the first post of 2015

January.  The month for New Year's resolutions.  I definitely have a few goals for the year, yet I don't think I'm doing so well thus far.

Per the recommendation of my blogger buddy, Sarah, I started an Instagram account.  This may or may not be contributing to my lack of blogging.  More than likely, it is.  However, I confess that I've been really enjoying not being on the computer much lately.  And I confess: I love Instagram...like, really love it. 

Plus, I have that fancy new smart phone.  And who blogs from a smart phone?  No one.  I Instagram and Facebook from my smart phone.  They're so easy, but they're certainly not my blog.  And I love my blog.  

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog once a week.  I'm obviously not doing well because it's January 23, and this is my first post of the year.  I'm not even including a picture.  Shameful, I know.  We'll see how I do.  

We've been enjoying a lot of downtime since Christmas, even since school resumed the first full week of the year.  It has been nice.  One of my other New Year's resolutions was to go to bed earlier and get up at a consistent time in the morning.  I'm always all over the board.  My friend, Deanna, is totally keeping me accountable for this one.  And until tonight, I've done extremely well at keeping my curfew.  Tonight? I've blown it already, so why not blog a little more?

Claire and I are spending a weekend together next weekend, Meredith's 10th birthday is just around the corner, and I have weekends out of town for various reasons through May.  I feel like I've been a planning fool over the last couple of weeks, and it seems that there is still a lot to do.  Putting out the hottest fires first.  I know everything will come together, but I've got way more tabs open in my mind than I'd like.  

Did I mention that our Christmas decor hasn't yet left the house?  I didn't, I know.  That's because it should be embarrassing.  Most of it is finally in boxes, but the tree is definitely still standing in our kitchen with lights on it.  This is, BY FAR, the latest it's ever still been standing.  You can call it "festive," but it's definitely because I'm lazy and didn't insist that my husband find the Christmas boxes in the barn until this week.

You know those people that pull their Christmas decor out in October?  Yeah, we're like them only backwards.  We're leaving ours up until February...maybe.

I must admit, though, I haven't minded.  It's made January a bit more festive in our home. :)  Sometimes our trees are literally falling apart if we stare too long at them, but I'm pretty sure we bought the most hearty, glorious tree of the bunch.  As soon as we saw it, we claimed it.  (The Hallelujah Chorus may or may not have played as we looked at it for the first time.)  We definitely got our money's worth this year.

Okay, back to 2015...I'm completely looking forward to this year.  It feels like we're growing up a lot.  The girls' birthday stretch is upon us, and when it's through, we're going to have a 12, 10, 7, and 4 year old.  Boy, those numbers look big.  

Parenting this 9-12 year old stage is an interesting journey.  It has reminded me of my early years of parenting when I had zero clue on what to do.  I read so many parenting books then, and I have felt the need to do the same with this era.  I feel like I am constantly sponging information off other moms who have been there/done that.  They are secretly my mentors, and I am beyond grateful for them.  I have found myself praying for my children more than ever.  Obviously, as a parent, I know that I'm having an impact on my children, yet the weightiness of it all has really been impressed on me recently.  I'm stepping it up.

There is so much more that I could say, but I really do need to get some sleep.  I do have to run my household in the morning.  And Deanna will probably text me first thing in the morning, and I'll have to confess that I didn't get to bed until 2:21.  Hopefully, she'll spare me public humiliation.  Anyway, if I can keep my blogging resolution (and snag the computer from time to time in the evening), I'll have time to say more.  Until then, I pray 2015 is a blessing to you.

our family chores

Training kids for chores is a whole lot of work.  It's also an enormous blessing to our family.  I've made chore charts for the kids for several years.  I think I started with Claire when she was 4.

I'm a huge believer in chores for kids.  They help make the mess; they should help clean it.  It also provides good training for when they leave the house as well as when parents are busy or ill and need some additional assistance.  

Chores within your home will look different depending on whether you have younger kids, older kids, kids in public/private school, or kids at home who homeschool.  Schedules and abilities will vary...be flexible.  It's a complete trial and error process until you can find something that works well for your family.  We've done it several different ways.  What I'm describing here is what is currently working for our family.  

