I'm Elmo and I Know It

Thanks to the school bus driver, my five-and-a-half year old princess now knows the chorus to "I'm Sexy and I Know It". And has asked me what "sexy" means. All because this lovely little ditty is played on her bus daily. Awesome.

Ryan has heard the neighborhood kids singing it and thinks it's called, "I'm Sassy and I Know It." Is it bad that I didn't correct him?

All of this annoyed me until I saw the video below last week. I have decided to show it to the kids repeatedly until THIS chorus is the one that is stuck in their heads. We'll see if it works! If you have a couple of minutes, check out this video with your kids. Cute, innocent, and comical when compared to the original.  Enjoy!

Jason-isms

Jason is quite the character. His cuteness far outweighs his defiant, controlling demeanor. When he enters the room, he shouts, "Ta DA!  I'm HERE!!!" or "Hello, Mommy...I'mmmmm HERE!" as if I've been waiting for him all day.  He seriously cracks me up.

Here are some of the sweet things he mixes up right now.  He's suddenly pronouncing his L's and R's much better, so his toddler-speak won't be around for long. (*sigh*)

Words I want to remember:
"checkup" = ketchup
"chicken" = kitchen
"spur" = stir
" case in idea" = quesadilla
"epha-lent" = elephant
"scudder" = scooter, which he asks to ride every time we pull into the garage
"forgive us" = forgiveness - as in "Jason, go apologize for pinching Ryan and ask for forgiveness."  "Sorry Ryan, will you forgive us?"

He also says, "How we doin'?" after he says "hi" sometimes.

With all of his silly words, his speech continues to awe and amaze strangers. Just this week, some girls at the park were entertaining each other having him recite their names and random sentences that they asked him to say. I should act as his manager and begin charging a fee for his services...!

No More Yelling

Happy Ash Wednesday!  Last night, Mike and I were talking about what we could give up for Lent (no, we're not Catholic and yes, we still do Lent) and Mike couldn't think of anything for himself. I asked him if there are any bad habits that he'd like to stop. If it takes 30 days to make a habit, certainly he could get out of a habit during the 40 days of Lent!

He suggested that he'd like to stop yelling at the kids.  And by "yelling," he really means "raising his voice."  Mike hardly ever actually yells, but speaking impatiently to the kids and raising his voice to get his point across is more frequent now, with the daily stresses of his new job.

I liked the idea so much that I decided that we'd do this together as a family. This morning, we laid out the plans for the kids...when Mike or I raise our voices or argue, we will pay $1 to the person who X's us.  When the kids raise their voice, argue or make a request (our new focus of contentment), they will give $.25 to the person who notices it.  This includes the big kids catching each other.

As the morning wore on and quarters were traded, I thought of a positive spin on our 40 day challenge: when the kids do chores without being asked and I catch them, they get $.25. And when they obey the first time, doing something diligently, they get $.25.  That has been another issue we've been struggling with: with our new loose homeschooling schedule, there's been a lack of a sense of urgency around here.  It's been nice to have a more relaxed environment, with the exception of the fact that when the kids are asked to do something, they turn into Pokey Little Puppies.

It's only lunchtime and I already have $5.25...and I'm a little shocked/proud that I haven't given up any money yet. I figured I'd be giving back their money little by little, but apparently not. I did kind of shout for Jason who was in the playroom when I thought he was upstairs, but I immediately stopped myself. (even though Jason isn't involved, I still pay $1 for raising my voice at him) This accountability thing is working!

I'm really hoping this new little game of ours helps change the tone of our home again.  There has been so much going on in the past five months: Mike's layoff, his new job, starting to homeschool, the holidays, tons of travel...we all need to get back on track.  And I, for one, am so ready.

What are you giving up for Lent?

Teaching Contentment by Saying, "No."

Lately, I've noticed that my kids are constantly asking for things.  "Can we go to the park?" "Can we buy _____ at the store?" "Can we have ravioli for dinner?"  I want, I want, I want. I don't like to spoil all of their fun, but seriously...it's all day long. Drives me nuts.

Yesterday, on the way home from the store, Ryan asked if we could use one of our loaves of bread to feed the ducks at a nearby pond.  We stopped, it was fun, glad he asked.

