Missy I had 4 kids in three years and keeping house was quite a challenge I am handicapped.My Mr wonderful would see thatI had help if I needed. He doesn't mind picking up a broom.The one thing that helped me is after lunch I scheduled quiet time. and put the kids down for a nap and/or quiet activities.( yeah right) but, once I scheduled that time. It gave me time to do a tidy up on the house.If the kids are too old to take a nap they are old enough to help. It might also help to have a teenager come in and help in the afternoon a couple days a week.If money is too tight for that, Just do what you can and don't stress it.Stress adds to health problems.Tell hubby to take a day off so you can go to doctor.Tell Hubby that when you have kids there is no such thing as mens work and wemens work. It is a team effort and is is his job to back you up when you need help.ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE SICK.
Skippy, I have that "quiet time", too. When my kids became too old to nap, it became their "Silent Reading" time. Phillip, who is still essentially a pre-reader, will look at books or listen to a book on tape. (He just finished a 9-CD set of one of the Redwall books). They are all in their rooms for a half-hour, with the timer set. And they don't dare ask, "Has it gone off yet...?" When they started doing that, I told them that I would TELL them when it was time, and if they bugged me about it, I'd add an additional 10 minutes when it DID go off!!!
I'm glad I'm not the only one!!! I will never make Tanner make his bed either every day, unless he has company when he's older then I would want him to make it. I straighten ours up, but I dont "make" it. I'll straighten the sheets and covers up a little tiny bit and straighten them out again before I go to sleep, but that's the extent of it! I just keep our door closed when we have company then. Everything else about my house is extremely neat and tidy so I need one thing to let go.
Jen, I'm just the opposite!!! My bed is neat and made, the rest of the house ISN'T, LOL! Partly because the bed takes so little time to do, and the rest of the house seems to take FOREVER!
I usually use Fridays for my cleaning day. After the kids wake from nap, they play and I clean. Sometimes they like to help too so I give them each a swiffer grab-it cloth and they dust with me. It takes me about 1 1/2 hours to clean my house...without including the bathtub or toilet. I use clorox wipes for the bathroom, which helps with time, and since I do it on Friday I like not having to worry about it on the weekends. I also reserve one day for my laundry day...usually Thursdays when I only have 4 kids in the morning. I don't like doing sparatic cleaning throughout the week, I'd rather reserve one day for cleaning where I dust, thouroughly vaccum, wash some windows and mirrors, clean the bathroom and disinfect things, mop/sweep, and swiffer the hardwood floors. Oh, I also got one of those Dirt Devil Vaccums for bare floor surfaces ($28 at Walmart) and it is WELL worth it! I HATE sweeping...it makes the job way much easier! I highly recommend it!
Jen, I'm surprised you can do non-preschool things with the kids during your workday. I guess I forget you aren't a center, you are in-home. Girl, I'd assemble them like a little army and let them pick up, dust, and whatever else is easy for them.
Jen (or anyone else), What would you do with brothers that are 2 and 3? We have them once a week, all day until 7:30 p.m., and it's been cold and rainy outside. I'm not used to little ones anymore, but their mom is doing a ski thing with the local Christian school once a week for 5 weeks and asked me to watch them. I told her I would, cuz I think it's great for her to get a break like this! My boys go skiing too, so my dd is left to help me. We had the boys last Thursday and were exhausted by the time the mom came to pick them up! They don't really take naps either. The 3-yo is a special needs boy. They're very busy and the 2-yo is cute as a button but quite whiney! Any ideas?
Here's my opinion about bed making. It is a must. Does that mean my bed is made every single day? Not hardly! I think it gets made about 60% of the time. The reason I think it should be made is that when the sheets are not tucked in and the covers pulled up then dust and bugs can get in there. I know they are there sometimes anyway but I can't see adding to the dust mites. I have had a few spiders get in my bed before! Creepy! I have also been biten by a disgusting looking centipede thing. I freaked out. I don't know how that thing got in the bed. Our bed is a high four poster bed that sits way off the floor but pretty close up against the wall. We now have wonderful ladybugs invading our home so they get on the bed too. So, I think it's best to make the bed not to mention the fact that my room looks 100% better if it is made.
Missy, many moons ago my family moved to a farmhouse. My mom swears a MOUSE ran over her feet one night after we moved in!
