Productivity....

Saturday morning, and no where to go today. I'd better enjoy it because we are starting our SPOT dance program in two weeks. Practices every Saturday from March 13 to the end of April. It is a sacrifice, and one that I thought long and hard about. I really enjoy my Saturday mornings, and if they are like today, they are very productive. But, I decided I could sacrifice six or seven of them in a year for the girls who look forward to dance every year.

So far, I have....
Laundry for the week almost done--including my bedding
Both bathrooms clean from top to bottom (minus the floors...I'll get to that soon)
My bedroom clean and dusted.
The living room cleaned, dusted, and partially vacuumed
All the bills are paid--did that last night

I love feeling on top of all of my responsibilities. It usually only lasts so long, and once things get busy, I tend to let things go a bit.

Nothin' better than a sunny Saturday morning.

News around the Holen house:

Ed has been quite busy with taxes this year. So far, he has done as many returns as he did all year last year. He is doing a good job of keeping up with it all, but I'm sure he is looking forward to April 15.

As a result, I have been pretty much a single mom. As hard as that sounds, it really hasn't been too bad. I have finally started to put my foot down with the kids as far as making them responsible for household tasks, which gives me a little more time to veg out on the couch and watch "mommy tv", a treasure for me, since I so infrequently get to watch what I like.

I have been working hard at working out, although I know I need to pick up the frequency a bit. I usually get to Snap about 3x.week, I'd like to bump it up to four, but it is hard to find the time and energy, especially since I can't usually go until 8:45 or so. I am training for a 5k, I suppose, and recently was able to run 1.1 miles without stopping. This is a huge accomplishment for me, since I have never been any good at running.

The kids are doing well, growing fast. I am trying to take more time for them, letting myself be in the moment with them. It is truly hard to balance it all. Alex continues to have a good year in school, although he has recently had some tummy troubles. I am thinking he has some type of virus, but he has been queasy almost all day long for the past two weeks or so. I think it is getting better, I haven't heard as many complaints. Usually, by suppertime, it seems to work itself out, but by morning, he is feeling yucky again.

Cameron is also doing well in school. He has been reading the "Henry Huggins" books by Beverly Cleary, and some of the Ramona books, too. I love that he enjoys these books, since these were my favorite books growing up. He reads like a madman, and when he is not reading, he is either asking to play Madden '10 on the Xbox or he is throwing his red football in the air, dazzling me with his diving catches. That boy has the football bug, and he has it bad.

Lilly continues to be growing and changing. She loves preschool, and is doing well with her letters. She is also turning into quite a reader, which is impressive, considering that she is not even in kindergarten. She can read much of "Hop on Pop", and works hard to sound out words. If the words sound the same way they look, she can read almost anything. She gets mixed up with the "th", "sh", "ch" and other combinations.

As for me, things have been OK. Work has been busy, but overall has been a bit better than it has been over the past six months or so. I am beginning to write in a journal, and have three books on my "to do" pile. I just need to keep working on balance, saying no, and recognizing my boundaries. Not an easy task when it seems as though everyone needs so much from me. But I'll keep working at it.

Have a great day~it is sunny and beautiful here today, it might get up to 35 degrees.