But most of the time, what they're asking is so far fetched and unrelated to anything in the near future: "Can we play with Morgan after she gets home from school?" is asked at 9am. "Can I sit next to Daddy tomorrow for breakfast?" is asked at bedtime. 

It finally occurred to me last week that this is an issue of contentedness. They're not content with what we're doing or what they have at the time, so they always seem to be looking ahead to the next thing that will make them temporarily happy.  During our cruise last month, we focused on the "Content" character trait card, which has a catch phrase of, "Learn to keep your 'wanter' under control."  But it didn't stick for long.

I decided to try saying, "no" to every request all day long. It might seem extreme, but I needed to get them out of the habit of asking for things over and over.  I told the kids about it beforehand, explaining that I would offer things throughout the day, but if they asked, the answer would be, "no."  They were fine with it at first, until their wanter kicked into gear.

Now that it's been about a week, it seems to be working. Ryan, especially, is getting the message. Whenever he asks for something, I respond, "You know my answer," and he flinches. I can tell that he's biting his tongue a lot, which will hopefully transition into contentment.  Eventually.

I'm usually the mom who tries to say, "yes" more often, but with our new flexible schedule these past few months, everything seems to be free game. I've told the big kids that as soon as they stop asking for so many requests, I'll lift the "no" rule.  They say it takes 30 days to create a new habit.  For their sakes, I hope it doesn't take them quite that long!

Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

Things have been so crazy busy lately, I haven't had time to sit down and complete a real post.  I've started several and still have a few incomplete posts in my drafts, but to hold you over for a while longer, I thought I'd share some random facts about my life lately. I'll post the others that I started later, but for now, here's something to keep you temporarily entertained.

- I am officially an iPhone addict.  I can't believe how easy it is to use and I LOVE having a camera with me all the time. However, I am ashamed and embarrassed to report that I have successfully beat all levels of Angry Birds. Such a stupid game. All video games are stupid. Especially the ones that suck me in...

- My mom introduced me to the best phone app ever: Lose It. Not only does it track your food, exercise and nutrition, but you can scan bar codes of the foods you eat. It is SO easy! Highly recommend. It's free.

- Now that I can see how many calories I'm eating, I've been much more careful about finishing off the kids' plates while loading the dishwasher or having a snack because I'm bored. Simply because I don't want to log it into my phone. I was thinking about giving up sugar again for Lent this week, but now I don't think I need to. I've been grabbing apples more often than sweets, just so my daily calorie count doesn't exceed 1653. It's like I'm in competition with myself!

- Speaking of must-have apps, anyone have any other suggestions for me? I'm all about simplicity these days.

- Last Friday, as my ride to the airport was on her way to get me, Jason pulled off his cast. The surgeon decided not to recast him, since he'd probably pull it off again, so we've been bandaging up his fragile little thumb as best we can to help it properly heal after his accident.

- I asked Ryan what he wants to learn about in the next few months and his answers were:

* scorpions

* space

* what makes stars glow

* what a c-section looks like

* what is inside a seed and how does it grow into a tree

* why is a hamburger called a hamburger

* what Canada looks like

- Last week during a history lesson, we built pyramids out of sugar cubes. I incorporated in math and introduced multiplication...the kids loved it, specifically Ryan.  He loves everything that is hands-on.

- On Valentine's Day, we had heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, baked cookies all morning for friends and neighbors, then I volunteered in Kaylin's class. I absolutely adore her teacher, but I can't wait until she's home all day with us.

- Wednesday was Kaylin's 1/2 birthday. Yes, we celebrate 1/2 birthdays in our house. One special day for each person just isn't enough. We don't do gifts, but I usually do a cake or cupcakes and the birthday person gets to choose the menu for the day. (the kids helped me with the "is" cupcakes...can you tell?)

- Continuing on with our crazy busy week, Thursday was the Daddy/Daughter dance at our church. It is Kaylin's favorite day of the year, maybe second only to her birthday. Mike brought her a rose...her first ever. How sweet are these two?

- While Mike and Kaylin were dancing the night away, I took Ryan out for a date of our own at an indoor trampoline park. We borrowed Kaylin's rose for this pic...

