~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I highly recommend getting up early.
No, not at some ungodly hour . . . just a while before the kids wake up.
This morning I came groggily to consciousness at 6am. Whatever for? Well, I failed to close the curtains completely before crashing last night (er, this morning). I couldn't go back to sleep because the thought that my sleeping in might keep Vern from getting out in time to make it to Oregon for his appointments this afternoon kept me from my deliciously soft flannel pillowcase.
And the light was still in my face.
So I got up, fed BabyB (who didn't really wake up), had some quiet time to spend in the scriptures (in my very own reading chair, I might add), showered, got together some sandwiches and other food for Vern to take with him today, and was bright-eyed and happy to see the munchkins as they emerged one by one. (Well, the girls came out together, since it was Lil'MissL who woke up first, and woke MissE, who then got Lil'MissL out of her crib.)
And all before 7:30.
I've been in a reasonably good mood for most of the day. It's only half through, but still. That's an accomplishment. I made lunch in a fun new dish from Ikea's 365 collection, (sorry, camnesia strikes again), took the leaf out of the table to make it round so we all could scoop bean dip straight out of the fun dish with our tortilla chips, and now the table is wiped and the dishes taken care of (well, mostly--one skillet from breakfast still needs washing).
The three youngest are down for naps, (on time, I might add! Woo-hoo!), BabyB has slipped gracefully into a 3-hour schedule now that I have the spare processor cycles to pay some attention (he wakes up, eat 30 minutes later, nap 30 minutes after that for about two hours), and now I'm trying to decide where next to attack the re-packing process.
Yesterday I got my clothing cleared out of the master closet and boxed up, leaving out only the things I'll need for about a week (well, a week with lots of laundry--not much fits right now . . . ugh Ugh UGH), and I worked on getting the kids' clothes into the same state this morning after breakfast. We're getting close with their stuff, and it really won't take long to get the rest taken care of. The biggest trick will be trying to figure out how to fit everything in the truck. It barely fit coming here, and now I have three rather large pieces of furniture (plus three smaller ones), to add into the mix. We've been scratching our heads, trying to figure out how to fit more into the truck than we did on the way here, but we're really not sure how to do it. Nearly every drawer, nook & cranny was filled, including the chest freezer. We did forget to fill the fridge and dryer . . . but I'm afraid it's not likely that a couch, loveseat, large chair, ottoman, small chair and table will fit in that space.
Oh, and I really will post photos soon . . . honest. My living room looks so pretty now, compared to when it was empty, that it warms my heart every time it comes into view. (And I have no idea how Vern types at all on this funky ergonomic keyboard . . . on an online test last week, he clocked something like 94 words/minute. I'm making so many errors that I'm not getting much past 35.)
And now, off to pack and cull, pack and cull, pack and cull!
