One thing is for sure being a mom changes things. The chances of using the bathroom by yourself are greatly reduced as is getting to eat a whole banana. Things that were easy to put together on a moments notice - like a girls not out- take a couple weeks to plan.
Moms make sacrifices its just that simple. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to travel and do things before having a baby, it definitely helped get some of the wanderlust out. As moms, I think that the dreams we had for our lives sometimes have to be put on back burners or experienced more as a treat as opposed to a staple. I can't just pick up and travel wherever anymore. I can't stay up like a night owl writing because my son is an early riser and a morning person. I am ok with that. There will be time enough for traveling and staying up late when my children are older. In the meantime, I can travel through a book and write during nap-time - when I am not napping myself!
I have found that even when I had time to take something off the back burner by reading or writing I just surfed the internet instead - not really going very far either. Kind of sad isn't it?
I think I kind of owe it to my child to use my time wisely -so I can be the best kind of mom- and if I can work on the dreams that have always been with me then I should do it. I heard somewhere that to be a good writer you have to be a good reader and I realized I only read 3 books last year and that is pretty pathetic. Is it any wonder, Liz, that writing is more a chore than driving force?
So 3 things will be working on when I have time to take something off the back burner:
1. Reading as much interesting non-fiction as I can (I'll post more on what I have read so far and am looking to read.)
2. Working on my grammar - because let's face I am not good at grammar. ( I have a brush up book you are suppose to complete in 24 hours - I think I have had the book for over 5 years!)
3. Taking a course with the hubby - “Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution” is a 10-week online course presented by Hillsdale College.
These seem like important steps in reaching goals and realizing dreams while I am in this particular season of life. I just want to want to use my time well for myself and my family and also for God who gave me gifts and dreams that are meant to be fostered over a lifetime.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Reviewing the Situation
I have been thinking about my mission with the this blog: Because Hope, Glory and Wonder Abound.
So of all things came to my mind today is a song from Oliver Twist where Fagin is "Reviewing the Situation" of whether to continue as a villain or "turn a new leaf." So I go to google.com to find the lyrics and whose birthday is it but Charles Dickens - author of Oliver Twist. Oh the irony.
This is as far as I got in thinking about my mission other than to read my first 4 blog posts, which I have to say were quite inspiring to me but right now there are toys scattered like landmines all over and I should probably attended to the dump trucks and such....
Check August 2006
So of all things came to my mind today is a song from Oliver Twist where Fagin is "Reviewing the Situation" of whether to continue as a villain or "turn a new leaf." So I go to google.com to find the lyrics and whose birthday is it but Charles Dickens - author of Oliver Twist. Oh the irony.
This is as far as I got in thinking about my mission other than to read my first 4 blog posts, which I have to say were quite inspiring to me but right now there are toys scattered like landmines all over and I should probably attended to the dump trucks and such....
Check August 2006
2012 Goals
Of course I am late to get on board with Goals for 2012.
So I am just repeating from last year. :-) sort of.
Most specifically:
Drink water
Take my vitamins
Read to the baby - which isn't as big a deal now that he will actually sit for a book.
Get dressed by 11am - really this should be 9am or much earlier I just can't get it done.
I am adding to this year:
Read more books. I have already read more books in Januray than I read all last year.
Pray more about stuff like finances, wisdom in parenting, consistency in discipline, and nice neighbors...
Do some kind of Bible reading, Christian music / devotional time during the day because I feel like I have a neighbor I could visit during the day and I wait until bedtime to talk to Him and enjoy His company.
So I am just repeating from last year. :-) sort of.
Most specifically:
Drink water
Take my vitamins
Read to the baby - which isn't as big a deal now that he will actually sit for a book.
Get dressed by 11am - really this should be 9am or much earlier
I am adding to this year:
Read more books. I have already read more books in Januray than I read all last year.
Pray more about stuff like finances, wisdom in parenting, consistency in discipline, and nice neighbors...
Do some kind of Bible reading, Christian music / devotional time during the day because I feel like I have a neighbor I could visit during the day and I wait until bedtime to talk to Him and enjoy His company.
Since I Discovered the FlyLady
The FlyLady is the home-keeper's organizational, inspirational and instructional wellspring. I had actually heard of her many years ago but didn't need what she had to offer in my stage of life. So when I heard our MOPS speaker was going to share what she learned from the FlyLady I decided to check her out. I also had come across some rather gross discoveries in my home most notably mentioned in the dishpan post - a colony of dust bunnies and oh yeah a broken vacuum. Then, there was the baby's bath tub that I still shutter to think about. Just the overall revelation that if I were to have another baby and no plan for keeping the house clean and meals on the table not only would we have a dirty tub but we would be eating a lot of cereal.