- ...and my mom had a hot date with Jason. A bath (in the sink - easier to protect his thumb) popcorn and a movie night. Next year, Jason will officially be coming with Ryan and me on our "Mommy & the Boys" night! He joined us the last couple of years, but my mom offered to spend some alone time with him this year so Ryan and I could bond.

- Sunday was my 1/2 birthday, though we didn't do much to celebrate it. We cleaned the house, I caught up on some phone calls, played Uno...a regular little Sunday. We did have a cake for dessert so I guess that counts!

- Yesterday at church, we got a text that Jason fell into a cabinet door and had a huge goose egg on his forehead. This kid is a walking disaster! My kids have never been graceful at this age, that's for sure.

- Last night, we did cross something new off my *expired* 101 in 1001 list. Just before my annual membership expired, we finally made it over to the Desert Botanical Gardens! Our first family field trip!

- My hair is getting long. So long, in fact, that I managed to dip it in ketchup last week and didn't realize it until it was dried and tangled. I pulled the knot up to my nose and totally smelled ketchup. I officially need a cut!

- I finally figured out what is wrong with my hair. Ever since my hairdresser moved last year, I've been having hair issues. I just can't get it to do what I want! I took a poll on Facebook to ask if an expensive flat iron would be worth the expense and I got all sorts of advice: yes, a good flat iron is worth it, but also try an expensive hairdryer, and don't forget that the hair product you use makes a huge difference. (*sigh*) 

Then, when I went to San Antonio, I roomed with a former hairdresser who told me that I wasn't blow drying my hair correctly. When I use my round brush, I don't thoroughly dry the roots, so when it air dries, it frizzes and becomes unmanageable. Straight ironing helped, but didn't do the trick every time. She showed me how to dry my hair properly, but that still didn't fix my issue.

You know what worked? Changing my shampoo. Somewhere along the line, I decided to try Trader Joe's more natural shampoo and my hair just didn't like it. I went back to using Arbonne shampoo and conditioner and, coupled with my new drying technique, I don't even need to flat iron my hair to get it to look right!  I'm seriously so excited to have consistently good hair days...and I actually know WHY. It makes such a difference. YAY!

- Speaking of hair, have you noticed my poor children's hair in the pictures above? I took them to Great Clips (mistake #1) where they "evened out the bangs Kaylin gave herself" and cut Ryan's hair into a bowl cut, which I specifically asked them NOT to do. He looks like Jim Carey in Dumb & Dumber. His hair is difficult as it is, but he just looks ridiculous. And Kaylin's bangs look ridiculous...don't even get me started! I've been so busy, I haven't made it back over there to have them fix it and now it's probably too late. (*sigh*)

Okay, that's it. I think you're all caught up now. Stay tuned for more posts this week!

Home Sweet Home

I returned on Sunday from my third trip in less than six weeks.  Can I just say that I am SO glad to be staying home for a while?

(Well, that is until we go away again for my hard-earned, all-inclusive trip to a Cancun resort in April, compliments of Tastefully Simple.)

I've traveled more in the last 12 months than I have in the last eight years combined. San Francisco, the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Kansas City, San Antonio, the Mexican Riviera, then Anaheim again last weekend. Whew!  It's hard being me...!!!  ;)

The convention this weekend was a major high point. I used to think that the idea of public pats on the back or on-stage recognition was a little vain and arrogant. I now see the error of my judgmental ways! I was awarded for having the most new recruits for my region and was recognized as being #2 in sales, regionally. My head is currently the size of my bedroom! I could get used to this type of high. But don't worry...I'm quickly being reminded that I'm not a superstar in the regular world. No red carpet for me at the grocery store, no cheers and applause when I walk downstairs for breakfast in the morning. Just boring ol' me in my regular little life.  Which I love, by the way.

Another fun announcement is that I'm featured in our new catalog, which comes out March 1st. That will make for an awkward moment in my upcoming parties over the next six months!  "Oh, and look at page 11.  Who's that girl with the big blonde head?" Would you like your catalog autographed?  Because I can make that happen.

I really am enjoying this little business of mine. I've fought direct sales for so long, but having food tasting parties is more fun than work. 

