Jackson's 4th Birthday Questionare

Posting this a little late, but better late than never. J Last year I decided to start asking Jackson questions on his birthday every year to record his interests and just watch how he grows. Here is the post from last year if you want to read it.

Questions for 4 year old Jackson:

 

        1)     What is your favorite color? Orange

2)      What is your favorite toy? Trains (he had a train-themed birthday party)
 

3)      What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

 

4)      What is your favorite vegetable? Salad
 

5)      What is your favorite drink? Milk

 

6)      What is your favorite movie? Toy Story

 

7)      What is your favorite animal? Horse

 

8)      What is your favorite song? Veggie tales song

 

9)      What is your favorite book? Veggie Tales
 

10)   What is your favorite snack? Popcorn

 

11)   What is your favorite game? First he said "organic", when I inquired further he said "baseball game"
 

12)   What is your favorite thing to do outside? Pedal and roll on the bike
 

13)   What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Chicken pot pie (and that's what we had)
 

14)   What is your favorite restaurant? Sweet Frog

 

15)   What is your favorite thing to wear? Dinosaur shirt
 

16)   Who is your favorite person? Daddy

 

At this point he started getting silly. :)

17)   What is your favorite thing about yourself? That I'm sleepy.
 

18)   What do you like to pray about? About ducks.
 

19)   What is God teaching you right now? Grandpa
 

20)   What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be five.

 

Scrubbing Floors the Clean Way

Today I am going to go in a slightly different direction than my (not so) usual posts and share some practical information.

We have been trying to eat and live healthier. We are gradually getting away from processed foods and turning to cleaner foods. It is a long journey but we are making progress. In the past few months I have also been revamping how we clean. I don’t really like the idea of my kids breathing in toxic fumes or crawling on floors that have chemicals on them.

My most recent venture was in scrubbing (on my hands and knees, thank you very much) the kitchen floor. I found this blog via Pinterest last week and decided to try out her recipe. It is:

1 gallon of hot water

1 cup of white vinegar

1 tablespoon dish detergent

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

The solution, I thought, worked really well. I did have to change the water about 3 times and still have about a third of the floor left to do (my floors are nasty). The hubby was gracious enough to take the kids to the grocery store and get our weekly shopping done while I scrubbed away. The solitude was lovely and took the sting away from the task at hand.

 

One thing I want to rant about mention is how awful linoleum floors are. If you are redoing your floors or building a house, never use linoleum. For one thing, I’m pretty sure it’s outdated; there are so many options out there that are far superior, and another thing it is a pain the behind to clean. Linoleum is kind of soft. I have dropped a knife before and it stuck in the floor. So when your floors are constantly being walked on and babies are throwing food on the floor and children are spilling milk (to name a few), then you have really nasty floors. And the softness of the floor just holds that dirt and grime in there. It is not impossible to clean, but nearly. And there are some spots that I just cannot get clean no matter how hard I scrub… the floor has like absorbed the dirt. (Yeah, I used the word “like” improperly. So like sue me) Anyways, if we ever remodel our kitchen (pretty please?) then I will definitely be putting in some good solid tile. End rant.

 

So after cleaning, now I can rest comfortably knowing that my kids can eat food off the floor or crawl around on it and not have to worry about harsh chemicals being ingested through their mouths or pores. J

 

Before I leave you, another solution that I LOVE is for cleaning the bathtub. I’m pretty sure I saw this one on Pinterest too. You take 1 cup of really hot white vinegar (I just heat it in the microwave for a couple of minutes) and 1 cup of dish detergent (I use blue Dawn) and soak your bathtub, the walls, the faucets, everything. The vinegar will get in your nose and it stinks horribly so I usually close the door and turn the fan on. I leave it for about 2 hours to soak. Come back and just wipe with a sponge and rinse. My shower has never been cleaner (ahem, when I do this regularly). And once again I don’t have to worry about those darn chemicals.

 

Thanks for reading.

Until next time. Your sporadic blogging friend,

Kelly

Happy Valentine's Day! 50 Reasons I Love and Appreciate My Husband

I love my husband dearly and this post is dedicated to bragging on him and just sharing with the world my great affection for him.

50 reasons why I love and appreciate you:

1)      You listen to me.

2)      You have a sincere love for God and desire to know him more.

3)      You wrestle with Jackson every night.

4)      You let me sleep in whenever possible.

5)      You support me when I want to have a lazy day (without judgment).

6)      You are the most patient man I know.

7)      You love to learn.

8)      You love to teach others the things you have learned.

9)      You work hard to make me feel loved.

10)   You make me feel beautiful.

11)   I love how after reading to Jackson you pray about whatever he wants, even if it is “Elmo learning how to flush the potty.”

12)   You have made me and our children the top priority in your life.

13)   I can ask you a dumb question without feeling dumb.

14)   You never expect me to do anything, but you appreciate when I do things for you.

15)   You spoil me.

16)   You are a great provider.

17)   You work hard so that I can stay at home with our children and have never once complained about the financial sacrifice.

18)   You romance me.

19)   You support me in all my crunchy behaviors-however short or long-lived they may be.

20)   You give me lots of hugs and kisses every day.

21)   You make me laugh.

22)   You always go shopping with me.

23)   You get up in the middle of the night with our kids when they are sad or scared.

24)   You have the most beautiful brown eyes.

25)   You are very handsome.

26)   You let me put my cold feet on you in bed.

27)   You’re my best friend.

28)   You love teaching Jackson new things.

29)   You kill bugs. (You even drove  home from work one day to kill a giant spider for me)

30)   You open doors for me.

31)   You always change the radio to my stations as soon as we get in the car.

32)   You have a great sense of responsibility.

33)   I can trust you.

34)   You are willing to help friends in need at a moment’s notice.

35)   You make me feel safe.

36)   You are kind.

37)   You are a great cook and always willing to make/help with dinner.

38)   You are generous.

39)   You are content.

40)   You treat me with gentleness.

41)   You remember the kind of chocolate I like.

42)   You have never had a thought about the future that did not include me.

43)   You encourage me.

44)   You let me have the remote whenever we watch TV and never complain about my choices.

45)   Your confidence in me, inspires me

46)   You are thoughtful.

47)   You value my opinion.

48)   You would sacrifice anything for your family.

49)   You love me just as much as I love you.

50)   You argue with me that you love me more. J