playing house: typical tuesday: Debbie Christensen

Welcome tuesday! We're so happy you are here, Monday is now over and Friday is only days away. AND we have a fabulous typical tuesday from Debbie. Debbie lives in the sunny land of AZ with her beautiful family and rad house. We are insta-friends (instagram friends...duh) and blog friends. Also, she has freckles=me jealous. Take it away Debbie!:

This wasn't exactly a typical Tuesday in the fact that not everything that happened today typically happens but that in and of itself is pretty typical. I don't have a day that always happens exactly the same.

This day started with me waking up to my husband leaning over and giving me kiss

as he left for work. I wish I had a picture of this, it's one of the best parts of my day. But I did get a picture of the door he walks through as he heads to the hospital to start his day as a physical therapist.

I get up and this is the time on the clock and that means it's time for me to read my scriptures armed with my pen and marking pencil and then I say my prayers. This doesn't always happen first thing in the morning, but it usually does. And I make sure that it always happens.

Then I go and do little bit of yoga and stretch my body out. I don't do yoga every day. I wish I did, but I make other things a priority. I do feel so much better when I do it.

This is my view from the yoga mat, with the sun coming up through the windows. I usually do a yoga/pilates DVD that I got many years ago and love. Today I want to do a quick workout and a quick shower.

So this day I listen to a conference talk while I do my own yoga routine.

Then it's off to the shower where I wash my hair using the Curly Girl Method and love it. It has changed my life as a curly girl.

After my shower I dry my hair with the smooth side of an old towel.

Then I make my bed which I admit is not something that I do every day but I'm trying to get better at it. I think I need to get rid of about half of my pillows.

By this time it's about 7:40 and I have about 35 minutes until we have to walk out the door to take my son to school. If I were smart I would wake up my kids so that I could get them ready and out the door on time but I'm not smart and I hate waking my kids.

So instead I dump clean laundry all over my bed to begin sorting

About that time my daughter Gracie (who is 4 years old) comes walking in already dressed (she always dresses herself every morning) with a very sullen look on her face and tells me in a very sad voice, " I had a dream I could fly and in the dream I said it was real and it felt real, but it wasn't real". It was quite sad so I had her sit down on my lap and talk to about how at least she got to have a dream where it felt real to fly.

It wasn't long before she was happy and smiling.

I took her into the bathroom to do her hair. Her request for today was two braids and a bow on the side.

Then she brought the yogurt container in my room using it as a drum telling me that she was ready for breakfast

I picked out what I was going to wear for the day my favorite new -to- me vintage dress that I wish look better on me that it did on the hanger.

After I got dressed I heard my little baby boy Joseph (who is 16 months) awake in his crib so I went to go get him.

It is always so fun to get him out of bed in the morning.

Behind the crib I see my oldest son, William (7), peeking out from under his blanket .

I don't think he's very happy to be awake. And yes, all three of my children share a room. It's not really necessary but I like having them in the same room and I think it's good for them. I informed William that we're running a little bit late today and so he has to hurry and get dressed while I take Joseph off to get him dressed.

I put him in my favorite shirt for him. The Hulk shirt. It's my favorite because he's a quite a big boy for his age and it seems to suit him.

Then it's breakfast: bananas, yogurt, and toast for everyone!

These pictures of them eating breakfast are so bright because a few weeks back Joseph pull down the curtains in the kitchen nook and the morning sun shines in so brightly and the poor kids have to eat with the sun shining in their eyes. I'll get around to making new curtains one of these days. Then we're also in a hurry to get William to school which I did not take a picture of because we were doing it so quickly but we made it on time.

Then I take Gracie to a little rotating preschool that some other moms and I do and here she is waving to me as she walks up to the house.

Joseph was not very happy to see her go.

Joseph and I headed off to a copy shop so I can make some copies of a little daily planner I need for myself to help keep me a bit more organized... hopefully.

He was having the time of this life playing on their little wire toys and walking all around the empty copy shop.

When we got home we got to read stories, just he and I. He loves reading books.

After a while, he crawled off my lap to go sit by himself and read some stories.

He is just so darn cute I couldn't leave him alone and had to tickle him.

After that Joseph came in the kitchen to finish off the banana he left behind and help me clean up the kitchen, which badly needed it.

Here's the before picture but I don't have an after picture because we were interrupted by my mom and dad showing up with ...

My brother Mark and his son Sam!!! They came to visit from Nebraska and they used to live with us so it was so fun to see them again.

I headed off to pick Gracie up from her little preschool and when I told her who was waiting at the house she was so excited.

She got out of the car and said "let's go rush in to see him" and she did. I love this picture because it was taken with my phone and she's floating midair.

She did rush in to see Sam and she was so happy that he gave her hugs and kisses and the kids played so happily for so long. After playing inside they ran around outside for a long time.

Russ came home because he was feeling sick at work. He spent a while visiting with Mark and my Dad (mostly talking politics) and then he went to bed and my family left.

I got Gracie some smoothie that I had made for everyone else. And I put Joseph down for a nap.

Then I started sorting the laundry on the bed while Russ slept soundly.

Gracie asked to watch a movie (she gets to watch one a day). So she went and picked one out and I put it on for her.

Then she snuggled up with a piece of fabric that she got out of my craft room.

I went back in to do the laundry and realized that my hair looked pretty crunchy still. After it dries I scrunch it a little bit to get rid of the gel cast and crispy hair look.

Now all the clothes get sorted and are ready for the kids to put away (except Joseph's, I put his away).

Then I clean my bathroom. I clean petty exclusively with vinegar water and hydrogen peroxide.

When Gracie's movie is over she asks to paint.

Then I catch her making herself a butter and honey sandwich. She is always sneaking into the kitchen and making stuff, she loves to help herself.

Her finished art work.

Then I remembered that I wanted to hang some string with clothes pins to display this kids art work.

Pretty soon I heard JoJo wake up from his nap and right after that it was time to go and pick William up from school.

Soon as he got home he was in his Obi-Wan Kenobi costume and ready to play.

Here is a picture I was able to capture of him once he saw his pictures hung up on the wall.

While the kids played around for a while I took the opportunity to sweep and mop my kitchen floors. Everything feels so much better when these floors are clean but it doesn't happen that often. I do love my black-and-white checkered floors. I didn't put them in, the house came like this and even though I love them I don't think I would do it again because it's the worst of both worlds everything light shows up on the dark squares everything dark shows up on the white squares. This makes it always look dirty.

After I got that done, the kids and I headed to a school that I want to sign them up for for next year to turn in their paperwork and have a look around. Then we headed off to a pizza shop to pick up some pizzas, after which we headed to the park to meet my family for a family picnic since my brother is in town. Russ stayed home to rest (and thrown up).

Playing at the park with cousins is pretty much the best thing ever

and we made sure to go to a part that has large hills so that we could roll down that vintage stroller. The kids have so much fun and it's actually quite safe because that thing does not tip over.

Gracie of course was in heaven because Connie was there and Gracie loves Connie to the moon and everywhere. In fact we all do.

After it got too dark to play we headed back home to say hello to Russ and get the kids in the bath

Russ got Joseph ready for bed and while the kids put their jammies on I checked my favorite apps on my phone like Instagram and Pinterest.

Then Russ came in a laid down and fell right asleep (poor guy) and the kids and I read scriptures.

Then we said family prayers.

And then usually Gracie goes into their bedroom with Russ while William and I read a chapter in Harry Potter, but tonight Gracie got to stay and listen. Then the kids went to bed.