I Got $5 for Making Dinner...or $6 {#31days}

So, this morning was very different from yesterday's.

I woke up 15 minutes later than I should have, which meant I had 30 minutes all to myself. And, that would have been fine had I not seen this when I walked into the kitchen:

I mean, really? Apparently that Target escape bit me in the...ahem...

When I decide to leave it a bit longer to have my coffee and the quiet for just moment, I settle into my spot on the sofa. Only it's not all that peaceful since a fight broke out in the boys' room (ha, that sounds serious, huh?) and Austin is already asking for his "me me me" (milk).  

Sigh. It's just one of those days...

I get them all situated and try to scan through the Blessed Is She email. I see that it is a post from Audrey Assad and remind myself to download some of her music. I gulp my coffee and start getting the kitchen back to normal and the cereal out to be devoured by my little monkeys.

School time rolls around and the scowls and whining continue from the morning's brawl. We learned about pumpkins today and how the pumpkins grow. And, here's a glimpse of what you may have seen on Instagram:

And, here's what really went on... Now, this was the last thing we needed to do this morning for school. If you look closer at Alex, you will see that he is not a happy guy. He is mad about the line that he is cutting. Something about how he isn't supposed to cut on a "stick together line" (solid line) - he is supposed to cut the "dot lines" only. OK... Well, that's not how this freebie was made, buddy. So...

Andrew on the other hand... He got all of his stuff cut out, glued,  and in order. We staple his book - the exact way HE wanted it to be stapled - and, suddenly, he said it was ruined and it was wrong. He just started whining, then crying... I mean, Meltdown Central. Y'all. Have you been there?? Meltdown Central is NOT a fun place to go. Sure, after a while you may start laughing because, well, what else can you do?? Sheesh!

So, school's over. Shocker.

They go tear up the house again play some while I get Austin from his bed (Mr. Man seems to be quite fond of the morning snooze fest), check a few emails/blogs, laundry started, and lunch going.

I showed Austin the pumpkin videos the big boys watched for school (Pumpkin Life Cycle, How Does A Pumpkin Grow, and 5 Little Pumpkins). Why not? He LOVED the 5 Little Pumpkins song! Thank goodness Jason left his iPad home today.

After lunch we headed outside to let off some steam...

 

Fall is in the air... Well, the trees think so. It was about 84 today.

We headed out to the zoo a little while later to meet up with our friends. Super fun! Andrew showed Owen the "secret trail" and Austin rode the wagon at the zoo for the first time. He LOVED that he could see everything so much better. He seemed happier in it, too. Overall, he's my happy go-lucky guy. I did wonder if the wagon for a longer period of time would work out for us.So yay! One small success at a time, right?

We got home and the boys ran back outside to get everything picked up before the rain came pouring down. Which it did shortly after... The rain completely amazed Austin. He just kept pointing and saying "ra aaaaaaaaaa!" aaaaaaaa!"

Such a cutie... Back to getting the laundry done, mister. And cleaning up after a natural disaster...

The boys put their laundry away for me (in a trade-off though...they wanted to watch Umizoomi first) and helped get the living room back together before Jason got home.

Ah, dinner. Tonight's feast was supposed to be leftovers, but magically we didn't have any. So weird. So, the boys chose macaroni and cheese. Jason and I had some super yummy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (from Costco!). Mmmm... It was yummy!

As, I am cleaning up the kitchen, Andrew announces that this is the "best dinner ever" and that I "get $5 for making it...maybe $6" because he "had an extra." Then, he hands me air. Thanks, honey!

The rest of the evening was great once the little men were tucked into their beds and peace was restored once again. In the words of Dr. Seuss, "Tomorrow is another one!"

Isn't it crazy how yesterday went one way and today went another?! Wow. Life with boys, huh?

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Wondering how I get those boys to put away their clothes? I learned a trick from Tami Kiser's book, Smart Martha. I absolutely love this book! It has tons of notes written in there for when I need to remember what I did/tried/want to do. I highly recommend this book, mamas, if you need help balancing out your priorities, which I am always working on... Do you know the story of Martha & Mary? Read here for more!