Day In The Life 8.26.19

5:40 - I get out of bed at 5:40, after walking Jenna back to her bed just 20 minutes earlier. For some reason she was sitting up in our bed at 5am and I don't even remember her coming in there.

I dress quickly for a little exercise.

Downstairs it still looks a little dark outside, so I spend a few minutes mixing together ingredients for waffles.

6:15 - I run a mile and then hurry home to shower, get dressed, start a load of laundry, make some coffee, touch up my hair with the flat iron, and put on makeup.

 6:45 - I'm calling this outfit my "I'm ready for Fall colors but it's still blazing hot outside outfit".

I wake up the boys for school. Lucas says "Good Morning Mommy, can you scratch my arm?". Ryan shouts "NO NO NO" and bangs his head against the bed frame.

 His and hers smoothies!

I make waffles while the boys get dressed, and this little guy wakes up. I turn my back for a minute and then discover him sampling bites from all the waffles.

 Adam shows Ryan on his tablet where he will be working today. Adam leaves and then my Dad stops by to watch Andrew and Jenna while I take the boys to school.

 8:15 - Back at home I drink my smoothie and do some Bible reading out on the back deck with Andrew. What a cheeseball!

8:30 - Jenna is finally awake again! I let Jenna and Andrew watch a little Mickey while I start more laundry, do dishes, and make beds. Per my new schedule, today is my day to deep clean the kitchen, so I wash the counters and sink, and scrub the top of the stove.

 9:30 - We leave the house and swing by the boys' school in hopes of catching a glimpse of Lucas at recess. I don't see him but I do see Ryan! We head to Belair for some groceries and see my Mom there!

11:15 - Back at home I race to fix Jenna an early lunch before she heads off to preschool.

12:00 - Jenna is at school and the food is put away, so I start a 3rd load of laundry and start doing a little meal prep. This guy gets pretty cranky so I put him down for a nap on the couch.

 While he is sleeping I make some homemade cheezits, salad dressing for the week, boiled eggs, cut up fresh melon, put away laundry, and make this huge salad for lunch. I eat it while doing some computer work and checking things off my to-do (or brain dump) list.

1:45 - Adam is home early from work!

 2:00 - Andrew and I walk to pick up the girls from school. On the way back we have to stop every minute so the girls can take turns sitting in the stroller. Because they're SO hot and tired.

 Adam surprises me with an iced coffee! (Heavy on the cream. There's plenty here to save for my morning coffee). While the girls and Andrew play, I do dishes and sip my coffee, willing the headache that is forming to go away.

 3:00 - I pick the boys up from school and wow it IS really hot. Thankfully Lucas' soccer practice is cancelled due to the heat. So I let them all relax on the couch and watch some TV. I basically serve snacks for the next hour. Ryan brought his entire lunch home uneaten. He was at school for 7 hours without any food in his stomach! I don't understand that boy.

 4:30 - Homework time! Lucas has math and spelling today, as well as a big stack of papers, AKA Mom homework.

While I help Lucas and sort through all the school stuff, Daddy and the other kids do this. Jenna asks to do some work, so I have her work on tracing some words and recognizing colors, and count it towards her homeschooling.

6:00 - Dinner is served! I made Bacon and Corn Pasta and oh my goodness it is SO yummy. The kids basically eat bacon and fruit for dinner.

 After I clean up the dining room and kitchen, I finish doing some meal prep that didn't get done earlier. Budget granola into the oven!

 I play cards with Lucas, while the other kids jump in the trampoline.

 7:30 - Rub a dub dub. The 3 younger kids take baths and I sit nearby checking emails and putting away the last of the laundry. I'm tiiiired.

 8:00 - I'm reading books to Lucas, Jenna and Andrew when Ryan suddenly appears from the garage. He had been working on the motorcycle with Adam and he wants me to see how dirty his hands are. I practically shove him in to the shower.

8:45 - Andrew is asleep and the other 2 are in bed. I drag myself downstairs to sweep, defrost chicken for tomorrow, pick up toys, and finish packing lunches. By this time of night I am pretty exhausted. I turn around to see Ryan following me. He wants to pack his own lunch and eat a snack and oh yeah....he just remembered he had a project due today. His teacher said he can turn it in tomorrow if he forgot it today.

