— 1 —
Early Snow
We got a couple of inches last night and they are predicting several more on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. I know we live in New Hampshire, but this is ridiculous. I am not yet ready to begin 6 months of winter. The youngest boys, however, totally are. As the snow fell last night, they shouted and danced on the lawn. Barefoot.
— 2 —
Throwing in the Towel
I wash way too many towels way too often. I am wasting time and energy and laundry soap and water because I have no system. It’s easier to throw once-used towels in the laundry than to to attempt to keep track of them, dry them, and re-use them. There is no way my bathroom can reasonably accommodate the number of drying racks we would need for the number of towels we use daily. My mom installed towel racks in our bedrooms when we were teens (and I think we had color-coded towels) but I am hesitating to take that step. Towel racks in bedrooms? Is there some other alternative? There has to be.
— 3 —
Comments
Guess what? I am opening comments on this blog. Not because I expect all kinds of conversation to be happening in this oft-neglected space, but because I sometimes want the option to ask questions here, and it just feels like a good idea. I do, however, reserve the right to change my mind. Heh.
— 4 —
The Crazy
I had a dream last night that Dan brought me two pumpkin lattes in bed. I rejected them, he got offended, and left in a huff. So irritated was I by his huffiness that I woke up. I lay there in bed at 4 am, really resenting the man lying next to me for his bad behavior. And then I realized that it had all been a dream.
All of this to say: Girls? Sometimes we’re just plain crazy.
— 5 —
Reading & Advent
I had a lot of fun chatting with Sarah Reinhard and Rebecca Teti in yesterday’s Faith & Family podcast. We talked about pleasure reading and (gulp) getting ready for Advent this year. If you have an idea for a topic you would like us to take up on a future podcast, give us a call at 1-413-FAITH-55 and leave a voice recording telling us all about it.
— 6 —
Fitness Update
I am currently in my second month of ChaLEAN Extreme and really enjoying it. I’ve shared my love for P90X before, I still do love those workouts (I still do some of them on occasion, especially Ab Ripper and Kenpo). I found, though, that working out for an hour a day, 6 days a week was getting too intense and time-consuming for me. It just didn’t seem necessary. I find the Chalene Johnson workouts to be a nice compromise in that way. Most are about 40 minutes long, but they still make up a sufficiently challenging weight training program. I like Chalene’s positive attitude and fun personality (But I would not use these workouts with my husband or sons — her fitness attire is a bit revealing).
— 7 —
Scarf Library
Have you seen this? It’s awesome. I shared it with my daughters, and Juliette has been inspired to try out all the cool ideas. She even came to me with a fun idea. She would like us girls to pool our scarf wardrobes (and add to it, naturally) to build a “scarf library” that we all have access to whenever we like. We already (kind of) do this with earrings and some shoes. This having growing daughters who are my size thing is totally fun.
I hope you have a great weekend! And be sure to check out all the other Quick Takes over at Jen’s place.
I am happy to see you opening up comments! I’ve always wondered why they were closed. And as a fellow lover of all things Beachbody, I also love that you’re using Chalean Extreme. I’d like to hear (read?) your thoughts on health and fitness from the perspective of a busy Catholic mom. So often I feel like taking care of our bodies is seen as a luxury rather than a necessity.
I LOVE Juliette’s idea!
As for the towels, I put coat racks in all the kid’s bedrooms. So far it’s working pretty well.
I’m so happy you opened up the combox! 🙂
Ahhhhh snow! I’m totally not ready for that yet. Plus, it’s still way too warm in NC for that.
Refusing a pumpkin latte? What a crime against humanity! 🙂
I’m glad to know that other women have woken up mad at their husband after a dream. I’m not alone!
Danielle, on those towels, it’s worked for me to switch from towel rods to hooks. I love those 3-M Command hooks because they really do stay put, but don’t damage the wall if you want to move ’em. They take up far less wall space than rods, too. I just put one large hook up for each kid’s towel. Kids find it easier to throw the towel on a hook and to carefully fold it in half and put it over a rod, which, let’s face it, they just won’t do.
My 4-year-old thought it would be fun to swing from the towel rack this morning. Now I have a gaping hole in the wall where the rack used to be. Hooks sound like a great idea!
I do the same as Judy B.- I use command hooks on the back of the kids’ bedroom door. I can fit 3on there- which works for me, as I have 3 kids in each bedroom. Just make sure you put them low enough for the smaller kids to reach them, or else they will just end up on the floor (or is it just my kids that think the floor is one huge laundry basket?).
We use towel hooks and color-coded towels. Only 3 kids here, though, so it’s a system that has to function for 5 people. Maybe it depends on how many people you have using each bathroom? Our bathroom has a 6-hook coat rack in it for the towels.
I have TOTALLY had dreams in which someone has done something that made me mad and woken up mad at that person. (My poor husband and daughter have both been the victims of this!)
As per Quick Take #3? It’s about time!
Not that it makes it any easier when you DON’T get them. So come and leave a comment at MY blog now.
Towel racks: I have a hall way to the kids bathroom…I hung 3 sets of racks used for garages. Like rake/shovel racks. They are more durable and less expensive than the fancy coat racks in the stores. They still don’t hang them up…but they no where they are when they are on their way to the shower. BTW…we did the color coded towels years ago…worked great…and I always new who left their towel laying around…instead of getting their names embroidered…(cuz I am cheap) I used t shirt paint and years later…names are still on!!! (just wash them before writing on them)
I discourage bathing. It really cuts down on towel usage.
I have to put in a little plug for Crossfit. Quite a workout, generally less than a half hour. I remember back in high school learning that weight lifting was anaerobic. Not Crossfit.
Hooks! They make beautiful pre-made large ones mounted on finished wood pieces. You can get them at big box hardware stores or pick out your own hardware and mount them yourself. Each kid gets his own hook, no color-coding necessary. Plus your bathroom looks like Pottery Barn…. I got this idea from a Mom’s forum years ago and never looked back.
Have you ever heard of Norwex, Danielle? They have microfiber towels that may be a solution for you! Let me know if you want more info on them.
We have eight children. We installed hooks on the bathroom wall and then ordered nice towels (one per child) with their name on it from Lands End. We even let them pick out the color of their towel. That is the towel they use for the entire week. Once per week, one of my kid’s chores is to collect them all to be washed. I have another child assigned to take the towels out of the laundry shoot and start them in the washing machine. The only think I do is move them to the dry and ask another child to hang them back up. They get washed in the afternoon and usually by bedtime, they are back up clean on their hooks!
Pat
Thanks everyone for the towel suggestions and encouragement. I bought some hooks today and we’re giving it a go!
my mom bought my kids those Lands End towels one year and I love them! I can always tell who left their towel on the bathroom floor:)
Danielle, I’m late to the towel party but here’s what we did. My DH made up some racks using the longer sized wooden shaker pegs (available just about anywhere) and installed them on the backside of each boy’s bedroom door – so when the child enters the room and shuts the door it’s right there. Don’t have to paint them and they look classic and natural. You can make the rack as long as the door is wide and the child has a handy and neat way to self-organize.
And yes, color-coding is the way to go.
One other laundry-related suggestion – I bought two upright, lidded wicker laundry bins and placed them in our upstrs hallway. One for colored laundry and one for whites or light. It made it incredibly easy to grab a load and not have to separate later. The kids managed this from the time they were 2 yrs old and loved feeling so grown up about it.
Thought you would find this interesting on the towels, but it looks like you’re hearing the same thing from your readers:
http://www.4kidsormore.com/2011/10/community-question-how-do-you-keep-towels-from-taking-over-your-bathroom/