And who would have thought that I was the type of person that was motivated by carrots being dangled in front of my face? Work hard and earn a free Cancun trip...okay! Continue to work hard and go to the Leadership Conference in San Antonio for free...okay!  The current incentive that I'm working toward seems significantly beyond my reach, but I'm going for it anyway. The trip is to Quebec City (Canada) and not only hinges on my personal sales and recruitment, but also developing leaders on my team. Thankfully, I only need a few new girls on my team for the recruitment quota, but I'm going to have to kick my parties into high gear to meet the sales requirement. I like that part of the incentive is dependent on my team's success. It's so fun to see them succeed and I can potentially be rewarded for helping reach their goals. Something I was doing anyway!

I've never enjoyed "working" so much in my life. I'm just so glad I agreed to join Tastefully Simple last year that I'm oozing with excitement right now. I don't know if I ever shared this on my blog, but Mike was the one who encouraged me to start this journey. This was completely the result of me submitting to my husband; I enjoyed things just as they were. But, as it turns out, Tastefully Simple filled a hole in my life that I didn't realize I had. 

A year ago, I thought I was too busy to start a business. I also thought I was too busy to homeschool. Unfortunately for you, I do spend less time blogging, but I also spend less time watching t.v., chatting on the phone to friends and wasting my day away on Facebook. It turns out that if something's a priority, you rearrange your day to make it work!

I really do love my business. I love that I have the flexibility to work how much I want, when I want. I love that I'm not stuck in the Christian mommy bubble that I've been limited to for so many years. I love that our products give people more time with their families and keep them away from the dreadful drive thru. I love the friendships I've made. I love the girls on my team. I love that people love Tastefully Simple parties. I love that the income I'm making gives us more choices in our home. I love that Mike is no longer stressed about our finances. I love that my only roles in life are no longer limited to "wife" and "mom".  I love. my. job.

This is not a sales pitch, by the way, I'm genuinely being sincere. I'm not going anywhere with this random rant, so I guess I'll stop now. :)

Alton Brown's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Sometimes, you just don't mess with a good thing!  This recipe was delicious. My mom helped Ryan make it himself and we've re-named it, "Ryan's Famous Mac 'n' Cheese."  He doesn't care who Alton Brown is...! This is his masterpiece, as far as he's concerned. And it. was. delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni (Ryan used shells)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Yesterday, um...didn't go as planned

I know not all of my readers are Christians, but my week has God written all over it. Some might call each incident a "coincidence," but when so many "coincidences" happen at one time, well, I call each one a "God thing."

I'll work backward, as yesterday's portion of the story is the most interesting.

My day was all planned out: health food store, dental appointments for all three kids, lunch, naps, get some work done and sneak in a workout before a 4pm party.  

The morning went smoothly. While Ryan walked Kaylin to the bus stop, I made plans with a friend (let's call her "Julie"...because that's her name) to come over and show me how to use my new iPhone. (Merry Christmas to me - thanks, Mom!)  When Ryan came home, Jason argued with him about who would close the door and then I heard it slam, followed by screaming.

"MOM! Jason's bleeding!!!"

I raced Jason over to the sink and noticed that his entire thumbnail had been (brace yourself) up-rooted and was hanging on at the tip of his finger. The bleeding wouldn't stop and I didn't know what to do, so I called 911.  

I put pressure on his finger and Jason calmed down. I rocked and sang to him, putting pressure on the base of his thumb to curb the bleeding until the firemen arrived.  When the truck pulled up, he began to softy cry again and said, "Mommy, I scared..." He was being such a trooper, but I teared up at his sweet comment.

They helped me bandage his thumb and talked me through what to do. At this point, we just thought his nail had been ripped loose, so I needed to change and clean it daily until the nail finally fell off.  During this time, poor, unsuspecting Julie showed up.  Having a second set of arms to hold Jason was such a blessing!  

Julie held Jason while I changed his blood-soaked gauze wrap again. I showed her the wound and she asked, "Um...is his actual thumb cut?" We looked closer.  "Katie, I think he needs stitches."

Ryan went with Julie and off to the pediatrician I went. Because, of course, they're closed from 12-1, so no one answered the phone when I called.  Julie suggested that I wait in the parking lot until they opened.

