When the kids are in bed...

When people find out that our kids go to bed at 6 pm, the first question they ask is what time do they get up in the morning. Answer: 6:30 am. Do they actually go to to sleep at 6? Answer: Yes. It's wonderful! The next question is usually something like "What do you do with all that time when the kids are asleep?" Well, it depends. I clean from 6-7. It takes an hour to do the dishes and pick up the toys. Sometimes I dust or mop and once in a (rare) while, I clean the bathrooms. If it's Tuesday, I watch Biggest Loser (I don't know what it is about watching people work out to the point of exhaustion that makes me crave ice cream.) If it's Wednesday, I go to mutual (I'm the YW secretary). Sometimes I go to Wal-Mart. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I watch old TV shows like Andy Griffeth, Matlock, and Hogan's Heroes. But what I really like to do is work in Photoshop, creating layouts. I'm working on books highlighting the past year for each of the girls. I'm not a pro, by any means, it's just a fun hobby.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I do take shortcuts when making my layouts. I love templates, they save a lot of time. I also like quick pages. These are pages that are made by someone else and I just plug in the journaling and pictures (the first and fifth layouts are examples of quick pages.) For me, the most important thing is that it's a creative outlet and a fun way to express how much I love my family.