changes...some HUGE, some small!

So as usual, I have not posted in here in forever! (so that usually means this will be lengthy!) I have been feeling like everything is out if control lately, and that has been bothering me. The move is coming way too fast, only 6 weeks and I will have packers here! That leads me to all of the things that I would like to get done before then!
We always do a big clean out before we move. It is one of the best parts about moving...we are forced to do it! We have so much clutter and junk around here it is crazy!! Not only are we in a smaller house with very little storage, but we just have too much stuff! My biggest hurdle is TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!!! We just have too many! It is overwhelming to the kids and to me! I signed up to do a consignment sale in April. My plan is to try to sell as much of it as I can. But the tagging is time consuming, so I have now decided to sell the bigger things and take the rest to goodwill! It will go much faster to just get it out of the house! Evelyn's clothes for the sale are about half tagged. I need to get it all done!! Once I have all of that done, I know I will feel so much better and lighter!

I need to get the entire family more organized. As it is now, there is no real schedule for getting the basic things done-laundry, dishes, general cleaning, etc. I feel that the boys are plenty old enough to be helping out around here is a bigger way. Now, they are responsible for unloading the silverware in the dishwasher and Tyler has to bring down their laundry basket when I need to wash their clothes. It occurred to me after a conversation with a friend that they need/can be responsible for a whole lot more! I do WAY to much for them and that is not teaching them anything other than to be lazy and mommy will do everything!! So I am going to have them do more things around here. Nothing huge, and we will start slowly be adding one thing to each of them for a few weeks till the have about 5 things each. I am starting with getting dressed! They are both capable of getting themselves dressed for school. So why am I still doing it for them?! We are going to pick out our clothes after bath each night, and they are responsible for making sure that they are dressed before it is time to go to school. Oh, and I am not calling them chores! I think that chores sounds negative!! So we are calling them responsibilities!

I need to get myself on a schedule as well! I have cut out a lot of my useless in the car time. I am home much more now. I need to have a daily list of things that need to be done. If I do a few things a day, then the weekends are not so heavy with "chores"! I am sure my mother is going to read this and say, finally, after 31 years she gets it!! Yes, I have been resistant to admitting that I need to change too!! But I finally get it now, better late than never!

In dealing with some behavior things with Tyler, I have realized that I have not been teaching them lately. I have just expected them to know how to act and behave. One of the things that I love most about staying home with my kids is that I get to teach them how to be helpful and how to act in situations. But somehow I have forgotten that I still need to teach, even though they are getting older. They dont know what talking back is, so when I tell them not to talk back, they have no idea what I am asking them not to do! I need to get back to showing and teaching the kids that they are important. We have all gotten into a rut when it comes to daily family time. I just tell the boys to go play, instead of going with them to play. I think that when I change my ways, a lot of the negative behavior will change as well.