I used to make new charts for the kids every few weeks so that the kids wouldn't get bored with their chores.  And then, I read about a woman who had her kids do the same chores for an entire year.  Wow!  Being someone who likes variety, I didn't know if this was for our family.  Then, I had Olivia, and I did my best to simplify virtually everything in my life...including chores.  

I decided to give the kids daily chores and weekly chores that they would do the entire year.  I knew that once I taught them how to do their chores, I wouldn't have to teach new chores again for a year.  Doing the same chores for the entire year would give them routine as well as allow them to master a specific chore/skill.  This year, I'm training in the summer so that everyone will be in their routine by the time the school year starts.

I typically choose chores for my kids that help our household run smoothly.  I try to think about what drives me most crazy by the time we make it to 1:00 in the afternoon {which is about the time we do chores}, and I base their daily chores on those things.  Usually, the entryway is a mess, there are toys/games/things all over the kitchen and family room, the main area of our kitchen and the bar area are covered in crumbs of food, the kitchen counter needs attention, etc.  You get the idea.  This year I added dinner/after dinner chores for everyone as well.  This is a first for us...prior to this year, I have always wanted the girls to be able to get all of their chores finished during our "chore time."  It's working well so far.

On a side note, this is the first time in a couple of years that no one has had a "mom's choice" chore.  I've had those on our charts a lot, and I'm always thankful for that specific chore.  I can choose anything I'd like, and there is usually something random that needs done.  Consider adding this to your own kids' charts if you need an extra idea.

I always give my kids a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores.  I assign their weekly chores to specific days, or the kids would wait until the last day, and everything would turn into a huge fight.  

Here are our chore lists for this year:

Claire {10 years old}

daily 

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, load dishwasher after dinner, wash pots and pans

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Meredith

Monday: one load of laundry {pinks...I know you're not surprised to know that we have a full load of pinks :)}

Tuesday: sweep and steam the entire kitchen floor, clean the bathroom

Wednesday: vacuum all carpeted rooms

{This year, I allowed Claire to choose the days of the week in which she wanted her weekly chores.  I know she is going to have more school work this year, so she will have the flexibility to "make up" her weekly chores on Thursday and Friday if she doesn't get them done on the first couple of days of the week.  We'll see how it goes once school starts.}

Meredith {8 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, sweep main area of kitchen and under bar, pick up entryway/hallway, kitchen counter clean up with Mom, wipe table and main counter after dinner

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Claire

Tuesday: sweep entryway and hallway

Thursday: one load of laundry {light colored towels}

Amelia {5 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, pick up family room floor and kitchen floor, pick up 50 toys/things in the playroom, set dinner table, clear dinner table with Mom

weekly

Tuesday: dust family room

Wednesday: load of laundry with Mom {dark colored towels}

Me

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, declutter kitchen

weekly

Monday: kitchen {The kitchen usually gets a bit crazy over the weekend, so Monday is a good day to get it back in order.}

Tuesday: straighten/clean master bathroom

Wednesday: declutter laundry room, office, hanging rack in entryway

Thursday: lesson plans/school prep

Friday: wipe cabinets/appliances, prep laundry

Saturday: laundry

  

If everyone gets to work, usually they can finish their chores in about 30 minutes.  The complaining, moaning, and distractions usually add to the time.  Some days, my kids really get right to work and are done in a flash...other days, not so much.  As of now, I'm pretty much walking along side of Amelia to keep her on task while she's learning.  She gets overwhelmed easily, but if I'm helping her, it's not so bad.  

While I'm really good at getting my kids to complete their chores, I'm not the best at getting my own completed.  I've been doing better in recent weeks, but honestly, the laundry room and the office are huge collecting spaces in our home.  We're working on it.  I try not to get too overwhelmed and just try to put out the biggest fire at the time.  

