Interesting Pages You should look at

Friday, February 5, 2016

Making a bed

I had seen a blog post, maybe on Pinterest or somewhere else a while back, about layering sheets. I thought the whole idea sounded crazy. Until I read it. Then I read it again. Then I thought about all my kids.  In a crazy kind of way it makes sense!


On an adult's bed or maybe an older teenager, maybe not so much. However I have found that at 2 a.m. I am very thankful to have found this.


It's really a very simple concept.


  1. First you take a fully stripped mattress. Put your mattress protector on. I despise naked mattresses. every mattress in my house has a mattress protector. Mattresses are too expensive to not protect them. The mattress protector that touches the mattress is rather pricy (about $50  from Protect-a-bed, but it is waterproof). Put your mattress protector on.
  2. Cover it with your bottom sheet.
  3. Take your top sheet, you can either let it completely flat, or fold it in half. On my girls beds I have them fold it in half and lay it neatly on top of the bottom sheet.
  4. then you need a second mattress protector. You need to protect those clean sheets! What are you protecting them from? Who knows! at their ages they're too old to wet the bed, but you never know when you will get a nosebleed 3 a.m., throw up in the middle of the night, or have a dog and vomit on your bed when you least expect it.
  5. So on top of that second mattress protector you put another bottom sheet.
  6. then put on your top sheet.
  7. continue to layer your bed as such until you don't have anymore mattress protectors.

The first mattress protector is the only “good” one I use. it must be waterproof to protect the mattress. however, for the other mattress protectors, I go to the resale shop and spend less than $5 on each one. All I'm trying to do is keep the bottom sets of sheets clean.


Why do I do this? Yes it may seem crazy. When I wake up at 2 a.m. and the baby has wet through his clothes, and the sheet is soaked, I am very thankful that I'm not trying to strip his bed, and remake it. Since he still in the crib, I have a lot of crib size mattress protectors. he probably has five layers on his bed. He can wet the bed twice in a night and still wake up to a clean set of sheets for nap time.


Image result for making a bed On my bed I have two layers. Why? I haven't went to bed in over 30 years. However, if a sick kid comes into my room in the middle of the night and throws up on the bed, I don't have to strip the bed, look for sheets, and then remake it.  all I have to do is take off the top sheet, the bottom sheet, and the now puked on mattress protector. Viola! clean bed ready to be slept in.


I have the kids keep this done all the time. we've been doing this for about 6 months now. there are days during the month that I question them “when was the last time you were bed was stripped?” If they cannot answer within ten seconds with a date in the last week, I have them strip their bed.


Does this mean that I will have time to wash, dry, and have them remake their bed before bedtime? No! However, if they have layered their bed the way I have been teaching them for 6 months, they will still have a clean set of sheets for bed that night. As matter of fact, when I read this article somewhere online, it was one of those nights when I had all the kids to strip their bed the sheets got washed, but they never made it to the dryer. which means they never made it back onto the beds.


Life happens.


Image result for making a cribWhen you've got a large family things come up and you don't always get done the things you want to get done. I don't like having them sleep on the sofa, in a sleeping bag, or, heaven forbid, on a naked mattress. This has saved us more times than I can count.

I wish I could remember where I originally read about this, so I can give them credit, and a ton of praise! However, I hope that helps you as much as it has helped me.

Monday, February 1, 2016

A free ride and all college expenses paid

Image result for collegeRules For a free ride


Getting a free ride to college is what a lot of parents pray for. We push our kids to do well to get a scholarship, or several  scholarships, so that we don't have to sell our house to pay for tuition.  As a dual credit student, there are no scholarships kt grants to help you out. Our local community college gives you a 70% discount on classes. awesome!  Books are full price. You're looking at about $1000 per semester for 4 classes with tuition and books.  Not as bad as Harvard, but it is still a lot of money for a family.


I have always pushed my kids to do as well as possible. They don't have to get straight A’s, but that is the goal. A 0 is never acceptable. Because that means you didn't even try. I can handle a bad grade if you didn't get the concept, but that means that you need to restudy the material and try again.


Image result for college
I'm not a fan of working while in school. You have your whole life to work. While you are in school, you need to focus on your lessons and do the best you can. Anything else is just a distraction.  Don't get me wrong - this does not include sports or extracurricular activities. Those are necessary for a well rounded education.
Our rule for college to be paid is this:


You must maintain an 85 minimum in your classes


Pretty simple


YUp. That the only rule. You don't have to work your way through (dual credit) college as long as you maintain an 85 in each class.  If you don't maintain an 85 or higher in each class, you get a warning from mom and dad (depending on why the grade was worse, and how bad that grade was). If it continues, you have to find a way to pay for it yourself.


This also applies for college. At least in college you can get scholarships and grants. I despise loans.  There are too many scholarships to get a loan.


And that's it. How do you pay for college?

Image result for college