Well, here we are, almost the middle of May and I have yet to report on how close I came to reaching the goals I set for April.
There's a reason for that.
Big Project Goal: Clean the Garage
I did make huge strides in the garage. I cleaned the entryway and under the stoop. I swept grunge and cobwebs off many of the walls. I threw stuff out. Ben put a new spring I found on the garage door and it doesn't go thunk when it moves now.
The back of the garage is still in need of sorting and cleaning. But the improvement is vast and makes me feel much better about the garage as a whole. Now that the weather has, mostly, improved, I'm dedicating my out door time to the actual outdoors...weeding, transplanting, weeding, putting in annuals, weeding....
Daily Habit Development: Get to Bed on Time
This was just a great big failure. I went through a couple of weeks where I just couldn't make myself go to bed. I'd find myself standing in the bathroom reading a magazine. I was tired, I was sleepy, and yet I was up.
I still think that adding this habit to my day would make a huge difference. I still hope to get to the point where I'm going to bed around ten. But for now, I'm just working on relaxing before I'm exhusted, so that when it's time to get into bed I feel like I'm ready for sleep, whatever time that may be.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Five Minute Friday: Good-bye
The Gypsy Mama gives us a topic and we write for five minutes, unfiltered, no editing, no going back.
Good-bye.
I've been thinking lately about the slow way we say good-bye to our children every day. As they grow up, needing us in different ways, they start to leave us behind. And because it is so gradual we never actually stop to say "good-bye."
In fact I'm so busy doing the million other things that need doing, that sometimes I don't even notice until weeks later that something has changed.
My daughter used to pull a chair over to the sink and stick her little hands in the water everytime I washed the dishes. It drove me nuts, but part of me loved that she wanted to be right next to me. She hasn't done this in weeks.
When we moved my three-year old started coming into our room in the middle of the night to snuggle for a few minutes before heading back to his own bed to sleep. I loved his warm little body curled up next to me. He's only done it once in the last month, and he climbed into bed on my husband's side.
My kindergartener...here's where I really see the good-byes coming my way. I like the quiet of only having two while he's at school, but it's only a couple days a week. Next year he'll be gone all day, every day. I will miss him. So much. We will have so many fewer opportunities to talk, to play, to hang out.
I don't like good-byes. And I'm not good at them. So maybe it's for the best that so many of these childhood connections pass quietly. Because as much as I mourn the loss of their baby and toddler days, I know I have so much more to look forward to.
Good-bye.
I've been thinking lately about the slow way we say good-bye to our children every day. As they grow up, needing us in different ways, they start to leave us behind. And because it is so gradual we never actually stop to say "good-bye."
In fact I'm so busy doing the million other things that need doing, that sometimes I don't even notice until weeks later that something has changed.
My daughter used to pull a chair over to the sink and stick her little hands in the water everytime I washed the dishes. It drove me nuts, but part of me loved that she wanted to be right next to me. She hasn't done this in weeks.
When we moved my three-year old started coming into our room in the middle of the night to snuggle for a few minutes before heading back to his own bed to sleep. I loved his warm little body curled up next to me. He's only done it once in the last month, and he climbed into bed on my husband's side.
My kindergartener...here's where I really see the good-byes coming my way. I like the quiet of only having two while he's at school, but it's only a couple days a week. Next year he'll be gone all day, every day. I will miss him. So much. We will have so many fewer opportunities to talk, to play, to hang out.
I don't like good-byes. And I'm not good at them. So maybe it's for the best that so many of these childhood connections pass quietly. Because as much as I mourn the loss of their baby and toddler days, I know I have so much more to look forward to.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
April's (midmonth?) Goals
When I started writing this post it was the beginning of the month. But, somehow, I never got around to posting it. So without further ado, here are the goals I've been working on in April.
The Big Project
April's big project is the garage. We don't actually park in the garage; I'm not really sure why this is. What it means though, is that we can just stash stuff out there and then forget about it. Ben actually got started on this for me earlier in the year so the main area is sort of clear.
Mostly I need to sort out the junk from the stuff we actually use and want. There are still a lot of miscellaneous items left from my grandpa and all of the stuff that we moved in with that just sort of got buried. Some of it will go straight to the garbage, some in the yard sale pile, and whatever Ben says we still need I'll try to find a home for.
One I get the trash separated from the treasure, I actually need to clean the garage. There are years of cobwebs out there to sweep off the walls. Sand from the kids' toys needs to be swept out. I've started by cleaning the door. It looks much better, and I'm no longer afraid to push it open with my hip when my hands are full.
