Yesterday we stayed home from church. Most of the kids are fighting a cold of some variety and Emma was up in the night last night complaining of an ear ache. I've had brutal headaches of almost every variety this week and was feeling pretty done as well. We had no plans other than to stay put. It wound up being a most productive day. Hendrik was having some challenging moments this morning so I thought I should spend some time with him and see what I could do to help him out. I ended up helping him clean and organize his room. We took everything out of the room that wasn't his or didn't belong there. Toys sorted into categories, books on the shelves tidied up, favourite LEGO models displayed, bed stripped and remade, dust bunnies and gorillas vanquished! Much, much better. It seemed to calm Hendrik down quite a bit too. Dwayne has offered to install his reading light tonight as well.
It felt so good, I moved on to working in the girls' room. All clothes put away, stuffies neatly arranged, books on shelf, furniture switched around, and reading lights waiting to be installed. Abby has been quite keen to get things organized so I know she is delighted to have things "just so". They each have a cubby in the closet for their sweaters and their shirts and dresses hang up. I find this system works well as they can put the clothes away themselves. I am still working on finding the right storage solution for underwear, socks, and pants, but I have a couple of options I can try and see what is best.
Last on the wish list for yesterday was our room. It is not completely done but significant progress has been made. We've moved a small dresser into the closet and I've put a large wicker basket near our bedroom door for Dwayne to stash his work clothes in. They never make it to the dresser anyhow and it will be easy for him to grab clean clothes in the morning and make it simple for sorting laundry as well.
Next, I need to tackle our tiny ensuite. The toilet needs replacing so we haven't used it in a very long time. It has become a bit of a catch all for toiletries and things I don't want Emma to get into. I need to find proper places for things and give it a good dust and clean and then we'll be all set again.
On a different note, the eldest three kiddos went out to play in the snow yesterday as well. It was fun seeing them all bundled up in their colourful gear and trying to adjust to the change in colours of the snowsuits from last year to this. The girls have kept the same colour winter coats but I have to get used to the snowsuits. It was a riot of colour - red, purple, aqua - so cheerful!