Saturday DECLUTTERING!

[Heather W]

Today's Challenge: Floors and flat surfaces today!

School Challenge: Long range planning- when is everyone ending their school year?

Inspiring Thought: (from Read for the Heart) Thus it is absolutely necessary that children be given the means to dream. Children can be filled up with facts, equipped with a wide knowledge, and trained to embrace a correct understanding of reality. BUT, if their imagination has died in the process, they will have no energizing dream on which to base a vision-driven life.

For me today:

• post office to send a few things
• library to pick up some books- and I'll see what can be returned
• pick up E13 at 10:30
• perhaps a stop at a store before coming home
• study falconry
• do school planning- particularly math for R
• MOPS work
• school reports
• online orders (two)
• get house back into showing shape- no calls since the open house. We obviously live in a stink house.
• email friends about plans

Have a lovely Saturday!

[JoelleH]

Good morning!

DS2 slept much better last night clogged ears must have been bugging him.

Ch1 - the breakfast bar always needs to be cleared off. Maybe get to some of dhs stacks in the office, although we still haven't talked about a new system...

Ch2 - DD6 will finish her phonics next week and math the week after that. Our last book to row will be the week of Memorial Day. During the summer we will still do some things - work on whatever seems a little weak (some add/subt facts, figure out tying shoes! etc.)

On my list today:

• pick up bountiful basket at 9 am
• China adoption playgroup 10 - noon
• grocery run (too tired yesterday after 2 hours at the dr!)
• exercises for dd
• dishes
• hang clothes for consignment sale
• laundry - 2 or 3 loads?
• dinner - pasta dish
• blog??? It's been several weeks....my family esp. would like to see dd and ds!!
• assist dh if needed in doing taxes - time is running out!

That looks like an awfully long list to me....we'll see how it goes.

Have a great day!!

[Lisa in Ft. Worth, T]

Happy Saturday, Girls.


Laundry
Clean kitchen
Make a cake with the girls
Play Wii
Do a craft

(the boys are on a canoe campout trip this weekend)

[Heather W]

So far:

• french toast made and cleaned up- still can't believe a lot of you do not make breakfast for your families!
• washed dishes
• wiped counters and table
• unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher
• floor swept
• dishwasher started
• laundry folded- one load or more
• started new laundry and advanced a load
• had boys pick up their room- except for hexbug sets all over, it's good
• made J6's bed and hung up some of his clothes
• made our bed and took any laundry out of there
• put out some recycling
• gathered items to prepare to get to the PO- I have some nametags to mail to team members along with some gift cards

That is a good start to the day!

Next up: prepare the addresses, etc for the PO and gather library books to go there. Then I will leave for those places- very quick trip here in the village.

[shonda in ca]

I will work on floors and flat surfaces today!

Thoughts for you, Heather:
1. You might need a new real estate agent. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Their job is to bring people to you and if that isn't happening, there is a problem.
2. Have you thought about staging your home? It would mean renting a storage unit and putting most of your stuff in it. No homeschool stuff or personal items. Very minimal. The reason our new house looked so great in the pictures is because it was staged.

I know you don't want to live that way (in a staged home) but it is a thought. Trying to sell/trying to buy is the most stressful thing you can do as a family. Thinking of you guys!

[CINDY LB OH]

• back from grocery shopping at WM
• unloaded and put away groceries
• checked Giant Eagle ad for meat deals.... I don't buy my meat at WM

Today's Challenge: Floors and flat surfaces today!
Most definitely! Especially the master bedroom. My dump pile has gotten kind of s p r e a d o u t. I need to pile it up again though it is gradually getting smaller

School Challenge: Long range planning- when is everyone ending their school year?
We have technically 6 weeks left. But most likely the "formal" schooling will end May 18th. I will need to keep ds13 doing little things here and there though throughout the summer.

Inspiring Thought: (from Read for the Heart) Thus it is absolutely necessary that children be given the means to dream. Children can be filled up with facts, equipped with a wide knowledge, and trained to embrace a correct understanding of reality. BUT, if their imagination has died in the process, they will have no energizing dream on which to base a vision-driven life.
Love this. Another one to write in my planner!

