole state. I live in a VERY populous state. Currently, there are ZERO. So, yes, it happens, but no it's not common.<br />
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Why does this matter? Well, the house was being auctioned through the USDA. Yes, the same USDA that makes laws concerning farmers, puts out dietary guidelines, and approves food labels...also gives out loans...for houses. We were kinda shocked, too.<br />
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Turns out USDA loans are given out to homes in rural communities to people who have less than perfect credit and fall within a lower income category. I'm not sure all the specifics, but it's to help build up farming communities.<br />
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Well, the previous owners defaulted on the loan, so now it was for auction.<br />
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Years ago, my brother in law heard of a house for auction in town. He decided how much he thought it was worth and I think may have even gone prepared to bid that amount. When he got there, however, it turned out to be a Sheriff's tax auction with an upset bid from the bank. The house he thought was worth about 30-40 grand went for around 80,000. If you look up Sheriff's auctions, you can read a little more about how they work. But, that was before everyone used the internet to look up all the things...no I'm not THAT old, lol.<br />
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(The front two bedrooms have doors that open up. It could be one big room if you wanted.)</div>
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The only experience I had with housing auctions was from his story, and one private auction that also had a starting bid of higher than it was worth. This made me leery of what price the house might sell for, and I didn't even know if it was worth moving forward. We didn't have a huge budget, and the house needed a lot of work, so the price we could pay was even smaller. If there was an upset bid, we needed to know what it was.<br />
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There was a sign in the yard that said it was a USDA auction and gave the date. It also gave the open house dates. We had gone to the open house with a list of questions. But, as it turns out, they didn't stay for the open house. The host just opened the door and left. She came back later, but we missed her. So, I had to call.<br />
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(A bright and sunny small room. Perfect for a schoolroom.)</div>
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The paper for the house said that the USDA would bid $100 on the property. Really? It could start at $100? I had to understand if that was really the case. <br />
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But, it was. <br />
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There were no banks involved. <br />
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USDA was the only one going to bid on the house.<br />
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Any other bids would just be from interested parties. <br />
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There were no upset bids. <br />
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Taxes were up to date.<br />
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Only that year's taxes would need to be paid by the buyer.<br />
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I must have asked her the same question three or four different ways to verify what I had heard. I was so excited, but could hardly believe it. The price would be determined by the bidders. That meant it should go for what it was worth and not a crazy upset bid amount. That meant it could go really cheap. That meant, it could be in our price range.<br />
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That meant another prayer had been answered!<br />
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Continuing the story:<br />
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<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part one</a><br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part two</a><br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part three</a><br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-house-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part four</a><br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-72619831578755442612019-07-10T22:48:00.000-07:002019-07-10T22:48:13.713-07:00The House ~ Part 4So, we went and we saw. We, meaning my husband came, too. My husband went and saw.<br />
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We (well, actually, read me) have been looking for a place to buy for the last 9 years, more seriously in the last 5. About 9 years ago, we put in an offer on a house my husband always loved, and it didn't work out. There were also two other places that we gave serious thought, but they didn't work out either. In general, though, my husband has been happy with where we currently live.<br />
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To be fair, we live on an amazing farm. We have the most beautiful views. We have cows out our window and a creek down the lane. We have only two neighbors, neither of which we can see from our windows. It's quiet, and secluded.<br />
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(fireplace in the house for sale)</div>
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There are a lot of great things about this house! But, we rent. We also had a super harsh winter this last year, and the school buses wouldn't even run down our road for an entire month! Meaning, I had to go out in the super cold and questionable road to take my kids to school.<br />
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Mustang, especially, is super involved in school activities. This requires a lot of driving back and forth from town. It's only a 10 minute drive to the school, but that's 20 minutes round trip. Sometimes more than once a day. Sometimes, more than twice a day. And, our road has a lot of rocks, and is known for giving flat tires.<br />
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This is not supposed to be a complaint post. But, I did want to share a little about why I was even considering giving up such a wonderful spot in favor of a foreclosure with lots of work to do. There are other reasons, too, but I'll save them for another time.<br />
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(Cool wallpaper in one of the rooms)</div>
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Living in such a nice place, has made my husband very reluctant to consider anywhere else. He likes being in the country. He likes being 2 miles from the farm where he farms. He likes not having neighbors. So, I knew that just because he went to the house did not mean that he would want the house. And, even if he liked the house would not mean that he wanted to buy the house. So, this was my next prayer.<br />
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He had lots to say when we got home from the house. He had ideas, and had already started thinking about where he would put a mini-split. He likes thinking about unique heating and cooling options, which is really good with this house!<br />
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I tried not to be too hopeful, but when I asked if he wanted the house...he replied, I have interest. This was a big deal!<br />
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(Clawfoot tub. Yes, we think that's a wooden table top underneath-some things are weird).</div>
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It isn't in the country, but it's on an acre of land. It's also on the very edge of town, so it backs up to a field. It's on a quiet street, and has lots of trees. It also sets back from the road a lot, so you feel a little secluded. <br />
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One of my favorite extras is that we have lived in two houses since we moved here to farm. Each of them is two miles from the farm. This house is ALSO two miles from the farm. So, we would move to 'town,' but not be any farther from the farm.<br />
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And, while his reply of 'I have interest,' wasn't a complete answer. I knew it was enough to move forward with trying to buy the house. If things went well, I could push for a more official answer. But, it was enough of a yes to move forward.<br />
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Sometimes God answers with a solid yes, and sometimes with a 'watch and see' yes. This was the second. Still an answer to prayer.<br />
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Continuing the story:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part One</a>:<br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part Two</a>:<br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part Three</a>:<br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-14470834986748179312019-05-20T21:49:00.002-07:002019-05-20T21:54:06.296-07:00The House ~ Part 3Salvageable is a big word. It's also a scary word. Worth rescuing is one of its definitions. I decided the house was salvageable. But, that also means a lot of work. Work on a house.<br />
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I mentioned in my last post that my husband doesn't really like working on houses. He CAN do it, but it's not something that excites him. Which, is totally understandable. I, on the other hand like working on houses. Although, sometimes, that means that I like coming up with things that need to be done to a house that I can't actually do, which translates to me liking HIM to work on houses...which he doesn't like to do. See an issue here?<br />
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(Photo of one of the many projects. Someone had removed drop ceiling only to find MANY wires, pipes and other fun things up above it, and had given up.)</div>
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I had fallen in love with this house. However, many of the critical things needed to be done to the house would require work that I can't do. The roof needed to be patched. The windows needed to be replaced. The siding needed to be replaced. The porch needed to be repaired. ALL the surfaces in the house needed to be painted/updated/new floor laid, etc, etc, etc. Now, I COULD do some of the work, but not the very major things. This meant I had to get my husband on board, or this was a lost cause.<br />
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My prayer now changed from praying that the house was salvageable, to praying that my husband would get on board to buy it. But, baby steps...my husband had to SEE it first. He claimed I could go forward with bidding at the auction even if he never saw it (he pointed out that he didn't even go to see the other house we put an offer on-even though he wanted it more than I did). Yet, I knew that if he wouldn't even go see it, that God was not in agreement that we should get this house.<br />
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(My favorite of the bedrooms. In need of major attention, but has high ceilings and tons of bright light.)</div>
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I went home from seeing the house and talked it up! I showed all the pictures I took to my mother in law and my husband.<br />
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My brother and sister in law and I all talked about it at length. They were sold. In fact, they seriously considered bidding themselves, even though they live hours away. My father in law was the only one not very interested. Too big.<br />
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I prayed quite a bit that evening and into the next morning. The open house was from 10 until 2, and we wanted to get there pretty early. At 9:45, my husband agreed to go. I was thrilled! Prayer number two had been answered!! <br />
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All 7 of us piled in the van, and headed to my in-laws. My mother in law, father in law, brother and sister in law, and their kids all descended on this big old house in excitement.<br />
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When we got there, we found friends looking around. They were somewhat interested in the house and had walked from down the street to check it out. It was an extra blessing to have them there, because one of them repairs houses for a living. He, my husband, and my brother in law went down and checked out the heating, air, and water systems (to the best of their knowledge with a flashlight), and were all pleased with what they found. They were also pleased with the foundation and overall sturdiness of the house.<br />
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(Another favorite spot of the open banister at the top of the staircase.)</div>
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My children happily ran through all the big and spacious rooms picking out their favorites. They tried out the backyard swing, and played with the sweet stray cat that lived under the deck. I loved that, even with all our family, some friends, and a few other people checking out the house, it still seemed open and spacious.<br />
