I am amazed that it is 2006. Wasn't it just 1996? Pretty weird to think in another 10 years it will be 2016 and I will be 39 years old!!! That just can't be real.
We had a fun New Years Eve. We ran errands and did this and that during the day and then in the evening we had a little family party, Frandsen-style. We roasted hotdogs on the grill and then made s'mores afterwards. We ate outside on the patio (love Florida's winters) and jumped on the tramp and had fun. Then we got the boys down for bed (this took some doing since Joseph didn't want to go on a drive, and Moses and Brigham failed to go to sleep on the drive they did agree to), and then Ben and I went to our New Years Eve party. Logan Curtis and Carter Allred came over to our house to hang out while the grownups went to the party. Vanessa and Jorge Holden threw the party at their house on the lake and it was really fun. Way too much good food, a hilarious exchange game (we all had to bring thrift-store items to exchange and then wear), fire crackers, and dancing (yes, I even got Ben to dance a little). Brazillians know how to throw a party, I guess. The Allreds, Holdens, Doberlys, Winstons, Curtises, and Deckers were there (oh yeah, and Ben and me). We ended up staying till nearly 3:00 AM. So we were a bit tired the next day.
New Years Day was great because we now have afternoon church!! Yay!! No more morning rush to get to church! Especially good since we were up so late. And I finally don't mind afternoon church since I don't have any napping kids. Well, Mosey still naps sometimes, but if he does it's not till later in the afternoon anyway. Ben took care of the boys after church and I crashed for a few hours with Mosey (who did fall asleep on the way home from church).
Yesterday (Monday), I thought the boys had school, since their school schedule is supposed to follow Broward schools' schedule, so I got the boys up, fed, dressed, and out the door *almost* on time. We got to their school at 8:04 only to find an empty parking lot. Obviously no school. I was frustrated since I had been planning on cleaning the house during those 3 hours, but we quickly revised our plans and decided to go on a family outing instead.
So we went and had breakfast at IHOP and then to Butterfly World. It was a nice day there, not too crowded and nice warm weather. The boys were determined to get a butterfly to land on them, but the closest they got was a butterfly that crawled onto a stick Joseph was holding. Butterfly World also has a "bug zoo" that just opened-- a room off the bug museum that has glass cages with live cock roaches, millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, and other cute cuddly creatures. I showed the boys the brown recluse and told them if they ever see one of those they are to run away as fast as they can and come tell me. They are found down here occasionally and are the deadliest spider in North America. Great.
On the way home we stopped at Big Lots for Ben to get some pots for some plants he is taking to his office. While there, Mosey spotted a little white rocking horse. He became completely enamored of it and wouldn't get off! I tried to pick him up and he clutched onto the handles, picking it up with him. I decided he could get it as an early birthday present, and he really does love it. He freaked out for a bit when I had to put it up on the counter to pay for it, but as soon as we got to the car I put it down for him to ride on until I got the other things loaded.
Ben went for an afternoon/evening out with Glenn and Aerin Curtis. Aerin's birthday is the same as Ben's. They went to Game Works and spent the afternoon playing. I spent the afternoon de-Christmasing. I got most everything down and mostly put away. It's always sad to see the Christmas things go, but kind of nice to have the house back again, too.
Today was cleaning club, and boy did I need it! I intended to clean house yesterday afternoon and evening, but the de-Christmasing took longer than I thought and getting Mosey to bed last night was a very long, very loud ordeal and by the time he finally calmed down, I was so spent that I fell asleep with him on the trundle bed. So instead I was up by 6:15 finishing taking down decorations and trying to get the house at least de-cluttered before Rena and Janette got here. Those two ladies really work miracles. In an hour the house was clean!! Now all I need to do is organize toys and fold about 5 loads of laundry and I'll be caught up on housework.
Today also marked Day 1 of my daily schedule. Here is what it looks like:

6:00 get up and do miscellaneous chores
7:00 get boys up and ready for school
8:00-11:00 do personal fun projects (photography, scrapbooking, etc.)
11:00-12:00 get boys from school, play on bikes in front yard
12:00-1:00 eat lunch, play in the back
1:00-2:00 project time (fun project that I do with the boys)
2:00-3:30 play time (ideally outside while I can work on chores inside)
3:30-4:30 clean up time and dinner-prep (I'll be working with the boys to eventually be doing the clean up themselves)
4:30-5:30 go to the gym
5:30-7:00 dinner and family play time
7:00-8:00 get ready for bed, read books, tell stories (one parent will do this while the other does dinner clean up)
8:00-9:00 personal time (I can go jogging, Ben can surf the internet)
9:00-10:00 get ready for bed, scripture study

Sound good? I did *ok* today. Somehow got about an hour off and so skipped the gym (I was trying to make a special birthday dinner for Ben anyway), and bedtime with the boys took longer than I thought (didn't start bedtime routine till 7:30 anyway), so I didn't get out jogging till almost 9:30, and then I still had dinner cleanup (let Ben off the hook since it is his birthday), and then flipping some laundry and then email. Now I am 2 hours off and it is midnight. But, still, it's only the first day and I expect to get more efficient.

So, that was our day. And Ben is now 31! I asked him if he could remember his 21st birthday, but he couldn't recall. It was just days after he got back from his mission and I think those early post-mission days are pretty hazy for everyone.