Tackle It Tuesday

I have thought of doing this before but because I'm such a procrastinator about certain things...housework being one of them. I never got around to doing a Tackle It Tuesday post until now. Actually my motivation came while I was reading blogs. Someone had done a meme and one of the questions was when was the last time you cleaned under your fridge. Well, personally, I got to thinking and I couldn't even remember but this person said, that's easy....she does it once a week...every Monday. I thought that was a great idea especially cause them any leftovers still there you know can be tossed rather than the usual scenario of hubby asking me, "Dear, how old is this? or, when did you cook this?". Wll I cleaned my fridge top to bottom yesterday and here is the results. You can't really see by the pictures how dirty and sticky my fridge was inside under the shelves and drawers but trust me, it needed a good cleaning!
P.S. Sorry the pics are sideways but I don't have time right now to edit & rotate them as I need to go get showered myself and then get my kids up for school. But I also don't want to leave this undone so this is it for now...I hope you don't get a sore neck from looking sideways.....





BEFORE


AFTER

Monday Meme

I saw this on another blog and since I'm not sure what to write about other than how friggin cold it is(excuse my language but it is the first week of May!!!), I figured I'd give it a try

5 Things Found In My Purse-

~only five?!...ok here it goes

• my wallet
• receipts
• pictures of my hubby & kids
• pills (mine & DH's)
• keys

5 Favorite Things In My Room-

• Hubby
• my stuffed frogs
• a big box of old letters and cards from friends
• my animal print (leopard print) bedding set
• pictures of my best friend

5 Things I've Always Wanted To Do-

• travel through Europe
• have a beautiful backyard paradise complete with a rock waterfall, pond, pergola and stepping stone walkway.
• own my own Victorian style home
• ride on a cruise ship
• go bungee jumping...ok, I like the thought of that but for real could I do it...????...besides it is more interesting/not as boring as the next thing I was thinking - have my teeth professionally cleaned.

5 Things I Am Currently Into-

• my hubby & kids
• my gardens
• trying to lose weight
• pilates
• saving money

5 People I Want To Tag-

• Whoever wants to respond....J?...BJ?.....?

How To Be A Good Wife

A friend sent this to me a while a go and I just laughed and shook my head but just recently I got this in my email again so thought it would be interesting to blog about and get other people's reaction. My how times have changed! Men's reactions will probably be much different than the woman's...

Not sure if you can read it so I will re-type it below:

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you've been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal ( especially his favorite dish) is part of the welcome needed.
  


• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has been with a lot of work-weary people.
  


• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
  


• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.
  


• Gather up schoolbooks,toys,paper etc and then run a dustcloth over the tables.
  


• Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all catering for his comfort will provide you with the immense personal satisfaction.
  


• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces(if they are small),comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all the noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
  


• Be happy to see him.
  


• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
  


• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first- remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
  


• Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
  


• Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquillity, where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
  


• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
  


• Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
  


• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
  


• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
  


• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.

This is a real article from Good Houskeeping magazine in 1955. The above was from a 1950's home economics textbook intended for high school girls, teaching them how to prepare for married life.

I must admit I'm a little old-fashioned, but not quite to THIS extent! Heck, my husband goes grocery-shopping and even cooks sometimes too. Just this summer, I'm going on two trips by myself. Yup, you guessed it, hubby will be staying at home with the kids. He's even using his work "vacation" so he can stay home with the kids. :)

Friday Fill-In #70

I've been having some blogger's block (AKA writer's block) lately and so was looking for a meme or something to work on those days that I don't know what to say. Also, I think this will be fun and make for something to look forward to at the end of each week. So here it goes...


1. Two of my favorite ingredients in a drink are Malibu & Sprite/7-Up!
2. My kids often amaze me.
3. You can keep doing that forever, the dog is not going to stop barking.
4. A pinch of courage, a handful of strength, a cupful of love, and a sprinkle of endurance, mix it all together and voila! You have a mother!
5. If I had a yard with a garden, I would love to grow flowering vines (unsure what kind - honeysuckle, grapes, ivy) on a pergola.
6. Making whoopee is best au naturel.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed after hubby gets home, tomorrow my plans include watching my four year old daughter at her gymnastics show and Sunday, I want to get out in the flower gardens and put in the new edging!

You can go here to read other peoples's Friday Fill-in responses and maybe even play along too if you like. Have Fun! (I must admit that this being my first, I did use a couple responses that I read elsewhere because I couldn't have put it better myself even if I tried.)

ECK!!!!

