Our Week of Cleaning

In my life this week...
We are really in the thick of moving.... but first was the cleaning. There was a contract-cleaning for the house, but the amount we would have paid was kind of ridiculous especially since we were told by a few people that they had to re-clean because the paid cleaners didn't clean cupboards, blinds,etc! So we thought we'd to it ourselves and get the credit... a few hundred dollars NOT on a loan is good:)

While Brian was out of town Monday through Wednesday night the kids and I packed a closet or two, unloaded our stuff and then spent hours each day cleaning... H.O.U.R.S.!!! We came home exhausted each night, ate a quick meal and then headed back to the house for another day of cleaning.

On Tuesday we did attend the library's reading time and then a program in the afternoon. We also had a picnic at the park... we all needed a little break. And on Friday we spent the day at the beach with family:)

Honestly our week has been packing and cleaning, unpacking and cleaning! The BIG move is this weekend;) I'm really hoping that after another week of cleaning, packing and unpacking, we'll be able to sit back and finally enjoy some summer days:)

Helpful home schooling tips or advice to share... 
I'm slowly learning through schooling my kids that sometimes completing a task/assignment with them turns out to be more a heart issue exercise than an academic one. I need to recognize those moments as teaching character moments and not push for a completed assignment but encourage their hearts instead.

I am inspired by...
Empty closets. There is soo much to pack, but seeing an empty closet pushes me to open the next closet/room and start again:)

My favorite thing this week...
Besides our beach trip, was  seeing Chris on the couch "reading" for fun!!!

I had to see what he was soo quieting "reading" :) I think he is my non-fiction reader!

What's working/not working for us...
Really late getting home, dinner and bedtime! We have been out soo late this last week... like getting home after 9pm and then having to feed the crew. They haven't been in bed before 10 each night. And that means the parents stay up even later:/


The good thing is that they have been sleeping in until 8am or so:)


We're reading/learning....
We've been reading about Lewis and Clark and their adventures! It's very interesting the travels and experiences that they had.

I'm cooking...
Barely. It's been very simple around here and it's only going get easier as I move more of the kitchen stuff to the new house.


I'm grateful...
Our school/play room at the new house. It's the only room with new carpeting and that was almost clean (that is the task for this week's visits). The kids used this room a lot this week as "their" room as I cleaned. It was nice to have a place for them to hang out:)

I'm praying for...
Good attitudes! It's been a challenge to balance all that needs to be done and all we (the kids) want to do... they really want a "summer break"... swimming in pools, playing at parks, chasing a new batch of kittens our neighbor has, etc! It's impossible to be outside with them and inside packing.... so it's requiring balance!

A picture to share...

One "fun" task for the kids was to test all the light switches and electrical outlets. Armed with sticky dots, Anna tried every outlet with a clock radio and Chris flipped all the switches being sure they all worked. They marked the ones that didn't work with dots. Thankfully not many dots were used:)

Nate got a hold of the leftovers;) I had to take a picture though when one rubbed off onto his ear:)
BTW... his old shirt is a hand-me-down from Chris. Nate loves this shirt. He calls it his "ah-ah" shirt... monkey sounds;)

Here's to 5 more days until moving day and grandparents coming, too:)

Linking up to Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up.