It's been a while!

So why is it that it is summertime and I don't have time to do anything. I think the reality of it all is that we aren't in a routine anymore like we used to with school. I spent the first week of Summer get the kids hooked into a new summer routine and then the second week, that all went to pot!

I started out with making my kids 6 3 by 5 cards, one for each day of the week. Those cards had a list of chores they were supposed to have completed by the end of the day. And then a 'Master Card' for them to mark off when they did their chores. They were totally gung-ho on doing their cards, but then the second week, not so good, and the third week hardly at all. Dang! huh?

Then not only that, but the first week I was doing so great on limiting their computer/game time to only a half hour each, but that has been thrown out the window as well. I guess that's because I have been completely busy myself with other things, and just letting them play on the computer kept them occupied.

So, what have I been busy with? The yard for one. That's right, the yard. I have weeded, tilled and raked every flowerbed we have in the yard, not to mention transplanted several bushes to other parts of the yard. I have also planted several new plants. Then right now I am in the process of covering all of the flowerbeds with some mulch that we got last week. The weather has been so rainy, I have only been able to start putting it in the flowerbeds this week. And when I am all done with it, I will take a picture, so you can see just what a project this was. And then you can understand why 1. My house looks a mess and 2. why my kids have neglected their chores. Oh, and 3. why we haven't had a "real" dinner in quite a while. We've been eating sandwiches, cereal and whatever else is quick and easy. However I am proud to say that NONE of those days have been any sort of fast food. (Although I can't count how many times my kids have slyly said, "Mom, since you are so busy, why don't we just go get some Wendy's?)

Steve is usually the one that does the yard and stuff like that. However he has been so busy this past week with their company moving their office to downtown. He has been put in charge of all of the making sure the new office gets finished, and arranging all of the moving and stuff, so he has been AWOL for yard work. So, once all this stuff is done, we are getting back to a routine! (Or at least for one week until something else comes up!)

Seriously!

Each of my kids seem to be different in their sentimentality (I don't know if that's a word, I just made it up it means some are more sentimental than others). Melissa saves everything, Spencer could care less, half of the time, it is me rescuing stuff I want to scrapbook out of the trash. Jenna seems to not care so much either. I have been wondering how Jayden would be, and now I know! I have thrown this:
away who knows how many times! And yet each time, it finds its way out and on the floor somewhere. I guess I now know that I have to throw Jayden's stuff away in the outside garbage if I don't want to see it again!

I have actually gone to the box method of saving things. I put all of my kids' stuff that is 'special' to them in a box downstairs. And then when the school year is over, they have to go threw it and decide what they want to save and what is OK to keep. However, the catch in all this is they only have 1 plastic bin of stuff they are keeping 'forever' (or so they think) and if that's full, they have to go through that stuff too and decide what stays and what goes. I know, I'm a mean mom, but if I didn't my house would be filled to the brim with school art, know what I mean? They honestly do like five art projects everyday!

What are your kids like? And what do you do about it?

The proof is in the shaving!

Shaving of my legs that is! I don't like having any sort of leg hair. And mostly is just bugs me when I go to sleep at night. I don't like the feel of there being pokies on my legs rubbing against the sheet. We all have our quirks right?

When I first started shaving YEARS ago, (or least it seems that way to me) I could get away with shaving just once a week. And then as years have progressed, it has needed to be done more and more frequently. And up until recently I have only needed to shave just about every other day. However, as of late, I have needed to shave every day! And what is up with that? However, I had an epiphany in the shower today. Isn't hair made up of dead cells? So, there you have it! My brain cells really are dying and is manifesting itself in the growth of my leg hair! So there you have it... I'm just sayin'.

The daily grind...

So seriously! Do you ever get the point that you wonder how you ever got in this situation? I mean honestly, you are just going on in your life and then wham! All of a sudden, your house is in complete shambles, you have a bunch of projects and activities that are needing to be done like yesterday, and there really isn't anything in your kitchen that you could possibly make into something even remotely resembling a dinner (besides opening a can of soup, but then two of your four kids won't eat it, and there isn't even bread in the cupboard to tell them to make a PB& J sandwich). And yet, I can recall that just Friday I was sitting on the couch in a completely clean house Melissa, Spencer and Jenna were off playing at friends' houses, and Jayden was taking a nap. I was just sitting there thinking that I could just relax and do nothing. And that thought was bliss.

So, how does that happen? What I ask you could have possibly occurred in the last three days that I am suddenly in this predicament? The bad thing is, it makes me not want to do a dang thing though. I just want to sit and reconjure up those feelings from last Friday and then open my eyes and suddenly have it be so.

I am not sure why I am actually looking forward to school being out. I am sure that the kids being home all weekend had something to do with the current state of the house. But I have these grand images in my mind of the kids actually doing chores and being completely productive and wonderful over the summer. I have thoughts of getting a routine established that will continue through to the school year, and only slightly be interrupted by school starting in the fall.

I guess you could say that my state of mind today is all due to the reality check I had this morning. I thought that after getting Spencer and Melissa out the door that I would make a list of things to do today {I do that when I am in a delusional state of bliss - you know, think that I could just about do anything cause I'm miracle mom}. So, I started off writing on the calendar upcoming events this week and slowly realized {oh crap!} all of that is THIS week! And I gotta do THAT this week, and THAT's got to be done too, and all of a sudden my somewhat restful week just went completely CRAZY! So in my state of frenzy I thought that I would at least make sure dinner was a go for tonight, but then realized that of about the five meals I thought I could make, I am missing some ingredients for each one. So to add to my already busy day, I gotta go grocery shopping as well.

So here's to hoping that Jayden cooperates today in what is going to be a rush from here to there! And again that is wishful thinking! I'm just sayin'.