Blog Reboot & Typical Day

Hey y'all! Long time, no write, right? Well, you know how life gets and keeping up a blog is not quite at the top of my priority list. But it is fun, and I would like to put up a few more things than I have been. It's tempting just to post pictures and stuff on facebook, but writing about my life now seems like it will be interesting to look back on in a few years. So, I am attempting to get back into the swing of things.
I am hoping to post pictures and videos of the happenings around here, some recipes that I try and enjoy, cute quotes from the kids (mostly Anna Ruth right now), smocking projects I've been working on, decorating ideas and tips (from me or just stuff I've found somewhere), and also couponing successes.

I thought I would start off by writing out what a typical day around here is like.

Here goes: My typical day starts off around 7 or 7:30. Rich is generally still home, so I join him on the couch to read the Bible for a little while. There are usually a few noises coming from the vicinity of James' room, but I ignore them until they become cries. Anna Ruth gets up and plays in her room until it's time for Rich to leave, and she will give him big hugs and kisses to send him off. James does the same, but quickly returns to Mommy. He loves his Daddy, but he sure is a Momma's boy at the moment. :) After Rich leaves, I feed the kids breakfast, which is usually cereal. I'm not much for one to make a nice, hot breakfast, and actually the kids prefer cereal anyway. It's a win-win situation. After breakfast, the kids play while I get the kitchen cleaned up, and generally tidy up around the house. They are pretty good about playing together, but they do have some run-ins over toys fairly often. Occasionally I will let them watch Sesame Street at 10AM, which will allow me to check e-mail, facebook, Southern Savers, and a few other blogs I enjoy reading. It's safe to say that not much gets done until the kids go down for their naps after eating lunch. They both go down at 1PM, and usually stay down for around 2-4 hours depending on how late they got to bed the night before, and how busy the day has been. During nap time, I try to pick up the house, do other household chores, and maybe even catch a rest myself. I mainly just enjoy the silence. The time from when the kids get up to when Rich gets home seem to be the longest hours of the day. The kids are wanting to get outside or see Daddy or just be wild and crazy. I have been trying to let Anna Ruth help me with dinner preparations whenever possible, and she loves to help. She also sets the table almost every night, which is actually a big help. When the kids hear the door open, they run squealing to the door, yelling, "Daddy, Daddy!" He appreciates the enthusiastic welcome, and I am grateful for a break from the kids being at my feet. We eat dinner together, and have family worship before getting the kids ready for bed. We always sing the first and last stanzas of Psalm 23 when putting them to bed. With the kids down, Rich and I have time to catch up talk about our days. We are usually both exhausted and try to get to bed before 11PM to be rested up for the day ahead.