TODAY:

• go to other grocery store for meat
• library run for pick up and returns
• possible dollar store run--- the one next to WM closed up When did that happen?
• figure out what we are going to do about dd17's dress
• re-pile my dump pile so it looks more organized... bag up anything I know will go to Goodwill
• start baking for graduation.... cookies for freezer
• make a batch of pancakes for the freezer for ds5
• a little school planning here and there

Enjoy your day!

[CINDY LB OH]

[*]french toast made and cleaned up- still can't believe a lot of you do not make breakfast for your families!

I never cook breakfast for my family. Never have. There is cereal, toast, english muffins, bagels, eggs available. Ds13 has instant breakfast drink in the mornings, I ask ds5 if he wants something or not, everyone else gets their own. I grew up not eating a family-style breakfast, so I think that's why. I didn't even know people ate breakfast together as a family until I was at dh's family for the first time and they were all waiting for me to come down for breakfast Dh comes upstairs, I'm still sleeping, and he wants to know if I'm coming down for breakfast because they are all waiting. What?!!? He never explained this to me I told him NO. I would be down later. He says, but they are all waiting..... I said, SO? Go ahead and eat.... geesh, it's just breakfast It took them literally years before they finally figured out that I wasn't going to change, and they can go on without me

Thoughts for you, Heather:
1. You might need a new real estate agent. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Their job is to bring people to you and if that isn't happening, there is a problem.

I was thinking the same thing. They should simply be bringing people... "Here's another house option. Let's go look at this one." Really, they work for the seller, not the buyer. After all, who pays them in the end, not the buyer.

Lisa-- Sounds like you have a fun, relaxing day planned. Enjoy.

[Cari]

Good morning. I think I've still got a bit of the feeling sorry for myself thing going, but I slept in after taking some anxiety meds last night and at least physically I feel a little better. We have small group tonight so getting ready for that will be my focus .

Today's Challenge: Floors and flat surfaces today!

• They ALL need work today

School Challenge: Long range planning- when is everyone ending their school year?

• We'll finish in pieces. DS11 & DD7 are scheduled to be done on May 18th. DD18 needs to be done in time to have her evaluation completed and graduation paperwork submitted by May 30th. DD15? Who knows? Given she's not allowed to do any schoolwork until she's headache free, and she's barely done anything since her injury two weeks ago, we could be looking at June 30th (state deadline) .

So here's my plan for today:

• Shower/Dress/Breakfast/Meds
• Finish yesterday's laundry
• Load/run dishwasher
• Clear/wipe down kitchen counters
• Tidy office
• Tidy downstairs
• Quick-clean powder room
• Sweep kitchen/breakfast area
• Update school logs
• Balance checkbook
• Bills/filing
• Dinner/Clean up
• Small group
• Bedtime for littles
• Clean up after small group
• Collapse in bed!

The list really doesn't LOOK any worse than one of my typical lists. Not sure why I feel so overwhelmed by it. I need to get out of this funk and back to myself soon .

[Heather W]

I will work on floors and flat surfaces today!

Thoughts for you, Heather:
1. You might need a new real estate agent. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Their job is to bring people to you and if that isn't happening, there is a problem.
2. Have you thought about staging your home? It would mean renting a storage unit and putting most of your stuff in it. No homeschool stuff or personal items. Very minimal. The reason our new house looked so great in the pictures is because it was staged.

I know you don't want to live that way (in a staged home) but it is a thought. Trying to sell/trying to buy is the most stressful thing you can do as a family. Thinking of you guys!

Well...it is mostly staged. We took a lot of things to storage.

I don't know...I have mentioned more than once that I think our agent is dropping the ball, but Dan doesn't seem to think so.

She is doing plenty of advertising for us, but it's not bringing people. So, I'm not sure what to say. It could be our house is priced between where people are looking on internet searches. So, it doesn't come up for them.

The people who have come say it is not what their interested in. So, not sure.

but, I'll mention it to Dan again...

[Cari]

french toast made and cleaned up- still can't believe a lot of you do not make breakfast for your families!

And I can't believe how often you do ! You must be so much more of a morning person than I am. I can barely stumble through cooking for dinner at 4:00 pm. Mine know breakfast is self-serve or make your own... DS11 can actually do both pancakes & sausage, and eggs quite well on his own (although we're still working on the clean-up aspect...)