Trail Ride- Day 4

Honestly. I woke up draggin' my feet. Mornings are hard. Especially Monday mornings. Especially Monday mornings after a whole day of the Professor herding the children into a back bedroom so that I can ride some house-work bull.

It's hard to transition from a mind-set of accomplishing tasks to dealing with children. Especially six, strong-willed, sassy at times, little brats.

(to be fair, the score this morning was... 2 brats, 2 tolerable and 2 enjoyable... if you add in todd and i, the score would have been 3 brats, 3 tolerable and 2 enjoyable.)

Day 3- so, lest i have given you the wrong impression (cause i may have forgotten myself)... riding bull isn't fun. it's hard and painful. i HATED much of my time yesterday, but i forced myself to push through it so i could enjoy the end result. the end makes me happy. so... here's what i finished.

**ALL of the laundry. from two weeks ago that was folded and not put away. from last week that was not folded or put away. and from throw-up. (i do have a couple loads of bedding that i'm still working on- it's the just-laid-on-with-germs bedding, and i'm washing toothbrushes- i always forget that.) anyway. Laundry. wash, dried and put away. it was my marathon.

**My closet. purged, sorted and in order. (not lovely, just not a mess-- todd's closet is always clean)

**Lily's clothes. purged, sorted and in order. (i still have a laundry basket full of too small that i need to put in Tupperware... poo to organization...)

**The girl's room and half of their closet. (i still need to sort and purge it- again. it is a constant To Do in my life.)

**Girls' Hair bows- yup. i went through the whole house and organized hair things. i hung all the bows on a cute little hanger thing that i bought. (it still needs to be hung up.)

**Cleaned my kitchen junk drawer.

**Straightened everything.

**added to my "things to clean list" and created a "things to buy list" and "things to make list"...

**Finished my Libba Bray books (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy). Um. Not so good. Sorry, but i can't stand the horror movie feeling... "NO! Don't DO that..." it makes me sick and cranky. And, i NEED happy endings. not just maybe happy endings-- seriously happy endings. or, at least a happy epilogue. i NEED to stick with sweet, Christian fiction, or Georgette Heyer... she knows just the perfect amount of conflict for my emotional soul and she can let me fall asleep at midnight to sweet dreams and one perfect kiss. Not so Libba Bray. (I'm afraid this is the real reason i woke up crabby.) TODAY- Day 4-- My Goal-- Vacuum. That's it. (Right Taneil?!)

I may sneak in some putting away, and I may carry around my trusty, Anti-bacterial Windex... but those are all extras.

My secondary goal-- Easter in the attic. It's just about gathered, i just need to risk the wrath of drew and delve into his hidden treasures to remove his basket and plastic eggs. He won't be mad, if i don't throw away all of his well-hoarded candy. but, it's so hard not to. when i see it sitting there, nasty, just wanting to rot his teeth slowly...

i also have a pta luncheon and FHE.

Side Note- for scripture time we are reading the kids illustrated Book of Mormon, and one section from For the Strength of Youth... love it. (we used to do this when the boys were little, but have been in the real Bible and Book of Mormon since the boys have been old enough to read... we decided to head back to the illustrated version so the little girls can learn the stories easier.) This morning I read the section on Families... Jakob was having a minor tantrum as he sat on the bench, Ellie was complaining that I said no white church shoes to school, and I was reading "Being part of a family is a great blessing. Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life. Not all families are the same, but each is important in Heavenly Father's plan. Do your part to build a happy home. Be cheerful, helpful, and considerate of others. Many problems in the home are created because family members speak and act selfishly or unkindly. Concern yourself with the needs of other family members. Seek to be a peacemaker rather than to tease, fight, and quarrel. Remember that the family is the most sacred unit of the church. Honor your parents by showing love and respect for them and by being obedient. Be willing to help in the home with chores that need to be done. Participate in family activities and traditions, including family prayer, family home evenings, and family scripture reading. These traditions strengthen and unify families. Set a good example for other family members..." It was EXACTLY what i needed to hear and remember... and EXACTLY what i wanted my kids to hear and remember. love it!!

Anyway, what i was going to tell you about is our little index-card goals. Jakob named them Treat Worthy Tasks. On Monday we set family goals and individual goals. We pray for each other morning and night, by name (looking at the card if we need to) and there are little boxes to mark off if we complete our goal.

Examples... my goal is to read my scriptures everyday. Anna's goal is perfect bedtimes. Ellie's goal is to say Yes Ma'm and Yes Sir... Drew's goal is to sing a song every time he wants to be mean or sassy. :) The kids decided that we should all take a trip to the grocery store to pick-out their favorite candy, for Family Night next week if we meet our goals. Sounds good to me!! We've been doing this for a few weeks now, and it's not MAGIC. But, it does teach self-improvement, it helps with family unity, and it reminds me when Anna gets out of bed ten time a night, that at least she knows what she should be doing and she's trying. Hey, I'm not perfect either.

Family Goals- they're GREAT!

ok- computer off.