Stages of Life

Since three of my kids are gone to school during the day now, I feel I've entered yet another new stage of life. And since I don't have anything about the kids to blog I think I'll put up a post about good old ME, a novel idea.

We are three weeks into the school year now and I've got our/my routine down. From 7-8:30am I am in go-mode with the kids. I have always been a morning person, most productive and energetic when I first wake up and like a dead battery in the evening, so I make the most of our time before school.

I have the kids do the big five each morning:

1- scriptures
2- prayers
3- piano practice
4- homework
5- chores

They are really good about getting from thing to thing because the reward is a relaxing, free afternoon when they get home from school at 4pm. I love sending them off knowing the important things are done for the day, it takes the pressure off. But our mornings mean business.

I send them off on their bikes to school now (yes, jake came home alone the morning of the 2nd day of school when I tried this, but he is more confident now and does great!) I quickly tidy the kitchen, put Claire down for her nap and get my swimming suit on because I have been teaching swimming lessons every morning at 9am this month! :)

I have five little students who are beginning swimmers! It has been so fun to help them get comfortable in the water and start to swim. A new hobby I guess. I wrap lessons up about 10:30, just about the time Claire wakes up and we begin our day together.

On my to-do lists?:

We're getting ready to paint to interior of the house, so I have been busy putting swatches up all over to see what we like! I painted the whole bottom half of the kitchen last week with a green we thought we liked, but don't now. So that was a learning experience.


I've been working on a photo wall above the stairs which I have wanted to do since we moved in 2.5 years ago. My BF was cleaning out her closet and mentioned all these dusty old black frames she needed to take to goodwill and I shouted, "I want them!" to her over the phone. It's coming along cute!


I've been reading a great book (highly recommended for helping you become a better mom/wife/family member!), the Duggar's Book, A Love the Multiplies. I could do a whole post on this book but I won't, its just full of parenting tips and perspective changes that I've loved.


I've been keeping the house cleaner! I can finally say that I'm getting good at doing my laundry, my life's nemesis. My mom suggested an ingenious idea months ago for me to get different color laundry baskets for everyone in the family. And instead of dragging my clean clothes out in front of the TV to be folded...and then to sit there for days... I stay inside the laundry room to put the clothes straight from the dryer into the baskets folded! Wha-la! Job done and no mess all over the house. I'm loving it. I do laundry all day Monday and Tuesday mornings the kids' chore is to take their baskets down stairs to put their clothes away and bring their baskets back empty. It's been fabulous. I also bought me a vacuumm for the stairs! With my big vacuumm, I was only getting to the job once every other month-ish (whether the stairs needed it or not, wink wink) so I figured I needed a better solution. I splurged - $40 whole bucks - and the problem is solved.



This weekend we're headed to our time-share in Las Vegas. Feels a little weird to be taking the family there for vacation, but we go in search of the good Vegas has to offer and have some fun things planned. We're excited.