A New Rhythm

So the last two weeks have brought a new rhythm to our household. K's in school all day and A's in school every day, I've got this photo thing going... so I have actually had to establish a morning routine, some rules, and a SCHEDULE! Hold the phone - I wouldn't believe it myself if I weren't living it. So far so good. The kids all get dressed and fed with minimal fuss or muss, and breakfast is eaten without any begging for "kids shows." We have a nice walk together down to the bus stop each morning. EB likes going to "skoo-skoo" to drop off big sis and often wanders into other kids' rooms to check things out. I listen to the sounds of power tools and hammers in the basement. We sit (and sit) in the afternoon carpool line to pick up big brother, but at least I get to read or work a little bit and A works puzzles or looks at books. K needs downtime when he gets home, so I've actually had a little peace and quiet for cooking dinner between 4 and 5. Now, dinner is another story - eating with them has become a nightmare this week - but Geof is coming up with new family dinner rules that the kids will sign off on, and he even bought a book to read to the kids before dinner to help remind them of what's expected. New and old activities have started some evenings, so it's generally busy around here!

K is keeping up with his drum set lessons at Rock School, and his teacher continues to give us encouragement that K has an unusual talent. Yesterday K's drum stage got framed in the basement, so he can't wait for it all to be finished so he can start rocking out. With all that's gone on in the last year, I've pretty much given up traditional scrapbooking. I just don't have time to drag out the big bin of supplies, I don't have time to browse the scrapbook store, I have WAY too many pictures to print, I have WAY too many little hands that want to help... So I'm dabbling in the world of digital scrapbooking. Here's my first official effort! I was so excited about it. Only took 30 minutes or so this morning before the kids were even out of bed. This would have taken all day the "old way."