Here are some good links for chore chart printables or fill-in printables to make your own:

http://www.designfinch.com/2011/07/31/sunday-planning/ {I'm using one from this list for Claire and myself this year.}

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/9a/95/6a9a953c46a238cd327918ee3ef6b1c6.jpg {I'm using this for Meredith and Amelia.}

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2012/organizing-labels-for-more-stuff.html {I used these last year.}

http://www.howdoesshe.com/1-free-organizational-printables/

I always print them, laminate them, and hang them near the kitchen.  

Happy cleaning!

{keepin' it real}

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  And by a long time, I think it’s been at least a couple of years, if not more.

We have a lot of fun in this family.  We work hard, and we play hard.  Josh and I work hard to make memories for our children and each other.  

I say it on this blog, I say it on facebook, and I say it in real life over and over and over again.  We are so blessed…and we are blessed beyond measure!  God is good…all the time.

People often tell me how much they love to read my blog and my facebook status updates, and they also enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures of my girls that I post.  I love all of those things, too!  I wouldn't post them if I didn't like them. 

My continued fear, though, is that people will think that we live a perfect little life.  I sure hope that you know that we don't.  Hence, the reason for this post.

Let me start by sharing some self-imposed guidelines for my facebook page and my blog:

-You will never see me speaking poorly of my husband.  It is not becoming of any wife.  I will not do it.  {On a side note, Josh does have his faults.  However, I speak about them privately to him, my bff Deanna, or his family.  These are people who are discerning and will not take my side undeservedly.}

-I will put a positive spin on almost any situation...or at minimum find a little humor in it.  This is who I am, forever the optimist.  I might grumble about something today, but by next week, I'm sure I'll be doing my best to find a positive side to the story.  Whatever the case we'll be making the best of our current situation.  How else will we endure it?  

-I will encourage others and share what works for us.  This is one of my constant goals in life.  I realize that what works for us may not work for other families, but I crave knowing other people's routines and tricks because that's where I get all of my ideas.  I steal almost all of them.  Rare is the idea that was mine first.

-I will write about memories that I don't want to forget.  This is especially true for our blog.  You will see our highlights and bloopers because those are the memories that I treasure.  This is our highlight reel.  These are the parts that would make the scrapbook if I had one.

And here is some imperfect, kinda grimy, non-supermom reality for your reading pleasure:

-On days when we don't have to go anywhere, I often stay in my pajamas all day.

-If I don't dress Olivia during her first diaper change of the day, you can bet that she stays in her pajamas all day, too.  On a positive note, she has spent less time in her jammies than any of my other children.

-We use paper plates for lunch almost every day.  For $2 a month, my sanity is saved.  Well worth the money spent.

-Sometimes, I let my kids watch t.v. just so that I can get stuff done.  {You might not think this is a big deal at all, but I have issues with the t.v.  This one is a big one for me.}

-My pots and pans accumulate on the stove because I hate washing them.

-Sometimes I lose it and yell at my kids.

-As soon as I clean a room, someone messes it up again.

-My kids truly do enjoy being together, but they also know how to push each other's buttons. One or two of them are awfully good button pushers.

-My house looks clean and picked up when you come over because I knew you were coming.  Stop by on a Tuesday morning, unannounced, and you'll get the real deal.

The organizational side of me that you see has been born out of necessity.  I am not naturally an organized person.  I have good intentions, I know how to organize, and I can probably even tell you how to organize some parts of your own life.

Personally, I struggle with disciplining myself to use my systems.  They are in place, but my motivation and energy often seem to be in short supply.  Still, it is extremely beneficial to know where to start and how to go about it when I find time, motivation, and energy.  Again, I would lose my sanity if I didn't at least have a plan.