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(The staircase looking up.)</div>
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It was a house we could invite people to. A house we could let neighborhood kids hang out at. A house we could turn into a home to love on our family, friends, and anyone who needed a hug in. Yes, I was falling in love with it. But, I've fallen in love with things that weren't to be mine before, and there were others interested in the house. Plus, just looking at the house did not mean my husband was on board.<br />
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But, my first two prayers had been answered. One, the house was salvageable, and two, my husband had gone to see it.<br />
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Continuing the story:<br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part One</a><br />
<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part Two</a><br />
<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-9828983287678096602019-05-19T22:43:00.001-07:002019-05-20T21:15:14.870-07:00The House ~ Part 2Over the years that we have been renting our current house, there have been a number of houses that have come and gone. Even one that we put in an offer on. That was a slightly odd, or even shady deal, in that our offer was never even submitted to the bank selling it. But, well, it wasn't supposed to be ours, so I guess it was just as well.<br />
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With each house that didn't work out, I've learned to get less and less attached to the idea of owning the house when I see one. And, with this house, I knew very well it needed a lot of work. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tackle such a project, and had no idea if it would even be worth the effort of being interested in it.<br />
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The day before the open house was Easter. It was a beautiful Easter, not too hot and not too cold, with the sun shining bright. My brother in law and sister in law were in town for the holiday, and they were very interested in seeing the house, as was my mother in law. My husband wasn't too interested, which was typical. My brother in law and sister in law bought a foreclosure about 15 years ago and have been working hard to remodel it ever since. My brother in law likes to work on houses. My husband does not like to work on houses.<br />
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After dinner that day, my brother in law said, "Let's go look around the outside of the house." I couldn't interest my husband, but my brother in law, sister in law, and father in law, and I all loaded up and drove to the house.<br />
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I hadn't braved the idea of really looking around until that day. So, that was the first I took a look at the true condition of the house. Because it had so much damage to the roof, I sincerely thought there was a 75% or better chance that it was too far gone to be repaired. I expected there to be rotten floors and mold everywhere. So, I was still quite hesitant, but got excited when I noticed the house had nice looking storm windows, and a very nice looking air unit.<br />
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While I, normally, wouldn't have noticed these things, I knew these would be important to my husband. I also knew that, since it is a big old house, these were very important features!</div>
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We looked around a little further. We admired the large (one acre) yard.</div>
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Noticed a rustic barn that turned out to have steel I-beams to hold it up. Very sturdy.<br />
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And, one of the favorite features, a giant old Sycamore complete with a swing.</div>
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We were about to leave, when we found out that we were able to see INSIDE the house! Completely surprised and excited, we went in for a quick tour. Again, totally expecting a hazard filled, totally decayed house. But, that was not what we found.</div>
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Instead, we found a huge, sturdy, diamond in the rough. It needed TONS of work. A new roof and windows were needed. There was a question about the water. No one knew if the air conditioner would work, or if the electricity would turn on. BUT, it was SOLID. There was a leak in the roof-caused by a chimney, and places throughout the house that looked as though they had previously had water, but overall it was GOOD!! </div>
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This is the dining room. Its high ceilings, along with my favorite paint color, pushed me over the edge to want this house. Of course, it needed a ton of work. But, the bones were there, and it was totally salvageable.</div>
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I left there knowing that I really wanted to live in this house. But, I'd wanted to live in other houses, and I do not live in them. I'd been down this road a number of times before. And so, I knew that a LOT of prayer would have to go into this process.</div>
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But, my first prayer had been answered-the house was salvageable. And, I certainly wanted to salvage it.</div>
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Continuing the story:</div>
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<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part One</a></div>
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-1396160112022842182019-05-17T23:16:00.000-07:002019-05-19T22:45:22.938-07:00The House ~ Part 1I haven't blogged in forever, but I have a story to tell. It's a very important story and one that I don't want to forget the details of-ever. And, I want to share it with anyone who is willing to listen or read. And so, here I am.<br />
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There's really a lot of backstory to my story-that's the nature of stories, right? But, those backstories are painful and deep, so I'll save those for now. We'll start with the happy story, the ending. The end of the story is ALWAYS better than the beginning. And, while it won't seem like the end for a bit, really, it is. Of course, it's its own beginning, too. But, well, let's just begin, and the pieces will come out as they are supposed to.<br />
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We've been renting for a very long time (backstory number one). Those of you who have rented know that, while it is a wonderful blessing to be able to rent, there comes a time when it's time to look for something that is yours.<br />
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In our case, it really isn't so much the part where we don't like where we live, it's that we no longer FIT in this house. To be fair, really, we should fit, but there are 7 of us. If we had stuck with only 2 or 3 kids, it would have worked for a lot longer. But, we didn't. God sent us 5 kids. Thankfully, all five of them are healthy! That means, they grow, and grow, and their clothes get bigger, and their shoes get bigger, and well, next thing...the room that fit them a few years ago, no longer does. We actually have started a Konmari journey (its own story), but even purging things (many still to purge) brought to light that our rooms were not getting any bigger, and the people in them were.<br />
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However, just because you see a problem, doesn't always mean that your solution and God's solution are the same. He might not even see it as a problem. This is where trust and hope and prayer and more trust come together to create patience as we wait for God's solution. Sometimes, these answers take a long time. Sometimes, the answer is no. And, sometimes, the answer is yes. But, almost always, the answer doesn't look at all like we had planned.<br />
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Last fall, our town got a Dollar General. Don't worry, this really is an important part of the story!<br />
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First off, we live in the country. We live about 8 minutes from the nearest village, and another 20 to the city with stores. Before this fall, all we had here was a gas station that carried the basic necessities. So, for us to get a Dollar General was kind of like when towns got a Walmart back in the '80s. Yes, I'm old enough to remember how that felt. No, I'm not old.<br />
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Once the Dollar General opened, we would stop there often. Sometimes daily. Sometimes more than once a day. Thankfully, the newness has worn off and we don't go in there as often. But, it ended up being a very big piece of our story.<br />
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The road we would take home after leaving the Dollar General would take us down a road on the edge of town that we didn't usually drive down before the store opened. Once in a very long time, maybe, but certainly not often. But, because of the Dollar General, I saw the sign. The for sale sign. The for sale sign in the yard of a house I had wanted to live in for a very long time.<br />
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Since I had decided many years ago that it was time to move (see how God and I have different plans), I was usually pretty up on the local real estate market. I would check the local online listings, hoping that the right mix of house and cost would, somehow, be listed there for me. It didn't happen. I did help my father in law find out about possible rental houses, though, so all was not lost.<br />
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Believe it or not, I had finally stopped looking at listings. That is another story of its own, but I hadn't looked at the real estate listings in many months. But, it wouldn't have mattered, because this house was not listed on the sites I usually looked at. So, I would never have seen it, except for the sign.<br />
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In an unfortunate situation, the previous owners had stopped making payments on their house and it had fallen into foreclosure. This particular home was foreclosed by the USDA. We didn't even know they made house loans, but they did, and this one didn't work out. So, it was now going for auction.<br />
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As with any foreclosure, the house had not been lived in for awhile. And, there was a huge catch. Three years ago, our area had a wind storm. It took out many trees and caused a lot of damage. For this house, it caused extra damage. One of the large trees in the front yard had fallen on the house. It caused roof damage, and took out two of the windows, in addition to less significant damage. To be honest, it looked a lot like a train wreck.<br />
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I had always been interested in the house, but wasn't sure it would even be livable, or even salvageable. And, I wasn't sure if we were really ready to undertake such a large project. The house was to have an open house a week later. So, I put it on my calendar and said a small prayer for God's will, not knowing what might come of it.<br />
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And, with that, I will end this post. Here are some photos of the outside of the house when we first saw it.<br />
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Continuing the story:<br />
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<a href="http://ourcountryroad.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-house-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part Two</a><br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-51657205423606089042017-11-02T10:58:00.000-07:002017-11-02T10:58:11.624-07:00Tutorial for Waseca Biomes Reading BoxesHi all! It's been forever since I posted, lol! But, I agreed to put together a tutorial for another guide at our co-op and decided I should share with you all, also! My phone would only take little videos, so I have a few of them. <br />
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I enjoyed making these. I may have Mustang help me make longer videos with her camera soon.<br />
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These are for the Waseca Reading boxes. We have found this material to be a wonderful addition to the co-op shelves. They are used for Kindergarten (and a rare 4 year old) and up. There are four steps to each box. These videos show the four steps. <br />
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You can order the program here (not an affiliate link): <a href="https://wasecabiomes.org/products/waseca-reading-program?variant=273165436">https://wasecabiomes.org/products/waseca-reading-program?variant=273165436</a><br />
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Hope you find them helpful!<br />
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God Bless!<br />
