Updates on Everyone

Today marks the end of the third week of school. How is everyone doing? Read for yourself (youngest to oldest):

Ollie: I wish I could say that he's sad when Rhett's at school, but he's not. He's such a good solo player, and I love that about him. He helps me with chores, takes super awesome naps, and even though he'd choose BounceU everyday if I let him, he's happy to do whatever I suggest (although I do ask him for input--don't worry). This kid LOVES to wear "soft pants." I'm afraid that I won't be able to get him out of sweat pants as a teenager. Unless he cares about girls, in which case he'll never touch sweat pants. I would like to start some sort of "Mom 'n' Me" preschool with him, but haven't had the energy yet. Hopefully soon.

Rhett: It ain't been pretty, folks. The start of school has once again wreaked havoc on our mostly-happy home. Daily tantrums have returned. Attempts at naps have been thwarted. Early bedtimes have been strictly enforced until tantrums subside. I have hope, however. He is doing great in school and seems to like his teacher. He started karate on Wednesday, and while he's not the most coordinated little person, he had fun. I just hope he keeps the karate to himself and doesn't "share" it with Ollie. Nearing his six-and-a-half birthday and still has all of his baby teeth. So glad I made this, huh?!

Chuck: Now that he's in a 12-month position, his life hasn't changed much. He loves when parents from other counties call to ask about "smart kid" programs for their 18-month-olds, however. So yeah, ask him about that.

Me: I am LOVING the return of routines that school brings. I find that the start of a school year is the time I'm most drawn to setting goals. The one big one for me is to be more disciplined. Which, I know, is a terrible goal because it's vague and not measurable. But in my head I know what I mean. I mean that I make myself do the things I should do before I do the things I want to do. "Things I Should Do" include chores, making Rhett's lunches, playing with the boys, etc. "Things I Want To Do" are internetting, sewing, etc. But I've done okay so far. Snags include when babysitter is sick and we have to rework my schedule and chaos ensues. Thankfully for all parties, babysitters get better.

House: Remember when you brought your first baby home from the hospital and you thought, "What were they thinking?! Who would let us take home this baby?! Who would let us become parents?!" Well sometimes that's how I feel about homeownership. I mean, who let me buy a house?! What do I know about houses? When will I ever find time to take care of it? Some time ago, we started "No TV Mondays." We would use that time to work on house projects that I just couldn't seem to fit in during the day. Then it lapsed. Then I brought it back. Then Chuck said that he'd like it better if we spread it out over the week. So our new plan is to spend the first 30 minutes after the kids go to bed working on "big" house maintenance things. So far we've done things like clean the blinds, scrub the wood floors, clean the cabinet fronts, clean walls, clean closets, vacuum basement spiders, wipe down our dining room table that was a disaster, etc. I'll still get done the smaller things like dusting and sweeping and vacuuming during the daytime, but these big jobs are just much better with company. Plus, it means a whole new calendar I'll get to create!

I think that's about it. Oh, other than this, the most exciting pin I've pinned recently. I love it so much.