less than 6 hours

So some of you have read that me and my west coast counter part are doing a tandem experiment of being a 50's housewife for the next 2 weeks. At first it sounded easy peasy but as I have looked into it more I am beginning to become scared....very very scared.  Here is a peek of what I have to do...

 This last one has me perplexed.... my place is by my husband's side, as his equal, as the one who makes his house a home. So now that I know this I am going to strive to keep my home picture perfect. This is always some thing I have struggled with. I find it much too appealing to go outside and play with my children, or go on a trip to the country and explore with them.
So since I said I am going to tweak the rules a bit I figured I would first post them. So here they are in all their glory!

From a 1950's high school home economics textbook, teaching girls how to prepare for married life.

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time.

This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking.
He has just been with a lot of work- weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables.
Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.
They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

6. Things to avoid: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner.
Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes.
Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

10. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

Tomorrow I will post the "rules" according to my tweaking!

Lite Green Mommy: 50's 60's and beyond...

Lite Green Mommy: 50's 60's and beyond...: "Hey all, so I was given the idea and the challenge of being a 50's house wife for 2 weeks, and I graciuosly accepted. My Friend and fello..."

50's 60's and beyond...

Hey all, so I was given the idea and the challenge of being a 50's house wife for 2 weeks, and I graciuosly accepted.

 My Friend and fellow blogger Crystal Piccolo of  http://mylifeasmom-oregon.blogspot.com/2011/04/two-weeks-as-50s-housewife.html is doing the experiment and I am going to follow suit....I think. I am going to have her guest post on my blog of her experiences good and bad. So then I got to thinking why not have her be the 50's house wife, while I try my hand at a house wife of the later years? Maybe the 60's or 70's? And then I got to thinking that it wouldn't be too much different thatn what I do day to day here at the house.

So here is my brain storm, or should I say my take on the 50's house wife experiment. I am going to do all the things a 50's house wife was expected to do, but with a green and crunchy twist! I am going to make my own cleaners, and post the recipes, I am going to recycle, reduce, and reuse as much as possible. I am going to buy organic, and make as much as possible. I am going to see how to be a "better wife" while being a "better person" at the same time.

So this experiment is going to start on the morning of August 17th so I have enough time to do all my research and get a game plan down!  Do you all have tips or words of advice for me?

Wordless Wednesday

To do lists

Ok so as a child summer seemed to last forever and now as an adult it flies by. I figured out a couple of years ago, ok ahem, probably closer to 7 years ago that if me and the kids sat down on a cold winter night and made out summer to do list that we got alot more done during the summer. So sometime back when the snow was flying we sat as a family and put together our summer to do list.

It included things like camping, fishing, catching fireflies, going out for an ice cream cone, hiking to a waterfall, riding in Grandpa's boat, going to the beach, build a sandcastle, have a bonfire, eat s'more and go berry picking. We I have to admit as we head into the middle of July we have completed that and much much more.

We have done all of that and I got a bunch of thing done off of my personal summer to do list. So far I have heard my kids squeal in delight as we pull up to the lake for a surprise trip to the beach. I got to see their eyes light up when I say you can get as big an ice cream cone as you want. I have heard them whispering in their beds as we camp about all the fun adventures they went on during that day. I have smelled sweaty and sandy sunscreen covered kids as they bend in for a hug. I have tasted my share of half eaten berries that the baby has deemed good enough to share and feed me.

Seeing as we are almost half way through this summer I can honestly not wait to see what the next half brings for me and my family. But I know if it is only half as good as the first half it will still be pretty amazing!

updates

Ok so here is the low down on the crazy busy hot summer we have had. We have gone on 2 camping trips so far and both were a blast. One was at the end of June on the St Lawrence River with my extended family, and the second was 4th of July weekend on Ontario lake with friends, who I would consider family.

The garden is planted, and growing and we are already harvesting items like yellow squash, and today will be green and yellow wax beans, that will be canned as dill beans- a HUGE family favorite. We have been strawberry picking and ate them all...no jam made booooo but we still have 2 jars left from last year so we are good, kind of. We went and picked sour cherries at Grisamore Farms in Locke NY. I HIGHLY recommend them! You can pick strawberries, blueberries, cherries- sweet and sour kinds, raspberries, apples and pumpkins. So the cherries were canned and a cherry brandy started, but the brandy failed due to fruit flies ewwwww! I made my first round of crock pickles and they are gone already so I am waiting for the second round of cucumbers to make the canned dill and sweet pickles for the year.  I also have a huge desire to make pickles watermelon rinds.

So we are loving the summer, the kids have gone fishing, caught ton of lightening bug, had many many s'mores, gone on a bunch of day trip to places like Treetops in Ithaca NY, the beach at Oneida shores, and been to parks all over Syracuse.

I got the itch to move so assuming we didn't buy too much camper and we can still swing a loan we are going to put the house on the market in the next couple of weeks and move to the country!! Super excited and scared all at once. We need room to move and to breath and the suburbs are not it!

The kids are growing as fast as the weeds in my gardens, the baby is already 1, but has yet to have his birthday party- weekends in the summer are PACKED! Lily is an avid swimmer and Killian is an expert fisherboy! Hmmm I think that is is for now... off to the garden to pick my beans in the 100 degree weather.

BIG STEPS

Ok so I have been crazy busy. Home school is coming to an end, thanks goodness seeing as I have one that is great at it and the other has no ability to control himself and would do much better in a traditional school setting. I am surprised because I thought they would both thrive on less structure, but that is not the case.

I am ok with this. The gardens are about 90% in. They were in 100% but then we got 2 weeks of strait rain and I do believe it rotted out some of my seeds. So later today I am going to get out and get dirty and replant things like zucchinis, and green beans, radishes and broccoli.

SO the BIG STEP is this.... I have 2 very rude and disrespectful children who are under the impression that they deserve anything the want or ask for. Yes in part this is my fault, in part it is the commercials on cable tv, and part is their own fault.

To remedy this we are gutting the house of all toys- except books. The cable is going bye-bye, and they are getting daily chores. They will be able to earn some of the stuff back by good behavior and respect for myself, their father and each other. The only item I cannot really take away per-say is the trampoline, but it is outside so if they want to spend their time out there then so be it.

This is going to be a month long, if not summer long experiment. So I will post regularly as to how it goes. I am curious to see if there are going to be some unseen bonus benefits that will show themselves after this summer is over.....hmmmm. Can't wait! I am expecting to be able to donate a lot of toys that are forgotten about until they are uncovered and then they all of a sudden they go from dusty junk to prized most loved toy, so that will be great for recycling. And less time picking up this junk means more time doing something that will better our furture and family!