The ultimate purpose of all this is so that I can move the ever-expanding pile of garage sale goods out of the basement and start organizing for the actual sale, which will be at the beginning of June.
New Habit to Form:
I considered taking a month off from this to work on maintaining the previous habit-goals I'd set for myself. I really didn't do very well in March. Although I continued getting up and showering right away, I bombed on writing in the kids' journals every week, and I wasn't very disciplined in exercising each morning.
But then I glanced over my master plan, which has ideas from which to draw these monthly goals and I realized that if I want these ealier habits to truely stick, it was time to begin working on another one: Go To Bed On Time.
I'm so very bad at this. I used to go to bed at ten or just a bit after every night. But when there is no one here to go to bed with, I tend to find all sorts of little things that need to be taken care of before I head upstairs. So while I think I'm going to bed at ten or so, by the time I'm actually in bed turning out the light it's after eleven. Which just isn't enough sleep for me.
I'm attempting to get my bedtime back to the 10 to 10:30 range. That should make getting up in the morning easier. And then instead of just stretching in the morning, I could sneak out of the house for an early morning walk as the weather gets nicer and the sun rises earlier.
Mid-Month Confession
Since almost half the month has already slipped by, I will admit right now that I'm flat-out failing on the going to bed earlier business. Last night I turned off the light at 10:50. But I was up at 6:30 this morning, if that counts for anything. Here's to improving my discipline over the next couple of weeks.
The Big Project
April's big project is the garage. We don't actually park in the garage; I'm not really sure why this is. What it means though, is that we can just stash stuff out there and then forget about it. Ben actually got started on this for me earlier in the year so the main area is sort of clear.
Mostly I need to sort out the junk from the stuff we actually use and want. There are still a lot of miscellaneous items left from my grandpa and all of the stuff that we moved in with that just sort of got buried. Some of it will go straight to the garbage, some in the yard sale pile, and whatever Ben says we still need I'll try to find a home for.
One I get the trash separated from the treasure, I actually need to clean the garage. There are years of cobwebs out there to sweep off the walls. Sand from the kids' toys needs to be swept out. I've started by cleaning the door. It looks much better, and I'm no longer afraid to push it open with my hip when my hands are full.
The ultimate purpose of all this is so that I can move the ever-expanding pile of garage sale goods out of the basement and start organizing for the actual sale, which will be at the beginning of June.
New Habit to Form:
I considered taking a month off from this to work on maintaining the previous habit-goals I'd set for myself. I really didn't do very well in March. Although I continued getting up and showering right away, I bombed on writing in the kids' journals every week, and I wasn't very disciplined in exercising each morning.
But then I glanced over my master plan, which has ideas from which to draw these monthly goals and I realized that if I want these ealier habits to truely stick, it was time to begin working on another one: Go To Bed On Time.
I'm so very bad at this. I used to go to bed at ten or just a bit after every night. But when there is no one here to go to bed with, I tend to find all sorts of little things that need to be taken care of before I head upstairs. So while I think I'm going to bed at ten or so, by the time I'm actually in bed turning out the light it's after eleven. Which just isn't enough sleep for me.
I'm attempting to get my bedtime back to the 10 to 10:30 range. That should make getting up in the morning easier. And then instead of just stretching in the morning, I could sneak out of the house for an early morning walk as the weather gets nicer and the sun rises earlier.
Mid-Month Confession
Since almost half the month has already slipped by, I will admit right now that I'm flat-out failing on the going to bed earlier business. Last night I turned off the light at 10:50. But I was up at 6:30 this morning, if that counts for anything. Here's to improving my discipline over the next couple of weeks.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
My March Goals Results
My big goal for March was to paint Anna's room. The blue-grey wallboard was not doing it for me when it came to my little girl's room. So to cheer it up a bit I chose a creamy beige that makes the room feel much warmer and complements all her little pictures and knick knacks.
Thanks to my mother watching the little kids while Nick was in school one day, this was a success. Everything got one good coat and 3+ walls got a thin second coat. Unfortuantly, I then ran out of paint. The blue splotches show through in the area behind the crib and wall hanging, so if I ever rearrange or redecorate I'm going to have to spring for some more paint to do a cover up.
I was also supposed to be developing the habit of exercising daily. I started out a little slow, but was into it by the second week. The time change actually helped me fit it in each day because the boys were sleeping in a little later than they had been previously. Then we had the most beautiful weather the next week. It is so much easier to get out of bed when I don't start shivering as soon as I throw the covers back!
