not to us

We had a great day today!  We spent the morning cleaning up the house a little bit, which still didn't even seem to make a dent.  After that, we had lunch with Daddy and went shopping at Wal-Mart.  

With the foster care homestudy looming near, I've gotten a little organization bug in my shorts.  For instance, since our foster children are required (by law) to have a dresser of their own, I figured that our biological children should be given the same courtesy.  So, five months after moving into this house, I am proud to say that Ruby and Burke both have a dresser in their respective rooms.  :)  And, amazingly, that motivates me to get their laundry washed, folded, and put away.

Who knew that I'd be more motivated to put away the laundry when I actually had somewhere to put it??  (Duh, Lindsay.  Duh.)

In addition to that, I realized that our toy room is an absolutely disaster.  There are so many toys in so many different places that the kids don't even enjoy playing in the room.  I think they get overwhelmed with the sheer number of options.  Since they spend a decent amount of time upstairs now (while I'm showering or getting ready), I decided to move some of their toys and books upstairs into their bedrooms.  :)

They are now the proud owners of bookcases and organizational bins.  :)  I'm still working on figuring out which toys will go upstairs and which ones will stay in the toy room.

Mom, you'll be *really* proud to hear that both their dressers *and* bookcases are tethered to the walls.  :)  With my little monkey, there's truly no choice. 

Burke wore his first pair of flip-flops today.  There is absolutely no way to describe the cuteness.  I just wanted to eat him up, bit by bit...starting with his cute little toes!

It's the little things.  :)

At first, he wasn't a fan of the flip-flops at all.  He kept cringing and whining and trying to curl his toes up.  I imagine it's a funny sensation the first time you wear them.  :)  By the end of the day, however, he was a flip-flopping pro!  :)

Ruby had a great day today.  She was polite and obedient.  While we were at Wal-Mart, she was a great helper, and we had a blast in the book section.  She was crackin' me up with her descriptions of the books.

Oddly, she started calling me "Mother" today.  I don't know if it's because yesterday was Mother's Day or what.  However, I heard the following phrases throughout the day today:

"That's just the way it is, Mudder."

"Mudder, I don't think Burke wants to have those shoes."

"Come on, Mudder, I want to read this book."

I'm not sure if this will last, but I think it's pretty cute for now.  :)

Anyhow...it's time for me to read a bit and crawl into bed.  I hope you all had a wonderful Monday!  :)