January 18 & 19

Monday, January 18th-

Happy MLK Day! No school for the kids and no work for Silas!

I always feel so super excited for these little vacation days, but sometimes I have unrealistic expectations. I think I can get so much extra housework done, but I really usually get less done.
At this stage in my life, I have a lot more flexibility because we don't have a baby and we have older kids who are very helpful but I still feel overwhelmed with the amount of housework I need to get done. I haven't been able to really declutter much lately and in the back of my mind I imagine that Saturdays and holidays are perfect days for getting these things done.

But then I think of my husband who works so hard all week and my kids who have a lot expected of them by their teachers and by me. They need days where they can just hang out.

Once I realized this today, the day went well. I enjoyed having everyone home and letting them do whatever they wanted to do.



Tuesday, January 19th-

Mondays are my normal, big laundry day but since yesterday was a holiday I didn't end up getting more than one load. On a normal Monday, I usually wash 6-8 loads. On Thursdays I wash one or two loads, depending on what has a full load.  (I'm weird and only wash when there is a full load normally.)

After we had baby number 5, laundry became a much more daunting and stressful task for me. I tried doing all of the laundry only once a week. This did not work for us. I never got it completely done and there was usually something that we needed cleaned before the next laundry day.

Then I tried doing one load every day. In theory, this is great because you can get one load washed, dried, folded and put away. But I started having dreams about doing laundry. It was occupying too much of my life doing it every day.

Kids' laundry buckets

I started reading some other people's ideas and have slowly found what works for me. First of all, I had to get over the fact that laundry would be out most of the time. My washer and dryer are in my upstairs hallway and I resisted for YEARS having anything out after laundry day. But with5 kids and other things that need (and want) to be done, I got over that. I labeled little buckets with the kids' names and I leave them out on the hall-wall all the time. I fold the kids' laundry and put it right into their buckets, when they are full the kids take them and put away their laundry.

Teal, blue and white hangers.

Another thing I read (and just recently started) is using one color of hanger for each child. My three boys are in school and I hang their school clothes. Now that they have their own color of hanger, it is easier for them to grab their own hanging clothes and put them away. The only thing that this doesn't work on so far are Cleod's jeans. I still use pant hangers on his and Grant's but they are different enough in size that it isn't hard for them to tell the difference.

The other thing that I do is sort my laundry by color. I love my laundry hamper with all it's beautiful laundry bags! I sort my laundry by: whites, lights, reds (including pinks and oranges), darks and jeans. Like I said earlier, I don't like to wash unless I have a full load and my bags are the perfect size for one load's worth of clothing.

I know, I am a little crazy, but I feel good about my laundry now and don't feel like it is the worst chore ever anymore!

January 16 & 17

Saturday, January 16th-

This morning I woke up early and helped Cleod get ready for his first scouting trip. The 11-year-old scouts were invited to go ice fishing with the boy scouts. They drove to Panguitch Lake for half of the day and had to use augers to cut through the ice, which Cleod said was more than a foot thick. It was really weird sending him on a trip like this, without me or Silas going too. I wanted to be nervous, but with the leaders that were going I was confident that he was safe. They only caught one fish, which they had to throw back, but Cleod had a great time. One of the leaders later told me that he was an "intense fisherman." I thought that was cute. It is probably because we aren't very outdoorsy and he was soaking it all in.


Sunday, January 17th-

Today was another day that demonstrated how our family is getting older. In the evening after church we had a program called Great to be Eight for Grant where the primary leaders in our ward explained the promises that are made at baptism and all that goes into that day. The meeting was for all the kids that will be turning 8 during the year. Grant was surprised because his birthday is in October and we haven't really talked about it much with him. It helped him to become more excited and it helped me to be more determined to teach him more about baptism and the Gospel in general before his birthday.

The next meeting we went to was the Priesthood Preview where the boys in the ward that are going to turn 12 during this year were taught about some of the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood and specifically about what the Deacons do. Cleod was very excited to learn some of the patterns of how the boys pass the sacrament on Sundays. This meeting also helped me to feel so much gratitude for the Gospel and the Church and that the Lord allows the Priesthood to be on the Earth to bless us.

When we got home, we were able to spend some time with Uncle Darin and Brooklyn. We haven't seen her much and we were all very excited to see her and visit. I love my family!!!

January 14 & 15

Thursday, January 14th-

I love Thursdays!

We rarely have much going on Thursdays after school so it is probably the most relaxing night of the week. The big boys caught up on some homework and Ryan got A LOT of reading done. Ryan is a great reader but he doesn't get interested in certain books enough to stick with them. Tonight he finished the second book of a series and is excited for the next one. That makes this book-loving-momma happy!