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LisaLisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-7674610232054736522017-03-30T20:23:00.001-07:002017-03-30T20:23:16.460-07:00Hi there. I bet you thought I fell off the earth. I did, sort of, well not really, just fell out of the blogging world. I'm not sure exactly how it happened. It was a slow processes, but somewhere I just stopped. <br />
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I honestly was unsure if I would ever take blogging back up again. But, lately, the bug seems to have bitten again. I don't know if this will be a long term blogging stint, or if a short run will be enough, but I feel like I want to post about things again. So we will see!<br />
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I will use this post to update you on what I've been up to. I mean it has been over 2 years...that's a super long time! But, there have been some extremely neat and surprising changes that have occurred in that time-specifically this last year.<br />
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If you happen to follow my Facebook page, you did get a little update this past fall, but if you don't I will update you here!<br />
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Last fall, a few families in the local large town started a Montessori school! It is a co-op style, with the parents forming the school, board, and teachers. I am the 'guide', and a few other moms are the aides. Two come once a week, one has various rolls, and one is a backup aide. We just meet two days a week, so we aren't a full school, but it has certainly been a huge undertaking!<br />
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It has also been a huge lifestyle change for us. Mustang goes to public school 5 days a week. But, everyone else is homeschooled...sorta. We now go to the co-op school two days a week and do work at home at least two days a week. It has a new flow, but has been very good.<br />
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We have had so many growing experiences this year, and I'm looking forward to sharing them! Now, I just need to figure out how to get my pictures off my phone and onto my blog, lol. Not seriously, but kinda! My technical skills are a little dusty.<br />
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More to come very soon! Hope all is good with you all!<br />
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God Bless,<br />
Lisa<br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-77448598665224330782015-01-09T19:32:00.000-08:002015-01-09T19:32:00.213-08:00Weekly Wrap Up! 1st Week of 2015Howdy!! I know have been MIA for over 6 months (well except the super brief, 2 day, attempt at daily posting in November...what was I thinking?). To be honest, it has been a mixture of not knowing where my head is, to not having 2 hands to type with, and not feeling like I had anything worth posting about!<br />
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But, we are back, with REAL Montessori (or at least Montessori inspired) schooling. Last semester we used workbooks and curriculum. So, we are finishing up on those and transitioning into more Montessori lessons again. I'm ready! </div>
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We started out this year with a new theme for our calendar. We use the Calendar Connections from 1+1+1=1, and we are using the cards that focus on the<a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2012/12/lets-explore-the-arctic-antarctica-bundle/" target="_blank"> Arctic and Antarctic</a>. Seems about right, since the high yesterday was all of like 4 degrees, and the windchill was below zero ALL.DAY.LONG.</div>
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Our discussions have included ice, glaciers, icebergs, and polar lights. We've also talked about latitude and longitude, hemispheres, and the arctic circle. </div>
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We used these wonderful Arctic Animals set from from <a href="http://trilliummontessori.org/trillium-blog/" target="_blank">Trillium Montessori. </a><br />
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And I was thrilled when Mini Cooper, completely on her own, went and found a journal and wanted to draw pictures and copy the names so she could remember her work!!</div>
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We had a refresher course with our Little People animals and the Article and Noun presentation. I also presented Grammar Box 2 (which I see I have no photos of).<br />
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Working through Grammar List 1. We enjoyed the discussion of what some of the words meant. We even watched a Youtube video of a wringer to learn what that was!</div>
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Explorer completely enjoyed getting to work on the Continent puzzle. We also sang the Continent song, which she loved. We used this to talk about where Antarctica was at.<br />
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Mini Cooper had a really fun day when she spelled her first word!! She is certainly at a language sensitive period. Always wanting to know how to spell things and write them down. She had no idea it would be possible that she could spell her own word!</div>
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When we started pulling out the Montessori Materials, it apparently brought inspiration to the sensorial materials. The girls spent a lot of time building together this week.<br />
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For Christmas, Charger got this super cool Snap Circuts set! We will be working on this a lot! </div>
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We made the fan fly! Super cool!<br />
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We learned about how ice melts by using a fun experiment I found from <a href="http://artandcreativity.blogspot.com/2011/06/ice-tunnels-bring-on-summer-fun.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Art and Creativity</a>. First, we sprinkled it with salt, and then we put food coloring on it.</div>
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You could then watch the salt make tunnels through the ice as we watched the food coloring go through the tunnels.<br />
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The kids spent a good hour watching their ice cubes melt, adding food coloring, and experimenting. Mustang was adding salt to get hers to melt faster and even pulled out a magnifying glass so she could get a better look. Very fun experiment. </div>
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One last little fun activity the big kids have been doing is to play the <a href="https://archive.org/details/msdos_Oregon_Trail_Deluxe_The_1992" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Oregon Trail</a>. This was a flashback for me and we've all been enjoying trying to get to Oregon without having our oxen stolen, our friends die, or to get sick from dysentery. Lots of strategizing, planing, and discussion has come from this game!</div>
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All in all, it's been a great week back! I hope yours was as well! See you next week :).</div>
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God Bless,</div>
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Lisa</div>
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We're going to link up:</div>
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<a href="http://livingmontessorinow.com/category/montessori-monday/" target="_blank"><img alt="Montessori Monday" src=" http://livingmontessorinow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/MondayButton150.jpg " /></a> Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-2038736057327258962014-11-03T19:07:00.002-08:002014-11-03T19:07:37.454-08:00Thankful Post #2Today, I am thankful for my Heritage. My parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, my <i>family</i>.<br />
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My father is a minister, so I guess it's probably because of his profession that we were at church anytime the doors were open..I mean he <i>was</i> the one who usually opened the doors, lol. Let me tell you, though, I am so grateful for all those times! <br />
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My parents could have chosen a million different paths in life, but they listen to the call of God for their lives. Through their willingness to serve the Lord, not only were hundreds of other people touched...<i>I </i>was touched. <i>I </i>came to know the Lord and His salvation. <br />
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I am so thankful to know Him as my savior and so thankful that they know Him, too. I'm so thankful that I have their support in raising my children knowing all about Jesus.<br />
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I am so thankful that He is part of our everyday life. I'm so thankful that our holidays and dinners and conversation include learning about and worshiping the Lord. <br />
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Some families pass down money or companies or valued possessions (and yes there are a few of those in our family), but I'm so grateful that our family has passed down the most important inheritance they can-knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.<br />
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I hope you know Him, too!<br />
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God Bless,<br />
Lisa<br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-13627755030687211102014-11-02T20:23:00.000-08:002014-11-02T20:23:16.259-08:00Thankful Post #1Hellllooooo!! So, yes, I've been missing for quite sometime now :). Life is actually going along quite well. I don't know if I'm returning to blogging, but for this month I will be.<br />
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My oldest daughter (known here as Mustang) just started her own blog. It's set to private, so I can't share it. But, I have asked her to post each day this month something she is thankful for. She agreed, but only if I did it, too! So, here I am.<br />
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Today I am thankful for 1 John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us."<br />
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Love. <br />
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God's love.<br />
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Without Him, love wouldn't exist at all. <br />
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Without love, there would be nothing to be thankful for.<br />
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And, to know that He loved us first...amazing.<br />
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To know that He loved us before we even thought of TRYING to be 'good enough' (which we can't do, but at least we could try, right?). To know that He loved us while we could CARE LESS about Him and His plan. <br />
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To know that He-God of the universe-stopped what he was doing to pick me up, hold me close, and show ME-teeny tiny, dust of the earth, human-His perfect and FREE love. Amazing.<br />
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"We love Him because He first loved us." And I, am eternally thankful.<br />
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<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-66177668325126890892014-06-12T17:21:00.000-07:002014-06-12T17:21:10.463-07:00Baby Quint is Here!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you did not see it on our Facebook page, Miss Quint has arrived!! She weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 21 inches long. She also waited to arrive until I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant, making her only the second of my babies to be full term. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She had some meconium in her waters and developed pneumonia, but after an extra week stay in the hospital, we FINALLY made it home. I will be getting the full birth story up in the next couple days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have been so blessed by our fifth and final addition to our family!! I am so thankful to finally have completed our crew and look forward to what life holds in this next phase of raising our (not so) little family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you all have been having an enjoyable spring!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-53217636363881180372014-05-21T09:28:00.003-07:002014-05-21T09:28:45.697-07:00The Dreaded Kitchen<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yep it's dreaded. Sorry that I'm not very encouraging on that one ;). I also realize, that, compared to other 'cleaning ideas' I was doing everything <i>backwards</i>. But, if you were following the other posts, you know that my DH was helping on this room so I was taking advantage of that help to work on the other rooms :).</span><br />