I tell him no way, it's too late to start on a project and he's just going to have to suffer the consequences for being forgetful. He packs a lunch that hopefully he will eat tomorrow, and heads upstairs to bed. (wearing Daddy's shirt as a nightgown)

9:30 - I blog and take care of some school stuff online before reading a little bit in bed. Tomorrow will be here soon enough!

Organizing My Life

With the start of school I have a strong urge to organize and schedule everything in my life! Anyone else? Summer is really fun and all, but by the end I start to crave more structure. So with this being the first week back to school, I have spent a little bit of time thinking about how I can organize my life and feel less overwhelmed. I came up with 3 simple areas that I can easily change to obtain big results. I know this will help me, and I hope it will motivate or encourage you as well!

1) BRAIN DUMP
Okay, so you could really call this one a To-Do List. Basically, with the start of school and sports and everything else, I feel like my brain is on overload! There are so many things to remember, and it is so nice to sit down and literally dump everything out on to paper. (Or on to your smart phone, or your calendar, or planner, or whatever works best for you.) Writing everything down gives my brain a rest, while ensuring I don't forget anything. And who doesn't love checking items off a list when they're complete? My plan is to make my list at the beginning of each week, and cross off and add as needed. Right now my list includes things like purchase soccer pictures, sign up to be a preschool volunteer, and return something to Amazon. If you are someone who tends to be forgetful, I highly recommend making this a regular habit!

2. Assigning Days to Tasks
Keeping my house clean and organized is an ongoing struggle....and maybe it always will be!? What I have noticed myself doing is not waking up with a clear idea of what needs to be done. I might catch a little bit of free time but then feel frozen. Should I organize the pantry? Run to Target to return something? And how about that dirty bathroom that has been neglected for a couple weeks? It feels overwhelming because there is always SO much that needs to be done! What should I do first? My new plan is to have specific chores or outings that I do on the same days each week. For example, Wednesdays will be my days to vacuum and empty all the trash cans, because the trash always gets put out that night. Another day will be my day to run most of my errands, because I know I don't have to rush home to drop Jenna off at preschool. I am also penciling in time each week to spend organizing or purging a certain area of the house. Laundry is an every day thing around here, so I didn't bother adding it to my schedule. I am saving a few bigger chores for Saturdays, when the kids can help and earn an allowance.

3. Meal Planning

Of course I had to include this! Because when I know what I'm making for dinner ahead of time, everything just feels right in the world. If you know me at all, you know I have been meal planning (and loving it!) for ages. I even wrote a detailed blog post about it here. But now I'm getting even more organized, and assigning a single day of the week to do my grocery shopping, kitchen cleaning, and meal prepping. My goal is to meal plan and make my grocery list over the weekend, and then do all of the above on Monday, when I'm most motivated and excited about the week ahead. This summer I got out of the habit of shopping just once a week....and our grocery bill went way up! Making a plan and shopping for everything one time for the week definitely saves money, and helps us to stay on track with healthier eating. I am also being intentional about making life simpler when I can. So on days that I attend MOPS all morning, I will be making an easy crockpot dinner. Our menu for next week includes tried-and-true recipes such as salsa chicken tacos and breakfast-for-dinner, as well as a new bacon and corn pasta recipe that I'm excited to try. Oh and homemade calzones on Friday because that is our "fun dinner and movie night." If you don't meal plan, you're missing out on all the fun!

**There are so many meal planning notepads on Amazon. This one looks great because you can tear off your list (organized by food departments!) to take to the store and leave your meal plan up on the fridge!

So those are my 3 simple steps to getting my life organized. Do you feel like you could benefit from any of these?

Boys' First Day of School

Ryan and Lucas started 4th and 2nd grade today! 

After MUCH thought and prayer and discussion this summer, we decided to try a new school this year. The boys will be attending a local charter school, which just happens to be the school their cousins Ava and Bella attend.

Ryan had been looking forward to trying a new school, but when I asked him last night if he was excited, he answered "Nope".

School isn't Ryan's favorite activity, and never has been. I am praying he finds some really nice friends and finds a subject he loves this year.

