Hello all!

First, my thoughts go out to the people of Christchurch, New Zealand, as they try to deal with yet another earthquake. Unknown number of people dead and the city heavily damaged.

Many of us here in California have experienced the damage that can be happen, and will eventually happen again. Other natural disasters can happen and all we can do is be as prepared as possible -- keeping extra food and water stored in the house, flashlights and extra batteries handy, battery or hand-cranked radio on hand, etc.

On a nicer note, beautiful, but cool day here in far NW California. I had surprise visit from one of my boys (their mom's week) who rode over on his bicycle. I thought, "How nice of him to come over." Actually, the internet has been out all week at his mom's and he wanted to check on an on-line game on the computer here. LOL!

No questions this week, but instead -- how about one house-keeping hint?

Mine: The dishcloth often starts to stink (enough to make one's hands stink, too), requiring a fresh one often. Sometimes the regular washing machine treatment still is not enough to get the stink out. (I do not have a dishwasher)

While multiple rinses after doing the dishes does help to delay the stink, I found that boiling the offensive dish cloth (and sponge) for a short while gets rid of all the stink -- no need to get the heavy chemicals out (such as bleach).

Happy Presidents Week! My boys have it off, and I will take Wednesday off of work and take the boys up to the Redwoods (their mom works the rest of the week, also).

Vaughn and the ABC Boys
Alex, Bryce, & Calder
3-31-97 @ 28.5 weeks

Great idea, Vaughn. Thanks for doing a question of the week!

We got back last night after a 4-day weekend. We drove by your neck of the woods, Vaughn. Did a 10-hour drive (plus breaks) to Oregon. We checked out University of Oregon for my son. Great tour, amazing school, beautiful campus, out-of-this-world college spirit! I think it would be a great fit. We also checked out Oregon State University. What it is about Oregon schools? All the buildings on campus are so lovely - brick, classic, Ivy League-looking? Spent the afternoon along the coast. Ate way too much good food, too.

I now have Mt. Washmore living in my garage. So much to do!

Vaughn, I don't use sponges anymore. While I do have a dishwasher, I do a ton of handwashing (all pots, bowls, etc.). So I put the pots on a dishtowel to dry. Then, I wipe all my tables, counters, etc. with one cloth, then dry with another. So lots of cloths to get smelly.

I usually stack up the wet ones on the washing machine in the garage. I throw it in a load every day or two at the most.

But if you don't do laundry that much, just fill the sink with a few inches of hot water and throw in a splash of bleach. You will get clean, disinfected washclothes in the morning. Rinse and use!

My housecleaning tip of the day - cleaning wipes! I can swipe down a bathroom for company in a 2 minutes. One wipe for the counter, one wipe for the sink, one (or two!) for the toilet - voila, a clean bathroom. I keep Windex and paper towel under the sinks so I can do the mirrors in a sec! No, it's not enough for scrubbing bathtubs or soap scum in a shower, but the bathroom is presentable in no time!I buy the cloths in bulk at Costco.

Oh and the best tip yet - use slave labor. Come on people, we have lots of kids. They make the messes. I don't use toothpaste as a decorating tool in the bathroom. I have them doing chores and it doesn't take long to put the house together. Five minutes to "help the family" and the place is greatly improved. It only takes 5 minutes (including set up time) to vacuuum the living room, sweep the kitchen, or take out the garbage. Three chores in 5 minutes - not bad!

Sharon
14 year old b/b/b + 17 year old son

I do let the boys off the housekeeping hook too much, but I do occasionally put them to work!

Humboldt State University (HSU) has a couple nice buildings, but generally the architectural concept seems to be to put up any old type of building and then just slap a red tile roof on it to make it "blend" in.

The latest set of buildings (dorms) reminds me of an outlet mall. Oh, and "HSU" can also stand for "Hills, Stairs and Umbrellas"! But it is a nice campus and a great university (we'll see how the next round of budget cuts affects us!) A great school for the outdoors type, not so great for those who need a very active nightlife. A bit geographically isolated, but small class sizes and one always works with the professors, not their teaching aides.

I'd better get ready for work!

Vaughn and the ABC Boys
Alex, Bryce, & Calder
3-31-97 @ 28.5 weeks

Hi All!

I don't respond very often but I do enjoy reading each week. Sharon, I am in Eugene and a Duck! How awesome you were up here! It really is a beautiful campus. Ask away if you have any questions!
We may have a future Beaver because we have a serious gymnast daughter and my dh is having a hard time with that

With 5 kids I use a lot of disinfectant wipes. I keep in all bathrooms and use through out the day. During the sick winter months, I put rolls of paper towels instead of hand towels to cut down sharing germs. I also have set days each week for specific things like bed linen changes so that doesn't get missed. The kids then know what day to strip their beds.

Theresa
DD-15.5
DD-14
GBG- 9.5

I have to admit that I am not anti-germ. And I do not like (nor use) disinfectants (and try to limit my use of bleach due to the carcinogens it produces).

My ex-wife worked as a ped nurse at a private practice, the three boys were in separate classrooms and I work at a university -- plenty of sources of germs, yet our kids probably are healthier than most with average or less than average colds, etc.

Bryce as a younger kid would regularly disappear beneath counters and tables and come out chewing gum...that we would make him spit out. We finally gave in and started to give him gum so he would not harvest it.

So my theory (which I do not expect anyone else to follow) is that exposure to germs just makes the body better at fighting them. And all that disinfectants and anti-bacterial soaps do is just create stronger germs that the disinfectants and anti-bacterial soaps can't kill. It has been proven that plain soap and water does just as good of a job as any and all anti-bacterial soaps.

So I will now get off my soapbox (terrible pun, sorry...)

Vaughn

Gosh, Theresa. Didn't realize you were in Eugene. I don't publicize our trips for safety reasons - don't need the world to know the house was empty! I would have loved to meet you.

Saw the gymnastic center at Corvallis. Such a pretty place. At least she won't be far away. She'll always be a Duck at heart.

We had lunch on Saturday at the Glenwood - a cute little cafe near campus. One of my boys LOVED the burrito. He's still talking about it

Sharon

I love The Glenwood too! Totally iconic UofO restaurant. I'll have to try the burrito next time. I usually eat breakfast. If he chooses Oregon we will have to meet! What all did you tour? Eugene is a very eclectic town. Our family is pretty conservative by Eugene standards: the town slogan is "keep Eugene weird". At the parade honoring our football team back from the National Championship the entries included the Eugene Pro Rodeo and Queer Eugene (the real name of the organization.

Theresa
DD-15.5
DD-14
GBG- 9.5

Hi All,

We went from having hardly any snow on the ground to getting another 13 inches on Sunday. BUMMER. I've really had it with winter.

Prom dress shopping last Saturday! What a blast! We found a beautiful dress that pleased us both. The price was right and dd LOVES it! She looks amazing in it! To be that young again.......

I live in Wisconsin and it has been QUITE interesting this past week. Our newly elected Governor has proposed a budget that includes taking away state employees collective bargaining rights and having them contribute more toward their health insurance premiums and pension plans...similar to what private sector employees contribute. I'm not sure of how much state employees contribute currently, but the Gov. is proposing 12% of their income to go toward health insurance premiums which is still less than what most private sector employees contribute. It's getting pretty nasty. Protests going on all over the place. A few schools were actually closed last week due to teachers calling in sick so that they could protest at the state capital. My feelings are mixed on this issue. I don't know what to think. It's going to be an interesting next few days.

My household tip: When I dust I make sure I have socks on. I use my socked foot to dust the baseboards.

Have a great week everyone!

"Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears."-- Gillian Anderson