I was hoping the long range weather forcast would be wrong or the system would go around and miss us but neither thing happened. Just a couple days ago, I was raking my lawn, the city crews were sweeping the streets, my kids & I were sporting shorts and sandals, motorbikes & convertibles were everywhere you looked, robins were singing in the trees....but NOW - IT IS SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today, I'll be shovelling my driveway, the city crews will be clearing snow and ice off the streets, I had to give my son his snowpants to wear to school, I had to scrap the ice and snow off my vehicle before driving my son to school, the bikes will have to stay parked in the garage, and the robins......what robins?! Not to mention my poor flower gardens, everything was popping up so nicely, I hope this cover of ice & snow doesn't hurt them. In the back of my mind I knew this is only April and in Winnipeg anything can happen until the middle of May, which is when "spring"really comes to stay around here, but still...I guess I was just so tired of winter that I was hoping just this year, atleast, the warm weather would be here to stay. And yes, I must say that the beautiful weather is one reason I haven't been around here quite as much lately. I suppose I should look on the bright side of this, now I won't feel as guilty for staying inside and sitting infront of my computer and I even get some more practice winter driving - by myself as I have my "full"driver's licence now :-) (no, the novelty hasn't wore off yet!).

The Price Of Children

The Price of Children
>This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change.
>I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time
>I have seen the rewards listed this way. It’s nice.
>The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family.

Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
>
>* $8,896.66 a year,
>* $741.38 a month, or
>* $171.08 a week.
>* That’s a mere $24.24 a day!
>* Just over a dollar an hour.
>
>Still, you might think the best financial advice is don’t have children if you want to be “rich.” Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
>* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
>* Glimpses of God every day.
>* Giggles under the covers every night
>* More love than your heart can hold.
>* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
>* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
>* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
>* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites.
>* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
>
>For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
>* finger-paint,
>* carve pumpkins,
>* play hide-and-seek,
>* catch lightning bugs, and
>* never stop believing
>
>You have an excuse to:
>* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, * going to Disney movies, and* wishing on stars.
>
>* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
>For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
>* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, * taking the training wheels off a bike, * removing a splinter, * filling a wading pool, * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
>
>You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
>* first step,
>* first word,
>* first bra,
>* first date, and
>* first time behind the wheel.
>
>You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.
>You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
>In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So . . one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
>
>Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren
>
>May your troubles be less;
>Your blessings more;
>And nothing but happiness
>come through your door!

Star Wars Party

Hard to believe that my baby boy is 7 already. March 31 was the big day but we had his birthday party the day before on the 30th. Here is the invitation I made and sent out. I was thinking oringinally of making a general Star Wars Trivia quiz for the adults thus the extra sheet asking your knowledge level. But I never got around to it and besides I found lots of quizes online but even the ones that said they were easy, WEREN'T that easy for the likes of me.




In a galaxy not so far away, on the day of March 31, 2001, a baby boy was born. From the beginning, his energy drew the attention of the Jedi Council, who named him Wynn. They knew he was the chosen one. In the 7 years that followed his birth, young Wynn has been learning the powers of the Force.
Recently though, the Jedi Knights have felt a strong disturbance in the Force. A disturbance generated by the darkside...many Jedi knights have been lost. The very future of the Jedi Order is now in jeopardy.
The Jedi Council has called upon young Padawan Wynn to seek out future Jedi. Your young padawan's presence is requested to complete Jedi Trainting on March 30, 2008.
The Trials will begin promply at 12:30pm at the Ryden Star System of the Lismer Crescent Galaxy, Docking Bay 23.
Please advise the Jedi Council as soon as possible at 832-2842 as to whether yous young padawan will accept the challenge of the trials. May The Force Be With You!


We didn't go all out with decorations such as streamers and balloons, rather, hubby hung several ship models from the ceiling. The two in the next picture he made from everyday things such as toilet paper tubes, styrofoams cups and egg cartons.












As the guests arrived, they were greeted at the door by Princess Leia (me) and were given there own tunics to put on. Brown for the boys and white for the girls. Star Wars music was playing in the background.








For the meal which we started our training with, there was a menu to choose from.










Before starting training, the padawans had to repeat the Jedi Oath:"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense never for attack."


First we made light sabers using pool noodles. Inside a slit on the handle we iserted our power core (wooden dowel wrapped in aluminum foil) and a focusing crystal (coloered plastic crystals). Then we went down stairs to practice using other weopons of the Jedi. Blasters (nerf balls from spring-loaded guns) shooting Star Wars figures on the stairs. And Laser Canons (Nerf darts) shooting felts targets of Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, and Darth Maul.

After making the lightsabers, Darth Vader (hubby) came and taught the young padawans a basic fight sequence and one by one they took turns practicing with Darth Vader.









Last the kids opened the pinata that I had made of the Death Star. I used a conversion kit to make it a pull-string pinata hoping to be able to keep the model intact but alas...no. Inside was a bag with each kid's name on it.










Graduation: I told the padawans that they have proven themselves worthy of training to become a Jedi Knight and handed out these certificates that I had laminated.








Lastly, we had cake and opened gifts. Hubby decorated the cake.








I made our own thank-you cards using this photo of Wynn that was taken last Halloween at an annual event called Boo At The Zoo. Wynn is dressed up as a stormtrooper and is standing beside a stand-up cutout of Darth Vader. We put the picture on the front of the cards and wrote inside May The Force Be With You!