Friday, September 30, 2016

Two Months Down, and I'm Already Loving This Life

Month Two recap . . . I didn't journal until midway through the month, because everything was working so wonderfully.  I wasn't asleep every night by 10:30 as I'd hoped, but I was up and showered and ready or nearly so every school day by the time the girls were dressed.  Then . . .

Day 17 - Alarms stink!  Today's alarm was Addie.  Saturdays are often light days for us, so everyone sort of wakes up whenever.  I figured that meant I was good to do the same.  Then the tooth fairy forgot to show up, so I was awakened by a crying girl around 7:00 a.m.  Stinking fairy!

Day 18 - And today I was awakened at the same time by the tooth fairy's letter one inch from my nose and a search for two missing gold coins.  Argh.  So much for sleeping in!

Day 21 - Finally got to bed on time last night and feel rested today.  I've been awake (after several snoozes), showered, and ready nearly every morning before or just after the girls' alarms.  Still, I really need to work it earlier.  It would be helpful to have actual morning time and use it well.

Day 22 - Up too late last night AND this morning.  Now remembering how important that early rising is for my family and how essential that early bedtime is for me.  Of course it didn't help any to have such a deeply painful conversation with someone I respected and thought I knew and then to quickly after learn that my childhood friend Tyler died during the night.  I cried for the better part of four hours today.  Now I have tired eyes and puffy face and grieving heart.  Let sleep come early tonight.

Day 30 - This was an important experiment.  It is so much easier to love my life when I can see it (yay, Month One!) and be ready for it.  I still want (need) to get better at turning off earlier so I can get out of bed earlier enough to actually have time before the girls are up and going.  Still, the days I was ready or nearly so and could help them get out of bed and ready were so much better than the others.  Definitely worth continuing.

               Through this I have realized the power I have to make or break the day for my entire family.  Must use it for good in order to love this life.


How I did:
* Woke up before the rest of my house every weekday!
* Was ready for the day most days right around 7:00/7:10.  By the time the girls got downstairs anyway.
* Did not do well getting to sleep by 10:30 OR prepping my day the night before.

What I'll continue:
* Rising before the others (attempting to have at least 15 minutes to myself before the family is up)
* Ready by 7:00 a.m. on weekdays
* Prep the girls' breakfast/lunch/clothes the night before (this is the last remaining consistent morning battle!)


Month Three - QUIET
Boy do I need this one!

What I'll do:
Build QUIET into my day by:
* Breathing - mindfully three times a day
* Minimizing Facebook - checking in only once per day from the computer only--limited to my accountability group, messages, and tags.  If I see a political post while I'm there I will QUIET my fingers to refrain from the battles that are starting to negatively affect my mental health.
* Turning the radio off - to spend at least one car ride a day (when I'm there by myself) in silence.


Want to join me in loving my actual life?  Here's your chance.

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

G: for Game Plan

Month one is in the books!  And I did it!  Mostly.

A few excerpts from my journal:

Day One - Breakfast done.  Dishes washed.  Sinks and cupboards scrubbed.  Dishwasher running.  Blog post written . . . Boy can I start strong, though!

Day Two - . . . Kids may hate me when this is done, but I love our clean house.

Day Four - This project would likely be easier without a family to mess up my hard work behind me.  It tuns out I can be quite the screaming lunatic as I remind myself this is my experiment not theirs.  Still, cleaning up after their smoothie making is on them, right?

Day Eleven - And . . . stalled.  Bee guy came out and porch is un-usable.  Plus it's 8,000 degrees, so there is no painting or organizing happening . . . It turns out this keeping things clean is tricky when I'm barely home.  And when it is so hot.  I've also noticed the key really is cleaning every room as I move through it.  If only I could convince my kids to do the same.

Day Nineteen - Oh my.  Full confession time.  Not only has my room not been clean at bedtime every night, but it isn't even clean at all.  Like, not a single time . . . I'm not going to get all of these projects done this month.  But I'm loving the satisfaction of finishing up.

Day Thirty-one - I did it!  It was rough by the end, but I think I have a handle on the schedule I need.  Got our room clean and love keeping it that way.  We have also spent the day(s) fighting with the girls to get their rooms clean.  Now to get them to school and get their "back to school" stuff cleaned up and out of here.

How I did: I got the projects done (plus two)!  Cleaning each room as I walk through it is the key to this whole puzzle.  As is a schedule for deeper cleaning (so many spiders in this house!).  Also, family is unwilling to be enlisted to empty their laundry baskets.

What I'll continue:At least two projects completed per month.  Clean rooms as I walk through. Keep trying to enlist family. Create monthly and yearly schedule for cleaning.


Now on to month two!  I like this game plan bit with the goals as I try to continue this experiment of loving my actual life . . . by first getting to know my actual life and sorting it all enough that I can actually see it.

Month Two is "First Things First -- Mornings."  I used to be a morning person, but somewhere along the way I started staying up too late and barely functioning before 8:00 a.m.  Last school year that left us frantically running to beat the bus on our best mornings and arguing and crying on our worst (that would be me and at least one child crying).  Something's got to give if I'm going to love this actual life . . . and be a bringer of peace in the morning instead of a creator of chaos.

So, first things first.  Mornings.  We camped for Labor Day weekend, so I actually started today, Day Six.  The first day of school.

What I Will Actually Do:
* Wake up before the rest of my house.
* Be dressed and ready for the day by 7:00 a.m.
* Prep breakfast and leaving the house the night before (as much as possible).
* Go to sleep by 10:30 so all those things can happen.

What I Will Always Remember:

His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.

                                                                                                        {Lamentations 3:22-23}

Every. Single. One.



{Have you checked out this book yet?  Go get it now.  You'll thank me.}