Cracking the Whip...in a little cuter & more efficient sort of way

another stolen idea from the blogosphere...


Years ago, we started out with a chore chart...one I printed on the computer. Recently, we tried the daily-list-on-a-post-it method. That was going just fine. But I came across this idea on someone's blog. And just had to give it a try. Each chore I have the children do is listed on a card, with step-by-step instructions. Each card is assigned a point value, and each child needs a certain amount of points each week in order to collect their full allowance. The children pick their jobs (of the ones I place in the upper pockets on any given day).

So far, I'm loving three things about this method:
1. It's cuter than the others :)
2. The kids get a voice in what their chores will be. They rarely complain now (so far, anyway...we've only been doing this a couple weeks.) But, seriously, I think it's ingenious to let them have a say in what they'll clean!
3. The cards make it so they can check to see if the job is actually complete. I have laminated them now, so they can be carried around while cleaning.

At Long Last...The Nursery

He shares a room with Autumn, who is ELATED to finally have a roomie!! It was finished before Gabriel was even born, but i just barely got around to taking pictures of it today...


The outfits hanging above the beds are the ones they wore when they received a name and a blessing from Clint.

i lined the curtains with black-out lining (you can buy it by the yard at Joann's), and you can see i cut the right side a bit short, but it still blocks out plenty of light during beloved nap time!!
The funny thing about the bunny picture is that i didn't realize it would be so big!! i bought it, along with Gabe's bedding, on ebay and neglected to check the dimensions of the artwork (they came together). Anyway, when the package came, i thought the seller must be a nut to have shipped it in such a HUGE box. Well, one of us may be nuts, but it wasn't the seller!!

A rocking chair Mom rocked me in (dated, but sentimental).



Autumn's side, complete with more of her baby outfits.


The drawer pulls cost me twice as much as the dresser, a $7 garage sale find. It's a sturdy little piece that makes me smile.




My VERY favorite part of the nursery (besides the baby & the little girl, that is!). This used to hang in my baby brother's nursery. I used to rock him and sing this little saying over and over again. Now, it helps me maintain perspective each time we bring a new bundle of love into our home. The cleaning and scrubbing really does wait, and i'm SOOO glad for the reminder that helps me to let it. i can't believe 3-1/2 months have already flown by since little baby Gabriel was born. i know he'll become less dependent on me in the coming years, we'll get rid of all the baby paraphernalia, and i'll have plenty of time to clean and de-clutter my home!

You made it through this monster of a post...congrats!!

Corners of my Home

So this is what I look at several times a day, as I do the dishes and other kitchen sink work. It's becoming a bit of a greenhouse with the tomato, watermelon and sunflower plants growing at various stages. And it would be nice if I had them in cute ceramic pots or planters, but that would defeat half the purpose of growing our own stuff: economics! I love the views from our windows.