But then last week we returned to regular March-like weather and getting out of bed in the morning got a lot harder. And then my in-laws were visiting for a few days. And here we are in April.
So while I wasn't successful at keeping up with this every day, I did learn that I like a little warm-up first thing in the morning. I actually missed it on the days I didn't do it. Even though ten minutes seems a little pathetic, it really made a difference in the beginning of my day. My body felt awake and prepared to get going. I didn't stand in the shower half asleep. And since I liked it I don't think it's going to be too hard to get back on track and keep this as a daily routine.
Thanks to my mother watching the little kids while Nick was in school one day, this was a success. Everything got one good coat and 3+ walls got a thin second coat. Unfortuantly, I then ran out of paint. The blue splotches show through in the area behind the crib and wall hanging, so if I ever rearrange or redecorate I'm going to have to spring for some more paint to do a cover up.
I was also supposed to be developing the habit of exercising daily. I started out a little slow, but was into it by the second week. The time change actually helped me fit it in each day because the boys were sleeping in a little later than they had been previously. Then we had the most beautiful weather the next week. It is so much easier to get out of bed when I don't start shivering as soon as I throw the covers back!
But then last week we returned to regular March-like weather and getting out of bed in the morning got a lot harder. And then my in-laws were visiting for a few days. And here we are in April.
So while I wasn't successful at keeping up with this every day, I did learn that I like a little warm-up first thing in the morning. I actually missed it on the days I didn't do it. Even though ten minutes seems a little pathetic, it really made a difference in the beginning of my day. My body felt awake and prepared to get going. I didn't stand in the shower half asleep. And since I liked it I don't think it's going to be too hard to get back on track and keep this as a daily routine.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Blessed
It's been a stressful couple of weeks, financially speaking. With gas prices over $4.00 and Ben driving 120+ miles each day, a huge chunk of the weekly paycheck is going straight into the car. And we've had some un-budgeted-for spending by both of us that has sort of thrown a wrench in things.
After setting aside a certain amount for bill paying and building the savings, allotting enough for gas money to get Ben to work, and covering our overspending, I've only been left with about $30 to get groceries the last few weeks.
It wasn't a big deal at first. Our pantry is ample. I had some meat in the freezer from previous sales. I spent what little cash we had on fresh produce and milk. We ate pretty much like we always do.
But then this week rolled around. And boy was I stressed out. I'm used to having excess food in the freezer. I like having wiggle room in my meal plan. My children are growing, as evidenced by the continually shrinking amount of leftovers I have to send in Ben's lunch. I'm used to having leeway, so that if we do have a low budget week it really doesn't affect us.
But suddenly it was effecting us.
I worried about everyone having enough to eat, but at the same time I started limiting serving sizes and how many glasses of milk each child could have in a day. I worried about what my in-laws would think when they come to visit this weekend. I wondered how many meatless meals I could get away with serving in one week. I was way outside my comfort zone and I didn't know what to do about it.
And just as suddenly we have been blessed again and again this week.
My sister-in-law gave us a bag of chicken that her girls refused to eat. A good friend dropped off a huge bag of name-brand, barely used clothes for Anna. My mom watched the little kids for me one day and not only fed them snacks and lunch, but she fed me lunch too. One of Ben's coworkers sent home enough Chinese take-out to make a yummy meal for me and and the two little kids.
They're all little things, but they have made a huge, huge difference to me. I'm still struggling knowing that the freezer and pantry aren't filled to capacity, but I'm trying to remember that what we need will be provided.
After setting aside a certain amount for bill paying and building the savings, allotting enough for gas money to get Ben to work, and covering our overspending, I've only been left with about $30 to get groceries the last few weeks.
It wasn't a big deal at first. Our pantry is ample. I had some meat in the freezer from previous sales. I spent what little cash we had on fresh produce and milk. We ate pretty much like we always do.
But then this week rolled around. And boy was I stressed out. I'm used to having excess food in the freezer. I like having wiggle room in my meal plan. My children are growing, as evidenced by the continually shrinking amount of leftovers I have to send in Ben's lunch. I'm used to having leeway, so that if we do have a low budget week it really doesn't affect us.
But suddenly it was effecting us.
