A New Beginning

Let's try this again, shall we? *wink*

I've never been very good at keeping a blog, but I'm all for giving it another go. It's a welcome relief, a wonderful break, because I rarely get to sit at my computer for more than five minutes without being interrupted. (Want to know how many times I had to stop while typing this ONE paragraph?)

It's just another day here in CrazyTown. The same (crazy) day we live every weekday, every month, every year. But, I'm not complaining; definitely not. That's just the way it goes here. It may sound monotonous, but in truth it really isn't. It doesn't mean I don't occasionally wish for some change, some different kind of excitement (and every now and then we do happen upon some in one form or another). If we just had a second car and weren't stuck in the house for the majority of the time, the days wouldn't mesh together in the same (crazy) slow manner that they do now. I find myself frequently forgetting which day it is.......

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I'll start at the beginning. I am twenty-three years (young)old, married to the best husband I've ever had (not to mention, the only) for seven years this fall, and mother to four adorable towheaded babies. Philip Daniel Jr., my oldest and only son, will be six years old in August. Hard to believe, but true nonetheless. Next in line is Lucie, my little Mini-me in almost every way. Lucie Madison just turned four in April. She and Philip are 20 months apart. Then there's Eden Grace. Eden turned two in April. She and Lucie are just four days shy of being exactly 24 months apart. And my latest little bug is Ella Claire. She and Eden are a little less than 14 months apart (Ella will be one in June). Hard to believe she was born almost a year ago when it seems like only yesterday. Of course, as all mothers say, time is flying by too quickly. Thank the LORD I'm blessed enough to be able to stay home and take care of them and teach them myself. I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

We start off every day in the same general way. We get up between 7 and 8 (sometimes the kids waking first, sometimes not) and first thing, coffee is started. Breakfast is hardly ready before the kids are completely awake and full of energy. By the time we eat, they've told me at least twenty times what they would like to drink, and in which cup they would like said drink in, while I remind them to be patient, and that I will give them their drinks in whichever cups I lay hands on first. Philip has actually become more patient as of late and will even add after requesting a drink "and I'll have whatever cup you get for me, Mommy". I love this. He is growing up and is such a sweet boy, most of the time. :D

As the kids eat their breakfast and Phil leaves for work, I enjoy my cup (or three) of coffee with the occasional interruption. (My life is filled with occasional interruptions!) I tell the kids to just eat and talk amongst themselves while I have my coffee and either read a book, or catch up on fb. I tell them this a few times.
Breakfast done, dishes cleaned, coffee finished - we start on schoolwork. Right now, Philip is the only one doing actual schooling. Lucie practices her letters (writing and spelling small words) and counting (she can count to 100, sometimes missing a number here or there) but doesn't have any actual school books yet. Eden just likes to color while we work, and Ella occupies herself fairly well on the living room floor. Philip works on his reading, which he does very well now. He also works on his math and handwriting.
Usually, we haven't finished schoolwork when lunchtime sneaks up on us. So we break for that. Around 12:30 or 1 pm, Phil shows up for his lunch break also (thankfully, his office is less than 10 minutes from our home). I make more coffee for us both and either salads or some kind of high in protein soup or sandwich.

After Phil heads back to work, Philip and I keep working on his schooling, and the girls go play upstairs. While Philip works, I clean up the kitchen for at least the second time that day. Once that is done and Philip is finished with his work, the kids all either play upstairs for a bit, color, or watch a movie. Did I mention that during all this I am also usually doing laundry and just all-around cleaning the downstairs as the day goes on? Around 4pm I get the kids together and we all start cleaning up any messes that they have made (which is usually quite a bit). They all pitch in upstairs in their rooms, and I clean up the downstairs (again) before Phil gets home a little after 5. Unless he has guitar lessons that day... then he won't be home until 8:30 or so and we hold off on our clean-up time a bit. What's the point in COMPLETELY cleaning the house when it will just be messed up a little while later?
We have dinner together, read together, play together and then bath time for kids (although they don't get baths every night... mostly because they're hardly ever dirty enough to justify the water usage). All cleaned up, and off to bed. Daddy is a big part of bed-time. He does most of the tucking in, although I usually read something to them first. They are usually in bed by 9.

Once the oldest three are finally in bed, Phil and I catch up on each other's day while we play/talk with Ella. She usually stays up later than the others since she sleeps in our room. She falls asleep by 10, most of the time, and then Phil and I are free to watch a movie, or Letterman, or just do whatever while there's some peace and quiet in our house. And because I('m crazy) love my quiet time, I end up staying up way too late nearly every night. I generally go to bed by 3am, but sometimes after that.
Yes, I am crazy.

And, rinse and repeat. :D But while this is how our typical day goes, I didn't add in the fighting, arguing, and just all around noise that also goes on frequently throughout our day. Also, our days are far from routine, so sometimes the order is changed up a bit. But I'm sure anyone reading this blog will find that out at a later date. Now, it's time for me to get dinner started and finish cleaning up the downstairs... again!