Change

Things in our house have been going through a major change. The Spy has shut down his small business and is heading to uni. Such a small sentence to write but such a HUGH change in our lives.

This means that The Spy is now home pretty much full time and has taken on all of the house hold duties so that I can focus on Baby Boo, Cricket and Bug. Sounds like a dream right? 

Remember that saying that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is?

This isn't exactly a new situation for us, when Bug was born The Spy had the first year off and we all stayed at home together, it was a blast and made the transition to a family much eaiser. This time around though I am in the mind set of the house being my domain, my work place and I know hpw I like things done (or not done) and The Spy has his way. If I am totally honest The Spy is MUCH better at getting the housework done, but he has a wife at home to look after the kids! 

The really good thing is that I haven't cooked since Baby Boo arrived and The Spy has been doing all sorts of fun things like baking biscuits and cooking meringues with cream and berries and making ginger and caramel slice! The floor is clean, the clothes are washed and the shopping is done and best of all the kitchen is sparkling clean.

So why am I feeling a bit miffed?

 



Great Help

If you have read even one book on baby care you will have read that with a new baby you should never say no to help.This can be a really difficult concept for many women. We are used to juggling overly busy lives before baby comes along and it is hard to imagine how a baby and home life could get on top of us. Just rest assured that it can and accepting any help offered is a smart move.
With our third baby I have been really blessed with help. Firstly, on Baby Boo's due date my mother in law arrived to stay for a week. Mother in laws often get a bad rap but mine was a dream!
Obviously by that point I was very pregnant, tired and feeling frustrated by Boo being over due. Ms H (mother in law) made her week stay bliss for me. I got to sleep in, the kids were taken care of and I had help with the school run. Best of all I didn't have to do any dishes! You should never underestimate the value of doing someones dishes. Especially when that someone is a very pregnant person that can't physically reach the sink without turning side ways and hurting her back.
So a big thank you to my mother in law, who sadly only had a week off work and had to return home before Baby Boo made her entrance.
My parents arrived the day before Ms H left. They took a ten hour drive to get here and with them came an esky full of meals- enough to feed us all. Bliss- no cooking!
Mum and dad also entertained the girls so that The Spy and I could have lunch together and also so that I could have some time alone before life was taken over with a new born! So thanks to mum and dad for yummy meals.
The most help has come from The Spy himself. For the last month my amazing husband has done everything. The cleaning, the cooking, shopping and washing. He has changed nappies, bathed children, read stories and kept track of school notes. He has bought me socks, made me milk shakes and cut up my dinner so I can eat and feed Baby Boo at the same time. He has done the school run whenever he can. He has made school lunches, RSVP'd to party invitations. He has made sure that visitors have morning tea and a hot drink. He has cleaned my car, fitted car seats and cleaned our pram. On top of all that he has also gone to work, often getting up at 4.30 am - the joy of running his own business. Nothing has been too much trouble. Oh and did I mention he totally reorganised the kitchen cupboards and the pantry?
I admit that I have been exceedingly lucky to have a month long baby moon. But the time to rest, settle in with Baby Boo, establish breastfeeding and ease into a new routine around the older kids has been priceless.
My advice, take any help you can get. Rest and enjoy your new born. It will be over way too fast.

Housework

Anyone who reads Highlights to Housework knows that housework is not my strong point. As a stay at home mum this has always made me feel guilty. After all, my home is basically my office, I spend a substantial amount of my time here, and so shouldn't it be neat and organised and lovely? No matter the answer, my house is not!
I have however; found that I am not alone! I love to read other peoples blogs and recently have come across several posts lamenting the writer's ability to stay on top of housework while raising kids.
So here is the question, or questions.

• As a generation, have we missed something about keeping house?
• With the full force of the feminist wave behind us, did we charge off ready to become lawyers and doctors and writers and politicians and forget that one day we might be wives and mothers requiring a totally different set of skills?
• Did we forget that raising kids and keeping house is indeed a skill worth having?
• Or is it all a myth? Is the trick, in fact, to stash all your stuff in the spare room, light a scented candle and swan about pretending the house is always so lovely?

