Well, the “new” hasn’t worn off my Frigidaire Affinity washer and dryer yet, that’s for sure. When I was asked to accept a new washer and dryer and review-blog about it, mostly I was just really grateful to be getting a new one as my old set was on its way out. This set has so many bells and whistles I am still figuring them out!

My favorite feature of the week is the hand wash cycle. I love delicate clothing, but I loathe hand washing anything. I also hate paying a dry cleaner for a garment that really isn’t dry clean only, as well as washing a garment by hand and feeling like I didn’t quite get it clean. Let’s face it, I live with three small children. If I don’t have something (ketchup, peanut butter, boogers) smeared on me I’m probably not doing my job. Add in the fact that I spend most of my ‘work” hours up to my elbows in adhesives, ink and other scrap-gunk- I’m a mess! And I don’t have time to hand wash. My reality is jeans and a disposable t-shirt.

But I don’t like reality.

This is why I bought a very pretty grey sweater a few weeks ago. It was on sale and fit me perfectly. I feel pretty in this sweater and not a lot of my current wardrobe does that for me. Well, I managed to keep it clean for awhile, but after wearing it around the house one day, it absolutely needed a good washing. It came through the cycle perfectly, and even fared well in the ultra delicate dry cycle!

I didn’t know a washer could do that.

This success led me to look around the house for other items I’m afraid to wash. When my daughter walked into the house in one of her frou frou princess dresses, covered in dirt (my princess likes to dig in the mud) I tried the washer out with her pretty dress. It came through with no damage, and a lot cleaner. I wish I had had this machine before I shredded two of her old dress ups on my old washing machine’s “delicate” cycle.

Yup. Love this machine. If you’re in the market, I 100% recommend it.

Proof that there is more than snow in North Dakota.

Every fall when I send the children off to their various activities at school and church, I get to feeling as if I have just affixed a huge “kick me” sign on their backs that only germs can see. “Hi! Need someone to infect? Ohh, ohh! Pick me! My mom loves cleaning up puke, and favorite place on Earth is the emergency room at three o’clock in the morning!” Not so much, people. Not so much.

I have noticed an improvement as Jonas has gotten older and his immune system has strengthened, but only after my immune system was subjected to a violent re-hashing of every childhood illness I never thought I’d experience again. Now that I have three little petri dishes living with me, there are days where I feel like I should shower in straight bleach.

Thankfully, my neurotic flair for the dramatic aside, there are some easy ways to keep your family healthier. The Clorox Healthy Home Growth Chart and Healthy Habits for the Home can be downloaded free and contain many great ideas on how to keep germs at bay and improve your family’s health everyday.

I think most parents are pretty conscious about making clean choices. When you consider how expensive healthcare is and how totally undervalued the family is in today’s world and how most employers are unwilling to allow working parents sick days to care for their children (a whole ‘nother post altogether), most moms and dads are pretty desperate to keep their children healthy.

A Tip from the book: Did you know a person who washes her hands on average 7 times a day catches 4 times less colds than someone who doesn’t?

A Tip of my own: If you are ill, or your child is ill, STAY HOME unless you are seeking medical treatment. It skeeves me to no end to see obviously ill children being dropped off at school (or worse, the church nursery!) It also disgusts me to go into places of business and see the people employed there look like they really ought to be home in bed. A tiny, residual sniffle or cough is one thing, but I frequently see people who are really disgustingly ill out and about working and sending their kids to school to infect mine. I am well aware that losing hours at work is a huge problem, but if you decided to have children, then you decided to take care of them, and sending sick kids to school and daycare is not ok. It is irresponsible parenting, and you need to have a system in place to care of for a moderately ill child if you are unable. This will keep everyone healthier.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox and the What to Expect Guide and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. Mom Central asked me to review the product in connection with this tour. Of course, all thoughts are my own, and the Clorox people may or may not be as cranky about the sick kids at school issue as I am, ha.**

I’m sure my long term readers will recognize this as one of my monthly journals. I did quite a few of these in 2008- but then I got pregnant, sick, had a husband who deployed, missed every major holiday and then returned after which I had a baby. And between all of this, I misplaced my motivation on this project.

But I got to thinking about it again, especially why I had started and what had been my motivation.

You see, I really think it is important to take the time to notice the blessings in our lives.

When we choose to recognize and remember the hand of God in our lives, we live with so much more purpose and gratitude. We are more satisfied; we are more fulfilled. Taking the time to be grateful enough to stop and take pause is such a difference maker.

We live in a world where people rush from one thrill/disappointment to the next. New clothes, new car, new job, this stress, another crisis- the world rarely stops to say thanks, or to just feel content for a moment. And most of the time, we really have everything we need: Family, friends, faith, and our basic needs met.

