Count Down To Chaos....

We are savoring the last few days of summer as we count down to chaos. School, dance etc. will soon be consuming our days and nights. Luckily we were able to sneak away and spend some time with the cousins in San Diego. It was my nephews 6th birthday. (Coincidentally I have zero pictures of the birthday boy??) Here is Ryanne and her cousin Jacqueline.  

Morgan and her cousin AJ......

Lucky for us it was a Mario Bros. party so there were mustaches for everyone.....

Or maybe NOT so lucky for us. Ha! Dan and his baby sister sporting the very ah-hem attractive facial hair....

In preparation for busy weeks ahead I really started praying about how I could simplify our days and nights so I would not be a grouch to my kids.....God really started to make my heart heavy for the fact that I need to prioritize and plan on the weekends better. So I made a commitment to sit every Saturday and make a list of meals for Monday-Thursday. Then on Sundays I have been doing all the food shopping for those meals.

I cook, cut, chop and bake for about 3-4 hours Sunday afternoon and in the end I have a fridge full of washed and cut fruits and veggies, all my meats cooked to toss into meals and meals made, covered and labeled so all I have to do is throw them in the oven or crock pot the morning of. I let the girls take turns planning the menu even down to the snacks and desserts for the week. Last week I made gluten free brownies and also blueberry/raspberry muffins that we enjoyed all week long.

Then the menu gets written up on this cute re purposed window pane covered with chalk board paint. I found it for $20 at a cute little antique store near our house. I get SOOOO tired of hearing my kids ask at 8am,"What's for dinner?" I know bad mom but whatever....I have barely gotten my bearings for the day and they want me to think about the dinner plans? Ugh! So now no more questions about food. They look forward to seeing the menu on the kitchen counter and it's settled. Peace on earth....

I  might have picked this up at the antique store as well.......It's in my laundry room and if you sent us a Christmas card your up there on the wall of fame. I have a love hate relationship with laundry. I love clean underwear but I hate washing them. There I said it. This brightens my day when I see your smiling faces and reminds me to pray for you.

The reason our school year is going to be so crazy is because the girls are both in dance. I don't know if I mentioned this in my last post but Morgan is also dancing on the competitive dance team this year so between the two girls I am at 10 dance classes a week. Uh huh, go ahead say it, you know you want to. I'm nuts! Yup' pretty much. Hence the reason for making healthy meals ahead of time and trying to save any ounce of sanity I may have left. 

Luckily they started back to dance two weeks before school starts so I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. Not totally being thrown in the fire with everything all at once. I do love watching them dance and yes to make sure you know I am nuts I go to and stay at every class. Well, Dan helps when he is home. But mostly I am the one there. I love it. I get offers to carpool and I can't hardly do it because the kids are so fun to watch. My biggest fear is that as I near 40 my butt is going to spread from here to kingdom come because of all the hours I sit on it watching dance. Ha! Anyways, I have a feeling its going to be a fun year. I'm excited about our 6th year of home schooling and third year of dance. I can't promise I won't be drooling on myself by May but I just keep telling myself,"Breath in, breath out." :) Have a blessed week and enjoy your kids!