After school and date nights

Last week Gavin and I made a quick stop by Kate's school for lunch. It was great to see her among her friends and so happy.

When my kids get off that school bus and start running towards the house it is GAME ON. What was once a peaceful and quiet home is now a crazy & chaotic whirlwind. I have tried so hard to make it as organized as I possibly can. Which by the way is super hard because my nature is to go with the flow.  I don't love detailed plans but in the instance it is a must.

The kids come in and I ask them to wash their dirty grubby hands.

Then we sit down at the table opening their folders and homework while we grab a snacks.

Doing homework usually takes 15-30 minutes.  A few reminders and nudges to stay on task but really they do pretty well.  Once they are done with homework I have them clean up their area. (snacks, shoes, backpack,. . .etc.)

Next it is time to make lunches for the next day. They have gotten really good at this step. They love when I ask them "Have you made your lunch?" and they can quickly say "Yes!" I always try to make a big deal and say "No way, that was too fast, there is no way." They just giggle.

Now it is time for daily chores. Each kid has specific chores to do each day. Things like laundry, wipe down windows, dining room tables and chairs, microwave and stove.

Typically, the doorbell rings at least 3 times during this all. I try and keep the kids focused so they can get outside and play.  Check out this sign my husband came up with. It works with most of the neighbor kids.

I don't usually let friends come in the house during this already crazy time. I can't remember the special occasion here.

Why not have a dance party! Of course Emma is leading the charge.

Lance and I are starting something new these days. We are always trying to make things more efficient and run smoother.  We decided that our kids need more one on one time.  It is way to rare that we get to spend time talking with a child alone.

This week it was decided that Ethan and myself would go out on our "date".  We had so much fun. Ethan got to choose somewhere to eat. I am not sure how it works in other families but when we are trying to decide on a restaurant- majority rules. That means certain places never win. Ethan always wants Panda Express (and is the only one) so by golly, that is where we went. He got to eat whatever we wanted and even get a soda (we never do that). He was on cloud nine with just that.

We got yummy dessert at Orange Leaf and then went shopping. EThan must have said 8 times how much fun he was having. It made me feel so good that we had decided to do these "date nights" with our kids. I think it will pay off big. Next week it is Kate and Dad.

Lance and I were also fortunate enough to get a chance to go to the temple. Because our closest temple is 2 hours away it is super hard to go as often as we would like.  Abby was kind enough to hold the fort down for us on a Friday night.  One of our favorite restaurants is close by the temple so we always so there. Love Chuys!