Hope Chests for Today?

My husband has been traveling a lot for work. I don't tend to sleep well when he travels. So I'll find myself up at 2 or 3 in the morning. I can't do much cleaning as I'm afraid I'll wake the boys. (Ok, that's not entirely true, there is plenty of cleaning I could do without worry that I'd wake them. I honestly think my body is exhausted, but my mind won't let me sleep.) So I tend to think. Anyone who knows me well, knows that this can be extremely dangerous!

My latest topic... Hope Chests.

I didn't have a hope chest, I didn't really know anyone who did. I don't know if it's just the area I grew up in or if it's my age (born in 1978.) I did of course know of them. They were something that women did way back when... and they were where young ladies and their families would place items for the lady's future home. Ok, there may be way more to it than that, but this was my knowledge of them.

I don't have girls, I have oodles of nieces, but in my home are boys. I remember what it was like when my husband and I first started off. We didn't have a big wedding with showers and gifts. We actually didn't get any wedding gifts. We already had our eldest son and my husband just graduated from college. It was hard! I still don't always think we've "caught up" with the people who were given many items as gifts. So when my children were born, I said that when they turned 13 I wanted to give them gifts for their future homes (or when the go off to college or whatever.) A little kick start so it wouldn't be quite so rough for them. Well, my eldest is now 14 and I can honestly say I didn't start that yet. It's not for the lack of wanting, it's I didn't have any idea what to get him. Sheets... what size will he have in the future? Dishes.... will he like the colors/pattern I pick out then? Basic utensils/cooking supplies.... maybe, but where to start? Small appliances.... they always come out with better and cheaper. I was too overwhelmed, so it was just given up on.

Now, I'm thinking again about it. Maybe I went about it wrong. I make things. I teach my boys to make things, at least basic skills. I teach my boys to cook and to sew and to clean (ok, not great by example, but I try.) I want my boys to be partners to their future spouse and to be able to care for themselves until they find the right person. I don't want them to jump into a relationship for a "mommy substitute" so someone can cook and clean for them (you all know what I'm talking about!) I want them to take pride in their home even if it's a dorm room. Maybe homey touches will help them.

I know a Hope Chest isn't traditional for boys. I don't care! Roles aren't the same as they were back in the 1800's or even the 1900's. So what now?

All this ranting and raving is fine, except, I'm not sure I'm any closer at deciding what to give/make my children for their futures.What about touches of the childhood memories for their future children, do those go in there too? Do I enlist my child's help or surprise them when they're older?

I really want to get a nice list together and get started on this. I am hoping to not only do this for my boys but for my sister's girls too. I know their fathers won't and I feel it is something I can do for them since their mom is no longer here to do it for them.

So what goes into a Hope Chest??


I did do a fair amount of Googling with very little results. 2 pages I found that had some inspiration are A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and Miss Abigail's Hope Chest, please if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.

Skeletons in my closet

I've been working really hard on my spring cleaning. What's that you say? It's not spring? Well, spring is crazy busy around here, and honestly any time I actually get the urge to clean, I really have to go for it. Plus, I really wish it were spring! I would love for a whole week above 5F.

Anyway, back to my spring cleaning. My project of the week is our pantry closet. Our house really has no storage at all, including cupboards and closets. But we do have a pantry "room." Well, since we moved in while it was raining with no help from anyone (it was a busy weekend for everyone.) We ended up throwing a lot of miscellaneous stuff and boxes in that room, and never really got it cleaned out.

It has our extra freezer for all of my bulk cooking. It houses the less used/big cooking items (Nesco roaster, Griddle pan, Canning Jars, Baking Pans, etc..) and also our bulk buy items (toilet paper, Kleenex that we stock up on at before school sales, etc..) The shelving has much to be desired, but if it isn't cleaned out where will I add more shelves? So anyway, I have worked on that for the last 2 days. But I don't know where to put a few things.

Yep, you thought that title wasn't literal. Well it is. We have 2 adult (model) skeletons that we take out for Halloween and when people come over just to mess with them. Their names are Livy & Lars. They are about 5 1/2 feet tall. My husband set them in our pantry last year after Halloween. Which isn't working for me. But where do you put them? They can't take extreme heat or cold so it has to be somewhere inside. There is a hook on their heads, but that doesn't really help me. We don't have a heated/insulated garage so that's out. We don't have a basement really, so that's out. No attic. I'm afraid their ribs could break if I try shoving them under the bed. Not to mention what if God forbid something happens and people are cleaning out our house and stumble upon two skeletons. Boy, I'd love to see that. So if anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them.

We made pizzas last night. Are my kids the only ones who have to make everything a face?

Alright. DI again after school. Busy busy!

Dishcloth swap sent

I sent this out yesterday. I hope my partner gets this before she reads it, or it'll be a spoiler. I'm afraid I'll forget to post otherwise. I was fairly impressed with them, and I had so much fun making them!

