Saturday Job Jars

I used to do the cleaning by myself--you know, when the kids were at school.  I'd do a my dusting on Monday, the vacuuming on Tuesday, etc. Don't get me wrong--the kids have always had daily responsibilities and one extra job they helped me with each day.

I just began to realize how overwhelmed I was feeling with my own responsibilities. I'm a full time piano teacher on top of everything else and just never was getting my daily cleaning jobs done which left it hanging over my head.

I made "the switch" to our Saturday Job Jars where we all clean together on one day!  It's so much faster, my kids are being taught so much and our house is completely clean all on one day--so nice!

So, this is how it works:

We each have one of these jars that I set in front of us at breakfast each Saturday. As we're finishing up eating I turn the fun music on and unclip that ring!  

We go youngest to oldest and pick a job and put it in our jar. When the jobs are all passed out...we hop to it!

The finishing trick is that Mom and Dad are the "Keeper of the Ring!"  You have to have your jobs checked by Mom or Dad before that job can be taken out of your jar and placed back on "the ring" (ready for next Saturday).


Our Jobs:

Dishes, Kitchen and Kitchen floor mopped
Shake the rugs
Clean all Mirrors
Vacuum Downstairs and Stairs
Dusting
Vacuum Upstairs
Sweep Front Porch
Clean Toilets
Clean Sinks
Sweep Hard Floors
Mop Hard Floors
Clean bathtubs
Laundry
Empty Garbages 

Here's a template for these jobs if you're rethinking your cleaning process...

Saturday Jobs Document
(click link)

A Moment in My Messy Kitchen

During an attempt to drown out the grumpies this morning (it's Monday after all and even worse, the Monday after Spring Break) Alli and I were dancing around the kitchen.  It was taking a little Pandora to get me to start on the sink full of dishes and of course the piles of laundry.

Well, I had a moment I need to share, so the dishes and laundry still wait.  It was Disney again...hadn't had a moment with Ariel before but suddenly realized I so relate.  Remember her song "Part of Your World?"  Remember when she's in her cavern of treasures and she's singing:

"Lookin' around here you'd think (sure) she's got everything!"

But then she slips into her wants...literally says:

"But who cares, no big deal, I want more!"

picture courtesy at this link

I honestly swim in circles in my so called cavern of a house and think that...I want more!  I catch myself more these days and knock some sense into myself as I sit and list all that I have...I am so blessed!  I literally have it all!  I really do!

How often, though, do we sit around and look at our "Ariel Friends" around us and think "she's got everything!"  How often do we think or even say "I wish I had what so and so has" or "I wish I did that like so and so" or "I wish I looked like so and so?"

Well, people, I admit it right here.  Right now. As I sit in my messy kitchen, I'm one of those.  I used to really be one of those far too often and I still fall into that trap a little but I like to think I catch myself and count my blessings and see how wonderful Megan is plenty now.

Don't get me wrong.  Ariel was great to have dreams.  It's awesome she wanted to grow and learn and experience but she wished she was something she wasn't.  I literally picked up my four year old girl just now and told her to grow and learn but improve sweet Allison.  Find Allison's potential!  I told her:

"Allison, Heavenly Father made you so special on purpose.  He sent you here to learn about yourself, to love and improve yourself, and then to turn and help others do the same!"

One more thing...

Our dear beloved Olaf from "Frozen" came on next.  Yep, he taught me today too.  Remember when Mr. Snowman wants and dreams of being in Summer.  He pretty much had no clue whatsoever that it wouldn't work out for him.

picture courtesy at this link

We are so much like that silly Snowman.  Our Heavenly Father doesn't just sit back and think "we've gotta tell him!"  So sad that we don't realize that he tells us all the time.  He tells us that He will guide us, He will place us where we need to be, He will help mold us and teach us, trust Him!

Simply put...we gotta stop wishin' we are something we're not and stop wishin' we were somewhere we're not.  There is a specific plan for us.  There is a specific time line for us.  We need to seek out our Heavenly Father's plan for us and who he wants us to be.

Love Disney!

Bedtime Stories

Ever since my kids were babies we have sang them songs and read them stories before they went to sleep.  I know this will have an impact on them or we wouldn't do it.

I had the thought last night as I was telling my three year old her "Goldilocks and Three Bears" for probably the thousandth time that "I wonder what in the world this story teaches her?"

Some little girl walks through the forest and barges in someone else's house, eats their food, breaks their furniture and all she does is run away screaming when they come home.  Of course, they are scary bears to wake up to but my daughter is probably the last one I want to be teaching this to.

Then I was thinking I guess this is why it's so important to talk to my kids.  They hear negative or see bad choices all the time, but we can learn from it.  

I suppose when I tell her this story I need to start following up with a few questions like "how would you feel if someone came in your house and ate your food?" or "what do you think Goldilocks should have done after she realized her choice wasn't the best?"  

It's sort of great to realize we can use those Disney movies that are played over and over again or the books that you can hardly turn their pages they've been read so much to just talk to each other and learn things that aren't exactly on the screen or page.  Maybe it will spice it up for me a little bit while I'm at it.  I'm pretty sure I'm not he only mom that gets tired a three year olds obsession :)