Now about our stuff.  {Another fear of mine is that people will think that we have a lot of money because we have nice stuff.}

I will be the first to say that we do indeed have a lot of nice stuff.  Josh works really hard to provide for our family so that we can have and do a lot of things.  He is also an extremely skilled do-it-yourselfer, and this man can find a bargain like no other.  We have saved thousands and thousands of dollars because of these skills.  {We have certainly not saved any time because of these skills...just money...lots and lots of money.}

Our finances are a huge priority to us.  We are awfully disciplined when it comes to our money.  I'll be the first to say it:  we are cheapskates!  We have a whiskey appetite and a beer budget.  Actually, I think our biggest problem is that we have a top shelf whiskey appetite and a cheap beer budget. :)

We aren't big spenders on a daily basis.  A lot of the nice things we have were birthday or Christmas gifts from our families or each other, or we've saved and saved to make a purchase.  We are not extravagant.  When we do shop, we often shop at resales/resale shops, garage sales, or get hand-me-downs from friends.  We are frugal, and it works for us.

My birthday dinner the other night?  That once-every-few-years extravagance cost us almost 2 months worth of our eating out/babysitter budget.  Trust me when I say that I enjoyed every single minute of it.  My commitment to cook dinner each and every night of the month has served me well this year.

Our priorities do not include "keeping up with the Jones'".  I certainly struggle with this from time to time.  I think we all do, but we need to remember that the Jones family is probably in debt up to their ears and miserable because of it.  We will not be that family.  We will not fall into that trap.  We will be thankful for all that we have, knowing that we've been given more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.

I will do my best not to play the comparison game.  It is my hope that I am real enough that you actually do see some of our struggles and challenges...we certainly have them.  I want you to be encouraged and to enjoy watching our family make memories and grow.

What you see is what you get.  This really is us...just remember that a lot of it is the best of us.  It's the favorite-edited-photo side, the we-cleaned-the-house-before-you-came side, and we-probably-baked-some-chocolate-chip-cookies-too, side.  This is our best foot forward.  Please remember that sometimes we trip and fall flat on our faces just like the rest of the world.

I pray that you see our family continually loving each other, continually forgiving each other, and continually falling at the feet of our Heavenly Father in thankfulness and humility for all we have be given.

Thank you for being faithful followers of us.  We love having you share in our memories.  

menu.planning.question

My friend, Sommer, facebooked me to ask me a question about my menu planning...

Question:  Do you ALWAYS stick to your meal plan?  Do you sometimes crave something else and just do takeout? 

Here is my answer...

1. Sticking to the plan is easiest when you have a plan to begin with!

I used to just make a list of meals per week or two (maybe 7-10) and work off of that.  My problems included not wanting to make the last couple of items on the list because they took too long or I waited too late in the afternoon/evening to begin the meal.

2.  Look at your menu at the end of your day so that you already know what's for dinner tomorrow night.

It might sound like a lot of thinking ahead at first, but it is sooooo worth it!  It's just a routine that I've gotten myself into.  You know I'm addicted to my daily dockets.  I'm even going to give the pocket docket a trial run in the near future.  These are my means for being organized throughout the day. 

I always fill my docket out at the end of the day (before we head to bed or after the kids are in bed) to get my to-do list in order and check on my dinner plans.  This way I can set my crock pot out, put freezer meat in the refrigerator to thaw, and know what time to start prepping dinner the next day/evening. 

This completely alleviates me looking in the fridge at 5:00 and wondering what I can throw together for dinner. 

3.  Sticking to the meal plan

I don't always stick to my meal plan, but I probably do 90% of the time.  I've already altered our March plan because we invited some guests for Friday night, and we've never had them over before.  I know that I'm going to end up making my chicken manicotti that night because it's a home run meal!  Everyone loves it!! 

Sometimes, our parents will take us out to dinner or we'll get invited over to someone else's house.  I get excited because that gives me an extra meal for the month!  I just put a big circle on my meal calendar on the meal that I didn't cook.  That way I know that I have that particular meal.  I'll either sub it in on another night or just know I have it at the end of the month. 

4.  Doing take out

Oh, I would love to do takeout more often!  It's just not in our family of 5 budget these days to do takeout.  I could see us picking up a pizza now and then, but usually I have a stocked up freezer full of frozen pizzas for times just like this! 

I try to have frozen pizza, chicken patties, and corn dogs in the freezer for a fast and easy meal when we need something fast.  I also try to save these for when we really do need them (or Sunday lunches). 

