Random Blurbs

I have lots of posts in the works, and some that are ready to post next week, including a post on weaning and a first time ever guest post from my Hunnie. I am also hoping to get back to my ongoing Gentle Discipline series. But for now I decided to end a light week with a little post of the odds and ends that don’t quite make up an entire blog post on their own.

Public Transit

We’ve been cutting down on the use of our car to save gas. My Hunnie has been walking to school every day and I tried out the bus for the first time. I almost fell over when the bus driver floored it before I put my money in the box. In fact that whole first ride was confusing, the driver was a woman on a mission and she barreled down the road without announcing any of the stops. And because I didn’t know what transfer cards were, I ended up paying again when I switched buses. The bus I took home was much better, the bus driver announced every intersection shortly before we reached it, so I felt like I could sit back and enjoy the ride instead of wondering where the heck I was and when I was supposed to get off. Plus watching all the different people get on and off the bus is fascinating. I’ve decided I really like the bus.

Ants

We have a minor ant problem. I noticed that tiny little ants would magically appear in my kitchen if there were crumbs on the floor, but after I got a little more intentional about sweeping, I thought the problem was solved. Then they started showing up in the bathroom, tiny little ants and big ones with wings. I noticed a few ants on the floor and thought that maybe a kid had left some food in the bathroom, so I cleaned the floor. But like an hour later I came back into the bathroom and it looked something like this.

OK, maybe not that bad. But bad enough to send me running to Wal-mart for ant bait and spray.

Going places with a horde

Sometimes taking lots of small children places is like witnessing an invasion. We ran to the library last night and Ms Action immediately picked out five princess book and Ms Drama picked out several books herself. Ms Pooky’s main interest was grabbing books to place under the self-check out to hear the beep. No matter how many times I let her check a book out, she would run to any shelf to grab another book and try to scan it too. And then she spent several minutes trying to scan her Thomas the train toy that she’d brought along. Meanwhile Baby Boy (whom I still haven’t picked a nick-name for) tried to hide underneath the table behind the recycling bin. Also, Ms Pooky has absolutely zero concept of “inside voice”, everything she says is repeated several times at top volume! So far, I think her cuteness trumps any irritation she may cause, at least no seemed to mind her bellowing the theme from Bob the Builder at the top of her lungs.

What love looks like

Since moving we’ve made contact with a local food distributor run by volunteers. They collect food donations, and then pack monthly boxes to give to people who need them. Our particular box (for young families) usually has cereal, canned goods, and milk and juice. They also have boxes for seniors. And many times they have extras, like perishable goods and donuts or cheese. The kids are always boiling with excitement as we pull up to the building, wondering what kind of treat they might get this time. Both my Hunnie and I have been so moved by the sweet volunteers. There is no stigma or judgment from them, just happiness in being able to bless us. They smile, ask the kids what they would like to try and help us carry the food to the car. The gentle enthusiasm of the volunteers is worth just as much as the food. It just reminds me of what love looks like, and inspires me to show more love to everyone I encounter.

Kids and Chores

I am trying to come up with ways to encourage the kids to help with household chores. I am not too hot on individual responsibilities, except ones that involve taking care of themselves, such as brushing their teeth or putting their own shoes away. But I feel like making a child responsible to keep an entire room clean by themselves only turns into a dreaded chore and a battle of wills. I have no interest in forcing my kids to clean my house. However, I would like to make many of the chores around the house a group effort for several reasons. I want the kids to feel like they contribute, and I want them to eventually know how to take care of each aspect of household chores themselves when they are adults. How do you go about including your kids in regular household maintenance and chores?