A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS--AROUND THE HOUSE

So this morning I was working on laundry and was once again reminded of a couple of laundry products I love. That got me thinking of what other household products I use regularly and am thankful for, so I thought I'd share. Maybe you already love them or will want to give them a try. Let me know what you think! SHOUT Color Catcher

When I get behind on laundry, it is easy to come up with a full load of whites or a full load of darks or towels. The trick is when I'm a laundry hero and I don't have a full load of darks or whites. That is where these come in handy. They let me do a combination load that keeps me caught up and doesn't ruin anyone's clothes. FYI--I always do towels/rags separately. They tend to make clothes look worn faster and sometimes shed towel fibers onto clothes that are a nuisance at best, disastrous at worst. I actually ruined a sweater drying it with towels. These are found in the laundry aisle.

BOUNCE Dryer Bar

I've tried Bounce sheets, Downy Balls, and every other dryer sheet I could find, all trying to find something that would help with pesky static cling. For awhile my static cling was so bad that my pajamas would actually spark in the dark. This has been my solution! The dryer bar lasts for a long time (I got the four month bar) and has cut down our static cling to almost nothing.

Just a note: The little tape things on the back to attach it to the dryer didn't work. Since I often dry clothes at night, it was quite irritating to hear the whole bar and base flopping loudly around in my dryer. My solution was was to adhere the base to the dryer with adhesive velcro--one side on the dryer and one side on the base. Haven't had a problem since.

DAWN Direct Foam

I've never had good luck with dishwashers completely cleaning dishes unless I practically wash them first. This stuff is great. A sponge (that can then go through the dishwasher), one squirt of Dawn Direct and the whole load of dishes are cleaned and ready to be sanitized. Easy and it lasts a long time.

EASY-OFF Glass Cooktop Cleaner

My glass cooktop is pretty and high-tech looking, but I actually cook on it--a lot--so I was having problems keeping it looking clean and well, high-tech. This product is great. I spray it on. Let it sit a few minutes and then clean it up. Much better than soft scrub and tedious scrubbing!

SWIFFER Dust & Shine

I purchased this product to clean the leather furniture that we bought from the classifieds. It was desperately in need of a good scrubbing and this said it cleaned and conditioned leather. It worked great for that but then I noticed on the back that it says it works for granite as well. I tried it and I LOVE IT. It makes my granite countertops so shiny and beautiful, they're almost like mirrors.

DIRT DEVIL Hand Vacuum

I have a lot of carpeted stairs in my house--sixteen plus a landing going down and eighteen plus a landing going up. I use this on the stairs and it is so much easier than hauling around a big vacuum. (Even better is sending a 10 year old with the hand vacuum down the sixteen stairs and a twelve year old up the eighteen stairs. It makes for a perfect little chore for the kids.)

EUREKA BOSS Pet Fresh Vacuum

We like our dog (some more than others), but I don't think I could live without this vacuum. When we needed to get a new vacuum, we looked at consumer reports to find out which one handled pet hair the best and the best one in our price range was this (we could have gotten a better one for around $1000.00. Can't do that!) It works great, is easy to dump out the dust and the filter can actually be sprayed off in the sink and dried making it cheap to operate.

So these are a few of my favorite household products. If you have any great suggestions, let me know! Happy cleaning!

BUILDING, BAKING & FLOWERS

So my window looks pretty and springy, even if there is snow on the ground outside.

Joe and some of his friends enjoy birthday cake.

Veronica and Savannah making strawberry freezer jam. They enjoyed an afternoon of baking, making two kinds of muffins, fudge filled squares and freezer jam. It was kinda nice to stay home over spring break. We planted a garden, visited grandparents and cousins, baked, and relaxed.

Joe built a roller coaster and another amusement park ride with his Knex that he got for his birthday. He does a great job of building and really focuses.

Bruce and Travis worked during the spring break. Bruce was happy to get lots of hours in. We're glad he likes his job.

