Monday, Monday, Jump and Run Day!

When my kids were little, there was a days of the week song that had "Monday, Monday, Jump and Run Day" and the kids and I still remember it...I like the idea of jumping right into the week.

Switching our dates to Monday morning helps both Superman and me start the week on the right track. (If I'm in my car in workout clothes and a parka and am not dissuaded by the fact that the temperature is reading -1 as I'm backing out of the driveway at 7:00 a.m., it must be love, right?)

Anyway, I was home by 8:30 a.m. and ready to start my day. Here it is 11:30 a.m. and the laundry is already done, a loaf of bread is on its final rise, the Red Fox has already put me through 45 minutes of working out (yes, 1 of my 5 I've committed to doing per week!), plants are watered (they're grateful), emails checked and answered, meat is thawing for dinner, the school day has begun and I'm posting on my blog. After lunch, I'll head down with the kids and we'll focus on the stuff they need me for until 3:00 or so and we'll be done with school. And there you have it, the recipe for an awesome day!

(I feel kind of like the old Army commercial that used to play all the time: "we do more by 6:00 a.m. than most people do in an entire day!") Like momstheword, I think the key to my days is getting an early start, no matter how much I don't like getting up early.

As for the rest of the week, I have the dinner menu set. I've decided to try something new...instead of specifically scheduling each day, I've asked Superman and the kids to each pick two suggestions for dinner and we'll spread them over the 7 day period. So, beginning today, these are on the menu for this week, with their tentative days:

Valiant's favorite gravy and rice with vegetables (Monday)

Lasagna with cheese bread (Tuesday)

Turkey Burgers with homemade french fries (Wednesday)

Pizza from scratch (Friday)

Garlic Cheddar Chicken (Sunday)

Mexican Night (Saturday)

Leftovers (Thursday)

Having all these dinners set in everyone's minds will help us from wanting to go out or running to go buy the stuff for some other meal. The kids and I are going to do the same thing for our breakfasts and lunches, too, so that should help us stay on track.

Finally, for anybody who's keeping count, I'm up to 10 Egg McMuffins in 2009. I think I should be embarrassed by that, but I just not. Last week really messed with my numbers, but I'm thinking I won't do so badly this week!

Chores...

At 9 and 12 (soon to be 10 and 13), Buttercup and Valiant are certainly capable of doing basic chores around the house on a regular basis. I am a firm believer that they should take care of their personal spaces, contribute to the care of communal spaces, and help care for the furry, feathered, and scaled animals they so love. For the most part, they do a terrific job, but...I was getting really tired of hearing, "But you didn't tell me I had to do that today!" for chores they darned well knew were daily chores...things like putting their clean clothes away, feeding the animals, etc.

Last summer I came up with our chore lists that had chores they were responsible for on a daily basis and a weekly basis (hamster cage cleaning, lawn mowing, taking the cans out for the trash truck and BRINGING the cans back in). No longer could they say they didn't KNOW they were supposed to do x or y. I made them a bit more fun by adding clip art to the chores. After two weeks I decided they were working, so I printed out fresh copies and had them laminated...my plan was to use dry-erase markers, but they wouldn't erase! We use highlighters or water-based markers instead. The only problem? The kids kept losing their list and then, again, the dreaded, "I didn't know I was supposed to do that TODAY," came back.

My dear friend A has let me borrow her eyelet/rivet thing so I can make LollyChops awesome calendars and I was struck with inspiration. So, I punched holes, set eyelets, tied some ribbon, and now they can be hung in the same place every night...cheerfully ready for the next day! So, the kids might not thank A, but I sure do!