Improvement

OK, things have gotten a lot better since the last time I blogged. I read it and am a little embarrassed! I started implementing a cleaning schedule this week, and it has went really good. My goal is two rooms for each day, just surface cleaning and tidying the first week, and the second week, deep cleaning. We are still in the first week, so there may be some adjusting to this routine after it's been tried out. It has been very relaxing and pleasing to have my house stay tidy this week. I am proud of it. And I have also had enough time with my kiddos, too!

My schedule basically revolves around Emma's feeding/fussy times. My goal this morning was to have Elijah and Grace sitting at the table doing "school" work by 11:00. Miss Emma had other ideas and we still haven't got to it! We also had a friend and her two children over for a visit today. It was nice to catch up and just hang out with another Mom for a while. But anyway, back to the school part. Elijah loves working in his workbook (just a WM pre-k thing). I can see vast improvements in his skills already. He is learning to color in the lines really well. Previously, he had not shown much interest in coloring, but is now going at it full blast and is becoming quite the little artist. He likes to draw and I am often surprised at how he gets the concept of what he is drawing down on the paper.

My camera is being cantankerous right now! I have changed and charged the batteries and it still tells me the batteries are dead! There are always good things to take pics of when the camera is down. With the cooler weather, the kids have played outside almost all day every day. I went to the back yard with them yesterday and stepped into their world of play. Elijah has collected scraps of wood from his Dad's discard pile, and has built "barns" with them. What a great picture to post (I wish). He has also set up drum sets with different sized buckets and boxes. He uses sticks for the drumsticks. He sleeps with them, and I have often heard him making drum sounds in his sleep! Grace uses her play cookware on her picnic table and her food is little nut thingies that fall off the trees and she gets water from the rain buckets to cook with. I love to see them outside developing their imaginations! I wonder, could they have this kind of imaginative play at a daycare or preschool? A good question to ponder.

Emma is getting better at her downtime. She will sit in her bouncy seat for 20-30 minutes at a time now and let Mommy have a break from holding her. Not that I don't like to hold her, but you know what I mean. She is sleeping better at night, as well. She is 4 weeks old this week, and holding her head up pretty well. She definitely has her own look!

I'm hoping the nice, fall-like weather continues. I think the Lord wants to bless us a little with some nice weather after the perils of the storms that have been passing through. It's like He is sending a healing balm in the breezes that flow through our hair. The storms of life are scary and destructive, but for a child of God, there is always hope. Quite often, the repairs we make after the storm make the land/houses look better than they ever did before the storm. If we can trust the Lord through it, we will be better and stronger after it.

Have a good weekend!