I got really sick the last couple of days of spring break. Travis and I were supposed to speak in church on Sunday and by Friday night I had NO voice. I got a blessing and was able to speak, but went home miserable after sacrament meeting and yesterday found out I have a sinus infection and ear infection--and again, very little voice.

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. unable to swallow or sleep, so I went downstairs, planned May's Webelos, filled out the 2010 census for our family and got pictures ready to blog. I'm really tired.

The kids weren't very excited to go back to school, but thankfully its almost over. We're really looking forward to summer.

Easter, General Conference & My Conference Weekend Project

As happens on occasion, General Conference weekend was also Easter. I figured there would be some amazing talks centered on the Savior and the resurrection and I wasn't disappointed. The testimonies were powerful, the music was beautiful and it was a perfect way to commemorate the most important event in the history of the world. I also loved the messages to mothers and parents.

One thing I love about conference weekend is that I can listen to the talks while accomplishing something. Sometimes it is handiwork, sometimes a scrapping project, sometimes it is just coloring with the kids.

This conference, I decided I was going to tackle one of my organizing projects for the year--twenty years worth of family pictures as well as two missions worth of pictures and an album of wedding cake photos. So from two fruit boxes of loose photos, as well as some old, falling-apart photo albums, I started. I spent about eight hours on Saturday and about seven hours on Sunday. This is my finished project. I now have eleven albums, one photo box of loose photos and one photo box of negatives.

Shows, Rockets, Haircuts & More

It has been a busy few weeks. With the end of school came the end-of-school programs and activities. We had a great time attending so many fun things. I managed to get pictures of many of them.

The Xavier Spring Showcase was excellent. Each of the grades shared things they had learned. Joe's class tap-danced and sang a song. Savannah's class did the waltz and a song. Veronica was in a group that did a medley of songs from Le Mis. They made costumes and everything. It was fabulous. It is hard for me to describe the feelings I felt during the show. I love this school and the wide variety of things our younger kids are getting to learn and participate in. It was a great show!
I wish I had a better picture. This was during "At the End of the Day." The kids were bedraggled and bitter because of the hardness of their lives. Their body language and expressions showed that. Veronica did such a great job.
Here is Savannah's waltz. The kids moved all over the stage. It was really neat.
Savannah at the end of their song "Idaho."
This is Joe after singing "America the Beautiful" and performing a tap number to "Eensy Weensy Spider."
You can see their tap shoes in this one.
There were about a dozen kids invited to perform at a Broadway Showcase with a high school group. Savannah was able to do that. They performed three nights in a row. The songs she participated in were "Do Re Mi," "Getting to Know You," and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." On the first two songs, their teacher performed with them. She's great. She is the same teacher that Veronica has for piano three days a week.

Mrs. Kokx has asked Veronica if she'd like to be the accompanist for the show choir next year. Veronica is nervous, but I think she's going to do part of it. That will be so good for her.
This is during "Getting to Know You." Savannah is in the middle.


The 8th grade read several of the classics this year. One of the books they read was "Pride and Prejudice," so at the end of the year, the 8th grade had a Pride and Prejudice Ball. It included a wonderful banquet with food that was appropriate--Veronica's contribution was a bread pudding dish. They played parlor games and danced the waltz. The teachers had decorated it beautifully and it was a really neat evening.
Here is Veronica with her friend Andee and her favorite teacher, Mrs. Corpron.
Veronica dressed up and we did her hair. It took much more than an hour to get all these little curls in it. Her hair is so thick.
But look at the end result. It looked so pretty.

Bruce cut Joseph's hair to match his own. He did a great job. I'm in favor of other people doing haircuts.

Joe looks pretty cute!
On Memorial Day, we spent several hours cleaning out the garage in preparation for a garage sale. During the clean-out, we found a rocket that Travis had purchased at NPS several years ago. Bruce spent a couple of hours getting it all put together and ready to go. We took the kids over to the big soccer field across the street and shot it off.