The egg I winged. I had seen a flower version with a scrubbie in the middle and thought it would look cute as an egg. The pink one is another pink argyle one. The blue one I'm not even sure what I did. It was a wonky half double crochet thing I sort of came up with as I went.

Dishcloths!!

Well, I have been trying to get some Holiday gifts started, or worked on, so I don't go crazy at the end of November. I joined a dishcloth swap to help get me motivated on making dishcloths for my family. My husband wanted to make homemade Vanilla, and he thought that would make a great gift. Since he was actually involved in gift decisions I figured I should go with it! So we have Vanilla steeping, and we are planning on pairing that with a dishcloth and a teatowel and/or pot holder for each major family. I think tomorrow I will try to post my list of gifts (it helped last year keep me on track) So anyway, here are the three dishcloths I've made so far in the last 2 days at soccer.

The two above are a modified version of an afghan square I got the pattern from here. I made it smaller and used a smaller hook. I had to take out a few rounds and such too.

And here is my tried and true favorite dishcloth pattern. The pattern comes from Cocoa Cream's Craft Closet I made it a bit smaller. Mine is about 8"X8" and I think the first chain was 27.

No more papertowels!

Ok, maybe not quite yet, but much closer. I had seen in stores microfiber towels, but never thought much about them. I then read on a blog (somewhere I can't think of right now, sorry) about using them and not needing paper towels any more. I thought... really? I guess these little buggers are worth a try. We go through more paper towel than I care to even know.
So I searched and searched and couldn't find any, ok I didn't search that hard, but I try really hard not to go shopping, and when I do I try to make it just the grocery store (not to mention I don't have anything but a gas station and a meat market in my little village, so shopping isn't a daily part of my life.)
Then I had to enter the most evil of evils, WalMart, and I checked there. All I could find was a 4 pack with different purposes for each towel, (one polishes furniture and shoes, one cleans mirrors and screens, etc...) I bought it for $4-5. It sat in it's box for about a week, then I went to grab a paper towel to clean off the counter and I went... "Wait... I have new towels" I then had to find where my husband stashed the box.... read the directions, and gave it a whirl!

OH, MY, I'm in LOVE! I wiped off my bathroom counter with out even needing water! No cleaners at all. It was spotless. I cleaned my mirrors with no water, and there were zero streaks. And I have to be honest, there was major toothpaste, and hairspray gunk on my mirror and counter. I still worry about the germs and stuff, so I went over the counter with some vinegar anyway, but WOW!

I was going to clean off my stove top (my kids have been cooking, and they NEVER clean it off.) So there was really gross burnt on stuff. I didn't even think it was going to work at all, so I didn't take a picture of the before. I am so upset that I didn't. Because I cleaned the whole thing with out water!!!!! My kitchen is now paper towel free!!! I will buy some more towels when I go to Target (I've heard I don't have to buy a multi type pack there.) I would be completely free of paper towel if only I could handle cleaning the toilet with them. I really need disposable for that. It grosses me out pretty bad, (4 boys need I say more.)

Maybe you all know about these, and I am truly behind the times (it's been known to happen.) But I thought just in case, I would share my little nugget with you all. It has certainly changed my life. (Plus I clean more trying to prove it isn't better!)

To Do List

I have a lot to do in the next week. Here are a few of my goals;

Purge the clutter (this is a very daunting task, I haven't had much time all school year. Our house feels like a hotel without a maid. We didn't get to spend any time here, but we just dumped our things off, slept, and went on to our next activity. This is one area that I truly wish to change.)

Spring Clean (again a neglected item)

Stock The Freezer (I am a big fan of bulk cooking. I have always made a large stock and stored them in the freezer to use later. Unfortunately this last year deeply depleted our stock and I have had zero time to replenish. I don't WANT to want to eat out.)

Compile some basic homeschooling type activities. (I feel my children have lost the fun of learning recently. We had some less than attentive teachers, we had some clashing personalities, and we had a lot of miscommunication. My goal is to have the boys very excited about learning again when they return to school next fall.)

Teach & play with Jo (My niece will only be living here through November and then she goes to live with her dad permanently. Originally I was to be her daycare next year, but I was recently informed [sort of] that she will most likely be in Headstart all day and not be here at all. So I want to enjoy the time I do have with her, as she's lived with me for nearly a year and a half of her 3 1/2 year life. After she moves in with her father I will only see her about one day twice a year.)

Finish Crafting For My Swaps & Teacher's Gifts I am currently in 2 swaps on Craftster.org. The Owl Swap and the Favorite Children's Book Swap. The sendout for the Owl Swap is June 10th, and the sendout for the Favorite Children's Book Swap is June 26th. I am a bit of a procrastinator, so I am hoping to break myself of that bad habit too.

These are my goals. I am hoping to accomplish quite a bit of it. So that when the boys are home we don't have to worry too much about that stuff. Just maintenance which is good for them to help with anyway!