Ryan reading

Lots of helpers

Flipping crepes

Another happy mommy moment... Cleod made most of dinner tonight!!! And it was crepes. I showed him the measuring and flipping a couple times and then I left him to it. And he did great! I folded three loads of laundry


Friday, January 15th-

Tonight we went to another Fan Fest at SUU. This one was not as kid friendly and was attended by a lot more people! They ran out of food within 30 minutes or so and people were buying their dinners at the concessions and other stores that were open on campus at the time. Afterward, we went to the SUU Gymnastics meet again University of Utah. I have never seen the Centrum so packed at an SUU sporting event. It was crazy. Unfortunately, we lost but it was fun to get out an support the team.

Excited for the meet to start!

This is how full the Centrum was about
20 minutes before the meet started!

January 12 & 13

Tuesday, January 12th-

The day after being sick is rough!

Today I ate ice cream for a morning snack. It was the only thing that sounded good. And I think it actually helped me to get some energy!

And then I crashed. haha.

On a happier note, 25 years ago my brother Darin baptized me. I remember it being a special day. I'm grateful for my membership in the LDS Church.

 

 

Wednesday, January 13th-

 

Today I am grateful for…

• Good scout leaders for my boys
• Good friends
• Electricity
• Amazon.com (just ordered a couple of used books!)
• Health

 

 

 

January 10 & 11

Sunday, January 10th-

Today was a success!

• Silas had 3 meetings and helped in another ward's primary.
• I went on visits with the Young Women's Presidency and were able to meet a girl we haven't been able to contact.
• The kids only watched one movie and it was after dinner!
• We were 10 minutes early for church.
• Ryan worked hard to be reverent during primary class.
• We had Jambalaya for dinner!

Monday, January 11th-

Moms shouldn't get sick. It messes with life!

This morning I woke up with the stomach bug that we thought was long gone. It was MISERABLE. Silas was able to stay home to watch the girls and shuttle the boys to school, the orthodontist and piano lessons. I am grateful that he was able to stay home.

Silas reading to the girls.
(He does a great accent for Skippyjon Jones!)

So I read the new book club book about Black Mormon pioneers and watched the entire second session of a Hallmark show, When Calls the Heart, thanks to my nice friend Megan.

Speaking of orthodontist...today was the day! Here are some cute pictures Silas took of our Ryan and his braces!


BEFORE

DURING

Almost there! Look at that face! He's so cute.

AFTER! (This is at home about 9 hours later.
You can already see a difference between his
front two teeth!)

January 6 & 7

Wednesday, January 6th

The boys were so tired this morning from being sick yesterday that I decided to let them stay home to rest today. Ryan and Grant are back to normal, but Cleod isn't feeling well.

I went to the school and got the school work they have missed and we spent the day, on and off, reading, doing math and social studies homework.

After feeling temporarily overwhelmed with life this afternoon, I decided to skip mutual tonight. I am the Secretary I'm the Young Women’s Presidency and like to be at all the activities, but with 3 other leaders, plus leaders from the Spanish branch (we combine with their youth for weeknight activities) I knew they would be fine. Thank goodness I decided to stay home. Silas came home with a headache and fell asleep by 7pm, the time I would have had to be at the church. Cleod threw up less than an hour after that, and although he's 11 years old, I think he still needed some support from his mommy.

Thursday, January 7th

Molly joined the club during the night when she threw up in my bed! But I was grateful that she had come into our room so we could take care of it right away. From about midnight to about noon today she's been getting sick. It is so sad to watch a 2-year-old be so sick.

Poor Molly Moo!



Watching Frozen on my bed.
(Sheets were in the washing machine.)

Me and my sick Molly. She is
also ALWAYS happy, even
when she's sick.

This evening, I was able to go to my monthly book club meeting. I love visiting with these ladies and eating yummy food. Tonight we discussed Pollyanna. It is a very cute book that helped remind me to look for the positive in every situation!


Today I'm grateful for:

• Cleod being home to entertain Cora while I took care of Molly.
• A washer and dryer!
• A good neighbor who brought my other boys home from school.
• A nice husband who willingly runs to the store after work for me.
• Holding Molly while she napped.
• Early morning workout

 





January 8 & 9

Friday, January 8th-



Silas drinking his Sprite/water!
The waiter filled his half empty
Sprite with water. HAHA!

Some faucets and sinks we like

Me and my pretty hot cocoa

Cleod is still sick so we had another lazy home day. Lazy is relative, especially for the Mom, but it was a relaxing day.

Silas and I think it's important for us to have regular dates. Sometimes we do home dates, but it felt especially good for me tonight to get out of the house. We ate dinner at the Thai restaurant in town, which is delicious, and “window shopped” at Home Depot. We are currently in the market for a new kitchen sink and faucet. Wow, are they pricey! But we figured out what we like and have a goal to save for it. Then we went to one of our favorite places, The Brick House Café, and ordered hot cocoa (SO YUMMY) and cheesecake! Totally fun and delicious date!


Saturday, January 9th-

Our day in photos...

Christmas gift from my parents that we
finally put together! It is now the home of all
the games and puzzles.

Molly not letting me pass when
I got home from the gym.





Cora in the bouncy house at the SUU Fan Fest!

Being silly at the SUU Fan Fest.