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I was also having aversions to dish soap. How convenient, eh? yeah I thought so, too. Thankfully, with the help of a friend, I found out about a scent free dish soap that was sold at our local grocery store. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, I didn't buy it until I was really ready to start the kitchen. I knew that as soon as I took the job back over that DH would declare me officially healed and no longer do the job. I didn't blame him, I just wanted to be sure I was ready to take on the hardest room in the house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, once again sorry to unmotivate (apparently not a real word) in a motivational post, but the kitchen is (for me) THE hardest room in the house. Mostly, because it is in CONSTANT use, and no sooner are you finished cleaning it that it becomes dirty again. Plus, there's the gross bonus that if you DON'T clean it up, it will attract bugs and other annoyingly gross stuff (mold, etc).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did FINALLY jump in and tackle it, though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh! I should clarify that the VERY LAST THING I turned over was the dishes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day one: I started at one side of the kitchen and cleaned off about 3 feet of counter space. I cleared it off all the way down to the counter top and then scrubbed it really well. Any dishes that I found were just shoved to the sink.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day two: I checked the area I cleaned on day one and cleared it off (takes just a few moments after the initial clean) and wiped it off with a regular wash cloth. Then, I went to the OTHER side of the kitchen and cleared off about 3 feet of counter space. After it was cleared off, I scrubbed it down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day three: I revisited the first two spaces and then tackled the top of our dishwasher (it's portable so kind of an island). It took more time then it should because it is a total clutter magnet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day four: I washed off the top of the stove, burners and all *yucko*.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day five: (after revisiting all the previous day's places) I swept up the floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And Day SIX??? I-at last-took over the dishes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After I had finally recovered the kitchen, my daily routine (as long as I follow it) looks something like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clear off counters on one side of room</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clear off counters on other side of room</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clear off dishwasher</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Empty trash if needed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Get out a clean wash cloth (place dirty one in laundry)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wipe off all surfaces </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also take a swipe at the microwave each day-at first I did just the outside, then added one side of the inside, and added daily till it was cleaned out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sweep floor</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mop if needed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have kids unload dishwasher (I don't let them unload it until the counters and floor are all cleaned up, because they have the tendency to drop things or set them on the counters-which is gross if they aren't cleaned first).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Load dishwasher </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wash any large pots</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Run dishwasher</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Um, yeah, the fridge hasn't really made it into routine yet. I tried to start one last week and only got a day's work done. So, I'll be adding that in once I get it tackled ;).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that was one complete pass through the house. I will give more details on how it's going now in my next post :).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-47499034895583014442014-05-13T09:59:00.000-07:002014-05-13T09:59:00.213-07:00Digging Out...The Kid's Rooms<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Notice how I changed from cleaning, to recovering, to digging out? Yeah, well, when it came to the kids' rooms that's <i>exactly </i>what it was-digging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My kids' rooms are upstairs. I actually don't go up there very often. DH tucks them in at night and they all know how to put their clothes away (except for Explorer, but her room isn't up there). Well, okay, sometimes 'putting away' is equated with 'shoved in general direction,' but they kinda get it. But, the fact is that I don't have a need to go up there much. The storeroom/school supply room is up there and that's pretty much the only reason I go up there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />As you can imagine, kids rooms left unchecked=mass chaos!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I started with Charger's room. His room is the first room at the top of the stairs, it is the smallest, and he is MUCH better and getting rid of things then Mustang. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wanted to try and HELP the kids pick up. And, by helping I meant that THEY would do it. This is the true definition of helping when it comes to kids. Why? Well, because if I do it for them, they won't be able to do it on their own next time, and so I was no help at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We started at the door of the room. The fact is, we couldn't easily get into the room. So, clearing the area from the door to the bed was the first goal. Because his room is very small, we were able to clear the entire center of the room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the following days, we started at the door and worked our way around the room. We made sure that the area cleared on the previous days was still picked up before starting the next area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ways that I helped him were to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Tell him where things went (sometimes he didn't know at all and sometimes he had the wrong place in mind). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Help him to create a place to put something if there really wasn't a place to put it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Help keep him focused...he would have loved to play with every.single.toy. he found instead of putting it up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. I did the true <i>cleaning</i> when we were done-sweeping, vacuuming, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We worked for 15 minutes. I wanted to help him develop a habit of cleaning rather then just me cleaning it up in one big project and then letting it go back downhill for....well, a LONG time. It took an entire week of doing a little each day before it was finally 'done.'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been 2 months since this happened. I can honestly tell you that the corners of his room could use a repeat of the cleanup, but the main area of his room has stayed clean for all 2 months, and his bed has been made. I have been very pleased with him as he is just 6 years old. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did the same progression with Mustang and Mini Cooper. Their room took about 2 weeks. And, overall, it has stayed <i>okay</i> since then. Some days are better then others ;).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The toy room was the hardest and easiest all at the same time. The goal was to simply clear a play area in the center. Each day, we worked for about 15 minutes as a group. We started working on it the first day that we started working on Charger's room. I have to say that it was BY FAR the worst room in the house. So, we worked on it for about 2 solid weeks at 15 minutes a day-all of us (except DH). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the end of the 2 weeks, it was light years better!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The really great part about picking it up as a group was that we made bins for each toy. I did that myself EVERY time I cleaned up the toy room (alone). The problem? No one else paid attention to which bin was which. So, when I told them to pick up the toy room....no one knew where anything went!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, after we picked up everyday for 2 weeks, all of a sudden they KNEW where things went!! He he!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, while I won't say that the toy room has been <i>stellar</i> for all this time, I <i>can</i> tell you that when I told the kids to pick it up....low and behold they COULD!!! It was really quite awesome I tell you!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I won't say that the kid spaces have remained perfect (or even close), BUT you can</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">walk through them without tripping, you can find <i>most</i> of the things you need to, and the kids can maintain this level on a regular basis. And while I wouldn't say they are <i>company ready</i>, I do think they are 'we live here' clean. That was the goal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for stopping by!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-39850853768036911772014-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:002014-05-08T10:45:31.744-07:00Moving Upstairs...Recovering the Stairs and Hall<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you've been reading all the way through, you will notice that I went through the entire main floor and didn't talk about the kitchen. I will get there at the end of my house recovery. You see, my DH was awesome enough to take on dishes when I got sick. He was still doing them as I was working on the rest of the house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew if I had taken over the kitchen, he would not have continued doing it, so I wanted to work on the rest of the house before I took that job back over. IF you are doing this with me and do not have a DH doing the dishes, I would recommend using paper products and doing minimal kitchen work until you have recovered the rest of the house-but that's just me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, instead of tackling the scary kitchen, I set off for the scary kid places. Not that one is easier then the other, and not that one is going to stay cleaner longer....it's just there's no way on earth that DH was going to help me with the kids' rooms (proof that I was actually choosing the harder of the two jobs!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This area was broken into MANY pieces, and took about 2 weeks total to get to acceptable status. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first tackle were the stairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've never lived in a 2 story house before this one, so I have no idea if this is normal behavior, but my children put everything they want to take to their rooms and put them on the stairs. Of course when they go to their rooms, they DO NOT take the item to their rooms. Instead they trip over the stuff. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thankfully, we have since put a stop to this behavior (seeing as it's kinda dangerous), but when I first started my clean, there was just a TON of stuff there. At least, I got a little help. I made all the kids come and help me. When I unearthed something that belonged to them, they took the item to their room and came back for more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was in charge of trash-and filled a bag pretty full. I also found a few things that I have no idea how they got there. Oh, and LOTS of socks and a few random shoes. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was kinda rewarding, actually, because as I *found* some long lost toy (that my children </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">put there</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I was deemed the best mom ever for finding said treasure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">15 minutes later my fame ended-since the treasures were all found. I finished up by sweeping the steps and calling it a day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next area was the hallway. It was tackled exactly the same way as the stairs, so I won't bore you with the repeats. But, since it is a long hallway, it actually took two days. I am quite embarrassed to say it took that long. I couldn't believe how much was there! