Prepare yourself...

...for a torrent of blogarrhea. 


(It's been a while)


It's February, and I'm back on Maui and back to the routine.

You know the drill:

Get up. 


Get dressed. 


Go to the beach. 


Lay around all day in the sun. 


Sip frozen drinks. 


Work on my tan. 


Go home. 


Go to bed.


Repeat. 

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!


"That is rich." (To quote the Grinch).

Only in my fantasy world.

Want to know what "a day in the life" for Michelle really looks like? 


Well....the fun begins at 4:55 a.m., when I drag myself out of bed to get ready to take the two oldest kids to seminary, which starts at 5:25.  Seriously? 5:25 a.m.? Who's masochistic idea is this anyway? And who in their right mind can feel the spirit at 5:25 a.m.?

To stay awake (and to pretend like I still care what I look like in a bathing suit) I go on a walk with an equally insane motivated friend while we are waiting for our teenagers. Incidentally, the most "worked out" part of our bodies are our jaws.

Then it's a race home to wake up Austen so that he can catch his bus at 6:55. Austen is what I call a "popper". When it's time to get up, he pops out of bed and gets moving. Stockton, on the other hand, is a "dragger". I don't think this requires an explanation, does it? Needless to say, I often end up driving him to school, which starts at 8:25 a.m.

Now it's back home to start round two of breakfast. Then the morning clean-up. Laundry, dishes, etc., and at some point, I manage to climb in the shower. At last, we're ready for some studying at the Alberdi School of Excellence, which two very "excellent" students attend, for the next few to several hours, depending on the day and the stamina of the teacher and students.

(In case anyone cares, subjects studied so far this year are: math, history, economics, art, constitutional studies, writing, grammar, spelling, chemistry, literature, geography, graphic design, HTML, photography, silk-screening, surfing and some stuff I've forgotten already.)

 Any guesses as to which ones are our favorites?

Lunch gets crammed in there somewhere, and the two younger boys are home just minutes after they left.

Snacks, noise, and chaos ensue. 

By now it is 3:30 p.m. and the begging begins.  Them, for me to take them to the beach, and I, for them to do their homework and chores so we won't have to do it at night. It's about a 50/50 win/lose proposition. So sometimes we end up at the beach and sometimes we don't. Currently, no one is involved in an organized sport, other than arguing with each other, although we've had paddling practice, tennis lessons, and scouts to work around previously. Senecca works at a restaurant in Kihei (a lot) and drives herself to dance every afternoon in Wailuku--about a 20 minute drive each way.

By six-ish, we're back from the beach or homework-land. Either way, we're sweating. Now it's time to figure out dinner. Why do you people think you need to eat three times a day anyway? Okay. Cold cereal it is. Wait. Never mind. That's just another fantasy of mine. You say you want something healthy AND tasty? I'll make it when I find a recipe for that. In the meantime, have some spaghetti and turn that T.V. off!

Time for dishes, showers, scripture study, and prayer, kiddos.

Hello?


Hello?


Is anybody home?


Find everyone, accomplish most of the above, then bribe, wrestle or cajole the kids into bed.

Well, sort of.

Give up and put myself to bed instead.

The next day, it starts all over again.

Lucky me.