Unfortunately, the doctor's office said they don't do stitches and she wasn't even available until 3pm. They sent me to Urgent Care. Sweet, exhausted Jason fell asleep on the way. (remember, this is all happening during his nap time)

The people at Urgent Care were amazing.  No one was there, so the staff fell all over Jason. He got stickers, coloring supplies and tons of attention.  Unfortunately, as soon as the doctor undressed his bandage, he said, "I'm very sorry, but I really think he needs to be seen by a pediatric doctor.  You need to go to the emergency room." Awesome. From what I've heard, ER visits are super cheap. Yay!

My mom had joined me by this time, since she had planned to come babysit at 3:00 anyway. We got to the ER and waited our turn. Patiently. Waiting. Jason was acting 100% normal at this point, until someone tried to take off his bandage.  Then he flipped out.

They took an x-ray (which I thought was a little over the top) then set us up in a room where we waited and waited some more. Jason was thirsty and starving, begging for water and a snack. They wouldn't let him eat or drink, which I thought was odd.

Then the doctor came in and broke the news: he needed surgery. Basically, the end of his thumb had been sliced in half (not all the way through) under his nail, that's why the nail popped up. (*sigh*)  This quickly went from bad to worse.

To make a long story short, he got surgery last night and is now in a cast up to his elbow. A splint would have been fine for a less active, less determined kid, but the surgeon wanted to set up the thumb to heal properly. He stitched the tip of his finger back on and put the nail back under his skin, hoping to save the future nail.

To add insult to injury, when we returned home, everyone was so frazzled from the trauma that nothing seemed to go right: we had two major Sprite spills (a treat from Grandma), Jason threw up the five cups of apple juice he drank as he was coming off anesthesia, the big kids melted down because of lack of attention during the chaos, I dropped the toilet paper holder in the toilet, OH - and I broke my own thumb nail really, really low into my skin causing it to bleed and throb. How's that for irony?

Are you ready for the God things? I'm choosing to focus on those, because they were glaringly obvious until everything fell apart when I returned home.

- The plastic surgeon who operated on Jason's hand just happened to be in the building at the time we were there, checking on another patient. If he wasn't there, we'd have had to go to a hand surgeon (they have those?!?!) and who knows when that would have happened.

- Julie was at my house (which is rare anymore) when all of this happened and took Ryan for me, then picked up Kaylin from the bus, which came exactly 15 minutes after she needed to pick up her own boys from school, which is 10+ minutes away.

- Julie noticed the cut in Jason's thumb, which I could barely see through all of the blood, and suggested the stitches. I wouldn't have gone to the doctor otherwise.

- When Julie picked up Kaylin from the bus stop, she drove by our mutual friends house where she saw their almost 3 year old CLIMBING OUT THE 2ND STORY WINDOW onto a steep ledge. If I wasn't at the ER, Julie wouldn't have picked Kaylin up from the bus. If she hadn't have picked Kaylin up from the bus, she wouldn't have dropped off the party table to our neighbor friend. If she hadn't have gone down that street to head home, she wouldn't have seen Audrey climbing out the window.  THAT is no coincidence.

- Julie's husband, who has his own business and works a ton of hours, called at 4:00 to tell her he was getting off work early (for the first time in forever), which helped Julie keep her afternoon commitment with her daughter while her husband stayed home with the other kids.

- I has just activated my iPhone the night before so I could take pictures. Okay, so maybe that wasn't a God thing, but it was awfully good timing!

Here's another other crazy piece to this story: Monday afternoon, my mom randomly called to see if I'd like her to help by putting the kids to bed since we had Bible study that night and she knows Mike's been working late.  My mom's offered a lot of help over the years, but she has never once offered to help on a Bible study night. Regardless, I accepted her offer and left the gym to go home to give the kids dinner.

Dinner was pizza, which we picked up for Super Bowl Sunday but didn't eat. We rarely, if ever, buy pizza.  And if we do, it's a small Freschetta and I serve it with a huge salad. I'm not into kid food...it's not usually healthy.

Once home, I got an emergency call from Julie: "Can I come drop the kids off?  I need to go to the doctor. Now." Even though I had 15 people showing up in 45 minutes, of course I agreed. I was so grateful that my mom was randomly coming over. Which, you'll remember, has never happened before. Ever. Another God thing.