So I made some changes. This is what I have done so far.
Meal Planning - I could never do a weekly plan because I don't want to be locked into chicken on Tuesday in case I am not in the mood for chicken or if something comes up and there isn't time to make chicken. Yet I know I needed a plan because trying to figure it out at 4pm wasn't working either! So I thought and I thought: What would work for me? The solution was 4 meals at a time. I usually only make 4 meals a week anyhow. So I pick 4 meals and write down the key ingredient if the recipes is in a book and what ingredients I might need. Then, each day if I need to make a meal because leftover are done or promised for lunch I pick one of the four meals. It is really working for me! This plan has built in flexibility which is what me and my palate need!
The 2nd Flylady change this night owl is getting to bed at a decent hour. I don't wake up well - never have- I don't think going to bed any earlier is helping me get up but having extra sleep isn't hurting. What I have done is set my cell phone to go off at 9:30 each night. This reminds me that I have 30 minutes to get to bed if I want to hit my target of being in bed by 10 to read and do my devotions. The 9:30 warning reminds me not to start anything new - like a movie, or to finish up what I am working on. In fact one night while watching the Sherlock Holmes movie I stopped in the middle to go to bed. That took some discipline! I do allow myself the freedom to decide 1-2 times a week to stay up later if I have something I need to do like a blog post or something I need peace and quite for. This worked well most of November. I'll admit I was sloppy during the Christmas season because I had so many projects to work on. The reminder really helped me be aware of my decision making. Since actually drafting this post many, many weeks ago my husband got a hold of my phone and turned off the alarm. He hated it. However, I am still pretty cognizant of 9:30 rolling around and have been working on getting to bed at a decent hour without the alarm.
The 3rd change is cleaning by zones. Each week I focus on a different room for deeper cleaning, decluttering and reorganizing as needed. The whole idea is to keep maintaining cleanliness instead of tackling piles of dirt once they mount up enough to move me. This way I know my shower stall and curtain will get a good cleaning at least once a month.
All this was going really well and then, well, life happened and taking a nap just seemed way more important than dusting. So I took a break but I am working on getting back into the groove.
So I made some changes. This is what I have done so far.
Meal Planning - I could never do a weekly plan because I don't want to be locked into chicken on Tuesday in case I am not in the mood for chicken or if something comes up and there isn't time to make chicken. Yet I know I needed a plan because trying to figure it out at 4pm wasn't working either! So I thought and I thought: What would work for me? The solution was 4 meals at a time. I usually only make 4 meals a week anyhow. So I pick 4 meals and write down the key ingredient if the recipes is in a book and what ingredients I might need. Then, each day if I need to make a meal because leftover are done or promised for lunch I pick one of the four meals. It is really working for me! This plan has built in flexibility which is what me and my palate need!
The 2nd Flylady change this night owl is getting to bed at a decent hour. I don't wake up well - never have- I don't think going to bed any earlier is helping me get up but having extra sleep isn't hurting. What I have done is set my cell phone to go off at 9:30 each night. This reminds me that I have 30 minutes to get to bed if I want to hit my target of being in bed by 10 to read and do my devotions. The 9:30 warning reminds me not to start anything new - like a movie, or to finish up what I am working on. In fact one night while watching the Sherlock Holmes movie I stopped in the middle to go to bed. That took some discipline! I do allow myself the freedom to decide 1-2 times a week to stay up later if I have something I need to do like a blog post or something I need peace and quite for. This worked well most of November. I'll admit I was sloppy during the Christmas season because I had so many projects to work on. The reminder really helped me be aware of my decision making. Since actually drafting this post many, many weeks ago my husband got a hold of my phone and turned off the alarm. He hated it. However, I am still pretty cognizant of 9:30 rolling around and have been working on getting to bed at a decent hour without the alarm.
The 3rd change is cleaning by zones. Each week I focus on a different room for deeper cleaning, decluttering and reorganizing as needed. The whole idea is to keep maintaining cleanliness instead of tackling piles of dirt once they mount up enough to move me. This way I know my shower stall and curtain will get a good cleaning at least once a month.
All this was going really well and then, well, life happened and taking a nap just seemed way more important than dusting. So I took a break but I am working on getting back into the groove.
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