It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

A week ago I posted about a product that was sure to be on my Christmas wish-list this year. These glass straws from Glass Dharma were just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen. When I told my husband about them he said, "I remember seeing Humphrey Bogart drink out of a glass straw in Dark Passage."
Why of course. He's such a cultured man. But I digress.

So shortly after that post, thanks to those who clicked through to the link, I received an email asking for my address so some real live glass straws could be sent to yours truly! It was an exciting day. I laughed. I cried. I told everyone.

(I should stop right here and explain that I often recommend products I love just for the sheer pleasure of passing on great finds. I don't have ads on this blog and I don't get paid anything when I tell you about a product that is currently making a difference in my life. This reviewing a product business is a first for me.)

And then the straws arrived, packaged up in neat and tidy boxes with a minimal amount of padding. That surprised me; you think glass= fragile. They really are a lot sturdier than you might expect. They have a satisfaction guarantee and a lifetime guarantee against breakage and I was pretty sure my family would put that breakage guarantee to the test. I didn't stop my kids from making their straws do a little dance in their glasses (just to hear the tinkling noise) although I did tell them to do it gently. I have intentionally tried to treat them with the same care as I do all my other dishes (poor straws) and even had them at the bottom of a sink full of warm soapy water for a few hours. Not trying to test fate, but they have to work in real life or they won't work for us.


We tried out four different sizes and styles. My children are most enamored with the decorative dots straws; it's hard to resist the colorful decorations. I was pretty knocked out with the "bendy" straw. I find it easier to drink a lot of water with a straw- I could down12 oz. in no time with one of these babies. One of the straws was large in diameter and I could see it being a great milkshake straw (when that blessed day arrives and I'm drinking iced dairy products again). At some point, I plan on getting the kids their own smoothie straws, each with a different color. Maybe I really will get those for Christmas- they'd make great stocking stuffers.


In the end, I think I'm so enamored with these little straws because I realize how hard it is to make huge changes in our family life when it comes to getting away from plastics, eating healthfully, using natural cleaning products, etc. I can't do everything, but we can make gradual changes. I'm trying to implement one or two new healthful practices each week. Some of these changes are good for us, but not very exciting. My new straws are both.

Why do I even have a blog?

When these other people have so many wonderful thoughts and ideas to share?

Here are a few new discoveries, and a few old favorites:

So much to learn, so little time. A one-stop resource for all things healthful (and she pointed me toward my new favorite all natural cleaning product...more on that later)...
Passionate Homemaking

One woman's journey in living out the principles of Nourishing Traditions...
The Nourishing Gourmet

Not something I read all the time, but I like keeping up with Food News here...
The Ethicurean: Chew the Right Thing

Wisdom and exhortation beautifully expressed...
Holy Experience

My sister-in-law has just joined the blogging world...
Refining the Moment

A blog that covers everything you need for natural living (and a catchy name to boot)...
Naturally Knocked Up

Organization Week, Day 1

Well we started out with a bang yesterday. Coop spent Sunday night with some of his cousins, so that left me with only the younger two, and they aren't nearly as chatty. Sweet A plays well by herself, so except for having slight colds that made them a little fussy, they were not much trouble.

I sat down with a cup of coffee and a stack of post-it-notes and got to work around 8:30am to tackle The Family Schedule. On one hand, we don't really need an exact daily schedule. We have no strict demands on us, no deadlines, no 180 school days to record. But I'm finding more and more that there are so many good things I want to fit into my weeks, and not just the fun projects like sewing and crafting. I want to have consistent blanket training with Baby T, one-on-one time with each of the kids, fun preschool with Coop, get all my housework done before WH comes home, and on top of that try to save money on groceries and eat as fresh and organic as I can (just to name a few). Oh, and I'm still exclusively nursing Baby T (maybe I'll blog about that another time, maybe not) so that is consuming a chunk of time as well. If we have a schedule or a general idea of how our days should go, we work better and if we derail at 11am at least we know what we didn't get accomplished that day. I'm thinking of this year as our trial year before school starts. Anyway, I highly recommend the following book. It's been around for a while and many people already know about it and know much more than I do on the subject of home organization.

It is not the end all of organization books, but it is a very practical approach to organizing your life, and it's not just for homeschoolers. I've come up with many of these schedules for other families and my own when I was helping homeschool my siblings. There is no perfect solution to the fact that there is a lot of work to be squeezed into one day. You can not plan for interruptions, needs, ministry crises, etc., but I think there is benefit for having something as your aim. Organization does seem to help me accomplish my work with more joy. If I know that later on in the week I will get to the vacuuming, or the fun sewing, or the toy organization, than I don't worry about not getting to it today.

Her book is full of helpful hints, but here's the premise: Write down a list of everything you want to accomplish in a day/week/month. Write each activity on a seperate post-it-note, and then include how much time you think that activity will take. I did the same thing for each activity I wanted to do with the children, each chore I wanted them to learn, etc. Then I listed 30 minute time slots down the side of several pieces of paper, from the time I wanted to wake up until I went to bed, like so:


I also made a separate list of things I'd like to do during naptime and my free time at night so I could make a little space for each of those things.


When it was all arranged I typed it onto a spreadsheet and put it on the refrigerator. I admit I was surprised to find how much time it would take me just to do all the "main" things like feed people and clean up, and get the regular housework accomplished. I know that will get better as the children are more helpful, but right now, I'm really the only one producing (at home) during the day. Someone once said that children create work until they are about 8 yrs. old, they are neutral from 8-12 yrs., and they are actually producingl from 12 yrs. on. I am hopeful because I feel like Coop is already somewhat helpful, although he certainly creates more work than he accomplishes (as it should be). :)

Making the schedule took several hours, and I'm sure once we are fully implementing it we will find things we need to change. For instance, I realized this morning that I have no time to do my hair or make-up. That's fine for the days we stay here, but those other days we'll have to squeeze it in. Baby T will get older and drop a nap and that will also change the way our days look. But life is always changing, and there is no "master schedule" so if we can find something that is helpful for a season, great. Flexibility seems to be the key. I'm working on it.

Speaking of flexibility, Organization Week, Day 2 has been derailed by the Common Cold. I am now one of its captives and if I am released any time soon perhaps I will file some papers and organize my recipes.