Just thought I'd share my newest 'lesson learned' at home. Have you ever read the book 'If you Give a Mouse a Cookie'?? My day reminds me of that book!
Rule #2: Make a list of what you want to get done in a day!
Personally, I LOVE lists, I always have. However, I've neglected my list making as of late, and am finding myself regretting this decision. Without a list, ones day may very well take the path (HA!) that mine has today.
Once the children are off to school, and you've spent your hour on the phone and answered all of your e-mails, taking time to make a list is a very good idea. This may take a few minutes, but it WILL save time in the end! One can start clearing the table (with the intention of washing it down as well), only to discover there are dirty dishes on it from breakfast, and, in taking them to the sink, discover that dishes really need to be done. Getting started on the dishes will remind you that you need to use the potty (good news: you've remembered rule #1!!). While walking thru' your bedroom from the bathroom, you'll realize you need to change the sheets on your bed. Once those are changed, you'll take them downstairs and finish sorting the dirty laundry and rebooting both machines. As you're hanging up clean clothes, you'll realize that you need the empty hangers from various closets. As you collect empty hangers, you'll check the bedrooms and bathroom floor for dirty clothes (it won't matter how many times you've reminded children to not leave them there, there WILL be clothing on the floor). You immediately notice that the bathroom needs cleaning. As soon as you've sorted the clothes and hangers you've collected, you'll move to clean the bathroom. Of course, the first thing to do is to empty the trash can...but into what!? The main garbage can is overflowing (again). So, you bag up the garbage and take it to the trash can. When you come back in, you trip over the shoes by the front door (again, it won't matter how many times you've forbidden this particular habit). You decide to make a pile of each child's belongs that don't belong by the front door (hoping, with an evil laugh, that they'll trip over the piles on the way to their bedrooms!), and you'll wander into the living room (following the trail of shoes and various belongings...that don't belong to you). Once in the living room, you'll hear the living room cry out for attention (yes, the very same one you cleaned SO well 2 days ago). So, you'll clean the living room, remembering that you'd planned to switch out the shelves by the front door with the shelves holding your video games. You'll switch said shelves, discovering that the shelves by the door have been hiding much ickiness. Once the shelves are switched, just before putting the shelves by the door in place, you'll sweep up the mess there and realize that the entire entry could use sweeping. You'll do this, and as you sweep it toward the kitchen, you'll realize that the kitchen needed sweeping as well. Once the kitchen is swept, you'll spy the vacuum cleaner and remember that you needed to vacuum the living room. Once you've vacuumed the living room (and the hallway, of course, 'cuz they're connected!), you'll realize that the dining room floor desperately needs sweeping as well...while doing this you see that the dining room table is not YET cleared OR washed off. What was I doing again?? It's not even NOON yet today! Arg! With any luck, I'll be able to finish off all of the started tasks before the kids get home!
So...lists it will be from here on!
Ariel has SO much to say each day when she gets home (we get a run down of her day...sometimes in 'real time'! LOL). 
