The New Chore List!

Moving to a new house means a new Chore List!! Also, since this house is substantially smaller than our last, we have to stay a little more on top of things.

I can't lie, we are all pretty excited about chores. Yes, we are crazy.

I have always had a strange philosophy about chores. I believe that chores are a privilege. You still have to do them, whether you want to or not, but they are a privilege. We call our chores our "home blessings" and the kids get to take ownership of our home by blessing it with well completed chores.

There are the daily expectations that are not considered chores. Making your bed every morning, picking up your room before bed and general picking up after yourself. We try to encourage this as soon as they can walk, make it a habit and constantly praise them for a job well done.

The kids know whats going on, they realize that I am glorifying dog poop duty, but it still works. When kids complete even the simplest of chore we make sure that they know that they have just done a service for our family and home. Part of their membership to our home is completing their assigned task, joyful and timely.

I can admit that there are days that I am not honestly in the mood to be the chore cheer leader, and I joyfully hand this task off to another family member. Giving the kids the opportunity to cheer each other on has turned out to be a valuable training tool. I can see the kids reacting positively to each other and using encouraging words in other parts of their lives. It's a wonderful feeling to see the hard work in training come to life...

The August Chore List:

• Daily
• Kitchen .................. Mason 
• Sweep/mop .......... Chase
• Vacuum ................. Gabby
• Dust ........................ Abby
• Dogs Needs .......... Chase
• Cats Needs ........... Mason
• Bathroom .............. Gabby
• Weekly
• Windows ........................... Gabby
• Sanitize Door Knobs ...... Abby
• Baseboards ....................... Tanner

The chores are split between the kiddos depending on age, in my house you must be at least 8/9 to be allowed to clean the kitchen and you must be little to clean baseboards. Each kiddo receives their assigned chore and must complete that chore every day/week for that entire month.

My kids seem to appreciate that they can truly own that chore for the month. The kitchen person has a much larger job, but the vacuum and sweep/mop person has to keep track of their floor. If there is a muddy mess the person responsible for that space must make sure that their chore is complete before bed time.

When the switch happens and one kiddo has to hand their chore over to the next kiddo, there is always a sense of passing the torch with pride.

We haven't actually moved yet, but the kids already know what their next months chores are and they cannot wait to bless our new home!

How to move like a BOSS!

Moving is never really fun. Moving isn't even fun for someone who likes things done in an orderly fashion. Even if you are making the best move of your life. Moving is HARD.

Over the past 13 years of my married life I have moved 9 times, and we are working on our 10th move! We truly thought the last move was going to be our last, but it looks like the 10th time is the charm! We are finally buying our forever home and to do things right the last time, I have put together a list of what I have learned about moving.

Mommy's Packing Buddy :)

What you will need to get started: a note-book, pen or pencil, a marker (or 5) and a little time to focus. When you start packing you will need boxes of all shapes and sizes, packing tape and maybe more markers :)

Make a list of every room and closet in your house: Seriously get out your handy-dandy note-book and make a list. For example: M's room, C's room boys bathroom, laundry room, hall closet, linen closet... etc. This list gives you a better idea of the number of places you need to focus on individually. Really break it down so you can check rooms off your list and feel triumphant! Yes, before you ask, I am absolutely one of those people who writes things on my to do list that I have already completed, just so I can cross them off. :)

Rewrite or number your list in the order of rooms that can be completely packed first: The idea is, if you can wrap each room one at a time, you can close that door and not reenter that room until you are on your final walk through. This is especially helpful if you are still living in the home. When I start actually packing boxes I will start with my craft room, then the upstairs bathroom, then the media room up stairs, and so on. If I have time I will purge a little, toss trash or donate/sell items that someone else can use. Once packed, clean windows and sills, then vacuum. Shut that door and no one is allowed in that area from this point forward.

Clear out a space for your packed and ready boxes: One of the most helpful things I have ever done when packing is having a spot to stack the sealed boxes. The garage is a good place, if that's not an option, a corner of the house some where, maybe even the first room packed on your list. Moving the boxes out of the way and clearing your space gives you a better idea of whats left. It also helps you to see the progress so far. Nothing helps me stay inspired or encouraged more than having visual confirmation of my hard work.

After you have a plan in place start collecting boxes: You will need all kinds of boxes. Different sizes, thicknesses and levels of sturdiness. Start with the room you can completely pack first and clearly label your boxes with your marker!

Stay motivated and stick to your plan: Your plan is there to help you not only pack up quickly and efficiently, but to make the moving process and unpacking easier as well. If you pack, seal and label boxes as you go, when your friends help you unload the truck, they will know what room to stack your boxes in. If all the "craft room" boxes are in the craft room, unpacking will be a breeze!

No matter the number of times you have moved, packing is HARD. You always start out with good intentions and end up scrambling around trying to make sure you get everything you missed.

I always pack the kitchen last, because I don't want to live like I'm camping in my house. Also, I always pack the glass plates or china last. Since I place all the boxes out in the garage, I don't want my beautiful wedding china on the bottom of the stack out in the garage to be broken. I will pack all of my super fragile stuff the very last day and place them in my car. I don't always have newspaper, but I always have towels! Packing breakables in towels is efficient and free!

Good luck on your adventures in moving!

A few helpful links:
Sharpie Markers!! (Best Markers Ever)

Moving Again... Wait.. What!?

Wow... I cannot believe that we have decided to move again! It seems as if we move about once a year! Never again! Yes, I have said that before, but it is different this time! We have finally found our tiny piece of heaven, one little acre of land. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe that we would be home owners again, much less the owners of a darling little house out in the country. We grew up in a place where houses were close together. You could very literally hear the neighbors using the restroom. Now we will have our own piece of land. One acre to raise our babies, with a new baby on the way, grow a garden and learn to be more sustainable/financially responsible at the same time.

Let me back up... A little over two years ago we were living in a house that was "fine." There was a huge fun basement, and a small upstairs. The yard was unfenced so we spent a majority of our time missing the kids and chasing the dogs through the neighborhood. I didn't hate that house, the neighbors were even wonderful, but it wasn't perfect for us.

So, like cereal movers do, we decided to keep our eyes open for something better. We prayed about it a lot. We happened across a friend of ours from church who was looking for someone to occupy their home while they were trying to buy another. The husbands got together and decided that the Wightman family belongs in their home. The rent was high but the house was AMAZING! The house had plenty of space to play, live and an amazing kitchen. The plan was to live there until we can buy it. It was truly what we thought we had always wanted and we do not have a single complaint.

After several months of living in our dream house we started the process of trying to buy it. Our dreams were dashed when we were told that, because of our past bankruptcy, we could not qualify for the cost of this home. We tried any number of ways to get a loan to buy it. Nothing. We lost many nights of sleep devastated. We came to realize that even though our heart was in this house, we could not settle here.

We wanted to OWN a house. It was hard knowing that our heart break was made of our own choices. The financial irresponsibility of our youth robbed us of our dream. The hard work we have done over the past five years had repaired our credit, but that wasn't enough. God is funny. He knows that the only way we will learn a lesson is if a lesson violently knocks us off our feet.

I get it now. We need to stop reaching, stop living above or means and stop trying to have the best of everything. We need to start appreciating what we have, knowing that God and family are enough and start truly living out our dreams in real time.

It took only one week. We finally understood what God was asking us to do. We made an offer on the perfect little house, they accepted and we found out that we were expecting baby number 6. Wow.

May the escrow begin!!