Julie's kids needed to be fed. I had a huge pizza in the oven (kid food!) which we hardly ever have. Plenty to go around. My mom took over until Julie's mom arrived to bring them home. I was still able to jump in the shower and set up for Bible study all before people showed up. If my mom hadn't have been prompted to call, I would have worked it out, I'm sure (those nights are tight for me anyway, without Mike home) but the fact that I had an extra set of hands made everything less stressful.

I'm so glad yesterday is over. Jason woke up once last night crying, then woke up this morning talking and singing to himself.  He was so brave through this whole process!  

And I kind of have a feeling that this is definitely not our last trip to the ER with this kid. I just sense it... 

A+ Shopping Trip

Shopping with all three kids every. single. time. can be a bit challenging. Shopping with the younger two used to be hard enough, but adding in my very talkative, always-asking-a-million-questions and touching-everything-in-sight 7-year old quickly becomes...exhausting.

But I have to grocery shop - it's part of my job description. And I'm not often available (or willing) to run errands after the kids are in bed. So a solution was necessary.

Do you remember this summer when I observed the mom at Trader Joe's?  Her oldest daughter was pushing one cart with the food while she pushed another cart carrying most of the children. And the five (FIVE) kids, all under eight years old, were perfect little angels.

Lately, I've been copying her idea.  It hasn't resulted in perfect angels while I shop, but there has been a significant improvement.  Having Ryan push a cart keeps his hands busy and he stays involved with the shopping process instead of getting bored and asking a gazillion questions.

Yesterday, we went to Walmart. I usually dread Walmart because it's big and I generally only go there when I need odds and ends from (seemingly) every department. I've tried the carts with the seats in the front for the big kids, but Jason's new hobby is kicking everyone when I'm preoccupied and pulling Kaylin's hair to get attention.  So, no more handy mom carts for our family!

Instead, I pushed a cart holding Jason in the front and Kaylin in the bed of the cart. Kaylin had the shopping list and a pen, crossing off each item as it was put into Ryan's cart. Ryan and I worked on comparing prices and finding the best deals on like items in different sized packages. (way to sneak in math, right?)

I also prepped the kids in the parking lot before we went inside: each child could ask three questions. Period. We also talked about being content and having our "wanter" under control, not asking, "Can I..." or saying, "I want..."

This chat was probably the main reason the trip was successful. Everyone knew what to expect before entering the store, plus I thought enough to find ways to keep each child's hands busy.

It was a beautiful thing.

Our Day of Homeschooling (with a 7, 5 and 2-year old)

Now that we've been homeschooling for a couple of months and we have a little routine down, I thought I'd share a day in our life.  Remember that Kaylin's still going to p.m. Kindergarten, but we include her in many parts of our morning schooling. Our day will probably be tweaked a dozen times before we settle into a comfortable rhythm, but this is how today went.  First is the Cliff's Notes version, then below is the detailed version, for those who are interested.

7am - Breakfast and morning chores.
8:30am - Begin school while Jason plays on the floor, I rotate his toys every 15 minutes.
10am - Snacktime.
10:30am - More school.
11:30am - Lunch, then Kaylin goes to Kindergarten.
12pm - Jason's nap, Ryan finishes his schoolwork and reads.
1:30pm - Quiet time.
3pm - Jason wakes up from nap time, Kaylin gets off the bus and the kids have a snack, then free time.
5pm - Dinner.
6:30pm - Mike comes home from work and eats.  Kids get ready for bed.
7pm - Storytime.
7:30pm - Bedtime for the kids.
10pm - Bedtime for Mike and me.

Now who wants the less-than-fascinating details???

6:30am - Sticking to my monthly goal of getting up early every day in February, I slowly climb out of bed. (yes, this is early for me, especially since I was sick yesterday)  I put in my contacts and brush my teeth and hair. That's it so far...I'm smokin' hot in my PJs this morning. At least that's what I tell myself!

6:45am - I make the bed, then check emails. I find this note taped to a book on my desk. I added a note back to Kaylin at the bottom and put it by her bedroom door.

7:00am - I hear Jason and Ryan giggling in their room; get them up and dressed.