We probably never got that pony we wanted as children, and there will always be worries, but if we see the blessings not only are we happier, but we feel a lot more peace when we can see how our Fathe rin heaven cares for us, and gain the assurety that if He helped us in the past, He will probably do it again.

Back when I started this project, I remember being very struck by a certain sermon by Henry B. Eyring that talked about this act of remembering.

So, whens shortly after starting up again I stumbled upon this short video summing it, I was inspired to keep on going, and to make it a priority.

After all, one of the main points of scrapbooking is to remember the things that are most precious to us.

Faith should be included in that.

I was asked to review the new Oscar Mayer Lunchables with my kids. These are a hot commodity at our house, with Lunchables being Jonas’ first item to beg for as soon as we hit supermarket aisles. They have been an occasional treat for us, since they don’t provide the kind of nutrition that I want for my children, and this can be a bit of a sore spot with my extremely persistent seven year old. Bearing this in mind, I was thrilled to be asked to review the newly redesigned, more health conscious Lunchables!

These new combos are much more balanced, and focus on incorporating whole grains and decreasing ingredients that don’t serve the body well. I like the water option especially. With my son not being able to tolerate red dye #40, I’m not thrilled that a Kool-aide single is included, but I love that he can simply not use it and still have a drink. I always had to pick through his old Lunchables (and anything else pre-packaged) to make sure everything was ok for him, and this makes that a lot easier.

Jonas loved the taste and package design of the new variety, and I think this is a treat we will be saying yes to more often.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central on behalf of Oscar Mayer Lunchables and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Next up on the bookshelf is a very fun read, the next book in James Patterson’s Daniel X series!

In Daniel X: Watch the Skies , Patterson and co-author Ned Rust, once again perfectly capture their early teen boy audience with a super stellar kid and loads of greasy, grimy aliens that need defeating. This book was very creatively written, with many plot twists and uniquely designed outer-space villains that merged the best of boyhood slime with the technology of tomorrow. You’ll get a kick out of the monstrous catfish like uber-badguy, and Daniel’s ability to conjure people from his memory- especially when he gets in fights with people who are, in actuality, himself.

My very favorite part was when Daniel conjured up his mother who had to try to understand why Daniel needed an excuse to miss school. As the school secretary harassed her, she finally told her to “stick these in your fascist helmet” as she came up with 10 perfect reasons to be absent from school, all of which hinged on the common gripe of so many good parents today: Because he’s MY kid and I’M the parent! (Yes, this topic hits a nerve with me. I think the government has no business at all telling me how to raise my children, and I get very cranky when asked to prove that I’m being a “good parent” via issues like this).

Anyway, my own issues aside, if you have a teen or preteen boy you need to get reading, definitely pick up this series. And if you just want a goofy, enjoyable escape, put it on your own nightstand!

This is what I did in Fargo:

I sat in the hammock. I did this over and over until I got it right, and then I had to go back home where there is no hammock, and no decent weather to enjoy one anyway.

I miss you, hammock!

Call me.

*Sniff*

Now we are home and in full swing with back to school. I am up to my eyeballs in everything I didn’t do whilst on vacation. Fun stuff, but I could use a few more hours in each day.

I will post more about Fargo later- but I must tell you what Maggie said when we were flying there, and it must be prefaced by the fact that altogether too much Sci-Fi is viewed in our home.

We flew from San Jose to our connecting flight in Denver. Denver, with all of it’s blinking signs and moving walkways and four (COUNT ‘EM!) toy stores was totally enthralling to Maggie, who hasn’t flown since infancy. Other-worldly type enthralling, as a matter of fact.

When we sat down in the plane for our flight to Fargo, Maggie turned to me and asked, in all seriousness, “Are we going back to Earth now?”

Apparently she thought we’d jumped the galaxy.

Hee!

I have been telling Chris that I wanted to put family pictures up on the wall for about four years now, and right before we left on vacation we pulled it off! When we moved into this new house I ended up with a stack of mixy-matchy frames shoved between the couch and the wall. They sat there for months looking sloppy while I considered possibilities, vetoed ideas, and arranged the 15 frames in various positions trying to create something that looked nice- without having to run out and spend a lot of money on new frames.

Keep in mind, we’re military. We move A LOT. And while I like to have as finished looking a house as possible, it is totally imprudent to completely redecorate and buy all new curtains and frames and fixtures and furniture to match the home we are currently in. So I try to do most decorating projects on a dime, so to speak.

I feel so moved in! The Air Force is now welcome to give us orders. I have hung both curtains and pictures, so I think this means we should be re-assigned soon. Please?

(Oh- the quote on the lowest frame is from Joseph B. Wirthlin. It says, “Come what may, and love it”. I love this concept, and think that for our family especially, this is a great attitude to have. Whatever comes- choose to love it. Choose happiness. Choose positivity. Make your own peace.