My confession

I’m not a great housewife.  That’s not a confession.  That’s just sort of obvious.  Our house isn’t terrible.  In fact most of the time it’s pretty passable.  Sure, the kids’ bathroom may smell like a hamster cage on occasion (NOT my fault, but it should probably be cleaned a bit more often than it is), yes, I may not recall exactly when I dusted upstairs, and okay, that pile of dirt by the front door probably should have been dealt with ages ago.  But really it’s not too bad.  I have three kids.  We’re at home all day (usually).  I try to make healthy meals for my family, which takes a lot of time.  I homeschool.  I made a conscious decision that housework is important, but not the most important thing.  And most of the time our house reflects that.  Not perfect, but decent. But there are some places where I fail miserably as a homemaker.  One is ironing.  Oh how I hate to iron.  I’m sure part of it is that I loathe my ironing board.  The cover is very itchy and slippery, which makes an unpleasant job even more unpleasant and difficult.  I should just get a new cover.  But for some reason I haven’t.  I’m sure it’s because ironing is extremely low on my priority list, so I never think about ironing covers at the store.  When my mom was here to visit last time, she spent hours ironing.  Every single thing in the ironing pile was ironed.  It was blissful.  She definitely doesn’t visit enough. But even worse than the ironing is the mending.  I have a VERY large mending pile.  Some of those things have been in there for years.  YEARS.  I have size 2 boy pajamas in there (Paul is now a size 4, and has been for some time now).  By the time I finish mending Katie’s clothes, Averi will probably fit into them.  It’s very bad. There are several reasons why I don’t mend: 1.  I never seem to have the right supplies.  Perhaps those overalls need a new hook.  Or that shirt needs a new button and I just don’t have the right one.  And how on earth do you fix those snaps that go on kids’ jeans? 2.  Thread.  Why is it that no matter how many spools of thread I own, I can never find quite the right color?  So it gets set aside for the next trip to the fabric store, where of course I forget to bring aforementioned item to hunt down the perfect thread match. 3.  I don’t think I’m very good at it.  I’m never quite sure how to end my stitching, so I’m pretty sure it’s just going to come undone anyway.  And I can never hide things as seamlessly as my mother can.  Another reason why she should visit more. 4.  It’s dull as sticks. So today I have decided to tackle that pile.  I’m turning on The Office and sewing as many things as I can before I have to get showered before Aaron comes home (another glimpse into my less-than-Martha ways).  I’m sure I won’t see a huge decrease in the pile.  But I will feel good about ignoring it for at least another six months. There you have it.  I’ve aired my dirty laundry.  What’s yours?

More bunnies…

I was in charge of teaching preschool last week, and we were learning about pets.  We had tried to schedule a field trip to Petco, but it never came through, so instead I arranged for a friend to bring over her bunnies to show the kids.  I figured that bunnies would be perfect since Easter was coming up as well, and we all know how much bunnies have to do with the Resurrection…Anyway, it was really adorable.  These rabbits are used to be hauled around by little kids, so they didn’t seem too overwhelmed by all the love and attention they were receiving.

Easter 2011

We were lucky to have Grandma J and Abby for a week during Easter.  These kids LOVE their grandma.  She is so much fun.  Let me tell you, she knows how to play.  And play she does.  I get exhausted just watching her.  We were able to have them participate with us in our Easter festivities this year, which made a fun season even more enjoyable.  First up we had an Easter egg hunt organized by one of my friends.  The kids had a blast, and it was fun for Mom as well! There were over 50 kids there.  Wild!   We made bunny ears for preschool, and Paul wanted to wear them for the egg hunt.  Appropriate, I thought. My girls are both getting super long hair.  I made Katie’s dress as well.  It’s quite cute, but she’s already had a growth spurt since I sewed it a month ago.  I’m not sure how long she’ll be able to wear it! On Sunday we had a special stake meeting with some visiting General Authorities, so we got home earlier than usual, which gave us ample time to dye eggs.  I bought the monster egg kit, and I should probably have saved the extra 50 cents and used my own pipe cleaners and cotton balls, since that was what was in there.  But the kids got a kick out of it and had a great time decorating their eggs.     This guy with the lambchops was my very favorite.  So creative! This guy had about 5 noses…or arms…or something.  Averi was very proud. Their creations.  I think they turned out so cute! After naps we had our family egg/basket hunt.  We make the kids find their baskets first, and then they can use them to collect eggs.  I had so much fun filling up their baskets this year.  I’m afraid they were dreadfully spoiled, but it was fun. Averi had to put on her new fairy costume right away.  I’ve had this saved for ages, and she finally fits into it, so into the Easter basket it went. Paul of course couldn’t wait to gobble down his eggs.  I think all his candy is gone by now. Paul had the hardest time finding his basket.  It was definitely in the trickiest spot.  Finally Aaron asked him, “Paul, if you were to hide something, where would you put it?”  Without hesitation, Paul said, “Here,” and lifted up the pillows and blankets.  Lo and behold, there was the basket.  It was quite funny.   So that was our very fun and very picture-laden Easter.  Thanks, Connie and Abby, for sharing it with us!

