sneak peek at my week

This Saturday I sat and updated my calender. It was just my daughters activities. For school, band and church.

Holy cow our family is busy. I am always surprised by how much we have going on when, outside of church activities and school, we really don't do anything else. No sports practices, no lessons....

I have been spending Sunday evenings trying to plan for my week. It really helps me keep my head through out the week.


Monday:
Surprisingly un-busy!
My errand day
Ben has class in the evening

Tuesday:
Early morning band practice for Harmony
my stay at home day (housework & coupon organization tasks)
scouts for the two older boys

Wednesday:
An errand day if needed
Ben has class in the evening
Harmony has Young Womens (church)

Thursday:
my stay at home day
Ben in class
early release day for my 2nd & 5th graders
cub scouts for Ivan

Friday:
errand/grocery shopping day
Ben has 1/2 day of class
unless there is a birthday or something, we are generally home on Friday evenings

Saturday:
service project for our church (for whole family)
major clean up day
31 party for me
family movie night

For your benefit, I didn't include...the errands that need to be run, the day to day things like (laundry, dishes, making meals, helping with homework, shuttling kids to and fro...)

How do you prepare for your week? Or do you just take it one day at a time? I love to hear how others run their homes & schedules.

Done and done

February is the most inSaNE month for my family. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry...or go sleep for a month. One of the two. Heck, maybe both.


Birthday Boy #1

 

Birthday Boy #2

Birthday boy #3

3 birthdays. 14 days of love. Valentines Day. We then added a baptism and a visit from family into the mix.

Valentines Day tulips

14 Days of Love mailboxes

 

It was a great month. Busy & full of wonderful things. It was also really tiring.

Lots of Grandma Lovin'

I am so looking forward to getting back on a routine. I like to be nice and scheduled. Not running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Some people thrive on crazy. Me? It just makes me more crazy.

My weekly plan

Life at our house is busy. Crazy busy. Here is a peak at what is going on in our lives this week, and how I am going to TRY and manage it...

LOL, obviously an old calender :)

Monday:
Beginning FlyLady---> starting in Zone 1
Grocery shopping round up
-Vons
-Albertsons
-CVS
-Walgreens
-Rite Aid
-Target
-Walmart
Yes, seriously!!! I only have a few things to get at each place so hopefully I can get it done fast. Plus they are all really close to each other.

Home and general clean up.
Laundry
Family night in the evening: making family resolutions, choosing a family "motto" for the year, and filling out a year in review sheet to put in scrapbooks.

Tuesday:
Nothing scheduled!!
** New ads for my grocery stores come out!**
Recycling old ads
trash goes out
Desk day

Wednesday:
Connors orthodontist consult
errands as needed


Thursday:
Nothing scheduled!!

Friday:
Ben & the older two boys are going camping with Scouts


Saturday:
Harmony is  headed for a temple trip
Ben & the boys camping until the afternoon
Family movie night: I am going to have some exaughsted kids & a hubby, so I know we are going to need some vegging out time! Connors pick for movie and snack.



Sunday:
Time change!! Church now starts at 11:00 instead of 9:00
prepare for Masons first day of preschool (sniff, sniff!)
prepare the kids to go back to school
-wash pe uniforms if necessary
-make sure lunch bags are clean
-fill water bottles & put them in fridge
-plan out lunches
-help kids clean out backpacks

bed times & nap times

 (unfortunatley, Mason takes a lot of naps right here)

As Moms we all know that bed times & nap times are the best part of the day. Admit it! We all love our kids but when the house is quiet... I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Like I am off the clock, know what I mean? Don't tell me I am the only one because I know I am not.

Last year was a little rough for nap time. 4 kids in school, 2 different schools, 4 different release times. Yeah, the afternoons were a crazy running around time. My 2 year old was able to go down for a nap and stayed with his big brother (while he was sleeping) for 20-30 minutes while I picked up my daughter. It wasn't the best situation but certainly not the worse either.

This year, I have 4 kids in school during the day, 2 different schools and 3 different release times. Which is good and bad.

1st grader: out at 2:00
4&5th grader: out at 3:00
7th grader: out at 3:10

My question? When do I let Mason( my 2 yr old) take a nap?! Seriously. I can either try to get him to go down from 11-2. Put him down at 1:00 and leave him while I pick up the first grader (our school is just a couple of blocks away), wait until like 2:30, wait until my older boys get home and then pick my daughter up a little later OR no more naps and put him down way early at night.

I am torn. I love nap time but having him in bed early is also nice because I have time to help my older kids with homework, chores, and their evening activities.

So opinions please. What would you do if it was you?

Back to school

( My 5 yr old was not very happy at the idea of eating "princess grapes". Do they taste different then regular ones?)

(love note for my non reader!)

(My daughter wouldn't smile because she was freezing!)

Last night, I prepared for today by:

-having all my kids' take baths/showers
-making clothes people
-getting lunches made as far as I could
-packing back packs
- family prayers and lots of hugs and kisses

What I was not prepared for was:
-my kindergartener (who is autistic) not wanting to go to class
-spending so much time trying to deal with him, that my daughter was almost late for her first day of middle school
-chilly weather in the morning, almost 90 degree temps in the afternoon
-all 4 school aged kids being released at 4 different times

I literally ran around like a chicken with my head cut off all day. We are going to get in a schedule and it will all be fine...but whew today was rough. I am completely exaughsted tonight and am headed to bed. But will be up to regular posting tomorrow.