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 days later, you could walk all the way UP the stairs, all the way DOWN the hall....but entering the children's rooms was, ehem, at your own risk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-44424053747857387302014-05-06T09:46:00.000-07:002014-05-06T09:46:19.071-07:00Recovering the Office Catch-all Room<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a love hate relationship with my office catch-all room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love it, because I spend a LOT of the day there, and I'm glad to have an area to put my desk, school shelves, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hate the room because it is out in the open and seems to be the room where things go that no one knows where else to put it! It's *almost* worse then my store room since at least the stuff in the store room was taken there because I at least *thought* I wanted to keep it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My desk is the proverbial dumping ground for all the stuff that the kids don't know where it goes, and I often find myself doing the same. There's also just a TON of surfaces for things to get put on and then attract more clutter. It is certainly our most cluttered room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have to be honest, that I'm going to explain what I did the first time around. I'm also going to be 100% honest and tell you that it doesn't look much better then it did after the first week. Unlike some of the other rooms, I have not been diligent to maintain it and it has continued to re-collect clutter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The biggest thing that I did was to start with our bookshelves. I cleared off one shelf a day-completely. I did go ahead and dust it, and then only replace it with the things that would go there. If the bookshelf held books, I made sure there were only the correct amount of books on the shelf and not piled on top of the pile or sitting in front of the books (which was what <strike>was</strike> is still happening). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I tried to remove everything that didn't belong on the shelves. Some of it had another home. Things that didn't have another home got put in a box in the store room. I was not decluttering, so I didn't sort it, but the fact of the matter was that I simply COULD NOT just leave all the stuff that didn't fit on the shelves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My desk was the other goal. I cleared off the entire desk. I threw away a ton of stuff (where does it all come from?). I then got a basket and put it on the side of my desk to hold the items I wanted to work on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't go through the drawers. I didn't pull out any furniture. I didn't pull out the couch (mostly because it has a broken leg and I couldn't). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unlike the other rooms, I really didn't come up with a good daily plan. I try to pick up the dishes (cups) off my desk daily, and I have been trying to keep things from pooling on the floor in front of my desk. I also try to keep the floor picked up and the coffee table cleared off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I look around the room, it is REALLY hard to type this. I simply don't feel like I've conquered this room much at all. So, I guess I am going to have to make a point to start over on this room. Really, I have to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm glad I am blogging about this. My goals have been 1. Clean up the room and 2. Maintain a reasonably picked up status. I DID complete number 1. But, I've done such a bad job at 2, that I would not say I did 1.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Going forward, I will be adding a shelf a day to my to do list. It may take awhile, but at least I will be able to see progress being made. I hope! And, YES, it needs to be decluttered, but that's the second level of cleaning for me. I'm not there yet in this room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'll keep you updated!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lisa</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-15446055015380202962014-04-30T13:03:00.000-07:002014-04-30T13:03:35.578-07:00Recovering the Mud Room<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was, by far, one of my most dreaded rooms. Probably because it frustrates me and confuses me all in one. It serves about 17 purposes and is quite small. It is the laundry room, the place where we place trash that needs to be burned, and it is also both the back door AND the front door. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It needs a very MAJOR organization, and the thought of doing anything in there was stressing me out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thankfully, having tackled most of the rest of the ground floor, I had built up some confidence, motivation and momentum. Otherwise, I don't know how I would have started. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My cleaning process for the mud room was a bit different then how I tackled the rest of the house. There were dirty clothes that needed to be sorted, clean clothes that needed to be folded, and a ton of stuff on the drier that didn't need to be there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I decided to start with the clothes that needed to be folded. Because, once they were folded, they could <i>leave the room</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had made myself fold a load or so per day, but there had been clothes in there to fold <i>before</i> I had even started, and a few days they didn't get folded. So, there was quite a bit of clothing to fold. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I drug it all in to the living room and started folding. I usually won't fold clothes in the living room for fear that it will never leave and it will just look terrible forever. But, I was determined to make today different. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After it was all folded, I had the kids take their clothes to their room and put the rest away myself. It took about 30 minutes to get it all done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the second day, I FINALLY sorted all the clothes again. I set out the baskets and put them on the shelves where they went. It took about 10 minutes, and I could see the floor of the laundry area. *Happy Dance*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the third day I just straightened the boots and shoes and swept the floor. Oh, and I took ALL the random stuff that had been hanging on the clothes rack and put them away. It is so useful, but SUCH a clutter collector!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You may notice that I didn't clear off the drier. There was quite a bit of stuff there, and some of it really didn't have a home. Prior to the laundry room, I hadn't been clearing off things that didn't have another home, but I decided to start in the laundry room. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Each day, I would take a handful of things off the drier and either put them away or MAKE them a home. It took me about 2 weeks to fully clear it off, and am happy to say that it has created a new habit and it has STAYED that way!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The daily checklist items I added once the laundry room was done were:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Fold clothes (this was already on the list)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Sort all clothes to be washed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Straighten boots and sweep floor</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Take anything off the drier</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Wipe off washer and drier</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Put away any hanging clothes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Have kids put away any shoes that don't belong on the back porch</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As with the other rooms, it still had a long way to go, but if someone came by unexpectedly I wouldn't pass out cold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-66758542891003678082014-04-29T08:39:00.000-07:002014-04-29T08:39:14.139-07:00The *Other* Bathroom <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have two bathrooms. It is a huge blessing because one of them is my bathroom (and the husband's) and the other is the KIDs' bathroom. He he. This means I don't have to deal with little kid pee smell every time I use it. I also don't have to look at globs of toothpaste in the sink when I brush my teeth. I can, pretty much, completely avoid it unless I <i>have</i> to deal with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before you get too worried, I do go in there from time to time to keep it from getting disgusting, but daily? No way. No how. Until now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You see, <i>company</i> uses that bathroom. Which means that when it's time to have someone over I have to do a major overhaul. I am trying to get to the point where my entire house is in <i>acceptable</i> condition at most times of the day (or at least <i>once </i>a day). Or <i>at least</i> the public areas (yes, I just continuously scaled back until I hit the <i>realistic</i> limit). That would include the other bathroom!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, while I would have loved to push it to the back of the list of rooms to tackle, my choices now included the bathroom, the kitchen, the laundry room, or the office/school/catch all area. The bathroom was the smallest. It was also the easiest!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I started in the bathroom each day, I made sure to do my previous day's work first. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Start first load of laundry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Make bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Get dressed (shoes)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Starting at bedside table and going around the room I picked up clothes, clutter, trash, and things that didn't belong in the room (taken to the rooms where they did).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I picked up the master bathroom floor and counters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Changed the roll of toilet paper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Did one weekly task in the bathroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. Started a load of laundry (came back to put in drier/hang to dry and to fold one load).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. Wiped down table and benches.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. Swept the dining area floor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">11. Emptied the trash.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">12. Switched over laundry, hung up wet clothes, folded prior day's load. Put load away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next on the list would have been to pick up the living room, but I delegated ;). That became one of the jobs for the kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first day of the bathroom, I just picked it up. Mostly it was just dirty clothes that my children had left behind, and trash that was in the random <i>direction</i> of the trash can. My kids think that is good enough. Sigh. Oh, and I put the toilet paper on the roll and threw away the 4 or 5 empty rolls that were next to it. I think it was the first time the roll had been on the dispenser in quite awhile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rest of the recovery went WAAAAYYY better then I could of thought. You see, I was already cleaning up one bathroom and doing one weekly chore per day. So, as soon as I finished one sink, I just walked over to the other bathroom. When I cleaned one toilet I just went and cleaned the other toilet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No need to get out extra cleaning supplies, they were already out. No need to think about what I should be doing, I was already doing it. Man that was easy. Why didn't I think of that before? Duh moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I realize that if the bathroom was on another floor of the house it would have been a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">little</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> harder, but not much. And, it was a mute point because they are RIGHT next to each other. One is just IN my bedroom and the other right OUTSIDE my bedroom (old house, all water must run to the same place).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of course, this being the first time I had worked on cleaning the 2nd bath in awhile, it took a little longer then the master, but not long. 10 minutes tops on any given task and I was done with both bathrooms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's THIS kind of thinking that has derailed my cleaning in the past. Somehow, I think things will take FOREVER, when they will only take a few minutes. The best part, is that now my children are seeing what a maintained bathroom should look like, so sooner then later I can pass the job off to them ;).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5 weeks, 5 rooms and I can certainly tell you that the house was looking up!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for stopping by!