Archive for the 'Household' Category
Sophie’s 6th birthday
the mom song
“The Mom Song”
Get up now
Get up now
Get up out of bed
Wash your face
Brush your teeth
Comb your sleepyhead
Here’s your clothes and your shoes
Hear the words I said
Get up now! Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you wearing that?
Where’s your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat
Don’t forget! You gotta feed the cat
Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it’s the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today
Don’t forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play
Don’t shovel
Chew slowly
But hurry
The bus is here
Be careful
Come back here
Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside, don’t play rough, will you just play fair?
Be polite, make a friend, don’t forget to share
Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare
Get along! Don’t make me come down there
Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away
Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay?
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone! Get off the phone!
Don’t sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table
No more computer time tonight!
Your iPod’s my iPod if you don’t listen up
Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you’re coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You’ll appreciate my wisdom someday when you’re older and you’re grown
Can’t wait till you have a couple little children of your own
You’ll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate
Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate
Use your fork, do not burp or I’ll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A, get the door, don’t get smart with me
Get a grip, get in here, I’ll count to three
Get a job, get a life, get a PHD
Get a dose of,
“I don’t care who started it!
You’re grounded until you’re 36″
Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven’s sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too?
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said at least a thousand times before
That you’re too old to act this way
It must be your father’s DNA
Look at me when I am talking
Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything and everything must be in place
Stop crying or I’ll give you something real to cry about
Oh!
Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on
Get in bed, get a hug, say a prayer with mom
Don’t forget, I love you
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom’s work never ends
You don’t need the reason why
Because, because, because, because
I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so
I’m the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!!
Ta da!!!
Thanksgiving
homemade centerpiece
where is the fork?
10kg turkey
after food...
Maggie, Bob & Kathleen Balassi
David, Nick, Maggie
cookie time
let's eat it!!!
what happend to the gingerbread man's head?
Kevin’s birthday
He turned 9. He’s cool.
It was an Indiana Jones birthday party, but very low key. Just running around with vests, ropes and hats… lots of hot-dogs and ice cream.
Pictures from iPhone, our camera still broken…
Cake without frosting, but with motorcycles.
birthday and gas
No. These two are not connected, although could be…
We were invited to a surprise birthday party, for our friend, Kari. We dressed up (which is a rare occasion unfortunately) and we went to enjoy the evening.
I wanted to do something fun for the entrance of the birthday girl (like throw her up in the air 30 times), but the majority of Americans there looked at me like I came from the moon or from another country. “Surprise!!!!” was IT. Maybe next year…. The party was great. The food was good. The live (!!!) music was special. I think I ate half of the whipped cream for the strawberries.
We headed home.
Right after crossing the entrance, we smelled some kind of gas… Called the gas-special-guy.with the yellow gadget who after surveying the whole in- and out- decided that we will live and we should just open the windows wide for the whole night. We finally got inside at about 11:30 or so and went to sleep. It was cold. Our bunny survived the gas and the cold.
apples in our yard
Check how much your work is worth.
| Earnings Statement | Our Family |
||
| For The year Ending: August, 2008 |
|||
| Job Title |
Hourly Rate |
Hours Worked |
|
| Housekeeper |
$9.20 |
1,040 |
|
| Day Care Center Teacher |
$12.57 |
1,040 |
|
| Cook |
$12.76 |
936 |
|
| Computer Operator |
$14.69 |
520 |
|
| Laundry Machine Operator |
$9.44 |
208 |
|
| Janitor |
$9.68 |
364 |
|
| Facilities Manager |
$32.99 |
260 |
|
| Chief Executive Officer |
$64.74 |
208 |
|
| Van Driver |
$15.17 |
416 |
|
| Psychologist |
$34.77 |
364 |
|
|
|
|
Total Value |
| Regular Hourly Rate |
$16.56 |
2,080 |
$34,453 |
| Over Time Rate |
$24.85 |
3,276 |
$81,396 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
$125,622 |
| Source: mom.Salary.com |
|||
schedule change
My American husband has a schedule change. We had not have a free Saturday for over a year, so I am very greatful for this change. That means, I can go to the prayer room in the morning. I’m not a morning person… but…it works better for all of us, so here I come – 6am sets!!! ( I wonder how long will I last…)
I am looking into the next homeschooling schedule and I think we will be able to pull it off much better than the last year. Since he will have late afternoons, evenings and some nights busy at IHOP, he can spend more time with the kids, even help me with the homeschooling, and we have one day totally free for the “family day”. That also means, 5 evenings a week he will not be home… well, no schedule is perfect.
decluttering
photo by Anke
Lots of people over the weekend, from Ukraine, St.Louis and Houston. Lots of fun for the kids.
I am trying to declutter homeschooling stuff. Wish me luck. Amazing how much one student can accumulate. There is a law in MO, that we have to keep their “portfolios” form all the years, until they are 16, I guess. I can’t imagine how much is that gonna be over 11 years of homeschooling for each child. For now I have one big box (that’s Teah’s 5 years and Kevin’s 3 years of homeschooling career).
