Wordless Wednesday: Dress Up

Tackle It Tuesday: Cleaned the Kitchen Sink

I thought about Tackle It Tuesday most of the morning, I just didn't know what I wanted to accomplish this week. Then while the kids were taking their naps and I was finishing up lunch it dawned on me that it had been a while since I disinfected/scrubbed/shined our kitchen sink. Yes, it gets wiped down most days, but seriously "white-glove-tested-type-of-cleaned"? Honestly, no. Fly Lady has a step by step process for cleaning (truly cleaning) your kitchen sick and that is what I follow. Here are the steps:

1) Take all the dishes out of the sink.

2) Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour. Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug (wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes).

3) Rinse your sink well.

4) Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.

5) Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails.

6) Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss.

7) Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.

8) If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. Just know in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be perfect. Our perfectionism is what got us in this situation in the first place.

9) Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). Before you know it, you will be doing this everytime you leave your kitchen. The rest of the family will too. No more water spots. You will have a clean and shiny sink.

10) Don't have a fit if someone doesn't take as much pride in your sink as you do. It is very easy to fix. You have already done the hard part. You will never have to go through this process again. Daily maintenance will keep it looking this way all the time. Nasty hurtful word are not as easy to repair. Just be sure and tell your family what you are trying to do. They will think you have gone crazy.

11) If you don't have a dishwasher, don't worry. A dishwasher is just a dirty dish disposal. Clean out a place under your sink and put a dishpan in there. Teach your family, that instead of putting their dirty dishes and glasses in the sink, place them into the dish pan. Get into the habit of putting your dishes away as soon as they have been washed and are dry. No more leaving the dish drying rack on the counter or in the sink. Put it away under the sink when you have finished. If your old one is nasty, you may want to soak it in the sink full of bleach water at the same time you soak the sink or go buy a new set.

12) To insure that your family remembers this, put a note in the sink. It will get their attention and remind them where to put the dishes. Be patient! They have never been taught either. It is going to take some practice.

So without further ado.....here's my shiny kitchen sink!

{Andrea}

Ps. See more Tackle It Tuesday participants at: http://www.5minutesformom.com/

Weekend Recap

Good Monday moring all!

This weekend, for us, was very low key. It was nice, though, having a quiet restful time before the holiday kicks into high gear.

Miss Kailey spent the weekend recovering from Strep Throat. She was technically not contagious after Friday, but we still thought it best to keep her home and get lots of rest. She is such a little troop. It's stil hard to believe that after a week and a half, she never once complained about her throat hurting. You could tell she was "off", but never would I have guessed that she had Strep. We are thankful that she is on the mend and returning back to herself.

I had a busy day on Saturday. Our church, Life Center North, put on a community outreach (sponsored by the ministry Serve Spokane). I was at the coffee bar handing out hot chocolate, spiced cider, cookies, brownies, and various other treats. The church also offered free warm clothing, Christmas carols, crafts, and the food pantry was open. There were many families that benefited from the event - it really expressed the reason for the season - Jesus! - we were his hands and feet. It was awesome!

It was also my normal weekend to serve @ the Saturday evening church service. I am so thankful for my coffee bar team. They are so great! Jenn is so fluid, she really keeps things moving smoothly. Claire and Brad, a wife and husband team, are picking things up quickly. It's nice that our team has expanded so nicely and we are able to serve the church in an efficient manner.

Friday night was the last day for the volleyball league that Troy and I have been playing in. I stayed home with the kids since Kailey was sick. However, for Troy's report the team did great. Our team, the red team, took 2nd! Good job Red Team, we had a good time playing with you this year.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting in the holiday spirit. We took the kids on a drive up to Manito Park where they have the conservatory decorated with 30,000 lights. It was beautiful! Then we came home and baked and decorated sugar cookies. I even taught the kids a few Christmas carols. It was a good weekend!

Hope you all had a great weekend! I look forward to chatting, blogging, and talking to you all throughout the week!

{Andrea}

Finally Friday or 14 Days Until Troy's Vacation

Let's see....first an explaination as to why I haven't been posting. It's cold and flu season. Yippee! Tyler started it. He had a good case of croup. Poor guy. It was not fun [then again, when is being sick ever fun?]. He ran a pretty good temp and had the classic symptom of croup- a nasty, barky cough. He would get into such cough fitting it would make him lose his breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Thankfully he was diagnosed and treated pretty quickly. Once he got on his meds things cleared up pretty quickly.

Then there is Kailey. Miss K has not been herself for a couple weeks now. Our guess was that she was cutting her two year molars and, well, being two. After finally breaking her fever, but still being unusually cranky she delevoped a head to toe rash. We took her into the doctor and she has Strep Throat. My poor babe. Strep is awful, I know, it's no wonder she has been her chipper self.

As for Troy and I well, we've suffered from sniffles, tummy aches, and lack of sleep, but nothing compared to that of our children. Now that everyone is medicated and/or better I hope that I can start contributing to this blog more. I need to figure out how to get more hits on my site. Right now, I'm averaging about 5 a day. Oh well, I suppose a good start would be A) staying healthy so that I can write more, and B) having something interesting to write about.

Cheers!
{Andrea}

Tackle It Tuesday: Clutter

For today's Tackle It Tuesday challenge I took on the daunting task of decluttering the bookshelf in out front room. It's the closest thing to the front door with a flat surface, so it naturally collects lots of clutter - keys, mail, found objects, etc. It's been staring at me for weeks, begging to be cleaned off, straightened up, and rid of things that just shouldn't be there.

Thanks goodness for 5 Minutes for Mom and their Tackle It Tuesday challenge. I did it. I took the time to completely declutter the bookcase, but it didn't stop there. It brought a motivation upon me like no other. Now, my entire front room is clean and free of things that just shouldn't be there.

It's perfect timing, too. We are having company over tomorrow night that we haven't spent any really quality time with in over a year. We've seen them from time to time in the grocery store, at church, in odd random places, and we always say "we really need to get together." It's finally happening. They are coming over tomorrow and my cluttered front room won't destracted from conversation.

Let's keep it real, I'm the mom of two toddlers - it WILL be a mess again, it's inevitable. However, for now it's beautiful and I'm thankful. =)

Cheers!
{Andrea}

See more Tackle It Tuesday challengers at: 5 Minutes For Mom

This morning I was thinking of things I love. This time of year, I'm reminded of a excerpt from When God Whispers You Name by Max Lucado - I just love this:

I CHOOSE LOVE...

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY...

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I willrefuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than humanbeings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE...

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for amoment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS...

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to therich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS...

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I willsee the good in others when it is hard to find. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS...

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS...

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL...

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control.

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL........To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks.If I fail, I will seek God's face. And then when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Is that not wonderful?

It blesses my day everytime I read it. I hope it does you, too.

{Andrea}