Knees to the earth

Beautiful Jesus, how may I bless Your heart? Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are.

Knees to the earth

Beautiful Jesus How may I bless Your heart? Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are. Beautiful Jesus You are my only worth. So let me embrace You always as I walk this earth. - Watermark

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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Works for me Wednesday (#6)

I realize it has been nearly a month since my last WFMW post - and that's simply because I don't have that much that "works for me" as I am a continual work in progress through many trial and error experiences.....Now if Shannon decides to host a "What does not work for me" blog carnival then I will have plenty of posts to participate.

Now that the sickness has pretty much left our home - we are all back in our massive declutter mode before we kick off our homeschool year full force.

My older children are responsible to keep their rooms clean, but I do not have the time to declutter the rooms for them. In a moment of what I will characterize as motherly ingenuity - I discovered a way to get them motivated to let go of that "favorite shirt" from 3 years ago; or the matchbox car with the missing wheel that was a treasured gift from grandma.

I pay them! *gasps* I pay them a dime for every donation they make to the give away pile up to $5 each. That comes out to 50 items removed from EACH of their rooms !!!! Count 'em ... 50 x 2 = 100 items out of my house!!! It is amazing the dramatic loss of value that shirt and matchbox car go through as it is tossed into the give away pile in the quest for the $5 ~~payoff~~ reward. So far we do this about twice a year, once before school starts and once before Christmas. They have yet to miss the $5 mark the past 2 years we've done this.

Not that they would not get rid of some things without the promise of payment, they really enjoy going through their things thinking of someone else that would enjoy being blessed with it, and have passed on things throughout the year. This method just increases the amount of things they will get rid of. They still have ample training in the pitfalls of a love of money, and they pay their tithe and learn many valuable lessons in money management.

My guess is that some may consider this bribery, but for now it works for me!

*Edited* - This year my older daughter's room is in a bigger need of decluttering than before, so I have lowered the amount from 10 cents an item, to a nickel an item ... she has to go for 100 items now to reach the full $5 goal.

Labels: Works for Me Wednesday

posted by Crystal @ 9:38 AM Read 7 comments / Post comments

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday (#5)

(45 min. till Thursday, but I made it!)

Baby sign language has been a recent topic on our May/June mommies message board and I can say it definitely works for us here. When 'K' was around 5 months we started signing the word "milk" by the time she was 7 months she would sign for milk back to us.

I was skeptical as to how much she'd actually learn at such a young age, but I have been pleasantly surprised. She mastered "eat, milk, & more" by 10 months.

When she's hungry and wants to nurse she will come to me and sign milk, while I also know that "mmmnummah" also means milk - and "aaaheeeeah" means eat - it is nice to have the reassurance of her signing.

Just last week she learned "up" and "down" and we are currently learning "bath" and "diaper change".

I came across a website that has free online video of signs. We use this site to show us the correct way to do each sign. It really doesn't take much time at all to implement signs. We simply watch the video and use the chosen sign whenever we use the word we are working on.

I have noticed that since she was 11 months she is picking up on more and more signs. She is able to tell us what she wants and we can understand her signs, even if we can't understand her baby talk.

Here is the website that "works for us": Baby Sign language (select the ASL for babies link)

- Crystal

List of other WFMW participants

Labels: Works for Me Wednesday

posted by Crystal @ 10:08 PM Read 2 comments / Post comments

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Works for me Wednesday (#4)

I'm a little late today. I haven't had much "free time" to blog. We are gearing up to start school again on Monday, and I still have a lot of new books to go through.

Here's my weak attempt at a WFMW post: I have been wondering all week what I would post for my tip and then it came to me this morning at the changing table. Don't laugh - I get some of my best ideas at the changing table (maybe it's because I seem to spend a lot of time there lately)

But on a shelf next to the changing table are 2 spray bottles.

The first is Dawn Power Dissolver. This is great if you are still dealing with "diaper blowouts" - I always had a hard time getting the stains out until a friend recommended using Dawn Power Dissolver. I keep a bottle near the changing table so as soon as I remove soiled clothes I can give them a quick spray. I tried this on clothes that had been washed/dried before but still had some discoloration and it made them look new again. This has removed many many stains that my other stain removers couldn't get out. (Great on onesies - you mommas know what I mean)

The other bottle I keep at the changing table is a little spray bottle with baking soda and water in it. At diaper change time I just spray a little on baby's bottom and use a wipe. The baking soda helps neutralize the ammonia and keeps diaper rash away. I discovered this when 'A' was little and none of my babies have had diaper rash since, and we don't have to use any creams.