I long for the day when we can eat out every Sunday after church!  Sunday lunch is my least favorite meal to prepare.  We usually have leftovers, but now and then we have to throw something together.  Grrrr.

Needless to say, when we get to go out for birthdays, get invited out through work, or are treated out "just because," we jump on the opportunity!  Thank you to all of you who pay for us (you know who you are)! 

5.  Making things easier

Be committed.  Know that cooking for your family is healthier than takeout, and it's so much cheaper! 

Plan your meals so that your hubby or your crock pot or your freezer is doing most of the work.  Josh cooks on average 1-2 nights per week.  Anything that needs to be grilled is cooked by him, and he loves to make stir-fry (and informs me that he would eat it once a week).  I put it on the calendar once or twice a month for sure because I know he'll make it!

I did a crock pot recipe drive several months back, and I have loved trying a ton of new recipes.  That crock pot is my best friend. 

When you make meals that freeze well, double up!  I think Quick Cooking used to call them "Freezer Pleasers."  You make 2 batches at once.  Bake one, freeze the other for later.  Love it.

The bottom line is that having a plan and knowing it ahead of time makes it really easy to stick to the plan!  Here are a couple of other resources that I use a lot.

printable calendar from tomkat studio (I print this and put it in the front of my blue binder)

All Recipes is a great place to find new recipes, as is Recipe Zaar.

Of course, my way isn't the right way, it's just the right way for us.  You have to do what works for your family.  Like I said before, I haven't always done it this way, it's just become this with everything else that I'm doing!  This is how I survive day to day. 

If you have any other questions, please let me know!  You all know that I love to give my opinion on just about anything!  :)

goals.books

Working on these books for 2010:



Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey...we're working on becoming debt free over the next 10 years (maybe more like 15...but we'll shoot for 10!).



How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby by Shettles and Rorvik....and we'll be working on a boy at some point in the next 10 years as well. ***On a side note, I'm convinced that even if we read this book and put it into practice, it will still be a girl (and we'll wonder why we ever wanted a boy...just like the first 3 times)!



Genesis in Space and Time by Francis Schaeffer...the next book in our book club at church.



Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv...for the sake of the kiddos.



I'm also attempting to read the Bible (cover to cover), but I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I will get it all done this year. It will be an ongoing read. I have a couple of other books that I'll put on this list, but I'm going to feel really good if I can make it through these 4 by the end of summer. We'll see what kind of reading time the year brings. Hopefully lots!

goals.2010

So I have lots of goals this year. I figure if blog about them, I will have a better chance of achieving them! All of you can encourage me when you see me!

Goal #1
I have some major reading goals for this year. Since we've pretty well decided that we aren't going to use much time watching television anymore (except for football, of course!), I'm hoping to read more books than I did last year. (I think I squeezed in 4 or 5 last year...not counting all of the chapter books that I read to the girls...I just don't think I want to count The Boxcar Children, The Wizard of Oz, and Mr. Popper's Penguins in my number).

I'm hoping to do better this year. I'm off to a great start since I've made it through The Total Money Makeover already! I'll post about a few of the other ones that I want to read soon!

Goal #2
I'm working on learning my new camera inside and out. I'm definitely going to be taking lots of pictures of my new niece! And I'm taking lots of the girls!

Goal #3
Flossing. I get scolded every time I go to the dentist for not flossing. I don't even know...when is the best time? Morning or night? Allie...I'm pretty sure you read my blog regularly (and I know that you know!)...please fill me in.

As you know, we had several dental bills this year, and I'm ready to not have any for a very long time! I will be a good dental care leader to my children so that they make it a priority as well. Enough said.

Goal #4
Sew. Sew. Sew. I want to sew a whole lot more this year! Thankfully, my friend Deanna wants to scrapbook a lot more this year. So, we set up a girls night once a month between now and May, so that she can scrap and I can sew. We'll have to see if we scrap 'n sew more than we talk. We tend to talk a lot.

Goal #5
Host 6 families/people in our home that we haven't hosted before. We have lots of great friends (whom we love!), but we need to make sure that we're spreadin' the love. We want to get to know more people that we see regularly (but maybe don't know as well as we should!).

