The10 Second Tidy

Remember the Big Comfy Couch show? If there was one lesson I learned from that annoying show, it was the 10 Second Tidy. It is just that, 10 seconds of mad dash cleaning and picking up scattered toys, shoes, and clothes.

My then 5 year old ds1, would love to sit and watch that show. I hated it because it looked like a low budget production and I wasn't impressed by the cheap looking props. But what we discovered that there was something sort of what you might call a little treasure. It worked so well, that we have kept the 10 Second Tidy in our home long after the show was cancelled. The great thing is that everyone can do it, even 2 year olds! So I am please to share the following You Tube clip.

Old Routine Re-Vamped

The old AM routine was like this.

1.Wake up, say Morning Offering.
2. Make your bed.
3. 10 second tidy in your room.
4. Grooming and get dressed w/shoes.
5. Morning family prayers. The Angeles & Grace.
6. Breakfast.
7. Chores/Zones (including pet care)
8. School

This worked out really great for a while, but there were some missing components and we had not added our PM routine since the twins were born. But now that Apollo, (our new high energy puppy) is here we have to kick it up a whole lot.

So now it looks like this.

1.Wake up, say Morning Offering.

2. Make your bed.

3. 10 second tidy in your room.

4. Grooming and get dressed w/shoes.

5. Take dogs outside.

6. Feed & water dogs.

7. Morning family prayers. The Angeles & Grace.

8. Breakfast.

9. Chores/Zones.

10. Walk dogs and outdoor play.

11. DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read) 30 minutes

12. Nap time for little kids.

13. School.

I have stayed away from a timed schedule for a long time because with a large family, stuff always seems to come up. If I expect interruptions, its less frustrating for me to allow time to roll with the punches. 

So at some point this week I have to add our PM routine. Otherwise, I will end up with wandering kids.

If you don't already know, I am a huge fan of Supper Nanny, Jo Frost. Here is a link to her website with very helpful information about why routines matter and how to set up your family's routine.

http://www.supernanny.com/Advice/-/Your-child/-/Child-care/Why-routines-matter-.aspx

http://www.supernanny.com/Advice/-/Supernanny-techniques/-/Routine-and-teamwork/Family-routine.aspx

Have a blessed and grace-filled day!

Setting the Mood in My Home With Music

My mother used to play classical music for us when we were small children in the evenings. It was something her father would do for his children at night. My grandfather was a poor uneducated farmer in Mexico, who had the common sense to fill his 9 children's hears with beautiful sounds. His wisdom is evidence for me that knowledge doesn't only come from books.

You have probably heard that classical music calms the mind. It's not hard to believe that idea because I myself find that I rest better if I fall asleep listening to classical music. And for my babies, classical music seems to contribute to easier transitions and longer naps. I have also discovered that classical music seems to calm everyone in the home especially during that morning rush or when I feel tense and overwhelmed.

I have also used other genres of music for different times during the day. For instance, if I we are working on Math subjects or Math drills, we will listen to Rock n' Roll and Metal. This idea came from my son's therapist, who suggested to us that listening to this kind of music stimulates cognitive function. So far, yes it does seem to help, but we are very careful that we play positive music and most of the time its Christian Rock.

Another time when I use music to set a mood in our home is when we are cleaning. Dance music seems to really motivate us and makes time go by faster. We house clean to any kind of dance music from Disco to Cumbia.

Creating playlist is great for us because I can limit our cleanup or Math lessons with music that will fill a certain time period. For instance, if I want to clean the house for 1 hour, then I will play our House Cleaning Boogie playlist that contains 1 hour of dance music and it will automatically stop after 60 minutes.

Happy listening and ROCK ON!!

Music Psychology resources:

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/10/05/how_classical_music_can_reduce_crime_benefit_your_mood_and_increase_your_spending.htm

http://cognitive-psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/psychology_of_heavy_metal_music

http://musicouch.com/musicouching/music-and-the-mind/

Music listening websites:

CLAA's Sacred Radio:
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh182333542409935592

http://www.catholicmusicnetwork.com/

www.grooveshark.com/

www.pandora.com/

http://www.ilike.com/

Add to the Mix, a Labrador Puppy!

As if I didn't have enough to do already, this adorable pup walks into our lives and with him a renewed spirit of energy. It’s kind of a long story and I have a little time before the twins wake up for a night time feeding, so I will tell it to you.

Six days ago, there was a post on an email list that I am a member of, offering a free chocolate Lab puppy. I didn't respond immediately because I was so swamped I missed it. Well a few days later I was reviewing my messages and my eyes just about popped out of my head. Who would give away a Labrador puppy? There can't be something wrong with him, he's a Lab, who wouldn't want a Lab and free?? Well if you have ever had the pleasure of knowing or having a Lab puppy, you know what the answer to that one is. :)  So I just replied that if the puppy was not yet claimed that our family would be interested, and hit the send button. At that moment, I smacked myself on the forehead, and had a hesitation. What did I just do? Did I just say yes to a pet, a huge pet, without consulting with Giovanni? Yes, dodo bird, ya sure did. 

I kinda couldn't help it. See years ago I had an encounter with a charming chocolate Labrador, Zach. He was an old fella, but he was HUGE! I used to work for a freeway bridge construction company as an administrative assistant, when I lived in California. I was probably around 20 years old, young and dumb. Most of the time I was left alone in a dusty construction yard trailer. And Zach, who belonged to a crane operator, kept me company. 

On one particular day, against the wishes of our construction supervisor, I let Zach hang out with me in the office/mobile trailer. Mid morning a stranger walked in asking for a job. I told him that we never hire from the field, and he should contact his local union for more information. He insisted that I give him more information and proceeded to come closer to my desk. I became a little afraid because this dude seemed like his intentions were more than just looking for a job. Zach, who was lying at my feet sprung up from behind my desk, placed his front paws on the desk and was face to face with the stranger. Needless to say the stranger was scared off by Zach, and split. I think it was a close one for me that day. 

That day is when I fell in love with chocolate Labs. So when someone was offering a puppy free, I just kinda acted impulsively. I did say a quick prayer, God, if it be your will, please let me have this puppy, please let Giovanni say that we can have him. If you know that we cannot handle this puppy right now, it’s ok, but I would really, really like this puppy.

When Giovanni came home, I reminded him about that story, and told him that someone was offering this puppy and showed him the email. I didn't tell Giovanni, that I prayed about it, because I didn't want to add unnecessary guilt. His initial reaction was that he couldn't believe it. But he said, "Yes, if it was free, and there were no other problems. Yes, when can we pick him up?" At this point I had not received a response about the puppy. Matter of fact it took 4 days to hear back from the puppy's owner. Someone had already taken the puppy but returned him the next day because it was just not the right fit for them. (I do know that Labrador puppies are a lot of work and they are a large breed. They require lots of attention and will eat anything.) This was great news for me, and so I admitted to my husband and children that I prayed to God for this dog, and what a miracle it was that He heard my prayers! This was a great opportunity to show my children that we can come to our Father, in prayer and love to ask Him for anything. We can pray that it be God's will, because I think that God would never give us something that would interfere with our salvation. If the puppy could not be ours, then that would be ok, because God knows what is and isn't good for us, even if it was a cute little puppy. 

And so he came to us. He was delivered that day, on a Sunday. If I was made to wait just one day, I would have not slept over the excitement that he was mine! Isn't he just adorable?!