What I've been Doing with my Days

First, an apology.  This might be a boring post for anyone who reads this and be way more than you want to know.  But sometimes I just like to write stuff down to get it out of my head.  

Ever since I got back from my little trip I've been clearing out clutter.  

Some people may think I'm getting a little extreme with what I'm considering clutter.  

Logan is reduced to one big bucket of toys and one big bucket of Legos.  But you know what?  He hasn't complained.  He has his favorite toys and he doesn't have to dig through the other stuff to get to them.  

I've got a couple buckets of toys hidden under the crib.  

Kenna and Natalie aren't strong enough to pull them out, so they can't dump them on the floor every day.  

They have dolls, stuffed animals, and some baby toys available to them.  They don't play with a lot of toys, though.  Their favorite things to play with are the little toddler bikes, and 

whatever they can dig out of my kitchen cupboards.  

I'm fine with that.  

The kitchen's child-proof.  :-)

Hannah and Brynne don't even play with toys anymore.  They play outside, ride bikes, read, or they do various artsy things.  Occasionally they'll join Logan and play with Legos.    

So I've been clearing out!  

We're getting rid of the train table because no one plays with the train set 

(which is packed up for my grandchildren!).  

We're getting rid of the junky books that the kids pick up for free at various 

school events and birthday parties.  

We've gone through closets and dressers and under beds 

(that was scary). 

And what has been the result?  I think we're all happier.  The kids haven't complained once about having fewer toys.  Housecleaning goes SO much faster and I have time to get to those deep-cleaning projects that weren't being done often enough.  We work together as a family.  Clutter pick-up, which used to form the bulk of our cleaning time, is now reduced to just a few hotspots where the little girls tend to leave their toys.  If anyone feels like their house is too messy all the time, I would suggest re-evaluating exactly how many toys your family needs.  Is 12-15 too few?  Total?  Here's what we're down to: 

American Girls and accessories,

Cars

Legos

Dress-ups

small collection of Little Ponies

Three dolls and a baby carriage

 reduced number of stuffed animals

Small box of baby toys

Crayons

Paper

Family Games

some puzzles (still evaluating these)

I even got rid of homeschool supplies.  Those things that I've been hanging onto because we might need them for a project, or because they are supposedly educational.  All those things that I have had since Hannah was in Kindergarten and NEVER used because the kids don't like them and neither do I.  Yeah.  All those things.  Boring flashcards 

(I end up making my own every time to fit what we want)

Phonics Worksheets

(kids learn to read faster than lesson plans give them credit for)

and other things that we just don't need!

In the scriptures it says that the Lord's House is a house of Order. 

I have always loved that scripture because I really love order.

What I haven't liked is how hard it is to keep things in order.  So now I know that my problem was just having too many things.

And I know that because of all the free time that I
suddenly have. 

It's so crazy!  

And nice!  

And so totally bizarre that I'm having a hard time thinking of things to do to fill my time.  

So if you have any ideas...

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But enough about me.

Hannah has been very busy reading The Lord of the Rings.  She finished the first book today and started the second.  Josh and I have promised her that after she reads all three books, she can watch the movies with us.  She's highly motivated! 
Her 4H Beekeeping group is underway.  We went to a community beekeeping group, as well, and it was pretty interesting to meet people who keep bees.  She seems to really like this.
Hannah's signed up for one of BYU's free Enrichment classes.  I thought it might be a nice way for her to explore some new topics.  They are offered through the Independent Study program.  No grades, just read and write your thoughts.

Brynne has only got 6 more weeks left of school and I'm so thrilled about that. 
Last year (with Hannah at public school) and this past year have been life-changing years for her.  She has blossomed.  She's quiet and reserved still, and I wouldn't change that for the world, but I see new confidence in her that is just amazing.  She's not shy anymore.

Logan has been on a reading kick this past week.  I guess having fewer toys makes books look like better options.  :-) 
His other favorite thing is staging mock battles in the backyard.  There's a certain garden stake that seems to be taking quite a beating.  This week  Hannah helped him make a fort.  He grabbed the clipboard and wrote up a casualty report and added up the number of people who died (gruesome, but good math!).  Sadly, it was well into the thousands.  Then he drew pictures of the battles.  One of them was the famous Battle of Bunker Hill.  Logan was George Washington, of course.  Can you tell he's really into this stuff?

Kenna has been practicing getting dressed...and undressed...and dressed...and undressed...and, well, you get the idea.  She's very pleased with her new skills.  She's talking amazingly now.  I love this stage when the cutest little sentences pop out of their mouths and you can hardly believe the grown-up phrases and ideas that they come up with.

Natalie has a first word!  She's a little slow in the language department.  No surprise there since everyone talks for her.  Her first, and favorite word is "hi".  She likes to say hi to anyone who will say hi back.  Repeatedly.
Sometimes she'll say no, but usually she's content with shaking her head.  Rarely she'll say mama or dada.  She definitely thinks that anything Kenna can do, she can do too.  She's moving into the same PJs that Kenna's still wearing.  Crazy.