Goal #6
Run a 5K in less than 28 minutes. I'll start working on this in April.

more.baby.steps

Simple Mom covers the rest of Dave's baby steps here!

going.dave.ramsey

I was so excited when I opened up my Google Reader and saw that Simple Mom was posting about Dave Ramsey's book. Josh and I started reading Dave's Total Money Makeover book on Jan. 1, and we've already read about 120 pages!

We're in...starting Feb. 1. I'm so excited! The good part is that we're not into crazy debt, the bad part is that we only have 1 salary to work with. I get a little on the side here and there with my business, but I'm by no means even close to being a "bread-winner". I'm more like a crumb-dropper.

Anyway, realistically, we're thinking probably 15 years of being completely debt free (mortgage included!). How great would that be?!!!

Anyway, Baby Step #1 is to save $1,000 in a fairly quick manner to get the emergency fund rolling. We have $5 already (that was just for my hubby!).

Simple Mom is going through Dave's Baby Steps on her blog here at the beginning of the year! Read more here if you're interested in joining us!

i.am.a.runner

I am a runner. I didn't used to be a runner.

After watching the Boston Marathon, I was inspired. If they can run 26 miles, I can surely run 3.1 miles.

I had told Julie and Rachel that I had a goal to run a 5K by the time I was 40. They laughed at me...so did Josh! Hey, I'm busy people!!!

So, being the up-for-the-challenge girl that I am, I started a running program:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

It's the "Couch to 5K" running plan. It's for people just like me that want to run, but are overwhelmed by the idea. I've never liked running.

So, I started about 8 weeks ago, and I ran in my first 5K last Saturday!!! It was so exciting.

I decided that I would be thrilled just to run the entire time, and I would be extremely pleased with a time of 31:00.

At mile #1, a guy was calling out times....9:27. "I think I'm running too fast!" However, I felt good, so I just decided that I would keep my pace and slow down later if I thought I needed to.

I passed 23 people (2 of them being guys) which I thought was incredible...I had a goal of 5! As I was approaching the finish line, I heard them calling out times over the PA system....29:32...29:35...

"Oh my goodness!" I thought, "I can make it in under 30:00 if I kick it up!!"

So, I put on my speedy legs and sprinted to the finish....29:49.

And there at the finish line was my supportive husband and adorable daughters cheering me on. I almost cried....surprise, surprise.

It was fantastic. I placed 100 out of 190.

I'd like to thank Julie and Rachel for chuckling at my goal and making me want to achieve my goal much sooner! I'd like to thank Josh for supporting me through my training, pushing me out the door, and bringing everyone to the finish line...it meant a lot to have all of you there. Thank you to the girl in the pink tank top...you were the first person that I passed. Lady in the purple shorts....I will pass you next year.

made.it

I got up this morning at 6:40 and had breakfast with Josh! I finished reading Esther this morning...more about that next week.

I'm just pumped that I set my goal and accomplished it! Woohoo.

Now, if I can just do it next week, that will be great. Time will tell.

Happy Labor Day to everyone! We're going to the lake...sing along if you know it...
We're going to the lake, lake, lake.
Maybe have some cake, cake, cake.
Lots of fun we'll make, make, make.
When we're at the lake, lake, lake.

Yes, my kids sing this all the time. Yes, my mom made it up with them. Yes, it's borderline obnoxious, but they love it so I love it. Yay for Grandmas, yay for songs!

oops.

I just realized that it is 11:12, and it's past my bedtime....goodnight!

6:28 a.m.

Josh left SUPER early this morning because he's coming home early from work to try to finish the siding on the front of the house. Needless to say, I did NOT get up at 5:15 when he did. No thank you.

Reading Esther yesterday a.m.: 15 minutes before two little critters were sitting in my lap
Bedtime last night: 11:00 pm
This morning wake up: 6:28 am (it was a little earlier for Amelia to eat, but that's what time I put her back in bed and got up myself)

I feel better this morning than I have all week. I definitely like going to bed earlier. It feels SO good. One more day to finish off the week...21 days is a habit? I've got a few days left on that one!

morning.2

photo by Yago Spain

Ok, so it's 6:59, and I am awake again. It helped this morning that Amelia wanted to eat at 6:00. I got to stay in bed a few minutes longer to feed her (and wake myself up before having breakfast with Josh). It worked well.