Goals for May

I was just thinking about the things I’d like to get done in the month of May, and I figured I’d post them here so I wouldn’t forget! I thought that it would be helpful to break things up into categories so they wouldn’t be so overwhelming… Sewing/crafts Sew this FRONTIER VEST by Dana from MADE for my nephew. Cute, no? If I have time (and I probably won’t), I may try out these as well: Woody’s spurs Hobby Horse Home Finish the patio. So our backyard will no longer look like this: Or this: This is THE project for the month. Actually, we’ve made a lot more progress than is shown. These photos are from April 2. We’ve got the whole area dug out and leveled, except for about a half hour’s worth of work. And there’s now a lot more stuff piled under the pergola. Garden Round two of crops. I do actually have some little seedlings now, so it’s time to plant some more. Update the planter by the front door. I’m thinking about some impatiens. Any other shade plants that would be good? Mental/spiritual Finish reading this: I really haven’t read a lot of religious books, but this one was highly recommended. And it’s borrowed, so I can’t return it without having read it! I also need to work through one chapter (setting my sights high, I know) of this book: I have been really bad about taking photos lately, and I always want to take a million during the summer time. So it can’t hurt to know a little more about what I’m doing. What about you? Any plans for May before the summer craziness begins?

Pioneer Day Camp

Calling all pioneer children! Come join us for a westward trek as we learn about the pioneers! We'll be having a grand time as we travel to Nauvoo, Winter Quarters, Chimney Rock, and the Salt Lake Valley on a four day adventure. Here's a small sampling of some of the activities we'll be doing: butter churning stick pulling button yo-yos horseshoe throwing crafts singing marshmallow roasting story-telling family picnic on the last day This will be a great opportunity to teach your children about their pioneer heritage in a fun and energetic setting. Details are as follows: Ages: 4-6 When: Four days, July 18-22 (NOT on Wednesday, July 20) Time: 9:30 am to 12 pm Food: Snacks and drinks will be provided Cost: $40; family discount rate of $35/child Location: Chelsey J's house There will be a limit to how many children can attend, so please register early. There will be a $10 non-refundable deposit due when registering your child. Please contact me at chelsey DOT jorgensen AT gmail DOT com, leave a comment here, or call me on the phone number in the ward directory to register. Payment will be accepted via check or Paypal. Your child is welcome to invite a friend to register as well. This would be an excellent missionary opportunity!

Garden Update—Beginning of April

I wish I had some great photos of happy seedlings to post.  But I’ve got a big fat nothing.  I ordered my seeds, and they took FOREVER to arrive.  (Note to self: no ordering from Pinetree Garden Seeds next year!)  I was NOT happy.  So I was finally able to plant seeds in the middle of March (grrrr…).  And here’s my handy dandy little diagram of what I’m planting/will be planting (fingers crossed) for spring: Only problem?  Nothing’s growing except three radish plants, two of which are NOT where I planted them.  The parsley, sage, oregano and thyme all overwintered, so they’re also growing.  So 7 plants out of a bajillion.  Good thing I didn’t plant everything all at once! (My errant radishes) Suspected problems: 1.  Wind.  The wind is terrible here in the spring.  This could disturb any seeds that were planted towards the surface (most of your teeny seeds) and dry the soil out quicker. 2.  Water.  Raised beds drain well.  That’s good and bad.  I think my soil’s drying out quickly, and I haven’t been amazing at watering every day by hand.  I have my soaker line set up, but there are some problems with the main line that it’s hooked up to, and I haven’t been able to turn on automatic watering yet.  3.  Birds.  There have been several fat robins that have taken to digging for worms and other bugs in the garden.  I love the birds, and it’s good that there are worms in the soil, but they’re disturbing the seeds/seedlings. 4.  I have no idea what on earth I’m doing and I’m just pretending to garden.  Very likely. (Sad barren garden with non-operating soakers) Possible solutions: 1.  Mulch.  I’m going to locate some straw (or hay?  I can’t remember which one it is you’re supposed to use) to mulch.  This will protect the seeds from the wind (hopefully).  It should also help with the water problem and possibly with the birds. 2.  Water.  I’m trying to be better about watering daily.  As soon as I can, I’ll get the soakers set up so that it will go automatically. 3.  Floating row covers.  I found a place that makes fabulous row covers to protect from the elements and critters.  Not in the gardening budget for this year, but I want some for next year. 4.  Try, try again. (At least there are a few spots of green in this one.  You can also see that we were one board short in finishing our dividers.  Sad!  Finishing this is somewhere in the list of projects.) I’m not going to put out my second set of seeds until I have some mulch, and I’m hoping to find that by early this week so I can get them in before it gets ridiculously hot around here.  It was 80 degrees this week, so my window of opportunity is narrowing.  And if nothing works, there’s always summer and fall plantings.  And next year!  Anyone know good sources for hay/straw around here?