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-70333895797305912662014-04-28T09:53:00.000-07:002014-04-28T09:53:04.223-07:00Changing up the Laundry Routine<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By this time I had been working on the house for about a month. Pretty much everyday I had put one load of laundry in the washer for 3 weeks of that month. Of course this was a huge improvement over the randomness that was my laundry system before I got sick. I was starting to feel better, and I knew very well that one load a day does NOT work with a family of 6. At least not with my picky washing habits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll quickly line out my washing habits. Not because I'm recommending you copy them, but because this is all about honesty. If something says 'wash seperately' I will ALWAYS do that-exception to the rule is if the item has already been ruined by children playing in the mud and it is now a play item. If something cost a lot of money (for example our few Matilda Jane outfits), I will was them <i>all by themselves</i>. When washing things separately, I will wash the darks, the lights, the pinks, the yellows, the greens....you get the picture. I'm pretty picky about the stuff I wash mixing together. Why? I have no clue, but I just can't mix them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, with my picky washing habits and my only doing one load a day, things were backing up fast. I had been altering between one cold load and one warm load, so at least the <i>majority </i>of our clothes were getting washed, but they weren't getting through the laundry near as fast as they should. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I HAD to up my load count to two a day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upping my load count meant that I also had to figure out where in my routine the laundry should go. I liked to finish up my laundry folding at the end of my daily cleaning, but if I didn't start the first load until halfway through, there was no chance of that happening. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For me, starting a load of laundry is actual a very mindless task. That's probably one of the few reasons I don't really mind <i>washing</i> the clothes. So, I decided to start my first load before I ate breakfast, while my bagel toasted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would put the first load of separates in before breakfast. At my previous laundry starting time (right after I finished the dining room), I would hang up the separates to dry and start the next load. After I started the second load, I would gather all the clean clothes and fold them or hang them in closets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was all done with my work for the day, I would just move the load from the washer into the drier. This way, it didn't mater what time I remembered the clothes in the washer, just as long as I moved them before I went to bed that night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been using this system since for over 2 months now, and it is working great!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please note that my load of separates is always very small-15 items or less. If it were larger it would not be feasible to do this routine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On a slightly different note, at this point my laundry room was back to a manageable status, so I began bringing the dirty clothes from the master to the laundry room every day. This has since eliminated the need for a clothes hamper in my room! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm sure my system could still use some improvement (I have hopes), but this is a very realistic plan for where I am right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for stopping by!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-63589662396979368082014-04-27T11:44:00.000-07:002014-04-27T11:44:01.351-07:00Recovering My House...Confession Time<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You may have figured this one out by now, but I'm going to make it official. If I had been better at housekeeping <i>before</i> I got sick, my house would not have been nearly as bad. But, I didn't. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In fact, housekeeping is something I have struggled with since the dawn of my existence. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even though I wasn't very good at maintaining my home, I could always garner the energy (maybe more like panic) to get the house in reasonable shape if someone was coming over (which was-purposely-rare). But, getting sick pushed the house over the edge. It was to the point that I could NOT get it clean in a day. NOT.AT.ALL.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting sick was the final straw for both my house and my housekeeping. I needed a system. I don't want to end up with my house in such disarray ever again! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I started with my recover the house plan, I started to realize it was not only working to recover the house, but maybe *just maybe* it was something I could maintain for forever! I realized that with each room I tackled and with each day that the previous rooms stayed in reasonable shape, that I had slowly, but surely, made a <i>sort of </i>plan. A <i>housekeeping plan. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Believe me when I say that I never dreamed of having, let alone blogging about, a housekeeping plan. I was born a messy and thought I would die a messy. Okay, you know what that's true. I probably will stay a messy (can they change to cleanies?). But, I will be a messy with a semi clean and organized house. Who knows, at some point, maybe it will actually be CLEAN and organized. Maybe someday I will actually be able to take photos of my kids and not have to crop out a mess (and them not be 30 or outside). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are a couple reasons I decided to start adding my cleaning efforts to my blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First off, it's what's going on in my life right now. It is front and center of my daily efforts. And, since my blog is really about our life, it is super hard to not tell you about it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other reason? Well, maybe I'm not alone? Maybe I'm not the only one who has a difficult time keeping a house? Maybe my new found methods would help more moms then just me? </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I thought, why not at least give it a try.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been VERY nervous to add these posts, though. I began my recovery efforts in December and waited until March to even start typing them up. I wanted to wait and see if I could stick with the plan before I started telling <strike>everyone</strike> anyone else. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I began typing them, I didn't post them right away, I have still been too nervous. In fact, as I type this, not one single post has gone live (though I did post them since I wrote this). I almost started a whole separate blog, but that would really end up adding more work to my already crazy schedule. So, I'm going to post them here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hopefully, I have burst the previous image you had of me (I say hopefully because I hope you thought I was clean and organized before this), and that you will continue to stop by for at least my homeschool posts :). Off to post the first one...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for reading!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
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Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-77575065554758251132014-04-24T16:15:00.001-07:002014-04-24T16:15:43.852-07:00Recovering the Living Room Part 2<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I realized that yesterday I didn't post my checklist before I talked about my living room. It wouldn't be a big deal, except that is the MOST important part of my routine. If I don't do my daily checklist, then my end result in a day will just be one little area picked up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, don't get me wrong, one little area is SOOO much better then nothing, but that will only be good for one day. Plus, with each passing day, the areas before will build back up with junk and dirt and will no longer take just a few minutes to complete.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, before I forget, on the days I worked in the living room, I did my daily checklist before I moved on to a new area.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Make bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Get dressed (shoes)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Starting at bedside table and going around the room I picked up clothes, clutter, trash, and things that didn't belong in the room (taken to the rooms where they did).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. I picked up the bathroom floor and counters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Changed the roll of toilet paper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Did one weekly task in the bathroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Started a load of laundry (came back to put in drier/hang to dry and to fold one load).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. Wiped down table and benches.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. Swept the dining area floor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. Emptied the trash.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">11. Looked over the areas I had picked up in the living room already to be sure they hadn't collected new clutter or trash.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the next days, I continued around the room tackling each section in order. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On day two I tackled the recliner area. This included cleaning up behind and under the recliner. I didn't move it, but I did pick up all the junk. My kids often use the corner behind the recliner as a hide-out area, and they had left quite a few things behind. There were also lots of little 'treasures' under the chair that are very noticeable if someone reclines in the chair, so I had to get those, too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day three I worked on the couches and corner table. I DID NOT pull out the couches or worry about what was under them. My mother had actually just done that on her last trip to visit, so I knew it wasn't too bad under there. Plus, moving furniture takes a LOT of energy (which I was trying to conserve). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The part that took the most is behind the corner table. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Apparently, while I was sick in bed, my children had made a habit of getting into our candy and then throwing the wrappers behind that table. Hmph. There were also a number of unsigned masterpiece drawings behind there, some books, toys, and of course socks. Do you find socks behind your corner table? No? Okay maybe it's just our house, then.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Day four I was kinda dreading. Tackling the entertainment center. Ours should be renamed clutter central. The center we have is REALLY pretty, but a poor design (at least for us). It has four REALLY deep shelves that I think are designed for various media contraptions (DVD players, VCR, etc). Then, it has little doors (which would be GREAT for hiding clutter, except they are glass...). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When we put our DVD player in it, we realized that the remote would not work through the glass, so we put all our contraptions on TOP of the TV stand. That left four shelves on which to put DVD's and VCR tapes. Great! Except the part where they are so deep that they hold THREE deep rows of DVD's all on ONE shelf. So, if you want a DVD from the back, and you are 4, you will likely pull all the ones in front of it out and <i>leave them there</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This means there was a POOL of DVD's in front of the TV stand. I couldn't simply make a little pile and move on. This was one of the few places I DID SOMETHING. I found little bins and stuck the DVD's in them and then put the bins back on the shelves. The bins were something we already had in our toy room. They were <i>supposed</i> to be holding toys, but since there had been little to no cleaning in there in a LOOOONG time, the toys weren't in the bins. So, I stole them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day five was the easiest of the days (well sort of). There was no 'special' cleaning or areas to work on. So, I made my kids help. This cut down on my effort level, but certainly not on time, and not much on stress either. It was a good chance to have them join in the 'fun' however.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally on day six, I was able to say I was 'done' with the living room. I finished up by running the feather duster over surfaces and the vacuum cleaner over the carpets (not behind or underneath any furniture except the coffee table).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whew. This was a BIG task, but it was the most rewarding up until then since everyone got to see the result.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for stopping by!