Here is Bruce preparing the rocket for take-off. The information said it could go up to 600 feet. Yea, right, we thought.
Everyone played on the playground equipment while Bruce prepared the rocket for launch.

Finally, it was ready for take-off.

This is the sky where the rocket was launched. It went so high we could no longer see it. We caught sight of it on its descent, but it was traveling quite a ways from where we were. The kids ran after it, but couldn't get there. A group of kids on bikes a block away stopped to watch it come down. We asked them if they saw where it went and they pointed to a row of houses another block away. We never found the rocket, but the area where it came down was at least three football fields away from where it was launched. RIDICULOUS! After about 1/2 hour of looking for the rocket, it was getting too dark, so we gave up.
At the ward auction to raise money for girls camp and scout camp, I donated a birthday cake. It fetched $55 and then I was told it was for a lady's 90th birthday. This is what I made. I thought it turned out really pretty.
Bruce donated high five's for a year. That was purchased for $25.00 by an older couple in our ward. He hasn't missed a week. When we go on vacation, he has found a substitute for the high five assignment. Veronica donated 2 dozen cookies a month for six months.

This takes in our last few weeks. Now that summer is here, I'm sure it will slow down. Maybe.

Surgery and Beyond

Dad and Mom arrived on February 19 to spend a few days helping me as I went in for surgery on February 20. Travis took me to the hospital early in the morning and Dad and Mom spent the next three days shuttling kids to school, preparing lunches, visiting me at the hospital, attending to me at home, helping kids with homework, helping feed the family and more. I am so appreciative of the help I had. Dad and Mom went home on Saturday to attend to some pre-planned events, then drove back on Sunday afternoon to continue the above-routine for four more days. Travis had to go out of town for two of those days, so I really don't know what I'd have done without them.
My pantry didn't look this good, even when I first moved in. I came downstairs one morning (after being allowed to sleep late) and Dad and Mom were cleaning and organizing my pantry. They cleaned bathrooms, the laundry room, the refrigerator, and the entertainment/office portion of the family room.
Here is my beautifully clean laundry room. They did so much to help us. I was so sad and a little overwhelmed when they left (okay a lot overwhelmed). I know they're busy and I feel so grateful that even though I'm long past the years that they should have to be taking care of me, they were willing and went above and beyond. Thanks Dad and Mom. From all of us at the White House. We sure do love you both.
Here are the beautiful flowers and cards brought to me by Travis, my family, Dad and Mom, my in-laws, some of my young women. The cute pillow was sent to me by Kara along with the cute hand-made card in front. It went to the hospital with me. Thanks to everyone for your calls, prayers and concern. I love you all!

Company--Wii Guitar--Candy, What a Great Combination!

We sure enjoy having company come visit, and this last few days was great. Robert, Teresa, Zach, Leslie and Aaron, Jr. came for a few days visit and to handle some business. The business was taken care of and we still had plenty of time for visiting, crafts, boggle, television (Amazing Race finale--woo hoo!), good food, Wii and more. The kids and adults alike, competed on Guitar Hero. It was pretty fun and Zach put on a Hero Guitar clinic.

Robert and Teresa stayed at a hotel, as they had promised Zach a hotel and swimming for his birthday, but we still had lots of fun together. Leslie and Aaron stayed with us, which provided the opportunity for Leslie and me to finish Season One of the closer (we started it when she came in December).

Joe and Zach
Leslie and Rob compete.
Look at that concentration!
A little husband/wife competition is healthy, don't you think?

Veronica and Savannah during crafts.
Aaron was cute and sweet and after our grocery visit Monday morning, he had a bag of 'ish with him most of the time.
Robert and Teresa demonstrating by their expressions how much fun it is to come visit Idaho (and us, of course).
Here are the products of our crafting. Fun candy gifts for friends.

Thanks for coming to visit. It was fun and we hope you'll come again soon!