Don't Turn Down Help When Offered

Yesterday Lil'Bug came to me and asked if there was something she could clean and mop. Why yes! I gave her the three tasks of the downstairs bathroom: spray and wipe down the shower stall with vinegar mix, scrub the fingerpaint and toothpaste off the sink, and sweep and mop the floors. 30 minutes later she had done all three tasks and done them pretty well. Not perfect (still blue and green on the sink and the shower was only done as high as she could reach) BUT there was no way I was going to touch what she did.

It might have crushed her if I had finished them up, saying by my actions that she had not done a good enough job. Instead, I praised her and gushed over how much her help made ME feel appreciated. She tried to get Blueberry Girl to help, but that little ninja didn't think the task was naughty enough to sound fun. She's more into the mess making side of things right now. She tried to recreate the flour incident with a small box of baking soda. I still can't believe that the picture we sent to SMKR didn't make the daily posts? Oh well.

I will add that I HATE this bathroom. It needs so much work. There is no working light or outlet, the window falls in when I try to open it, and a panel of wall next to the toilet is out right now to better keep the pipes from freezing.

And still, it is nice to have a working shower (especially when working pigs) and a second bathroom and a bathroom on the main floor for guests and potty training ninja babies. Once our Des Moines house sells, this bathroom will get a nice spa treatment with a mudmask and makeover. It will be lovely.

Pictures of Ewe.....

 

From left to right, Buttercup, three lambs, and the famous Marshmallow! I know, I can actually count. There are actually two brown lambs, one is hiding behind Mama Buttercup. Welcome to our little piece of Iowa heaven dears!

Pictures of You.....

The Smells of the Holidays

There's no way to sweeten the ideal, we are pig farmers and have three rough and tumble kids under 7. That means I do a LOT of laundry and deal with a lot of really bad smells. Those of you with kids and or pigs probably know that the majority of these smells come from the kids!

But there is a catch, everyone in our house is allergic to commercial chemicals, deoderizers, and fragrances and it is a range of reactions, from severe skin blistering to headaches to sinus irritation. It is easy enough to switch to hyper allergenic clothes washing, pure soaps, and natural cleaners but what about getting smells out of unconventional places and what about pleasant scents?

My first step is always to clean, but that's not always enough.

To start with, white vinager is a great deoderizer. Works the same way that Febreeze does, it pickles the stink and kills the bacteria. I used to demonstrate Febreeze and had to study the product before hand. Basically the same idea. I add a little peppermint oil to the bottle so when it dries it smells minty fresh! My oldest daughter calls this Peppermint Pickle spray. I works as a first aid spray too (all be it a painful one) and a quick hand sanitizer. I use a mix of this as a rinse in my clothes washer too.

Then to make the house fragrant if company is coming I collect the orange/clementine peels and mostly eaten apples that are abundant this time of year at my house. Through the day the girls add them to a stove pot, I cover with water and add a cinnamon stick or two and simmer; add water as needed. Ta da! It adds humidity we need right now and smells amazing with no allergic reactions. I have also done this with just mint, but it is not as strong.

How do you combat stink at your house?