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-38096753693753586982014-04-23T13:04:00.000-07:002014-04-23T13:04:41.877-07:00Cleaning up the Living Room {and purposely skipping a few rooms}<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You are probably figuring that the logical next room was the kitchen. And, you would be right. The kitchen in our home is actually part of the same big room as the dining room, so it would be the logical next spot on the list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, the thought of tackling the kitchen was overwhelming to me. It was also likely to make me sick. For some reason, the smell of dish soap made me very nauseated, and my husband had agreed to take over the job for awhile. I have since found a soap that didn't make me ill (thank you scent free!), but at the time I wasn't even trying to figure out how to take over the job.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also skipped over the office/sitting area/school area/collects lots of junk area that used to be the formal dining room and sits between the dining room and living room. It had TOO MUCH going on and I got overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start, so I waited on that room, too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you happen to be reading this because you yourself are in a similar spot, don't be afraid to focus on the easy rooms first. Getting those out of the way will really boost your confidence and help the harder rooms seem easier in the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My living room is a very average living room (or so I like to think). We have a couple couches, a recliner, entertainment area, and a small book shelf area with toys and such for the kids. Actually, the bookshelf is specifically where I put the girls' trays for school now, but at that moment we weren't doing school, so it had toys.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Living rooms can seem a little daunting because they are pretty big and they have a large space in the center. They are also used by everyone, so they are likely to be a dumping ground for lots of items that don't belong there. The nice part about living rooms is that <i>most things</i> don't belong there, so it's fairly easy to kick them out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I started directly to the left of the doorway. In our case, that is where the bookshelf is. Unlike my other rooms, I did have to do some more serious picking up. I also had to make some decisions. I started at the top of the bookshelf and decided what items could stay there and which could not. We didn't really have a set 'these toys go here' policy before I got sick because I would rotate toys. So, I had to decide which toys would be there for now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My children have a knack for drawing one or two lines on a paper and then tossing their unsigned masterpiece on a shelf or table. I found TONS of them on this shelf. I threw them out (don't worry, there are tons and tons of other masterpieces that I save on a daily basis). I also found books, pens, crayons, little Legos, and lots of other random things that clearly didn't belong there. That made my job easier. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It probably took me a solid 20 minutes to clear that shelf. I sent the toys that weren't staying upstairs with my kids and called it a day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though it certainly needed to be done, I DIDN'T pull the shelf out and clean behind it. I didn't dust the lamp right next to it, and I didn't vacuum the dust bunnies that had gathered in the corner next to it. Those projects were for another day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-13171657764670210622014-04-22T08:50:00.000-07:002014-04-22T08:50:04.393-07:00Third Daily Checklist (Dining Area Daily Checklist)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Having completed the general pickup of the master bedroom, master bathroom, dining area, and revamping my laundry routine, I added to my checklist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My new checklist:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 28px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daily Checklist #3</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(to be used once the master bedroom, bath, and dining area have all been completely picked up)</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0d6832d7-3f85-7a16-ad07-3ceb0f724912" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Master Bedroom</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Make the bed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Get dressed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Start at your bedside and walk around to the other side of the bed. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__Pick up all trash, clothes, and things that should not be on the floor. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__Clear surfaces of all items that don't belong. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__Make anything that does belong look good.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Close the closet doors</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Complete one load of laundry per day (wash, dry/hang, fold)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Master Bathroom</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Clear counter tops of any items that do not belong there</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Pick up the bathroom floor</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Flush toilet if needed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Replace roll of toilet paper if needed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Do one weekly task</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>___Wipe down mirror and counter</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>___Wipe down toilet and scrub bowl</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>___Wipe down shower and or tub</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>___Sweep floors</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>___Empty trash</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dining Area</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Clear off the table</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Wipe down table and seating</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Sweep entire floor</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____Empty the trash</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This checklist can be printed (free) here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ltltfOzE4nqU8vSlidoJyCBGeF6bId4BCx7UR4Pu_Js/edit#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Daily Checklist #3</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Or, if you would like just the dining area checklist you can find it here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xjSxPe1bZNbSOl_gVToFPde1cfk-NiRyyGexNiW5PAE/edit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dining Area Daily Checklist</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope your Easter weekend was a good one!</span><br />
<br />Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-21052885459510280942014-04-16T11:20:00.001-07:002014-04-16T11:40:13.074-07:00Yard Sale Finds-Easter Shopping Edition<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know I have said this in the past, but I am trying hard to stick to the things that we need and use as I shop at yard sales now. The fact that we will be having our <i>fourth</i> girl very soon has also changed the way I shop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back when I had just 1 child, I used to buy clothes as an actual <i>investment</i>! Seriously. I could find some super cheap high end clothes in the area I lived. So, I would buy them, let Mustang wear them once (praying the whole time she didn't mess them up) and then sell them for a profit-sometimes a substantial one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because of this, I didn't need to add money from our budget for MANY years. The profits I had made kept me running through about 3 kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, as I have had more children, less time to sell stuff, less time to work on removing stains, less time to pray they didn't ruin the 'valuable' clothing, and really, just less time to <i>care</i> that they were or weren't wearing the 'high end' stuff...my view on clothes shopping has really changed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, when I yard sale shop I think 1) does it fit <i>now</i>? 2) will said child wear it (I ask them now and listen, when they say no it really does mean it will just sit in the closet) and 3) will it last through THREE kids???? I still am debating on keeping Mustang's clothes for Mini Cooper (I didn't in the past and there is a huge size difference), so I re-buy for Mini Cooper and then just move her stuff directly into Explorer's closet, which will pretty much move directly into baby girl's closet, and <i>if it survives</i> moves into the donate pile, because it's not (generally) worth selling after 3 (or maybe 4 or 5 if I bought it used) girls have worn it. But, someone might like it as free play clothes :).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With all that in mind, my yard shopping has become much more streamlined. With 5 kids it's still a HUGE necessity as I can't afford to clothe 5 kids with new clothing. But, I'm at least trying to be sure it doesn't add to my clutter issue!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Huh, that was long winded!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On to the finds!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLOEwr96iajCwbCDh5yDCUdy1RRO_LwWvXyk1LroDk3A84y9TDEPHVkqCWRK0BgN_pUp3Kz94dsOXoJcBTUAyzgkFLhuIU7GP5VWDhXdKHNVonT0iDxRIWkkfHeOypD53Tpm2LIilKZM5/s1600/IMG_5730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLOEwr96iajCwbCDh5yDCUdy1RRO_LwWvXyk1LroDk3A84y9TDEPHVkqCWRK0BgN_pUp3Kz94dsOXoJcBTUAyzgkFLhuIU7GP5VWDhXdKHNVonT0iDxRIWkkfHeOypD53Tpm2LIilKZM5/s1600/IMG_5730.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First up, the Easter finds (like the title says). Nope, no Easter eggs or cheesy decor. Easter CLOTHES. One week away from Easter is the PERFECT time to start looking for Easter attire, right? Um, well, yeah. I was thrilled to find Charger's Easter shirt and shoes!.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The shirt was a little pricey at $5.00, but for a like new Ralph Lauren shirt, I was okay with that. The shoes are also like new and were $3.00. I already have his jeans (also Polo), so he is set!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mustang has been growing like a weed-especially her feet. Of course, nothing from last spring fits. So, finding these hardly worn shoes for $1.00 that match her dress perfectly made me very happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't often shop for DH, but at $2.00 a piece, these will be great for summer. They are like new.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More for Charger. 2 pair of like new Adidas shorts for $3.00 each (very happy with that find!). 2 Gymboree shirts for $2.00 each.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Always exciting to find NICE clothes for 50 cents a piece!! Mustang and I went through the VERY large pile and chose clothes we could both agree on. It's all Justice, Old Navy and Children's Place, and in great shape. The one pair of jeans are for next fall (a bit too big now, but at 50 cents they ARE worth storing).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This last item kinda goes against the grain of my intro rant, but was cute enough I had to get it anyways. It's a size 3, which is the size that Explorer is wearing right now. Will it still be her size in the fall? Your guess is as good as mine. But, it's super duper cute, and if she DOESN'T get to wear it, baby girl will, so for just $1.50 for a Gymboree dress, I'll give it a shot. Especially since I already have the matching tights ;).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A couple things that didn't make the photo shoot-a really nice sweater vest for Charger (not sure how I missed it) $3.00, a pair of baseball pants that Charger really needs, but are just a *smidge* too small $2.00, and a wicker chair that Mustang picked out for her American Girl doll $1.50. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grand total spent: $35.50. Not bad considering the original retail price of the last dress was around $36.00. Hence the reason I shop at yard sales :).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you find anything good this week? I'd love to hear about! Feel free to leave links to posts in the comments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-39800954637307983232014-04-15T09:35:00.001-07:002014-04-15T09:35:55.802-07:00On to the Dining Room<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I decided to drop the 'Cleaning the House After an Illness' part. It was getting redundant to me, lol! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After finishing with both the master bedroom and the master bathroom, I moved on to dining room which is directly out of my bedroom. It was the natural place to tackle next. