Quick Update

Leaving in 2 days, cleaning, packing.
Tomatoes have psyllis and pumpkins have squash bugs.
Baby's learning to crawl.
Big girl lost almost all of her mermaids and ponies.
Soccer dad is distressed over the dodgers.
Baby sits up all by herself.
Mommy is feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Booboo and Dodger finally have no fleas!
Soccer Dad is hiring an assistant.
Big girl loves swimming in her pool.
Fireworks tonight, Happy 4th!
Looking forward to family, friends, and camp.

My Shiny Porcelain Sink

My sink is finally clean, Hallelujah! I'm going to shout it from the rooftops! I've been searching for a way to get the stains out of my old porcelain sink since we bought this 50's ranch house, complete with the original 50's sink. It was once a beauty, but is well past it's prime, with a crack and multiple stains.

I ran across the following website and followed the directions exactly:

www.flylady.net

Dear Friends,

I want you to smile from ear to ear when you gaze upon your shiny sink.

I have heard every excuse in the world. Even old sinks can look new again with a little elbow grease.

Here is how you do it:

BE SURE AND RINSE WELL BETWEEN EACH STEP OF THE WAY!

1. Take all the dishes out of the sink.
   
   
2. Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour. Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug (wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes).
   
   
3. Rinse your sink well.
   
   
4. Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.
   
   
5. Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails.
   
   
6. Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss.
   
   
7. Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.
   
   
8. If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. Just know in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be perfect. Our perfectionism is what got us in this situation in the first place.
   
   
9. Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). Before you know it, you will be doing this everytime you leave your kitchen. The rest of the family will too. No more water spots. You will have a clean and shiny sink.
   
   
10. Don't have a fit if someone doesn't take as much pride in your sink as you do. It is very easy to fix. You have already done the hard part. You will never have to go through this process again. Daily maintenance will keep it looking this way all the time. Nasty hurtful word are not as easy to repair. Just be sure and tell your family what you are trying to do. They will think you have gone crazy.
    
    
11. If you don't have a dishwasher, don't worry. A dishwasher is just a dirty dish disposal. Clean out a place under your sink and put a dishpan in there. Teach your family, that instead of putting their dirty dishes and glasses in the sink, place them into the dish pan. Get into the habit of putting your dishes away as soon as they have been washed and are dry. No more leaving the dish drying rack on the counter or in the sink. Put it away under the sink when you have finished. If your old one is nasty, you may want to soak it in the sink full of bleach water at the same time you soak the sink or go buy a new set.
    
    
12. To insure that your family remembers this, put a note in the sink. It will get their attention and remind them where to put the dishes. Be patient! They have never been taught either. It is going to take some practice.
    
    

Now if you have a stainless steel sink, I recommend all of the above directions with one extra instruction added: after you soak your sink, rinse well, and use SOS pads to scrub it. This will buff the finish. It will look like new.

If you still can't get it to shine after the Windex, put a light coat of lemon oil or olive oil on it. I mean just a tiny bit on a cloth and rub it. This will make you smile. Some people have had very good results from Bar Keepers Friend.

Go Shine Your Sink!
FlyLady

I've been hiked upon

I now know what it feels like to be a fire hydrant, and it is not pleasant, but rather humorous when the one who is doing the hiking is 2 years old. As I was showering with my big girl this morning, she informed me that she was Dodger, our four year old mutt, and then proceded to hike her leg on me. Ha ha! Anyone else ever had this experience? At least we were in the shower. She also hit her Little Mermaid in the process, but don't worry, she washed her up afterward.

Brooklyn, 2 year old, Dodger

Interviews

Soccer Dad is reviewing and interviewing applicants for the new assistant soccer coach position at the school. I believe he has it narrowed down to two or three, whee!

Feeling a little jealous, I decided to conduct my own interview with our big girl. Here's how it went:

What is your favorite color?
Green, purple, purple.

What is your favorite animal?
Elephant

What is your favorite food?
Eatmeal (oatmeal)

What is your favorite breakfast?
Cheesy Eggs

What is your favorite lunch?
Peanut butter samich

What is your favorite dinner?
CHICKEN! (very excited about this one)

What do you want for your birthday?
A Giraffe. A cake with a giraffe on it.

She also informed me that she ate an elephant ear at the zoo that tasted like oatmeal. Yum.



Just finished packing for our mini camping trip and am off to bed.

The important things in life

The other day Soccer Dad decided to have a deep and meaningful conversation with our two year old and asked her, "What was your favorite part of the day?" Expecting her to reply that her favorite part of the day was seeing her adopted Grandma, Fefe, who she hasn't seen in 1.5 months, she said, "Cheesy eggs", which is what we had for breakfast.

Thinking he'd outsmart her this time, he asked her, "What was your favorite part about seeing Fefe?" She said, "Peanut butter and crackers." Fefe always gives her snacks.

Later that week Soccer Dad and I walked into the living room to find her eating a fist full of Goldfish crackers on the couch (you know, the ones full of food coloring that Mimi doesn't want to buy, because they're bad for her, but then she remembers that her job is to spoil the grand kids, then goes crazy with the junk food?) Soccer Dad asks our daughter, "Did you just help yourself to those?" Big girl says, "I did." "Did you ask if you could have those?" "I asked Jesus."

If Jesus told her she could have Goldfish, then who are we to stop her?

Ramblings

My big girl and I were having a conversation about her little friend, we'll call her Hannah, when she told me, "Mommy, Mommy, Hannah's mommy's name is Mommy too, just like yours!" Then she moved on to Soccer Dad, "Daddy, Hannah's daddy's name is Daddy too!" Too cute, can she please stay this precious forever and ever? I'm so glad God blessed me with this little person in my life.

"Bapa's so cute"
"Bapa's silly"

-Big Girl

I have the most wonderful hot dog song stuck in my head (thanks Mimi). Let me sing it for you...

Hot dogs,
Armour Hot Dogs,
What kind of kids like Armour Hot Dogs?
Fat ones, skinny ones,
kids who climb on rocks,
tough ones, sissy ones,
even kids with Chicken Pox!
Hot dogs,
Armour Hot Dogs,
The kind of dogs kids love to bite!

Okay, I'll stop now.

Soccer Dad is going to install laser beams on top of our fridge.





What?


You want to know why?

I lied he's not actually going to install them, but is drawing up plans to install them, well, he's not doing that either, just wishes he could to keep those furry felines off. Their hair, leaves, dirt, etc. keeps dropping down into the ice and shelves of the freezer, gross! Not to mention the fact that their tails and paws have been closed in the door multiple times, good thing their not lizards.

Hot dogs! Armour hot dogs! I'm really done this time. This is how my brain works, I'm thinking of what I'm typing and suddenly the song strikes out of nowhere.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

May 2011