 Lucas was also excited leading up to this week......but then this morning he seemed pretty nervous.

 Lucas makes friends really easily, so I am hoping that will be the case.

 A mixture of emotions....goofy, nervous, excited, and more goofy.

I drove the boys to school today and they reluctantly posed for a picture before going inside. Lucas gave me a big smile before he walked in to his class, and Ryan averted his eyes when I tried to wave.

Their moods after school were mixed. Ryan said it was "fine". Lucas told me a really sad story about sitting on the buddy bench during lunch and waiting alone for a buddy the entire time. Ugh that just about broke my heart! I am praying tomorrow is a little better for both of them.

Jenna's 1st Day of Pre-K/TK

The day has arrived! Jenna began her Pre-K class today.

She was so excited! In years past, Jenna and her big brothers attended an in-home preschool right on our court. The wonderful Miss Jill has retired, but one of the teachers took over and luckily she only lives a couple blocks away. Still so convenient!

This year I am also trying something different. Jenna is eligible for TK, or Transitional Kindergarten, because of her November birthday. Rather than send her to all-day TK through the school district, I have enrolled her through a homeschool charter school. She will still attend Pre-K classes a couple blocks away, but I will also get a tiny taste of homeschooling by teaching her a few things at home. I also plan on enrolling her in some sort of dance or gymnastics class. So Jenna is in Pre-K as well as homeschooled TK. Make sense?

Jenna's first day was great! She walked right in without a backward glance, and gave me a huge smile when I picked her up. Pre-K is extra fun when your cousin is in your class!

Just for fun, here is Jenna last year. I really don't think she has changed much!

Lucas' Stories

Lucas has been inventing these crazy stories lately, and entertaining us all (especially Ryan) with them. They remind me of a kids' graphic novel, like Dog Man style. 

There are lots of sound effects and really silly/gross things that happen in his stories. He even has a main character who often stars in his stories, named Mr. Pickle. Things explode, wild things happen, there is gross potty humor, and half the time I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about. But he has the BEST laugh while he's story-telling, and Ryan finds his stories hilarious. I tried to capture one of his stories last night during dinner, but had to break it up in to 2 videos on my phone. He can talk and talk for a solid 20 minutes, and I'm pretty sure he'd have a really entertaining book if he actually wrote it down!

Mature and Goofy

My goodness, our little Drewski is quite the character. He says the funniest things, as well as some really mature things for his age. Speaking of age, he is about to turn 2 and a half. Crazy to think that I can already send him to preschool next year!

"Abracadabra I'm naked!!"

"Ryan you broke my heart!" (said while pretend crying)

"Can I have a bunch a lot?" (This is how he describes anything with a lot. A bunch a lot)

"Please get out of my face!"

 "Mommy you need to say 'stinky boy' when you change my diaper."

"Papa, I need to talk to you about something."

 "Oh no they're bleeding!" (When he saw frozen blueberries that were melting)

See? He's a fun combination of wise beyond his years and totally goofy.

Hike and Rest

Yesterday we took a drive to Auburn to hike around the Foresthill Bridge.

 We hiked down to the river, where parts of it were surprisingly flowing really quickly!

The boys spent a while throwing rocks.

 While Jenna preferred to sit on a rock and find "pretty crystals".

It was a nice day and fairly relaxing.....as much as it can be with 4 little kids! There was plenty of whining about being hungry and thirsty, a toddler who wouldn't keep his shoes on and required lots of carrying, and complaints about the 85 degree weather. (only 85!)

 But overall it was a nice way to spent a few hours in God's creation.

 And seeing who could throw the heaviest rock.

 We ate lunch under a tree and contemplated hiking closer to the bridge.

But ultimately decided it was too hot. The kids were getting cranky and Adam and I realized once again that certain things are just plain hard with little kids! We talked about driving across the Foresthill bridge, but Ryan begged us not to.

Of course our trip wouldn't be complete without a trip to Taylors for milkshakes!

Later that afternoon we attended church, where the message was all about rest. We learned the importance of true rest (Jesus himself rested), and how important it is for hearing God's direction for our life. Although I wouldn't call our day restful, it was a nice change of pace from work, errands, and chores.

See our last trip to Foresthill Bridge here!