Missy, I often fold my sheets down for the reason you pull yours up. My dh says that with light and air on the bed the dust mites don't grow, they like dark and warm. I get itchy easily, and since I've folded the sheets down instead of pulling them up, it's seemed like it's better. However, I don't have ladybugs or centipedes, so that's another story!
Three things... #1: how often do you guys change your sheets? We do ours weekly. I can understand about the dust mites, but in my eyes, having the sheets pulled up doesn't keep them from getting there. They will all find a way no matter what. PLUS, one of my daycare kids sleeps in my bed during nap and I don't want her to have an accident sometime on our comforter, so I pull them way down to protect them from pee, which is even grosser. Dust mites exist no matter what, I can at least prevent my bed from being peed on. #2: Becky, I actually am very blessed with a bunch of kids that keep themselves busy pretty well. They all play together well, and if I see one just running around with nothing to play with, I hand them something to clean or tell them to find something to play with or they will get put to work or have to sit in the kitchen with a quiet toy if they start running around like crazy. Nobody wants to sit in the kitchen with a quiet toy so they all play pretty well in a nice manner. I usually do this stuff in-between our lesson stuff as well and the afternoon when it's their free play time. I'll put in one load in the morning, when it's finished I'll fold it and put it away after breakfast, and use any of their free play time as cleaning and organizing time. They also all nap for 2 hours or more which helps A LOT!!! #3: Deena, about the things you can do with the boys, if you have a special needs boy and a younger one who is 2, I would do lots of active things to keep them busy. You could also lay out a bunch of different items for them to glue, small motor activities, have paper and crayons readily available to them. Do they like to play games? You could play bingo, Chutes and Ladders, etc. You could make them a sensory bucket. We are putting fake expandable snow in ours this week.. Boys LOVE sensory experiences, especially special needs boys! You can put in dirt, water, sand, beans, rice, dried peas and corn, you name it...with some measuring cups and scoops to pour. Make homemade playdough or gak. Gak is mixing equal parts glue and shaving cream...it's very cool and easy to make. Even better, it doesn't make much of a mess like playdough does. Do cooking projects with them and let them pour. You can make edible playdough with peanut butter and honey that way if they eat it they wont get sick. Paint with jello and pudding. Hope this helps a little.
Hmm, I have never heard that about dust mites. Something to explore. I still think the bugs would get in more easily if the bed's unmade though. I change my sheets altleast once a week and try to make it twice. Did you hear how Caroline Kennedy had their sheets changed twice a day while her dh was President. That is just a waste of time in my opinion.
All this talk about dust mites does get me thinking about looking it up. Now I'm itchy!!! I would think it wouldn't matter just because they are microscopic. If tiny bugs can get under sheets, I would think dust mites could. Now I'm interested...I just may look it up...just to put my mind at ease you know. Still itchy.... Oh, that twice a day changing is a waste of time. Why on Earth would someone want that done?
Twice a day? You're not even in them twice a day! Maybe once when you get up, and once before you get back in so you get rid of most of the resident mites that have made their way into your bed sheets during the day? Hmmm... Did you mean Jackie Kennedy? Caroline was the daughter.
Mom and I use to fight when we went to hotels. She would make us make the bed there, even the day we left. It was only "proper". I told her that as soon as we left, the maids would be in to yank off all the sheets, so it was a total waste of time! (She finally saw the sense in what I was saying). I do know one woman who sprays beds in the hotel before she will even sit on them.
Hotels disgust me. I bring my own sheets and covers. Gross! Most hotels don't even wash their bedspreads or blankets everytime...only the sheets. Speaking of...Missy, I threw in my blankets and comforter in the washer today and changed my sheets again because the thoughts of dust mites were freaking me out.
My mom was always (and still is) awful to go on trips with because of her thing for cleanliness. She told many a hotel manager that there was no way she would stay in such a dirty hotel and she'd say it in front of potential customers. I'm not quite as bad but I hate hotels too. I don't go as far as bringing my own sheets but I don't use their quilts and comforters. I know they don't wash them every time for sure. YUCK! I can just imagine the crud on them. My dh thinks I am crazy. His family are not as clean as me I guess. I sat in bed last night also thinking of all the dust mites. I really want to get my bed plastic mattress covers. My ds has one for his and allergy free zip up pillow covers as well.
After all this dust mite talk, knowing me, I will probably pick up a plastic cover and pillow covers as well this weekend.
