I have had so many things on my mind lately. Little by little life is becoming more orderly, and I can sit down and type without feeling guilty.

We finally moved Tony's bedtime to 8pm (it had been 9, sometimes 10, if he was being particularly naughty). We were nervous that he would wake up at an ungodly hour, but that hasn't been the case. He's in bed by 8, and wakes up between 7:30-8am. I've read how important routine is for children, but it has only been now that I have seen how well Tony does with the predictability of our evenings. When dinner is over he asks for a bath, and then he knows it's time for prayers. Once prayers are done, we read, and then he gets in bed. Often times there are momentary tears as we leave the room, but he stays in bed, and falls asleep in 10-20 minutes. He doesn't nap (some days he really needs to, but getting him to settle down takes a million years and Evie has been eating up all of my patience in that department), so I have been savoring the time after he goes to bed like fine wine. It's amazing. Even if I have to put Evie in the carrier to get anything done after that. Right now she's asleep in my lap. 

We are finally saying the Rosary as a family. We haven't been very successful in the past, but we've been going strong for nearly 3 weeks now, which makes me so happy. We haven't been able to engage Tony yet - any suggestions? (Sometimes he will hold his "Rose", but lately all he has wanted to do is make noise and climb on Zach. I have a little better luck making him sit by me, but can't always because of Evie.)

My breakfast lifesaver: Egg muffins. I started making them for Zach, so that he doesn't have to eat the cafeteria garbage every morning. But then Tony asked for one and loved it, and I tried one and realized they are quite tasty. So now I make two dozen egg muffins on Sunday night to get us through until Thursday. That is, if Tony doesn't scarf down more than two a day. He hasn't eaten scrambled eggs in months, and will occasionally eat a single fried egg, but he will eat two egg muffins (which is equal to two eggs, with a little bit of sausage and some frozen spinach), and ask for more. At that point I give him yogurt because I don't want to run out of muffins. People say they freeze really well, but I haven't had a reason to freeze them yet. 

Has anyone else ever printed out those lovely cleaning schedules you see on Pinterest? And then proceeded to not do anything on them because it just doesn't fit your life? Ahem. I'm a person who needs lists and directions. If I don't have a plan for the day, it just kind of evaporates. Nothing extra gets cleaned, and I might make it to bed with the dishes done. Maybe. My mother-in-law is coming to visit this weekend, so I made a schedule for this week of what to clean on what day. Mainly so I didn't forget anything. I started yesterday, and actually did everything I had planned. It felt so good. Today I got most of it done. I locked myself out of the house this afternoon which made me lose a couple of hours while I waited for Zach to finish class. But anyway. I am now inspired to make my own schedule so I can stay on top of cleaning better. Cleaning one room a day really does not take very long, I don't know why I always think it will. 

You know that "one word for the year" thing that people do? I had never heard of it until I saw it on someone's blog last year. I didn't think about it again, until I saw it a couple of different places this year. I've been trying to set goals and get my act together a little better, and when I thought about what my word would be I came up with Patience.

Being the wife of a student is incredibly overwhelming sometimes. I get little to no break from anything. Zach has been trying to help me get the dishes done after dinner since I hate waking up to dirty dishes. And he will take the kids upstairs while I make dinner, which is fantastic. But during the day, and most evenings, it's me. Just me. And my patience with Tony wears really thin. Especially since Evie has not been napping unless she is held the entire time. 

So, I'm making a concerted effort to have more patience. And not just with Tony, with myself, too. That's not to say I'm going to use it as an excuse to be a bum parent, but I am a work in progress, and I need to remember that.

And now that I have written a novel, I am going to go brush my teeth. And get the clean, but not yet folded, laundry off my bed.

Love,

Jess