He's up to it again...

Just when we thought our elf Percy had gotten tired of playing tricks on us in the middle of the night... he proved us wrong!

Remember how we decorated a gingerbread house on Sunday? Well, apparently Percy wanted his own elf-sized gingerbread house...

What a mess he made! Icing, graham crackers, candy... it was everywhere!

But I must admit, he did create a cute little house.

Last night as Payton was getting ready for bed, he told us he needed to write Percy a letter asking him to help him on his Pokemon DS game. We explained that Percy didn't have magical powers to help him on video games, but he insisted on writing the letter... and taping it to his bedroom door.

 I love how he spelled "please" several different ways.

This is how Percy responded:

Fortunately, Payton was just as happy with his new Pokemon trading cards. He even thanked Percy:

I wonder what this crazy elf will be up to next???

Side-by-Side

Definitely brothers. :)

Sunday Nights - Time to get Organized!

I have a few friends who remember me from back when I had my own organizing business. They often ask me things like, "How do you keep your home organized?" or "What do you to do plan out your meals?" or "How do you have time to blog?" or "When do you clean your house, in what order, and when do you do laundry?" 
So, I figured I would dedicate a post solely to answering some of those questions. Because, whether we want to admit it or not, all of us moms are looking for ways to be more efficient with our time so that we can possibly carve out just a few minutes to sit down and relax! :)
This post could be several pages long, but I'm not going to go into much detail. Basically, what I want to share with you is what my life looks like on a typical Sunday night.

To back-up a bit, our Sunday mornings can get a little hectic. Both Brian and I serve at our church every week, which generally requires us to be there from 8:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. most Sundays. So, once we're home... we're home for good! We don't run errands on Sundays, we really try not to go to the grocery store, and for the most part, we don't even socialize much on Sundays. We hunker down and enjoy some quiet family time (which often involves a walk up to Starbucks).
After spending the entire afternoon together, we get the boys to bed pretty early in anticipation of another busy week starting up in the morning. Tonight, Parker was in bed by 5:30 and Payton by 7 p.m. Once they are in bed, Brian and I go our separate ways. It sounds funny, but it's kind of true. Most nights, we sit side-by-side on the couch or in bed and watch our shows. But Sunday nights, he goes to his desk and does work, and I get down to business!

First off... I get all of the dirty laundry together and throw in a load of wash. While it starts running, I get out my calendar and look at what is coming up during the week. If I need to email people about plans, babysitting, volunteering, etc. I do it then.
Second, I use the calendar to make up my meal plan for the week. I have a tear-off menu meal-planning pad that has the days of the week listed on one side, and a shopping list on the other. I write down anything that is going on in the evenings so I know whether I need to do a crock-pot meal, or something quick like sandwiches. 
Third, I then look in the pantry and freezers to figure out what I already have on hand for meals and then cross-reference that with what is on sale at Publix (I view their weekly ad online every Sunday evening). Then I go through my coupons and make up my shopping list.
I go grocery shopping every Monday morning. EVERY. MONDAY. MORNING. I do not deviate from this as it helps me plan out the meals for the entire week, and in general, Publix is very quiet and not crowded on Monday mornings.
While I'm doing all of this meal planning, I am continually taking clothes out of the washer and putting them into the dryer, and then folding as the loads are done. I try to get all of the laundry washed, dried and folded Sunday night so I don't have to think about it on Monday morning.
After the meal planning is complete, then I do some light cleaning. I tidy up all the toys, dust the family room furniture, run the Swiffer over the floors and run the dishwasher. This takes maybe 15 minutes total.
After that, I get started on my "daily evening routine" which includes, making Payton's lunch, setting up the coffee for the morning, setting out all the vitamins, dog meds, etc. and cleaning off all the kitchen counters/sink, etc.
When all of that is complete, I feel like I can really relax and do what I want to do... which is usually email, blog, surf Pinterest, read magazines, etc. And I don't feel guilty about it! I know that I've done what I need to do so that my Monday will go as smoothly as possible and I can truly relax.
So, in summary, here's a list - in order - of what I do on Sunday nights starting at about 7 p.m.:
1. Collect laundry and start first load
2. Look over calendar for the week, send out any important/urgent emails pertaining to schedule
3. Create meal plan for the week
4. Check pantry, freezer, coupons & Publix ad to create shopping list
5. Continue with laundry as loads are done washing, drying, etc. Fold along the way as well!
6. Tidy up playroom/family room. Dust tables, vacuum floors.
7. Make lunch, coffee, clean kitchen counters, sink, run dishwasher.
8. RELAX!!! :)
It may sound like a lot for Sunday evening, but trust me, if you can get even some of these things done, you will feel like you are ready to face Monday with a smile! It will get your week off to such a great start knowing your laundry is done, your meals are planned, and you got a little "me time" to relax and re-group.
I hope this helps at least one person out there. Love ya'll!

Gingerbread

I was trying to remember today when we started the tradition of decorating a gingerbread house. I believe it was 2007, when we made our first creation with Payton's best friend, Lilly. So tonight, I scoured my photos trying to find pictures of that special time... but no luck. For some reason, I have no pictures on my computer from 2007. And I barely have any Christmas-time photos from 2008. Strange! So, I grabbed the photos that I could easily access and made a little time line collage:

We made our latest creation today. I love watching how excited Payton gets when we open up all the candy and the gingerbread. I can just feel the anticipation when I'm "gluing" the house together with frosting as he waits with bated breath to start decorating it.

 Then finally the fun can begin!

 I'm so glad that we still get to have special one-on-one time like this with Payton. It's so important that he knows how much we love and adore him.

 I think he did a fantastic job once again! Don't you?

 

Percy & The Polar Express

Just a few quick shots of our elf Percy from this weekend...

Friday morning we found him playing Beyblades with The Grinch.

 Saturday morning, we found him tucked into the couch watching over The Polar Express train while holding his own little Polar Express and one of the Caribou (more on this train later).

 This morning (Sunday) we found him sleeping on the job... in the tissue box. We think he's a little tired from all of his shenanigans this week.

This weekend we watched the movie, Polar Express. What a great movie that is! The message behind it is so sweet, the animation is amazing, and who doesn't love Tom Hanks?!? We've watched the movie every year since Payton was born, but this year he really got into it. He kept asking all sorts of questions (Is this based on a real story? Is that really what the North Pole looks like? Where's Rudolph?) and was truly nervous for the characters at certain parts of the movie. 

So, you can imagine his delight when we woke up Saturday morning and there, all set up in the family room, was his Polar Express train! Apparently Percy the elf was very busy getting it down from the attic and setting it up in the middle of the night.

Both boys played with it all morning. At first, Parker sat so contently watching Payton move the train around the tracks. He didn't mess with it, or try to take the remote. He just happily watched. 

But once Payton got up to go do something else... it was his turn!

 He actually learned how to make sounds with the remote and can almost get the train to move.

 Look how stinkin' proud he is of himself!

 This is his new smile by the way. 

When he sees the camera come out, he hams it up, showing off all his new teeth!
What a cutie.

Candy overload!

And no, it wasn't Payton that went overboard on candy last night...

 He even has chocolate on his face! Guess he enjoyed the M&M's a lot! :)

 

Oh boy...

He was going at this so fast & furiously I could barely get a clear picture:

Seriously, how fast is that TP coming off that roll?

 But how could I get mad at this face??? Come on! He's too cute!!!

 

As you can see from this video, my "scolding" really effected him. Actually, I don't think he cared ONE bit.