Post 4th of July Freedom-from-Frustration Family Checklists and Free Dove Chocolate

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 4^th 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.