Preparation

In
1998, we moved from a condominium to our very first house (I was
9-months pregnant with our very first child at the time).  On
moving day we were completely prepared; we had even moved everything
from upstairs to downstairs to facilitate a rapid move.  All of
the boxes were labeled with the room they would go into and the ease of
it all was quite wonderful!  We received many compliments that
day:-)

I
absolutely love being prepared.  There is something wonderful
about having dinner ready, guest rooms prepared, duckies in a
row:-).  A clean island, a clean desk, a clutter-free living
room.....these are truly "ahhhhhh" moments for me:-) It is exciting to
go into a situation where your full attention (such as it is) can be
devoted to the task at hand.  

On
the other hand, it is truly disappointing when I have failed to
plan.  For instance, the other day I intended to color pictures
with my kids, and I sat down at the computer to find some great pics
online.  I handed the pics out as they came out of the printer and
by the time I had given up on finding my oldest the perfect outline map
of the continents, all of the other children were finished with their
pictures!

As
I begin to plan out our homeschool year, I am realizing that the true
dilemna of the homeschooling mother of young children seems to be
finding the time to plan, and doing so effectively.  When the
children are finally tucked in at night seems to be the only time
available, and by this time my gas tank is running on fumes.  If
anyone has any good planning tips, I'm all ears!