7:15am - The boys and I eat breakfast with Mike. We discuss a family "safe word" after a disturbing experience yesterday afternoon; a guy (we don't know if it was an older kid or an adult) offered Ryan and Kaylin candy while they were playing alone at the park near our house. (I'm seriously unsettled about this situation...it was probably harmless, but I've kind of been freaking out about it.)

7:30am - Kaylin comes downstairs, Mike leaves for work. We review Kaylin's spelling words while she eats: up, us, quit, quick, quilt and queen.

7:45am - Jason begins sticking his hands in his cereal bowl, so I get him washed up and out of the highchair.  I put him in the playroom, setting the timer for 20 minutes while we get our kitchen chores done.  I fold some towels from the dryer and put a new load of laundry in the washer.

8:00am - Ryan finishes breakfast, clears his place, wipes off the table and loads the dishwasher.  Kaylin finishes eating during this time and vacuums under the kitchen table. (it is especially disgusting today) Before Jason's 20 minutes is over, he comes out of the playroom asking for a drink, to go to the bathroom, and hands me a cup from yesterday...each time saying, "All done playroom?" but returning willingly when I remind him that the timer hasn't gone off yet.

8:05am - The timer dings and I help Jason pick up the playroom.  The big kids realize they didn't make their bed and head upstairs to make sure their chore cards are all done.

8:30am - We all head up to the school room.

8:45am - Saxon Math Meeting - reviewed the date and weather while Jason plays on his black yoga mat with a train puzzle. I set the timer for 15 minutes to remember to rotate Jason's toy (for his short attention span).

9:00am - Ryan helps Jason pick up the train while I work on shapes with Kaylin: trapezoid, parallelogram and hexagon.  I give Jason the mega-Legos to play with while I go over addition flashcards with Ryan to increase his speed.

(Ryan looks bored, but this is his "thinking" expression)

9:15am - The boys pick up the Legos, then play with Tinkertoys while I read our grammar lesson.  Jason continually destroys what Ryan builds, so I put him in his crib with a book for 10 minutes.  Kaylin works on an alphabet puzzle to keep her hands busy while she listens.

9:45am - Break for snack time. I go downstairs to cut up apples and I move the laundry to the dryer while I'm down there.

10:00am - The kids play Simon Says (practicing left and right) then take turns jumping on the mini trampoline to get their wiggles out.

Simon said, "Do jumping jacks."

10:15am - Set Jason up with Play Pegs on his black mat and the big kids practice their handwriting while I read the history lesson. (we learned about pharaohs, Egyptian pyramids and the Great Sphinx)  Somehow Jason hurts his foot and ends up in tears, so I let him snuggle his blanket on my lap while listening to the lesson.

10:45am - Jason takes a Bubble Guppies break.  I help Kaylin with her Phonics workbook while Ryan writes in his Reflection Journal.  The big kids have officially lost momentum. Ryan finishes before Kaylin, so I send him downstairs to make sandwiches. (I'm calling this "Home Ec" for today.)

11:15am - Lunch...perfect timing. I review Kaylin's spelling words with her one more time because today is her spelling test.

11:45am - Ryan walks Kaylin to the bus stop for Kindergarten while I unload the dishwasher and fold the clothes in the dryer.

12:15pm - Put Jason down for a nap; the boys were playing so well together that I let Jason stay up a bit longer than usual. Ryan works on his Math U See workbook and his spelling lesson on the other side of my desk while I work on the computer.

Yes, I realize Ryan's haircut is crooked. Going back to get it fixed ASAP!

1:30pm - Ryan and I both have some quiet time. Instead of resting, Ryan decides to clean Kaylin's room for her. This kid never fails to amaze me lately.

2:15pm - Ryan reads Oliver Twist while I make a couple of phone calls.

3:00pm - Jason gets up from his nap, Ryan goes to the bus stop to get Kaylin. I give the big kids permission to play at the park while Jason and I have a snack.

3:45pm - I realize that I didn't defrost the meat for my meal plan dinner tonight.  Call Mike to ask if he's up to going out to eat...?  I have a coupon for a place near his office.  He agrees. Yippee!

4:30pm - Jason and I join the big kids outside with a few other neighbor kids.  I talk to a neighbor friend for a while, warning her about the weird candy man at the park yesterday. She suggests I file a police report.

