Post 4th of July Freedom-from-Frustration Family Checklists and Free Dove Chocolate
July 07, 2013
In case you were out of town last week and away from your computer, I’m giving away a bag of Dove chocolates. There are some details here, and at the end of this post. In the meantime, in the spirit of revolution and freedom suggested by the 4th of July holiday, I’ve made some changes around the Stay at Stove Dad house.
I recently met the founder of a nifty company called WallCandy Arts, which makes removable decals with white-board or chalk surfaces. This means you can put them up on walls or other surfaces, and then let your children write on them.
I was interested in trying them out not because I wanted to turn each of my girls into a budding James Thurber (the New Yorker cartoonist used to draw on the walls of his office), but because I we’ve been struggling around the house with basic organization and getting domestic tasks done. This has been very frustrating for all those involved.
I had read that simple checklists have the power to revolutionize medicine, and I thought if highly educated doctors could benefit from checklists, so could our humble family. I figured the decals would be useful for creating checklists that the kids could have fun with.
I wrote up a list of daily tasks for each of my daughters, and posted them on the fridge. We created a “Shared Task” list for the two of them to divvy up the chores of setting the table (I wanted to crowd-source the assigning of chores—we’ll see how this works out…), and here is a picture of what I mean.
Nina and Pinta had so much fun with the checklists today that they wanted to create one for Santa Maria and myself. Here’s what it looks like.
Now about that free chocolate: As I mentioned in my post last week, I’m giving away Dove Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl Promises, and other treats. All you have to do is tell me how you use mint in your cooking, and I’ll pick the most interesting one to send a bag of goodies. I’ve gotten some great replies already (Thanks!), but I thought I’d keep the contest going one or two more days. Be sure to write me by Wednesday.
In looking at all the ways I use mint for my post last week, I left out one thirst-quenching drink: Hot-Summer Limeade. Here’s how you make it, and, yes, it uses mint.
Hot Summer Limeade
- 2 limes
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 sprigs mint
Boil the water, and stir it into the sugar to make a simple syrup.
Juice the limes.
Mix the lime juice with the simple syrup and 3 cups water.
Garnish with mint leaves and slivers of lime peel.
Serve with ice, like this:
Note: The Dove promotion is paid, though all checklists and opions are mine, and mine alone.