"Wipe Out Winco Style" and other morning adventures.

It's been a pretty crazy week at our house as Wednesday we sent Carter off on his mission.  It's a strange feeling leading up to sending a missionary off--or a college student I suppose.  You feel like the clock is ticking down and you should be making the most of your time left but you can't quite figure out what you should be doing.  So in lieu of something grand we did what we usually do when we can't think of anything--Target and Red Robin.

Carter had to be at the airport by 4:30 am so after a tearful goodbye--I'm gonna miss that kid--we headed home.  I was too keyed up to go back to bed so I decided to do my grocery shopping for the week and I have to say, grocery shopping at 5:30 am is about a million times better than grocery shopping at 5:30 pm.  There aren't any lines (but you have to dodge all of the boxes piled up in the aisles--kind of like "Wipe Out Winco Style"). So while I was jumping over cases of mac and cheese I had an epiphany of sorts.  You see, I've always been pretty much a night owl.  I've never liked getting up early and I found that I was way more productive after 8:00 pm than I ever was before 8:00 am.  Until about a year ago when I discovered I still don't like getting up early and yet by the time 8:00 pm rolls around I pretty much don't want to do anything--except sit on the couch and watch  "Ghost Hunters."  (I don't care what any of you think--it's all real!) Yet as I was cruising through Winco I thought that perhaps now I would become a lark!  I felt so good having my shopping for the week done by 6:00 am that I went home, put all the groceries away, unloaded the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and started the laundry!  I was so productive!  And then 7:00 am came at which point I crawled back in bed and didn't emerge until 10:00 am sluggish as ever.

I think I would be much more productive if I got up early.  The day has a way of getting away from me and before I know it it's dinner time, I still haven't decided on anything to cook, my errands are halfway done and I'm wondering where all my time has gone.  It's not that I haven't attempted to change my ways before.  I've tried turning on my bedroom lights first thing in the morning and breathing grapefruit essential oils which are supposed to make me more awake but instead now I have a Pavlov's dog reaction to the smell of grapefruit and I just want to hit a snooze button and roll over whenever someone cracks open a grapefruit.  But I really think that I could be more productive and help my children be more productive if I can switch this internal clock somehow.  If anyone has any great solutions I'm all ears.  As long as they don't include grapefruit.  Just the thought of it is making me tiredzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Pinterest is of the devil

The man who invented Pinterest is a genius.  An evil genius.  Here is a place where people from all over the world can "pin" cute pictures of anything.  Like penguin pinatas.  I am not making that up--who knew there was a community of people who make penguin pinatas?  I have a serious love/hate relationship with pinterest.  On one hand, whenever I need a recipe or fun craft there is a wealth of information.  Have a craving for Red Lobster cheese biscuits?  (Also of the devil by the way.)  Pinterest has it.  Want to know how to make the perfect "smokey eye?"  Check out my niece's make up "board." On the other hand--let the coveting begin!  There's nothing that makes me feel like the world's worst homemaker/designer than scrolling thru this guilt inducing site.  After thirty minutes  I'm headed out the door with a list of craft supplies to create crepe paper pom balls--which two years later are still only halfway done and collecting dust on the shelf in my coat closet. Honest truth.  Don't get me wrong--I love it.  But I hate it.  

Take for example my most recent search.  I was looking up ideas for my laundry room and here are a few I found:

Lovely right?  I mean, who wouldn't want to spend HOURS in one of those rooms sorting/washing/drying/folding and putting away clothes?  Because let me tell you, with six kids it is hours folks.  Especially because I have to hunt down all those socks scattered around the house.  I'm sure your'e wondering, "so what's the problem?"  I'll show you the problem:

I would love to tell you that this site is an anomaly but I would be lying.  This is my laundry room.  Ironically, it's one of my favorite rooms in the house.  When it's clean.  Which is pretty much never.  The funny thing is, I'm actually pretty good about staying on top of the laundry.  I mean, there is always at least one load in the washer and/or dryer and usually one waiting to be folded so it's not like I have baskets and baskets full of clothes to take care of.  The beauty of this room is that I have a big drawer for each of the kids so I can fold directly into their drawer.  The original plan called for them to empty their drawer every day but instead they just wander down here every morning and get dressed.  (Note--if you're planning on dropping by anytime before 8:00 am you may want to call ahead to avoid half dressed teenagers...)

The real problem with this room is that it's the general dumping ground for coats, shoes, backpacks and various odds and ends in addition to the laundry.  And so tonight while looking thru pinterest I was once again discouraged because I'm pretty sure my house is never going to look like the ones I find there.  Maybe I should start a 'real life' pinterest.  With pictures of bathrooms with the toilet seats up, old pizza boxes beneath a teen's bed and a pair of underwear under the piano.  (Which may or may not be a regular occurrence at the Morgans...)  Who knows, maybe women will hail me as an unsung hero--a discouraged mother whose not afraid to show the world how we really live!  But probably not.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you all stay on top of your laundry rooms.  Because there has got to be a solution.  Pinterest says so.