5:00pm - Suddenly, someone notices that my neighbor friend's 6 year old daughter is missing. All of the kids split up to look for her and my neighbor takes off in her van.

5:15pm - 6 year old is found, 3 blocks away with a friend. (*sigh of relief*) I pile the kids into the car to meet Mike for dinner.

5:45pm - Dinner detour #1: Mike notices that my restaurant of choice isn't very family friendly. Lots of drinking and smoking...too much of a bar atmosphere for our kids.

6:00pm - Dinner detour #2: There's a 45 minute wait and the natives are getting restless.  Head back to our side of town.

6:30pm - Successfully sit down to dinner. The server tells us that our kids are the most polite kids she's ever served. As a mom, I am beaming.

7:45pm - Drive home and am somehow talked into making cookies for dessert. Eh, life's short. Plus, I have dough balls all made in the freezer. And I'm craving a sweet treat.

8:30pm - Cookies are consumed, teeth are brushed, kids are tucked into bed.

9:00pm - Mike and I start watching a movie. Bad idea...how will I ever wake up "early" tomorrow?!?!

11:00pm - Mike gets in bed while I finish typing this post. I am. an idiot. What am I thinking going to bed at 11pm when I purposed to wake up early every day this month???

That's my day in a nutshell. The End.

Sidenote: Mike's still a little leery of the whole homeschooling thing, so this will be good for him to see what we do in a typical day. I see so many little successes throughout the week, but it's hard for him to see the same accomplishments when he's working so many hours. Ryan is so much sweeter with his brother and sister these days and that brings me joy beyond measure.  Not to mention that he's thriving in his former areas of weakness, the tone of our home is so much calmer, my patience level with the kids has increased 10-fold and there's very little rushing around or school-related stress anymore.  Today was a great day. A productive day. A pleasant day. I feel like singing Kum-By-Ya!

And now, I message from Ryan Gosling to me:

If you'd like to see more personalized homeschooling messages from "Ryan Gosling," check out this blog.

I didn't get out of my PJs until I was forced to go outside and monitor Jason playing in the front yard. Sick? Kind of. Wrong? Yes. A comfortable way to spend a lazy Friday? Absolutely. But I got all prettied up for our dinner out, so that has to count for something...

No-Bake Energy Bites

I saw this recipe I wanted to try last month and forgot about it until my BFF reminded me today. These are delicious bite-sized granola bar substitutes that are natural, healthy(er) and full of goodness. Oh, and they're ridiculously easy to make.  I messed with the recipe a bit to fit my pantry items and  eliminated the fridge time, due to my sense of urgency for them to be done in time for Kaylin to get off the bus.

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup M&Ms (or chocolate chips - I'd use mini ones next time)
1/4 cup cocoa (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients. Either refrigerate dough for 1 hour and roll into 1-inch balls OR (if you're lazy, like me) scoop with a small cookie scoop and refrigerate on a wax-paper covered plate. I was impatient and didn't wait to refrigerate them...they were delightful at room temperature, thankyouverymuch!

Yields: 2 dozen

When Inspiration Strikes, I Organize

While preparing to pack for our vacation last week, I realized that our "Kids Closet" downstairs was a disaster.  Not only was it unsightly, but there were too-small shoes mixed in with shoes without mates, not to mention that I was having a horrible time finding matching socks to bring on our trip.

If you look at the floor, you might be able to see why I was so overwhelmed. Beneath the heaping piles of nothingness, there were 6 baskets: 1 sock basket per child and 1 shoe basket per child. What a mess! 

I immediately started tearing it apart.

Within 30 minutes, the task was complete. I pulled out dozens of shoes to sell or toss and a gazillion lonely, matchless socks. 

I realized that the shoes in the baskets weren't getting worn, they were just getting buried and scuffed from stuff thrown on top of them.  I gave the shoe baskets their own shelf and put play shoes in them, leaving the door cubbies for everyday and nicer shoes. There were so many extra pockets, I even put a few of my own shoes in there.

This made me want to rip apart other closets in the house, but I was too consumed with packing  five people for an eight day trip.  You may see more Spring Cleaning before and after pictures from me over the next few weeks, as inspiration strikes...!