The Story of my Daily Life

            I kept a notebook by me all day and decided to write a play by play of our family life- maybe observing it will help me see how to make it more peaceful.

            I woke up at 5am and read/wrote questions from the Book of Mormon while Donny practiced the chanter for his bagpipes in the van in the garage, so he wouldn’t wake the children.  We went up to the church to play basketball together at 5:30 am for exercise. When we arrived, we realized we had forgotten our church keys and had to return home to get them.  I asked Donny if we could do something more social than basketball self-drills, so we jogged the halls and I told him some of the lessons I learned the day before at Stake Conference (since he was home with our sick toddlers).  We both started a fast this morning for a sister in our ward who is having back surgery today.

            We arrived home at 6am for family scripture study.  Sadie bathed while we were gone so I could braid her hair before school. Packer was late for scripture study and hung over the couch the whole time, sometimes with his book open, sometimes with it closed. Before we read each verse of scripture, we asked a “search question” to the children.  I had to remind Myriam to pause and give the other children a chance to find the answer sometimes.

            I persuaded Packer to start cooking breakfast immediately after scripture study (6:20) and he complained about my request for him to take a shower before breakfast as well since he had peed the bed.  I ran upstairs and showered and threw a load of laundry in the washing machine.  I printed out a recipe for Sadie to take to her friend at school, then I woke up the toddlers and gathered for family prayer before Sadie and Donny left for school at 6:50.

            During breakfast, I read a book to the kids.  After breakfast, I ran upstairs to do another load of laundry while the children started cleaning up.  While I was gone, Myriam and Hunter sang teasing songs to Packer about him loving a girl (she invited him to her birthday party).          I yelled downstairs at Myriam to be a peacemaker and grabbed Hunter and put him in time-out since he had already been warned about singing teasing songs. 

            Hunter came out of time-out and sat on the library bench, then found us downstairs and asked if he could come join us.  I let him on probationary terms.  He and Packer took some puppets that Holland and Benson were playing with and started to get silly.  I warned them they were getting too loud.  Hunter asked for his Sudoku puzzle back, but I did his dishes while he was in time-out, so he had to sweep first to get it back.

            Myriam and Packer did puzzles in her bedroom while Holland danced around the basement singing and Benson played in a laundry basket.  Benson wasn’t feeling well and came moping over to sit on my lap.  Holland asked me to find her flashlight she got in her Christmas stocking, so I set down Benson and found it in my bathroom.  While I was upstairs, I threw in another load of laundry.  When I returned, she informed me it wasn’t hers and she gave it to Benson and I found her another one.  I braided Holland’s hair while Hunter was entertained by his Sudoku puzzles.  My stomach growled and Holland asked if I had an alligator in my tummy or if it was the Holy Ghost talking.  Benson came up and hit her because he wanted her flashlight.  After some persuasion training, she decided to be a peacemaker and trade him.

            I convinced the children to leave their puzzles and get loaded in the van for school.  Myriam and Packer hurried and finished their homework packets right before we left.  While Hunter was putting on his shoes, he took a toy away from Benson and made him cry.  Packer rushed downstairs to put a shirt on, since he only had on an undershirt. I started to slowly back out to rush them in their final preparations.  The whole drive there, the kids called out the temperature as they watched the gauge on the van drop to -9* before they got to school (it really was -13* today).  The kids said goodbye after I prompted them to thank me for the ride and I noticed blood on Packer’s teeth from his cracked lips.  I gave him some chap-stick while Holland screamed from the back of the van that she wanted to seethe blood.  On the way home, my watched beeped, reminding me to pray every hour to not get angry with my kids.  I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized I only have to manage 2 kids for a couple of hours.  When I walked in the door, I saw Packer’s homework packet on the kitchen counter and I decided to give it to him at the end of the day when I pick him up from school.

            Holland and Benson did roomtime while I did some secretarial work (I signed up for an organ workshop, talked with my mother-in-law on the phone about organizing a family fast for my niece Katie, wrote in this journal, and organized my pinterest recipes).  Holland helped Benson clean up his room afterwards and helped me fold laundry.  As we folded my garments, I told her they were special clothes Jesus gave me to protect me from Satan.  Then she and I took turns vacuuming the basement and holding Benson.  (Myriam’s room took a while because we moved her bed on Saturday to put up a puzzle table.)

            Holland and Benson watched Barnie while I talked with Brook on the phone and continued organizing recipes.  I fed them lunch, read to them, then put them down for naps.  During their naps, I practiced some foot pedal drills on the organ, then read “Great Expectations.”  I went to pick up the kids from school at 2:00 and took Packer his homework- he was walking to a birthday party (for the girl who my kids tease him about).  All the kids went to their own rooms to read while the toddlers napped. 

            Sadie warmed up left-over soup and made quesadillas for dinner.  Donny was at Parent-Teacher Conferences during dinner.  I grinded wheat and quinoa after dinner while the kids helped Myriam finish her 500 piece puzzle.  I gave Benson and Holland a bath while Myriam practiced Hymns on the piano.  I had to get after Holland for being silly about bottoms during bath-time.        

            I held Benson on the couch for a minute and watched Sadie and Hunter and Packer walk around on their knees in the living room.  Then I passed off Sadie and Myriam’s piano songs and helped Packer learn a song on the organ (he plays the foot pedals while I play the hands).  Donny got home from PT Conferences and I baked quinoa cookies quickly before family night while Myriam did a floor puzzle with Hunter (one of her goals for the week is to do a puzzle every day with Hunter to keep him busy).  Donny found the boys had left a window open (no wonder I was freezing all day and wearing a coat around the house). 

            We started family night in the music room where everyone had an opportunity to perform a song and I constantly reminded them to sit reverently (and I kept praying to not get angry).  We went into the family room and each person shared a story from the “Friend” magazine that they had recently read on their own.  I taught from a story book I had read Holland that day about bullying and Donny shared a story from high school.  We ate cookies and tucked kids into bed (Hunter kept coming out when he would get stuck on his Sudoku puzzle).

            Donny and I practiced music (piano and chanter) for a while after the kids went to bed.  My dad called to check on Benson and suggested a steam shower (Donny bought a humidifier today for him, so hopefully that will help his cough).  We went to bed with Donny telling me about the song, “Danny Boy” that he wants to play/sing at his grandma’s grave and me thinking about recipes.