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was excited about working on the dining area because it is a high traffic area, and my family uses it all the time. So, it was going to be noticeable that I was doing something!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was also dreading working on the dining area because it is a high traffic area, and my family uses it all the time. So, it was not going to stay clean for very long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To be fair, the dining room had been somewhat maintained over the time I was ill. My mother had given it a good clean and even mopped it each time she came to help. The kids had cleared the dishes and wiped it down (sorta) at least once a day. And, Charger had been pretty good about sweeping up the floors every few days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There wasn't, however, any consistency to keeping it clean, and certainly no routine. So, this is where I came in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As with all the other days of cleaning, I found the most important thing to keep the house under control was to ALWAYS start at the very same place with the very same task. So, I...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Made my bed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Got dressed (with shoes)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Started at the bedside and worked my way around the bedroom picking up clothes/trash/ and things that didn't belong there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Picked up the counters and floors in the bathroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Changed the toilet paper roll if needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Did my one bathroom task for the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Started a load of laundry (came back later to put it in the drier/hang it up and fold a load).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then, I was ready to start on the dining room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My plan throughout the recovery was to add SLOWLY. So, the first day I simply cleared off the table and wiped it off. I also wiped down the benches and chair. The end. Could I have tackled more? Maybe, but I certainly wasn't feeling it that day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day two was much like the first (I won't repeat the checklist, lol). But, after I finished wiping down the table and and benches, I emptied the trash. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Emptying the trash is <i>seriously </i>one of my least favorite jobs. Well, okay, I can't imagine that it is the top of any one's list. However, we keep our trash can in a cabinet. Which is all well and good (actually <i>super</i> good when you live in the country and don't want any mice in your house), but my children believe that in order to throw something away you just have to get it in the CABINET, not necessarily in the trash CAN. Grrrr. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Believe it or not, since it hadn't been well maintained, I first emptied the trash can of the current bag. I was then able to go back and fill a second bag with trash from the cabinet. Yuck!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, as you can imagine, therein ended day two.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day three brought me to finally sweeping the floor. Which, was the last of my daily routine items to tackle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, I did work on the room for a fourth day because I dusted the china cabinet, cleaned and cleaned the glass on it. I also dusted the corners and the light fixture and the fan. These are things I do very rarely (so rarely I'm pretty sure they need to be done again).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I realized when I was all 'done' that I really needed a new mop. So, the next time I was at the store, I purchased a Swiffer Wet Jet. It seems to do a good enough job. The best part was that Mustang really thought it was cool and has volunteered to mop every day since!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another room finally tackled. The only major difference with the dining area is that it isn't something that I can ever cut short. Other then <i>maybe</i> the sweeping for one day, it really all has to be done daily. I have enlisted the kids' help on days where I was feeling really tired or run down, but overall I have been the one doing it. Because of this, I didn't move right on to the next room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was taking me between 30 and 40 minutes to do the entire checklist (not including the laundry folding). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And, I hadn't been used to working for quite as long and needed to build up my energy to do so. So, I just worked on the three rooms for another couple days and decided what I wanted to do next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The difference after the 'big cleanup' and after is that cleaning the dining room is already part of my routine, so I don't have to gear up to get it done. I also know that it really is only going to take a few minutes of my time, and that helps with getting me motivated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God Bless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935048717896195256.post-82677436199374805842014-04-14T19:25:00.000-07:002014-04-14T19:25:12.853-07:00V-Tech Toy-Tastic Easter Basket Review and Giveaway!!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pssst....I hate to tell you this, but Easter is just, ehem, 6 days away! I know this is a <i>good</i> thing, and I'm very excited about it. But, if you haven't started your Easter shopping yet {like I haven't}, it may send you a moment of panic. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are looking for some ideas for your little ones, I've got a few great suggestions!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">V-Tech Toys offers a number of great gift ideas for children of all ages, and I'm going to highlight a few of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This basket (aimed more at the little girls) includes 2 Inno-Tab games: Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A little from the company about each one:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">InnoTab</span>®Doc McStuffins software cartridge</u> (Ages 4-7 years; MSRP: $24.99)<u><u></u><u></u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Learn reading, vocabulary, observation, logic, memory, math, visual skills, creativity, healthy living and more! The Doc is in!<u></u><u></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*Read a story about </span>Lambie<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and Doc in an e-book, color in Doc's Big Book of Boo-Boos and play games with Doc and her friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Works with ALL InnoTab systems</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">InnoTab</span> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1451e94915acc35c__GoBack"></a>Sofia the First software cartridge</u> (Ages 3-6 years; MSRP: $24.99)<u><u></u><u></u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Seven learning games and two creative activities teach counting, colors, patterns, problem solving and more! Join Sofia on this wild and thrilling day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Learn how Sofia becomes a princess in Story Mode with the interactive e-book. Take pictures with favorite characters and scenes (camera activity compatible with any <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">InnoTab</span>® system with a camera).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*Works with ALL InnoTab systems</span></div>
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Our Thoughts:</h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My two youngest have been spending a bunch of time trying out the cartridges!! We have had to start setting time limits so that they can each have a turn. It certainly brought a new excitement to an old favorite. Doc McStuffins also came at the perfect time since we are currently learning about the human body, doctors, and all things medical. To say they like the games would be an understatement!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's also a decent amount of times throughout the Easter weekend where waiting happens. The Innotab3S is a favorite to throw in my purse and pull it out and surprise the girls with to make the time go faster. Having games with their favorite TV characters is an added bonus!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our 'boy' themed basket has two cute toys that we have been having lots of fun trying out. The first is a Switch & Go Dino Turbo. The second is a Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A little info about them from the Vtech company:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Vehicles</u> (Ages 1-5 years; MSRP: $7.99)<u><u></u><u></u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*These electronic play vehicles are perfectly sized for little hands and entertain children with a light-up button that activates music and sounds.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Little ones will also learn about different letters and vehicle names through pretend play. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Switch & Go Dinos®Turbo Assortment</u> (Ages 3-8 years; MSRP: $9.99)<u><u></u><u></u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Kids can rev up the action with flywheels that let the dinos race and roar across the floor. Each dino also emits realistic vehicle and dinosaur sounds and phrases that teach fun facts about each dino.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*The range features six new dinos, including Dart the Triceratops, Zipp the T-Rex, Spur the Stegosaurus, Fray the Ankylosaurus, Cruz the Spinosaurus and Spinner the Stygimoloch.</span></div>
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Our Thoughts:</h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Charger has been having a lot of fun reviewing his basket, especially since the Switch and Go Dinos were on his WISH LIST. He was thrilled!! We received Fray the Ankylosaurus, and he has been playing with Fray NON STOP since it was placed in his hand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is right in his age range, and believe me Vtech got this one right. He's not only playing with it by itself, but also using it to interact with other toys. He's asking questions about dinosaurs, and having fun making lots of noise as he zooms it through the house. Certainly a new favorite toy in our house. I suspect that his collection of Switch and Go Dinos will grow soon ;)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle wasn't quite as big of a hit. We received a cute little ATV that plays music and lights up. But, I will be honest, that with all the other new items, this one has pretty much just sat not played with. When they do, it is played with for a few moments and then left for the Innotab 3S or the Switch & Go Dino. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It appears that it can be combined with a much larger playset (which we don't have), which may make it more appealing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">V-Tech has lots of fun Easter gift ideas for the little people on your list in all different price ranges, and are sold in many local stores. You can also purchase them </span><a href="http://www.vtechkids.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">online</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> at the V-Tech store!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can also enter to WIN a gift pack of V-Tech Toys!! V-Tech has been super awesome and allowed me to give away to one of YOU all of the toys that we reviewed!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Easter Pack includes: </span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sophia the First InnoTab Cartridge</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Doc McStuffins InnoTab Cartidge</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One Switch and Go Dino Turbo (random)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle</span></li>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Retail value is approx $67.96. Open to US addresses only (no PO Box). The prize pack is provided by V-Tech and Coyne Promotions. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Giveaway will end Monday May 12th, 2014 at midnight. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good Luck and Happy Easter!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lisa</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**We were provided with all the toys seen above for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.**</span></div>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba09a84/" id="rc-ba09a84" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Lisa @ Our Country Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02143244375178681322noreply@blogger.com26