For more WFMW posts - The list of other participants can be found here .

Labels: Works for Me Wednesday

posted by Crystal @ 3:30 PM Read 5 comments / Post comments

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday

This isn't something I created or came up with, rather it is something I found that we use in our household.

It is called "The Ultimate Kids Internet" or "TUKI" for short. It is an internet browser for kids.

In our house we have been blessed that we all have our own computers, (except for "K" of course). Having a husband that likes to build computers has made that possible.

The older 2 have a computer station set up in the school/rec. room which is attached to the office where the adults computers are.

Everything is right out in the open and I can check in freely. But in reality I can't stand over both shoulders constantly. I wanted something to block inappropriate sites for when I wan't right next to them.

I searched the internet for filters and kid friendly programs, and that is when I came across TUKI. We had unsuccessfully tried Net Nanny, her concept was great, but she had many failures....sites she was supposed to block would come through when I tested it...and I found it to be unreliable. The other programs were costly and their interfaces weren't always easy to follow.

TUKI is an internet browser and filter built into one, and it is completely parent controlled and FREE. It is so easy to use. There are different browser designs you can choose from there is "Noah's Net" geared more for the younger kids, there is a "sports themed browser" that my 10 year old son just loves, and my daughter (12) uses the ladybug themed browser.

With TUKI - you set up a list of sites your kids can visit. If you have more than one child the settings can be customized per child. There is also an animated character that pops up from time to time with tips and or reminders that you can set. EX: I set mine to remind my kids they must brush their teeth before getting on the computer, and "remember to do your chores" etc....

You have soo much flexibility and control over what is available on this program. Nothing takes the place of adult supervision but this helps tremendously.

If there is a website they come across that they want to visit and it isn't on the list an alternate page with a policeman figure comes up that tells them that site isn't on the approved list and they need to get a parent to approve the site.

There is a paid service which I have purchased because my daughter is approaching her teen years (4 more months!!!) and really wanted/needed email. Using TUKI 's paid service she can have email, but I set up a "buddy list" - that means that only email from the buddy list addresses will come through. It is just great! No spam and she can email her grandparents, and a few of her friends. She can also get her email notices from the local library, etc.

It works wonderfully for us!

(Disclaimer: I like this program so much I did join their affiliate program. If you want to bypass my links you can read about TUKI at childrenseducationalnetwork.com)

Labels: Works for Me Wednesday

posted by Crystal @ 11:29 AM Read 2 comments / Post comments

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday

Homemaking/housekeeping and organization do not come naturally to me. The genes that my mother was blessed with in that area skipped right over me. In an order to make up for some of the short comings in this gifting I have little tricks I have found and adopted to make things a little easier and orderly for myself and those that have to live with me.

That is where this tip that "works for me" comes from:

When I load the dishwasher I have each compartment of the silverware caddy assigned a specific piece of silverware. This layout coincides with how the silverware drawer is divided.

My caddy has 6 compartments. On the left side the 3 compartments are:

Plastics, serving spoons and baby spoons/silverware
Tablespoons and tall teaspoons
Regular spoons

On the right side the 3 compartments are:
Forks
Butter knives
Steak knives

Doing it this way makes it so easy to unload the caddy. Especially for the children. I also remove the caddy from the dishwasher to empty it - I found it much easier and back friendly to set the caddy on the counter top and empty each compartment into the matching drawer divider.

This may not be an original idea - I know it isn't - I read and adopted it from somewhere, but I have used this for years and it is one of my "OCD" (obsessive compulsive) tendencies. Yes, even a pack rat can have OCD tendencies.

So even though the idea isn't originally mine - it "Works for Me" and therefore earns a place in this category :)

For more ideas be sure to see the list of other participants posted on the Rocks in my dryer blog.

Labels: Works for Me Wednesday

posted by Crystal @ 4:45 PM Read 0 comments / Post comments

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