Last night I had a very clever little idea. My children get up early and I'd like to sleep a little longer, so I thought to my clever self: this would be a good time for them to do their chores! So, I told them when they awakened in the morning, they would find a little note on the kitchen table telling them what their chores were. They seemed genuinely excited about the idea and I was quite proud of myself. I found an index card and wrote: "Colin: Vacuum living room and put vacuum away in the closet. Spencer: sweep kitchen (use broom) and put the broom away."

Early this morning before the sun came up, Colin came running into the bedroom and said exhuberantly (aka loudly): "I'm dressed and ready for the day! ... But, I don't want to use the vacuum cleaner yet because I don't want to wake you up!"