We went to bed at 10:45 last night! It was fantastic. Josh said, "I can't believe we're going to bed this early!" So true. Often he falls asleep on the couch while I'm still up doing things. So, it's not really that he's sleeping any longer; he's just getting more uninterrupted sleep. That's good, too, though...and I don't have to drag him off the couch before we go to bed.

Yesterday morning: I did get some reading of Esther in before the pitter-patter of little feet came into the kitchen. However, Claire and Meredith were both up before 8:00. Too early. They are used to getting in bed with me and falling back asleep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll realize that they won't find me in bed, and they'll just stay in their own beds!

Meredith was so tired after our zoo trip yesterday that she fell asleep on the way home (about 2:00) and slept until after 5:00. No problems going to bed, though. I think she was exhausted from getting up so early...I felt the same way.

Jill called me yesterday morning around 7:45 (an hour and a half after I woke up) and said I sounded like I just got out of bed. I felt like I had just gotten out of bed! I was very tired in the morning, again for a bit in the afternoon, but I really wasn't all that tired after the kids went to bed. Although, they did need a bath before bedtime last night, and I just couldn't muster up the energy to put them in the tub. I decided I'd rather do that today than put the effort into it last night.

It kind of seems like it might be a rainy day. Or maybe it just looks like this at 7:15...I don't know...I'm usually still sleeping. Good day for a bath.

By the way, as I'm wrapping this up...I have a certain little 3 year old sitting on my lap. Boo.

Maybe this getting up early thing isn't going to be the best idea. I'm going to try coerce her into going back to sleep. Hopefully, I can stay awake through it :)

**UPDATE: It is now 7:44, and everyone is sleeping again...except me, of course.

one.for.two

First of all, I'm doing better than this lady...

image by takingthechallenge

...I don't drink coffee. Maybe I should start. Well, it's 6:21 a.m., and I'm awake. That's the good news. The bad news is that I went to bed at 11:46 p.m. That is 46 minutes later than I wanted to get there! However, I went to Ladies Night Out last night with our church ladies...so much fun. And I definitely needed that time out. So, even though I totally should have been in bed already, I'm going to extend grace to myself for this one. And besides, it's more the "getting up early" part that I'm concerned about!

AND, on top of everything, after I went to bed at 11:46....I looked at the clock at 12:12 and still wasn't asleep. Hopefully, that will change tonight since I'm up so early this morning. I need to wrap up so that I can eat breakfast and read.

I know you're reading this, so thanks for planning a fun night out C.W. :) Can't wait until next time.

wanted:early.riser

I need help. Some of you are shaking your heads "yes" already! But, not that kind. I am trying to become more of a morning person.

You see, since Claire was born 5+ years ago, I've pretty much just slept in until someone woke me up (which is typically like 9:00 in the morning). It's worked well for me. It isn't working well anymore.

I'm getting to the point where I need to be up before my children. I know that I get more accomplished when they are not running through my house. I want to focus my attention on ONE thing at a time through parts of my day. I am a HUGE multi-tasker which works well for a lot of tasks, but not for all.

We go to bed fairly late around here....maybe like 11:30-12:00 on a typical night. It needs to be earlier.

All this to say, that I'm blogging about this so that I am accountable. If people know about it, I'll be more apt to do it! Here are my 3 goals (just for the rest of this week...baby steps)...

1. I will eat breakfast with Josh every morning (he'll like this one a lot...it's like 6:30 a.m.). 2. I will do my daily devos (I'm currently studying Esther, so it's a pretty good read for that early in the morning) before the kids get up. 3. I will go to bed between 10:30 and 11:00.

Oh....and I will blog my times and accomplishments daily so that you all know. Four days in a row, I will do this. Then, we'll move on to next week :)