Seven Questions

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today I'm answering seven questions I've received recently.  If you want to see the rest of these seven questions posts try googling "Momfessionals seven questions" and a TON of posts will pop up! 

Gift cards ALWAYS!  They get a bad rap for being impersonal but I 1000% promise you that a little note about "grabbing their morning cup" on you or taking their kids out for an ice cream cone or even a "heard you love audiobooks - here's one on on us!" sort of thing is SO THOUGHTFUL!  

You could ask for their Jimmy Johns order and pick it up and deliver it to them at lunch, same with morning coffee/treat or mid-afternoon Sonic drink.  One year we sent an email the day before to let teachers know that there would be breakfast tacos for them in the middle school work room which everyone really enjoyed.

1) The kids help!

2) We don't ;)

We try to keep our house pretty "tidy" and then clean as time permits.  So every night we're picking up clutter, putting things away, doing and putting away a load of laundry, wiping counters, etc. and then we're adding in running the vacuum, wiping down bathrooms, etc. daily as time allows.  We don't get the "everything clean at once" that is so amazing BUT it doesn't make things so overwhelming on one day or for one person.  

Our kids don't have set chores or duties since schedules vary so when Dave or I assess what needs to be done we just kind of dole out jobs.  So if we're all home on a Thursday night and the house is pretty tidy after dinner we might ask Luke to wipe down their bathroom counters/mirror and vacuum the stairs, Mason to clean the toilet, wipe down the bathtub and dust the shelves in the game room and Griffin to vacuum the game room, wipe down the TV stand and dust the doors.  While the kids do that I would vacuum the downstairs and Dave would clean the guest bathroom and dust the dining room or something like that.  It would take maybe 20 minutes but with 5 of us it's 100+ minutes of cleaning accomplished.  

We do have those Saturdays where we do ALL THE THINGS but, honestly, with schedules being the way they are the daily cleaning method tends to work better for us.

When my kids were younger (from before G was born (I think) until we moved into this house and they were 3, 5 and 7) we had a housekeeper who came weekly and then every other week to help which was INCREDIBLE!!! The kids required so much more of my time/attention, Dave was working WAY more hours and the kids weren't really ages where their helping was actually helpful ;). We will still have our cleaner come back a couple times a year to do a deep clean which is amazing.  Typically I like to do it during the first week of school and then the week that we go back to school in January.

WHAT A FUN QUESTION!!!  Turns out I have several....

- Sourdough (or really any bread) baking

- Flower gardening (I really don't have a desire to grow veggies BUT I would love to grow a cut flower garden)

- Pottery (random, I know - but I would LOVE this!)

- Watercolor painting

Nope! I just wrapped up my 18th year teaching middle school math and, while things have changed A LOT since I first started, I still LOVE going to work, love who I work with and LOVE the kids I get to teach.  G's senior year will be my 25th year and I don't see myself leaving the classroom before then - BUT I also have learned to never say never!

These bracelets are SO CUTE and are $3.22/each right now which is awesome if you're having to buy several gifts. 

You could easily tuck that into one of these tumblers....

... and throw in a package of these and you'd be everyone's favorite ;) hahaha

Middle school girls are ALL ABOUT these Touchland hand sanitizers.  This set comes with 5 so you could give one attached to a card or a package of sourpatch kids or tucked into a little bouquet of flowers.

If you're going the gift card route....

- Target

- Sephora

- Ulta

- Bath and Body Works

- Michaels

- Home Goods (maybe this is just my kid! hahahaha)

We haven't so far mainly because I LOVE LOVE LOVE planning things myself.  That said, I know how much work it is so if planning isn't your thing I think they're a super valuable service.  I also know that often you can get add-ons, upgrades, etc. if using a travel agent.  So far I've just really loved planning our trips and haven't wanted to give up the planning part ;)

Not often PRAISE THE LORD!  Here's what works for me...

When I start to see the "auras" and lose my peripheral vision I take an excedrin and a sudafed (thanks Lisa Jones for this tip!), drink a glass of water and lie down in a pitch black and COLD room.  I do use this cold cap as well and if I can sleep for at least an hour I will typically wake up migraine free.

HAPPY Tuesday, friends!!!