You Call That a Love Note?

Years ago I got tired of our rushed morning routine of getting the kids out the door and off to school on time.  It was a real miracle when there wasn't at least one kid who left for the bus half-naked or shoeless because we couldn't get our act together.  The craziness reached its apex the year I was getting the kids out the door, properly dressed, homework signed, hair combed-all off to FOUR different schools...I think I could have gotten through a NASA launch sequence with less glitches.

Smartly, I realized with a little pre-planning, we could get most things ready the night before (yes, I know, most of you have been doing this for years, I'm a little slow at this mom-game).  With this new routine, the kids were ready every morning on time and out the door with no cursing on my part.  The only problem was that now the cursing happened each night as I would growl at the kids over each and every thing they needed to do before bed.   It didn't take long for this routine to earn me the prestigious title of

"The Night Nag".

So  I turned to my trusty ol' mac and came up with a solution-call it neurotic and even fastidious but it works!   I had notepads made with a checklist and gave them to each of the kids.  Now, for the last few years, each night I just tell them to do their list and off they go...no more nagging.  This quirky, and yes, admittedly obsessive-and-control-freakish checklist of mine has liberated me from most of the general parental tantrums and cursings I am famous for.

It has also created a few interesting rituals around our house that Mark and I have found quite amusing.

The Check-Off:

Notice that Chloe likes to self-congratulate her finished list by embellishing it with a sticker before she hands it over.  She also likes to make notes on the side such as, "smell breath" as if to insure and guarantee the accuracy of teeth brushing.  She'll even list her blood sugar number and note which book she is currently reading.  Connor on the other hand, will do the minimal mark-off as required and usually skip parts of the check list he'd rather avoid.  You really have to check the list for room cleaning, sox getting, and teeth brushing, he is not particularly fond of these.

The Delivery
The delivery of the finished checklist is another interesting ritual.  Connor, who often turns in what we call an "incomplete", likes to deliver his through devious methods which require as little human contact as possible.  Then he will wait for an hour after its submission before he dares to come and give us a good night hug in hopes that we've forgotten any violations on the list.  Two of his favorite modes of delivery are:

...via airway:

...or by remote control car which has a camera built-in, this enables him to drive the car while safely tucked several rooms away:

The Love Note?

The next curious development is Chloe's nightly ritual of flipping her checklist over and writing what she calls "love notes" on the back.  A few of the love notes are really nice (keep reading, I saved the weird ones for last!):

Even Connor sometimes writes a love note (granted, this is usually when he is trying to distract a parent from the lack of check-marks on the other side.  Whether he gets away with it or not all depends on how genuine and nice his remarks are.).  Notice the lovely addition of hand-drawn of hearts which he thinks will earn him bonus points.

Sometimes Chloe's notes amuse us with her rather bizarre confessions of love:

uh...does that mean you love us a little or a lot?

Oddly, she likes brushing her teeth and the nightly checklist, so we'll take that as an endearing profession of love.

cockroaches?  Why thank you.   Oh, and ewwww, whatever does cockroaches have to do with movies and popcorn?

Not sure here either.

uh...thanks for that mental image. ewww!

On this day, Connor  must have been feeling especially amorous to take the time to make this lengthy list:

wow...more than a tick and snail??  Why that's love.

And The Occasional Complaint:

And then other times Chloe uses the backside to jot down household complaints, as if it were to be stuffed inside one of those comment boxes:

I look forward to our nightly routine these days because we never know how it'll get delivered or what kind of professed love it's gonna bring.   The Night Nag is resting comfortably most evenings, totally retired and busy reading silly love notes.