So, as the kids get bigger and the weather gets cooler, the clothes get bigger and thicker. We finally designated a day of the week for each kid to do their own laundry. Three years ago when Levi was just 5 years old and starting Kindergarten, I was also going back to work full-time. We decided that it would be valuable to have the kids each have their own laundry basket and do their own laundry. Several good things came of this. Responsibility is one of them, but my favorite was no more sorting out socks and undies! We splurged on a double sized, front loading washer and dryer. I put my special education training to use and created a set of visual directions on how to load the washer. I also purchased a set of small Glad containers into which we pre-measure the dry detergent (carefully laced with powder Oxyclean). We have now been three years into the children doing their own laundry. It is fabulous!
Bring on two more bodies (the girls) with clothes to clean. We gave them a few months to get used to the routine...and learn some English...and then helped them embark on the journey of laundry! Actually, they have been helping us all along. In fact, Nardos regularly volunteers to help Levi and Marshall put their clothes away! So, on Friday, Nardos did her laundry by herself for the first time. Here are the pictures to prove it! She was so proud - and so are we!
My favorite picture is of her going DEEP into the basket to retrieve some more clothes!
Thank you for praying for us while we were in Ethiopia and sharing your blog with us. I am looking forward to reading about your adoption experience and how everything is going now that you are home. We are preparing for that phase and it will be nice to see how someone who has gone before us is handling it all.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Sandy and Mike Mayfield