I am already done with the clothes. I think I had about 2 huge black garbage bags to give away. And…I did give them away, they are not sitting in my garage!
After that I will target every bedroom and hopefully every other possible place, except garage (too hot and humid) I hate clutter. This is FlyLady advice about decluttering. She says, do 1 h every day, but I can’t. I throw all the “junk” in the middle and then go through it systematically, until I can’t look at it anymore. Then I have a tea.
I wanted to do it since last year, and if I don’t start now, I will never finish before the new homeschooling year comes. I will see if I have guts to do a garage sale.
wife hunt
I have a friend who is looking for a companion in his life. Here is what I found about biblical wife-hunting:
Finding a Wife
The Top 15 Biblical Ways to Acquire a Wife
Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours.
– Deuterononmy (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)
Find a prostitute and marry her.
– Hosea (Hosea 1:1-3)
Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock.
– Moses (Exodus 2:16-21)
Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal.
– Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)
Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife.
– Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)
Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you a rib.
– Adam (Genesis 2:19-24)
Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman’s hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That’s right. Fourteen years of toil for a woman.
– Jacob (Genesis 29:15-30)
Cut off 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife.
– David (I Samuel 18:27)
Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone. (It’s all relative of course.)
– Cain (Genesis 4:16-17)
Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest.
– Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)
When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, “I have seen a …woman; now get her for me.” If your parents question your decision, simply say, “Get her for me. She’s the one for me.”
– Samson (Judges 14:1-3)
Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though).
– David (2 Samuel 11)
Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law).
– Onan and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)
Don’t be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity.
– Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)
A wife?…NOT!!!
– Paul (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)
taken from here
5 year old
Teah and Kevin are at the Signs and Wonders camp (click the banner to read), which means Mon-Fri: quiet house. Right? Not, when you have 5 year old!!! I thought I would have time to attack some of the parts of the household, which are neglected an no one even knows what grows there any more, but… 5 year old needs to be entertained. So after reading 120 books, playing 38 board games, helping me with the cooking and cleaning, having some friends over, watching all of the movies we own, it’s Friday and the older kids are coming home to reunite with the lonely 5 year old Sophie.
Next year, please do the camp for 6 year old available too.
14 years
today is our wedding anniversary.
When we were getting married, I though that for 10th anniversary we would go to Hawaii, for 2 weeks or so. By then, I though, we would be “established” (whatever that means).
Well, here we are, after 14 years, living in 3 continents and 5 countries, having the 3 awesomest (I made up this word, neologism=making new words) kids, we celebrated with an ice cream from McDonalds. I will go to Hawaii for my 25th.
photo by Um Ibrahim
weekend
Friday: friends from St. Louis with their kids arrived for 3 nights: 3 adults, 5 kids. The kids played, loud. The adults talked, long. Someone spotted 2 snap turtles in our ditch. My American husband was trying to catch one for all to admire, but the turtle was smarter.
Saturday: More play, more talking. No hot water, and 5 adults+8 kids trying to get ready for the wedding. Some bravely took cold showers, some splashed in a tub filled with 3 in of warmed up water. We were not even late for the wedding. Panke was getting married to Rachel. Miracles happen. For Nate, that is.
Sunday: church ( Lou Engle on fasting ), grill with more friends (2+2), worship set at IHOP, packing kids bags for the camp. Couldn’t find flashlight and Kevin’s Bible. Evening visit with more friends (1+2). Kids go nuts.
Monday: Sophie off to another VBS. Lunch. Teah and Kevin and the other kids off to the camp. They tell me one million times to take care of the bunnies, while they are gone. Took Sophie to the library, came home at about 2pm and took a nap. American husband took Sophie to Chucky Cheese. Then I finished “Escape”. It’s so quite. Amazing.
Blind, deaf and without teeth
The kids found this wondering dog in our street. It looked so pitiful. Sophie was taking care of it and begging me to keep it. It was obvious the dog couldn’t see. The kids gave it some food and water, held it and tried to brush his hair. Our living room changed into an animal hostel.
After 2h My American husband took the dog with the kids to the animal shelter, where they said, the dog was blind, deaf, had no teeth and was probably 15 years old. We left it there. 
Polish pancakes
Teah’s demonstration for the 4-H club was Polish pancakes.
Ingredients:
1-2 eggs
4 cups of milk
3 2/3 cups of flour (part of it can be whole wheat)
dash of salt
2 tbsp. of sugar
2 peeled, sliced tart apples
2 sliced bananas
possible other fruits to add: frozen or fresh blueberries, peaches, walnuts, pecans
coconut or canola oil to fry with
Mix all the ingredients in the given order, pour on the frying pan forming pancakes, fry until light golden color, serve with: powdered sugar, maple syrup, fresh strawberries, mint leaves, chocolate syrup, whipped cream or whatever you like…
Everyone had seconds.
sites I found
who said what about it