Today *post edit*

What a day. It was a good day, so it had to be documented. Those are so few and far between that it's a small miracle when it happens.

I woke up to the little man crawling into my bed at 6:30 AM. Hey, whatever makes him sleep longer. I got up after he fell back to sleep to work on some homework. I finished my English paper (6 page narrative draft) that was due tonight, and read 2 chapters in my English book. I started the laundry and then went up to make everyone breakfast. I cleaned up the kitchen, switched out the laundry, and folded the 2 loads that were finished. I read books to Magnus and Baron, helped everyone get dressed and ready for the day, do their chores, and helped them get started on piano practice, reading, and math worksheets. After that I played a game with Daphne and then a few kids left to go play with friends. I worked on some math homework (finished 5 homework assignments!) and then went and got dressed (finally!) I cleaned up the house, finished the laundry, and got Magnus down for a nap after lunch. Laylah and her friends had a giftcard to Iceberg and wanted me to take them to get shakes. Andy was sweet enough to volunteer, so he took the girls for a treat. I had 2 clients come get haircuts, both old friends from high school. It was fun to have an adult conversation. After that I made dinner, Mexican food. We ate and cleaned up and then had Family Home Evening. Andy had made cinnamon rolls for dessert, and we had an UNO competition, which I lost. I was also able to cuddle with Jonah for a bit while he told me about Pokémon. The kids got ready for bed, we read scriptures and prayed, and then they went to bed. I loved that I had a little moment with each one of my kids today, because sadly, that doesn't always happen. Andy and I spent an hour talking and reconnecting, and then I took Sadie with me for a run. I just got home and ready for bed, and here I am. It was so nice to have very few squabbles with the kids. They all got along, I didn't have to argue about anything with anyone, and everything on my to -do list was accomplished.

I need to record a great day once in awhile so I don't forget to appreciate the small things in life. Even though I am so tired and I feel like I did a lot today, I am really grateful that it was productive and happy. I love the happy days.

*post edit*
this was originally published on Monday June 24th, but re-posted today
I took this post off of my blog for a few days, because I wrote it really late and thought maybe I sounded a little like I was bragging about all that I had accomplished in a day? I don't know. But, for the record, that's why it was documented. Like I said at the top, my good days are few and far between. The days where I don't argue with my kids all day, or where I get absolutely nothing done, or where I have a sink full of dirty dishes, laundry baskets full of clean clothes to fold, and dinner isn't ready until 8 PM. Believe me, this day is not typical. But, it still made me happy :)

Homework

If there is anything I'm going to dislike about being back in school, it's sure to be the homework. Now, I get it. I understood that I would be doing homework, writing papers, reviewing math that I hadn't done in over 15 years. However, if there is anything worse than busywork, I will eat my hat. 

Truly, I have spent more hours in the last week doing busywork thank I have sleeping. If my count is correct, I have done over 600 math problems ranging from multiplying decimals to long division, ratios to rounding, fractions to conversions, and everything in between.

Surprisingly, it has all come back to me and I have yet to encounter a problem I couldn't solve (even though math is most definitely not my strong suit), however, it has taken hours upon hours to get there. I am oh so tired. I have stayed up until 2 AM the last 3 nights working on my math homework. It's exhausting. I guess I will really see if I can hack it as a college student. I seriously doubt I could have 12 years ago, which is the age normal people do it. 

Here's to being the oldest one in my math class! (Except I'm really not... I sit in front of a woman with white hair. Go, granny, go!)

Life As We Know It

Well, I don't really know exactly what I am doing up at 1 AM. Today (yesterday) was the last day of school for my kids, and I am beat. But, I have a lot on my mind and I can't really sleep, and sometimes when I come to the computer to write, it just seems to make everything a bit more manageable. Funny how that works.

As usual, "life" (ie. family, kids, laundry, as well as some foolish, necessary things) has been priority 1 lately, which is sometimes the exact opposite of how I would wish it to be. The last couple years I feel like I have just been trying to keep my head above water. I feel like life has continued to throw us lemon after lemon after lemon after.... you get the idea. And geez, I sure am sick of lemonade. I think I ran out of sugar awhile ago, so it is some nasty and sour lemonade anyway.

The problem with this is, I know a lot of people have hard things going on. And, in a way, I feel like their hard things are a lot more significant or challenging than my hard things, so I really try to count my blessings, and not complain. I mean, my family is healthy. I have had some incredible blessings regarding my health issues in the last few months. I feel great (besides being a zombie, that is), and I feel like I can handle almost anything when I am feeling well. My kids are healthy. My husband is healthy. I am so incredibly grateful for that. I really try not to forget how good we have it in that area. I am grateful for health.

Andy and I start school next week. We finally got approved for residency, so now we can make this happen. Life is about to become even busier, if that is at all possible. Andy will graduate with his associate's degree by the end of summer and move on to finish his bachelor's. I could not be more ecstatic about this information. It has been a long time coming. However, it will be a challenge. I know many days of studying and homework and late nights are in our future. It will be quite a ride. I am grateful for the opportunity.

My kids are amazing. They bring me so much joy, but they sure are messy little things. If I have to ask who left the wii remotes out on the floor one more time, I will throw the wii in the garbage. Not really, but maybe in the back of the storage room. I love them anyway. I'm used to the mess by now, and probably wouldn't know what to do if my house stayed clean for more than 15  minutes anyway. I am grateful for my kids.

My husband is so supportive. He is so funny. I laugh with him every day. I love to learn and grow with him. I love that we know what the other is thinking with just a simple look. In a couple weeks, we will celebrate 11 years of marriage. I can hardly believe it. I am so grateful for my husband and the rock that he is for me.

I'm not really sure how this random, middle-of-the-night-blog-post turned into a thanksgiving post, but I guess that is what I needed right now. Amidst trials and difficulty and all of the negative, it helps to remember my blessings, because although I might complain, I do have a lot of those. And for that, I am grateful.