A cleaning tip--showers

This is the most worthy blog post I've had in a while. I hope everyone finds this as informational and life changing as I did. It's about my shower. I have forever wondered how you get your shower to look brand new, sparkly clean. It's a constant battle with the soap scum (I can handle this), hard water spots (can't handle this) and mildew (what the huh?). I have finally done it. I've found the answer. Perhaps your shower is always in perfect condition because you diligently squeegie, rinse, squeegie every time and you really scrub weekly. I am not the lord of the shower (I'm not even a fly baby) and you would know that if you saw my shower. (Okay, it's not that gross, but . . .) At least, that used to be true. And then I found this. Instructions to get your shower super clean.
Basically, it goes like this:
1. scrub your shower as usual (do it while you're in the shower).
2. get white vinegar and lots of paper towels. Dunk the paper towels in the vinegar and lay them on the walls of your shower. They will stick. Leave them there for hours (or days if the problem is really bad). Just make sure they stay wet. The chemical reaction will continue to do the job the entire time.
3. Rinse the walls and glass. It should be pretty clean.
4. Get bleach and lots of paper towels. Dunk the paper towels in the bleach and press them into the corners or tile grout or wherever you have any mildew starting. Leave them there for hours or days or whatever you need.
5. Rinse and be amazed.

I left the paper towels on for about 6 hours and my shower was spotless. Perfectly clean. Love, love, love this new info. Am I the only one who didn't know this?

Emma the Awesome

This is just a little shout-out to my sweet Emma who performed very well at her school's spelling bee (again, this year). She wasn't sure she wanted to participate and was a little irritated that she qualified in the classroom round. . . again. She feels like she gets so nervous that there is no way she can win. But after talking through it, reconsidered and decided to give it a go. She did not win, but there were only 8 left when she got out. Fabulous, considering there were about 50 kids to begin with. She didn't study at all and is just a naturally good speller. My big girls are both good with all things English language. Good for you, Emma.

Snow Days

Just when I thought we were getting back into our school routine we got hit with about 3 inches of snow and schools and businesses shut down. Goofy, but to be fair, the weather here is weird and surprisingly dangerous. Just a small amount of snow can freeze to the roads and it's just like an ice-skating rink. Illinois was like that too, but they always had much more snow to go along with the temps, so the inclement weather delays seemed more justifiable. So, we're out for another 4 days and 5 for Emma. This is the longest Christmas break I've ever known.

Little Women

Maddie had a great idea a couple months ago to start a family book club (well, it's really just Maddie, Emma and me) and she created the book list from a list that she found at school. It's basically classics, which I thought was great, because there are many that I've never read. So, we started and I have just finished Little Women. I thought it started out slow, but I absolutely loved it by the end. There were so many times when I thought Louisa May Alcott's wording was just so simply clever. It made me kinda long for that distant time when people were more refined and romantic, courtesy and respect were commonplace, and prudence was always important. Of course, I probably loved it all the more because I couldn't help comparing the characters to my own set of little women. Ellie has been fascinated with the idea that there is a story about another family like ours and took to calling herself Amy for awhile.

There were many times when I wanted to frame a quote from the book, but this one just made me laugh every time I read it. (I really don't know why ;) )

"Amy's lecture did Laurie good, though, of course, he did not own it till long afterward; men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it, and, if it succceeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit; if it fails, they generously give her the whole."

A women who clearly sees life the same way I do will certainly write a very enjoyable book. I'm so glad I read it. Thanks Maddie.

Christmas collage

Christmas

Cousins, pajamas, presents under the tree, lots of excitement, cell phone, robes, blankets, Glee, Barbie style salon, Nintendo DS (finally), books, dresses, Christmas dinner made by the man :), happy to clean up, white Christmas just in time, new snow pants and gloves, art supplies for lots of drawing, our guest put in the new kitchen faucet :), treadmill for the extreme overeating, big beanbag chair, everyone happy, everyone getting along and helping each other! It's been a great Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Richard's mother and her husband and Richard's brother were able to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had a great time visiting with them. They were a big help in putting together our new grill and putting up our Christmas tree. Check out the cranberry bowl I made. It was fun and turned out really cool. It's just an ice bowl, but Ellie really wanted to do it.
We are so thankful for everything we have. We are truly blessed.