Where does the time go?

I can't help but notice how fast my children are growing up.  It seems like yesterday that Connor was born.  Each day just races by and while I am trying to create memories with my family, I find it hard to remember them!  Most days are just a blur.

So, I started thinking... why is it that each day goes by so quickly and is there anything I can do to slow things down?? I think the main reason is most days are very busy. When I'm very busy, time does go by fast. And I started to evaluate... what are we busy doing?  We have school time, play time, arts/crafts time, chores, meals and clean up, diaper changes, feeding the baby, errands, etc... but then there are the things that I "have" to do that I really don't have to do. One of my biggest time wasters is getting online. I turn the computer on and my intent is to look up something very specific, but while I'm on I go ahead and check my e-mail, and oooh, I need to respond to this and follow up on that and look up such and such.  An hour later the boys are fighting or crying or have destroyed the entire house (which I haven't noticed while I was doing all those things I just had to do), so I turn off the computer... and never did that specific thing that I got on there to do!! I have other time wasters too, but that is probably the biggest one.

So here is my new plan... 1) I'm going to be better about making daily lists (I love lists!) of have to's vs. would like to's. 2) When I go to check my e-mail or look something up, I'm going to set the timer. And 3) I'm going to start my day earlier. I really like sleeping in, but I know my days would go much more smoothly if I did a few things (like take a shower or have some quiet time) before the children wake up. These are all things within my control to slow things down and enjoy each day more.  There are probably more things I can do that I will add to this "new plan" list, but it's past my bed time and I just said I'm going to start getting up earlier!