Damage Control

Every Monday I think, what can I do differently so that Mondays aren't just about surviving!? I have not figured it out so I am open to suggestions. I stopped trying to get tons of laundry done on Mondays. I try not to schedule any doctor appointments or other outings. We start out okay- usually- but things quickly go down hill. Sundays aren't quite the day of rest we'd like them to be. Really, they are very hectic and exhausting! We have church and Sunday school in the morning, home for lunch and naps, eat a snack, then back to church for the evening service. Then we head home for a quick supper and the kids barely make it to bed before 9 pm. They don't have time or space to wiggle and play on Sundays so it's like an eruption of energy on Mondays! It's like pulling teeth to get them to do their chores. I want to start the week out right, so I insist on sticking to our schedule on Monday. If they need to rest after lunch- great. But the morning is for work! Little things keep happening today though- things that have made me hit the m&m's - hard. Although not as hard as I would have if my dear sweet husband hadn't already eaten almost the whole bag! For example, I got the kids settled in with some school work and coloring and I was making calls to arrange meals for a woman at church who just had a baby when WW3 broke out in the basement. Peter decided that he could ignore the rule about not emptying the pencil sharpener. So he unloaded that gray, dusty nastiness all over his very 2 year old sister and her beloved blankie. It is a tragedy when there can be no finger suckin and blanket rubbin for a full hour so I have a very touchy toddler right now. I really struggle lately to find appropriate punishments too! He had to pick up the whole basement and vacuum down there. However, odd as it may seem, I think he enjoyed his punishment! Although the burning rubber smell is kind of making me wonder what kind of experiments he might have been doing with the vacuum cleaner.