I worried about everyone having enough to eat, but at the same time I started limiting serving sizes and how many glasses of milk each child could have in a day. I worried about what my in-laws would think when they come to visit this weekend. I wondered how many meatless meals I could get away with serving in one week. I was way outside my comfort zone and I didn't know what to do about it.
And just as suddenly we have been blessed again and again this week.
My sister-in-law gave us a bag of chicken that her girls refused to eat. A good friend dropped off a huge bag of name-brand, barely used clothes for Anna. My mom watched the little kids for me one day and not only fed them snacks and lunch, but she fed me lunch too. One of Ben's coworkers sent home enough Chinese take-out to make a yummy meal for me and and the two little kids.
They're all little things, but they have made a huge, huge difference to me. I'm still struggling knowing that the freezer and pantry aren't filled to capacity, but I'm trying to remember that what we need will be provided.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Mid-Lenten Update
Although my kids were not super excited about plan to give up a dessert each day for Lent they have come around wonderfully.
The first week there was whining after each meal. But once we brought our rice bowl home from church something clicked with my oldest son. I explained that by not eating dessert so often we would have extra money that we could put in the rice bowl to share with others who couldn't always buy food for the main part of their meals.
Nick looked like a lightbulb had gone off. "Oh, is that what we're going to do?" And just like that, he was on board. And since he was going along with it, the other two followed.
Today at lunch he wanted to have dessert and I reminded him that we wouldn't be able to have any for dinner. He said that was okay with him, then looked at his sister and asked if she wanted to have dessert with lunch. When she nodded he asked his brother the same thing. He also agreed. Sometimes Nick impresses me with his ability to work with his siblings.
I'm rather disappointed in myself this Lenten season. The sacrifices I had decided to make were not concrete, and honestly, not really that much of a sacrifice for me. But last night I felt a pull to say a Rosary. I can't remember the last time I did so, but it was before we moved into this house, so we're talking the better part of a year.
I prayed and I could feel that it was good. And very badly needed. I may be several weeks late in getting into the true Lenten spirit, but I'm taking the better-late-than-never stance this time around. I now have a concrete plan of how I want to honor the season.
(I'm not going into detail on these plans for a reason. Scripture tells us we shouldn't act like we're fasting, while we're fasting...we don't celebrate Lent for show.)
The first week there was whining after each meal. But once we brought our rice bowl home from church something clicked with my oldest son. I explained that by not eating dessert so often we would have extra money that we could put in the rice bowl to share with others who couldn't always buy food for the main part of their meals.
Nick looked like a lightbulb had gone off. "Oh, is that what we're going to do?" And just like that, he was on board. And since he was going along with it, the other two followed.
Today at lunch he wanted to have dessert and I reminded him that we wouldn't be able to have any for dinner. He said that was okay with him, then looked at his sister and asked if she wanted to have dessert with lunch. When she nodded he asked his brother the same thing. He also agreed. Sometimes Nick impresses me with his ability to work with his siblings.
I'm rather disappointed in myself this Lenten season. The sacrifices I had decided to make were not concrete, and honestly, not really that much of a sacrifice for me. But last night I felt a pull to say a Rosary. I can't remember the last time I did so, but it was before we moved into this house, so we're talking the better part of a year.
I prayed and I could feel that it was good. And very badly needed. I may be several weeks late in getting into the true Lenten spirit, but I'm taking the better-late-than-never stance this time around. I now have a concrete plan of how I want to honor the season.
(I'm not going into detail on these plans for a reason. Scripture tells us we shouldn't act like we're fasting, while we're fasting...we don't celebrate Lent for show.)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sunshine and Wind
I hung my laundry on the line today. I could tell I'd been using the dryer all winter because it took me forever to get it all hung up. So long, in fact, that by the time I'd filled the lines, the first clothes I'd hung were already dry.
It wasn't just my slow speed though. It was warm--79 degrees--and windy. I had a Little House on the Prairie moment while I was working. There are no houses behind us, only fields, and a mile or so away some trees. With the wind blowing my hair and whipping the clothes around, with the shadows of the clouds moving over the ground as they covered and uncovered the sun, looking across the empty land, I felt a little bit like Laura Ingles. And I liked it.
It wasn't just my slow speed though. It was warm--79 degrees--and windy. I had a Little House on the Prairie moment while I was working. There are no houses behind us, only fields, and a mile or so away some trees. With the wind blowing my hair and whipping the clothes around, with the shadows of the clouds moving over the ground as they covered and uncovered the sun, looking across the empty land, I felt a little bit like Laura Ingles. And I liked it.
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