It appears that we have developed a type of domestic amnesia! Is this is what has caused the rise of the domestic goddess? The Martha's and the Nigella's who make millions telling us how to fold a fitted sheet and how to roast Sunday lunch (and in some cases how to wind up in prison by not paying taxes)


Time to fess up I say!
I want to know how everyone stays on top or tries to stay on top of the housework.

 

Success!

This week I bought the latest copy of Family Fun magazine. I flicked through and wasn't really impressed with the content this month, however one article caught my eye. The article entitled "Don't lose your marbles!" written by a mum of five aged between 3 and 16, trying to come up with a way to encourage her kids to pull their weight around the house. She had tried the charts on the fridge and the pretty stickers, the glitter and poster board without much success. This all sounded fairly familiar to me, although my kids are 3 and 5 getting them to do the smallest chore like putting their shoes away can be more trouble then it worth! But then Malissa O'Brian came up with a new idea for her family and I though it sounded like a great plan so I have set it in motion today!
Each child is given a jar with their name on it, I got the little ones to decorate a label that I then glues to their jar. A bag of glass or plastic gems unique to each child is also needed. Now, draw up a list of jobs that can be done by the kids, on our list we have:

• Put toys away
• Make your own bed
• Put the rubbish bag into the big bin
• Take the dirty clothes from the bathroom to the laundry
• Put the recycling in the big recycling bin
• Set the table
• Help mummy put away the clean dishes
• Clear the table after dinner (with help)
• Help daddy clean and feed the duck

Now they are not expected to do all of these everyday but for every job that they do complete they get a gem to put in their jar and when it is full they get a special reward. A lunch out with mum or dad, a new book or some pocket money to put toward something bigger (probably best for older kids). A penalty can also come into play with the jars with a gem being removed for bad behaviour but I think my kids are a little young for that yet. So far since I have explained how this works the girls have raced off to make their beds, put out the recycling and to help me put away the dishes. So far so good, we will see if stand the test of time!
Do you have ways you encourage the kids to help out around the house?

The Floor is not a Storage Space!

I feel I owe my mother an apology. I have always had the terrible habit of dropping my stuff on the floor. My shoes, my bag, magazines - basically just "stuff". Now the problem I have created is that my children follow along and they have infinitely more stuff and they drop it everywhere! Their shoes, toys, clothing, books, food, EVERYTHING! They tear up sheets of paper into tiny bits and toss it around like confetti, they eat a mandarin or a banana and leave the skin on the coffee table or worse, under the lounge. My house is a disaster and now I have to try to get the girls to pick up their stuff and this is the big problem. Cricket runs away and hides. Bug complains that she is too tired or that cleaning up is a mummy job. My husbands strategy is to ask once to have things picked up, to give a warning that the job needs to be done and then he brings in a packing box into which everything on the floor goes and the box heads for the garage. This makes the girls scream and yell and usually results in frantic cleaning up! I don't have the energy for such drama on a daily basis. I would like to ask once and have the kids start to pick things up. I am desperately trying to change my own habits in the hope that this will influence my kids. What I need is ideas for getting my kids to tidy up, anyone???

And mum, if you're reading this, sorry for all the mess!
xxx

Housework

I am not a very good housekeeper; in fact I doubt I am even a fair housekeeper. Many times I have proven that I am more likely to step over something than to bend down and pick it up.
My big let down is my kitchen, it is always a wreck, dishes, glasses etc are often pilled up. I hate dishes, I really really hate dishes!
With small children in the house the kitchen is the hub so I really need to get it sorted. So I have a plan, I will be starting to do a 10 minute clean up after each meal. Wiping down the table and doing a few dishes. I am also going to purchase the girls a drink bottle each to curb the constant flow of cups for their drinks. To have the type of house I wish to have I must become more organised. This is my start point.