Home Meme

Adele tagged me for this Home Meme and I am going to add if you have a question you would like to ask, please feel free and I will do a post in a few days with my answers! I realize that I usually just post about the kids so here is a little more scoop about me!

How many times a week do you cook and eat out? During the week I make dinner. Usually something for the girls and something else for Daniel. Some times Emmie will make her own, depending on what she wants, or now that she has soccer practice twice a week, we will run by Subway after practice. Then for David, I usually make something in the crock pot or some sort of dish that will last at least two days for him. I cooked way too many meals......it's crazy. Every Saturday night David and I go out and on Sundays we order pizza quite a bit. Now that it is getting warmer and summer is approaching, we will grille out. YUM! What is your family's favorite dinner? Well, given the fact that I make several this is kind of a funny question. David loves a pork roast, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot, Emmie loves taco's, Sophia loves cheesy noodles and Daniel.....well....we just won't go there! *wink* Me....I eat really weird....small little meals, 5x's a day.....high protein and I drink lots of water....and for some reason I still have pounds to shed! ;( What kind of snack and drinks do you keep on hand for your Things? We always have string cheese, yogurt, apples, crackers, fruit, chilled almonds, fruit bars, Gatorade and OJ. Oh yes.....Emmie and Sophia need ice cream! ;) How do you break up the house work? When do you get it done? Housework for me is done on a daily basis. There is never NOT something to clean up with 3 children in the house. I usually pick up all the morning toys and such after they are down for naps, pick up as the day goes along and pick up again once they are in bed for the night. I vacuum everyday. Now that the weather is getting nicer, this will slow down for me because we will be outside most of the time. Laundry is not too bad for me. David and Emmie do their own which leaves me with the two little ones and myself. Do you have any tips for getting it done faster/easier? Not really....just faithfully keeping up with it. Otherwise it can get really, really ugly! lol Do you guys have a bedtime routine? Oh yes. I believe in routine and consistency. I don't sway from it often with the little ones. They do much better when things run on schedule. They get a bath every other night. Some times together, some times separate. Daniel goes to bed first. We give kisses and hugs downstairs to everyone. He still gets his sippy cup full of warm milk. We go upstairs to his room and I get him ready for bed. He listens to classical music and has a noise maker that runs to drown out the outside noise from the lake. Especially in the summer as the boats zoom by in the evenings. We read Good Night Moon, rock and snuggle and he goes right to bed with his blankets, Big Bird and Elephant. Sophia is next and basically follows the same routine. I have started the book series with her "Right Choices" by Kenneth N. Taylor. I did the same for Emmie when she was little. Sophia and I then snuggle and we rock and talk about our day. She tells me when she is ready to go into her bed which is usually pretty quick. We pray and down she goes. She listens to Feng Shui music. Emmie is another story. I usually tuck her in unless she really needs to stay up and study. My alarm goes off at 5:15AM and I really need my sleep. Emmie needs to have everything just so......she has never liked this part of the day as she has a very active imagination . Things worry her at night. She listens to stress relief music and I usually give her Passion Flower to help her sleep. What is a typical day for you? My alarm goes off at 5:15 AM and I usually hit the snooze once or twice. I get up, head downstairs where my morning coffee is already brewed and waiting for me. I check my email and by 6:00 AM I am waking up Emmie for school. I'm then making her lunch, getting her breakfast ready, cleaning up cat puke like I am right now......just heard that wonderful noise he makes.....YUCK.......and set out her herbal vitamins. I would like to begin exercising during this time too. I'm working on get one of our exercise machines back into the house from the rec room. Wake up David at 6:30 AM since he takes Emmie to school and they are out of here by 7:15 AM. At this point either Sophia or Daniel wakes up. Usually Daniel gets up first. He gets his warm milk as we rock and then I get him dressed for the day. I then wait to hear "Mommy, I'm awake" come over the monitor and up we go to get Miss Spicy Girl. Daniel is always so excited to see Sophia when we go upstairs to get her. Climbs right up on her bed and lays on her. She gets annoyed with that some mornings. It's kind of funny. Sophia immediately wants a dress on, so she gets out her her jammies and we all come downstairs. She has juice or milk as well and about 30 minutes later they are both eating something for breakfast. I'm a bowl of oatmeal kind of gal and I take all my herbal stuff as well. If I have errands to run, one of the nannies is here by 10:00 AM. Some days I am back home by lunch. ( 12:30 PM) I love tucking the kids in their beds. By 2:15 PM I am back out the door to pick Emmie up from school. We either run errands or come straight home depending if she is in a sport and has practice. Right now she has soccer twice a week with games on Saturday. Dinner prep starts....we play outside afterwards...weather permitting and bed time begins at 7:30 PM with baths and both kids are down by 8:30 AM. Now granted, I am leaving out quite a few details, but you get the drift. ;) How often do you go to the grocery store? Probably two - three times a week. It is crazy. My grocery bills are huge. There always seems to be something that needs to be "picked up". Oh well, I don't mind. ;) Do you have a special day for running errands or is it just when you need to? I go whenever I need to. The fact that we have two nanny's (not on the same day) really helps. It is very hard to go places with Daniel. Sophia is easy and she goes more places with me than he does. But I will admit that I do need alone time. Just to think and collect my thoughts. Do you and David share any of the household responsibilities? yes....we are a good team. I do inside cleaning and he does outside. He is the fixer upper and I just give input! lol Isn't that what all wives do????? *wink* What's your best organization tip? Oh dear......I'm not sure.....just trying to keep things orderly I suppose. I usually go through a purge every Spring and Fall. So I have been working on that as we speak. What is your favorite cleaner(s)? I love any Lysol product (orange scent) and Soft Scrub. How far in advance do you start planning the kids fabulous birthday parties and events.? This has changed over the years with me. For Emmie I always went over the top. I have learned that it is not always in your best interest or the child's to do that. I am trying to do things a little different with Sophia and Daniel. They will have have parties and a wonderful time, but it will all be within reason. At least that is what I am telling myself at the moment. lol Where do you find inspiration for all the fabulous things you do? I'm not sure about this question. lol I am quite an artistic person. I love to decorate and change things. My mind is always looking at different things and seeing the beauty in whatever it is. I like to feel peaceful and content....not always an easy thing in today's world. I do know that the calmer I am, the happier the whole entire family is. I guess they are my inspiration. ;) How do you keep track of all of your events/to do? I have had a calendar date book for the past 10 years. Couldn't live with out it. ;)

Now, anyone that has not already done this Meme, please feel free to do so.