I need to go vomit now.

Do I seem busy World? I recently had some work come my way. And this woman is not complaining! But dang! Getting things done with rug-rats running around is not easy.  It helps that they now have neighbors to play with and that they are big and easily entertained. We have a pretty strict schedule to abide by anyway in the summertime and it helps immensely.

I don't think that the schedule does anything more than help the kids to appreciate how much goes into running a household and keeps their brains in working order for the next school year.

Well, here... here's a breakdown. It's not as strict or structured as it's going to appear here, but we use it as a reference (and the kids actually like doing the worksheets).

Morning chores:
Get Dressed
Brush Teeth
Make Bed (or as I like to call it, Throw the blanket over the pillows)
Do a review sheet from last school year (they love this because of how easy they are)
Feed the dogs -- one kid does this in the morning, one does it in the afternoon
Do one indoor chore - i.e. scoop litter, wash a window, water a plant, etc.

Do one outdoor chore -- i.e. water flowers, scoop poop, (we haven't started these because I haven't come up with any more.

Breakfast happens at any time during these chores.

At Five o'clock:

Clean off and set table

Put away toys

Straighten room

(after dinner):

Clear Table

Take a shower

Put clothes in the wash

For any group of chores that they do without being asked, they earn a bead. They also earn beads for various acts of good behavior they exhibit during the day. At the end of the day, each bead counts for 5 minutes of free time. During that time they are free to do absolutely whatever they want. They typically can't manage to earn more than 6 beads and a 30-minute later bedtime is totally worth the peace of such well behaved kids. Also, taking a bead away is a very easy disciplinary action that does not require yelling or grounding.

Ugh... did I just write an entire blog about parenting? Excuse me, I need to go vomit on myself now. I don't have time to rewrite this one today. BLECH!