Week in the Life, Day 1 (10/27/14)

I've had a break from a super crazy business delivery/food processing schedule (thank you, Halloween) and I decided to dive into Week in the Life. It's really a chance for me to document what our lives look like right now. Because quite honestly, in a month, things will change, kids will change and I will have forgotten. I want my kids to look back at these albums and see the stuff their childhoods were made of - the snuggles, the school, the fights, the wrestling - all of it. This project has been a beast - it means taking  my camera around everywhere for 7 days and then spending a ton of time putting photos onto templates or journaling right  onto them. Today I finally sent them all off to my favorite photo developing site Persnickity Prints.

Sometimes I put Boss in the bath just to keep him happy. It means one of us has to be in there with him, but usually I just convince Sissy to take a bath with him :)

Chores. Sissy actually loves sorting dirty laundry into colors, so I'm kind enough to let her.

This kid loves to eat. He either eats homemade granola/plain Greek yogurt + honey or oatmeal.

He likes to crawl around on the floor when he doesn't want to obey me about something. It never works. I always win.

Here he jumped out of the bath to use the bathroom and then wash up his hands. And tell me a story.

These two actually play pretty well together.

This is my breakfast every.single.morning. Fried eggs and steel cut oats. I'll be honest - oatmeal doesn't make me feel great, but it holds me over until lunch.

Here's a homeschool shot done with my camera on the timer. The boys tried to photobomb pictures all week long. They succeeded at this one. As you can see, I journaled right on this photo.

More homeschool. If I read, Jude insists on sucking his thumb.

More chores - I can't keep up with the mess of the house all by myself. So, the kids help. I asked Jude to vacuum the kitchen floor.

Jude just woke up here - still sucking his thumb.

I decided this time to do a "right now" for each kid sometime during this week. Here is Jude's:

Me checking email in the morning - kids madly running in circles.

We have a tradition of going to the Academy Theater once a month. We do it while other kids wouldn't normally be there (i.e. an empty theater). It's cheap and it's a fun experience. We usually bring the neighbor girl. She's a huge help with the littles and totally worth the $2 admission :) So, I bring 5 kids by myself. Insane, but it works for us.

My lunch every.single.day. Quinoa stir fry with some green veggie and some protein + corn chips.

I try to put makeup on everyday, even if I don't plan on leaving. I went so long putting myself on the back burner (or being sick) that I went years without regular makeup application. It feels good to be on a regular makeup routine again.

Me driving - there are lots of these pictures with kids in the background.

I chose this photo for the Monday cover because this is just a classic shot of Jude. Being Jude.

We watched Maleficent for this month. So fun! Even Boss did great. Samuel made popcorn ahead of time, I rolled up burritos and we filled water bottles. Oh, and lollipops, too, of course. If I were to feed all these bodies during a movie, I would have to sell a kidney. Boss sat on my lap the whole time and ate.

This is rest time. It's wildly necessary for me since I wake up early (5:30) and four kids that never leave the house for school really wear me out. Rest time = reading, perusing Pinterest, but  most of the time, napping. I'm a tired person (probably from a bum thyroid) overall, so this rest is non-negotiable.

The bookends. They play together rarely. Samuel thinks he's too old to play with a three year old, but Boss convinces him sometimes.

Samuel making popcorn for the movie.

Chores. The kids do all the recycling. We recycle a lot of boxes, paper, etc.,. My kids get paid every other week, just in case you are starting to think we are slave drivers.

Here is Sissy's "right now". I could have said so much more and probably will on paper when I get this into the album.

Sissy crying - she does this a lot. I think she's more sensitive to pain - both physical and emotional - than the average kid. This is Samuel trying to make her feel better. Anytime a kid makes her cry, I make them take care of it. Unless is truly a big deal that a parent needs to take care of.

Chores. Sissy doing recycling.

This was Sissy's room before I spent 1/2  a day cleaning/purging it. This is just a little glimpse of the mess. Whenever I waste a ton of time cleaning up a kid room, I want to go more toward minimalism. Less stuff = more time. Sissy dresses herself and loves every  minute. Sometimes I don't understand her choices, but as long as they are modest, we are good.

I did this project a few years ago (Sissy was a baby) and every one of my family members enjoy looking at that album and remembering.