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Well, I did it! I woke up around 5 something (maybe closer to 6 ). I got some laundry done, showered, cleaned the kids' bathroom, visited with DH, nursed the baby, and did some general tidying all before the kids woke up! Then we had breakfast, got it cleaned up, and did half an hour of Wii Fit together. Then they played on it while I nursed the baby and cheered them on. We got DD8's math and grammar done, DS6's math, phonics, handwriting, and the critical thinking book done. (so he's done!). We're having snack and then going to do some of our Bigger Hearts boxes while baby sleeps. I'm so excited to be off to a good start! I didn't get much sleep last night, but DH pushed me out of bed. Thankfully. I've already done more before the kids got up than I sometimes get done in a whole day while they are up! AND we had some playtime together Please pray I'm able to keep this up! I'm praying that baby's nap will last longer than the usual 15minutes so we can enjoy BHFHG! HOD here we come!

LOL...kids are just finished with snacks, and baby is crying...oh well, we'll hold him and he'll hear some history too!

I posted that first message at 11:40 and it is now 1:15 and we did a FULL DAY of BHFHG!!! Except for dd8 has not yet copied any of the poem and we'll have storytime over lunch I'm loving this! I know everyday won't go like this, but I'm okay with that. DD is loving Bigger more now, than she was a few months ago so it's going much better. Plus I'm doing more WITH her instead of having to make much of it independent. It went faster and was more enjoyable for her (which means less nagging from me since I'm not having to keep her on track).

Thank you Carrie for a wonderful curriculum!

What a great first day!!! That is so good to hear that you are off to a great start!

Don't burn yourself out though... you have HELPERS!!! Get those kiddos to help you do some of the laundry and tiding up. Make it fun (it really can be just like playtime). I would hate to see you fizzle out.

That's awesome! I know how hard it is to get out of bed way before the kiddos. But it sure does help you to feel better about the day when so much is accomplished! I'm happy for you!!!!

YAY! So glad you had a great first day back!

My kids will be the first to tell you they've got to be the only kids that do this much laundry! HAHA...I'm a mean mom They have to help hang/fold and they are in charge of putting their own clothes up. And they help with meal cleanup and "ten second tidy" times...which are actually much longer than that, but dc go really fast. hehehe

I'm working with DD8 to know how to use the guide and gather supplies we need, then put them away before we start the next thing. That way I can tend to baby, nurse, manage DS3 or whatever...

OH, and did I mention earlier that DS3 and I did a whole day of LHTH together!? It went well...and he was even able to narrate the story back to me He loves learning his letters, although Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD is shining through on our letter sounds. LOL

I'm just excited ladies, so forgive my wordiness!

Mom2Monkeys wrote:My kids will be the first to tell you they've got to be the only kids that do this much laundry! HAHA...I'm a mean mom They have to help hang/fold and they are in charge of putting their own clothes up. And they help with meal cleanup and "ten second tidy" times...which are actually much longer than that, but dc go really fast. hehehe

I'm working with DD8 to know how to use the guide and gather supplies we need, then put them away before we start the next thing. That way I can tend to baby, nurse, manage DS3 or whatever...

OH, and did I mention earlier that DS3 and I did a whole day of LHTH together!? It went well...and he was even able to narrate the story back to me He loves learning his letters, although Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD is shining through on our letter sounds. LOL

I'm just excited ladies, so forgive my wordiness!

Oh, good to hear about the laundry!! I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't crash and burn trying to do it all yourself. I for one am always glad to hear testimonies of other people having a great day... especially when they are doing more guides and have more kiddos then me. Right now, things are quite managable at my house and we have a ton of fun. I love hearing that it can be just as doable and fun the older my kids get... and the more of them that get added to the bunch.

That's awesome, Tamara! I'm so happy your first day went so well, and what a feeling of accomplishment you must have getting even more done than you planned. I'm glad to hear you're training dd to use her Bigger Hearts guide and how to do as much as possible on her own, as that will help her continue moving on when baby or toddler have harder days, and thus make your days harder. Forward movement is still possible on those days too, though it may be a slower progression. Praise the Lord - this is an answer to prayer. I bet your little guy loved his time with you too. I'm so proud of you, Tamara, you really are putting your best foot forward and strengthening your resolve even though I know you are tired. God bless!

In Christ,
Julie

Sounds like you had a great first day back! I'm glad everything went so smoothly for you!

Congrats, Tamara!!!
Sounds like you worked really hard to get school rolling again. Wow!!
Praying right now that all will continue to go well, and that if you have some off days that you'll be sweetly encouraged by the Lord as you persevere.

That is so good. I'm thrilled for you. I'm praying the rest of your week will go as smooth.

Got off to another good start. Up early and showered (what a world of difference it makes to not feel like a grease monkey all day!), started laundry, nursed baby, and spent time with an early rising child Did the Wii Fit with everyone then did LHTH with DS3. This is a turning point for sure! That 20 minutes or so of "our time" makes him so much easier in the mornings! I was able to start big kids school by a little after 9am. DS6 finished his within an hour (handwriting, phonics, math) and then DD8 and I started Bigger while DS6 and DS3 played in the playroom. Halfway through, I started a movie for them. Baby slept most of the time while we were doign school and we were done with everything by 12:15!! We got another FULL DAY in and are done an hour earlier than yesterday! We're doing unit 9 and she is really enjoying learning about Ben Franklin. Especially since I'm doign all the activites and she got to paint her initials with sponge printing stamps we made! Love the down-to-earth, realistic, doable activities!

I'm am SO SO tired now, but getting up early and also doing LHTH I think are two of my main "things" to keep things going smoothly. DD8 is LOVING school. She is so excited about it! I just can't wait til I'm doing this with a full night's rest behind me. What fun I'll be then! LOL

Be encouraged, you moms of many! It can be done. Even with little ones at your heels.

Tamara,

I'm so glad to hear your update! It sounds like you're off to a great start. I just wanted to encourage you that even if you don't get up early every day (which I mention because this is something I personally battle as I'm not a morning person ), you can still keep the same routine every day no matter what time you begin your day. Keeping this in the back of your mind will help so much, if you do accidentally find yourself off schedule time-wise.

I also agree that getting the little one's school in with mommy first does wonders for those little ones and getting up on time also makes a world of difference in my day too. I'm praising the Lord with you as you're on the right track to some changes that will help you glorify Him in the day-to-day even more.

Blessings,
Carrie

I needed to hear that Carrie! I woke up a little later than planned today (5:50 instead of 5:15) and didn't have as much alone time this morning and didn't feel like I could accomplish it all. To make things "back on schedule", I had to skip our Wii Fit and LHTH time and our day just didn't go as smoothly! BUT, I did get all of dd8's school done and most of our books/school stuff organizing done today, and we were done with school by 11:00 (started at 9:30 so I have NO idea how we did that!). Anyway, my point being, I should have done as you just mentioned and just shifted, stayed in the same order but with lunch squeezed in the middle. I feel like I'm doing well keeping DD's school a top priority, as well as laundry...I have a laundry schedule now for each day and it's wonderful! I had 1 tiny load to do today thanks to DH's help last weekend Love that guy!

Thanks for mentioning that...I feel better hearing it!!