Yesterday was especially crazy...just one example is my sweet 2 year old who changed her clothes 6 times, destroyed my laundry room 4 times (and I'm in the middle of folding and washing right now so it was messy), decided to 'swim' in the irrigation, discovered the chocolate chips (and helped herself to them), emptied out 4 glasses of water on the floor of the the dental office (don't you love it when they have the water dispenser in the lobby), oh yes and helped the 1 year old sister draw all over her face with a sharpie.
Normally it would have just been one of those days...however because it happened to take place in the middle of a out of control purge week (which has made the house SUPER messy), I started to lose it!! So, as you can imagine last night I finally had a melt down...my list was growing, the house was getting dirtier, and I was starting to feel sorry for myself!!! I seriously started to freak out...I don't like to lose control of my life, and I could see it starting to slip away from me...one room, one mess, one child at a time.
After all the kids were in bed I walked into the laundry room to fold the last load of clothes, and discovered to my horror a VERY dirty laundry room. After throwing a 2 year old tantrum I pulled myself together. I had a realization and a decided it was time for ACTION not despair.
- I had a half torn apart...half organized house that needed to get DONE!!
- I had a dinner issue that I needed to fix.
- I had a exercise issue that I was SO done with.
- I had gotten out of our 'normal' routine and needed to get us back on schedule.
- I had a disciple/respect/dependency issue with the kiddos that was my fault and I was ready to get working on it again!
- Purge Issue: The house would be put back together by Thursday!
- Dinner Issue: I was going to start doing the freezer meals next week!! And would cook one day for a month of meals!
- Exercise Issue: I have never been able to consistently go to the gym and now with homeschooling that is even more unrealistic. So I decided to do the Couch Potato to 5K program. I actually found an iPhone app that helps you implement the program. I'm going to start this next week on Monday, and I am SO EXCITED!!!
- Routine Issue: I am going to spend time on Friday thinking about what our current family routine should look like for the next few months. I'm then going to write it down, and post it all over the house!!! WOO-HOO!! I'm feeling better already.
- Discipline: I'm going to re-read Nicholeen Peck's book and get Real Love in Parenting and read them both this weekend. I think this will be just the shot in the arm I need to feel like I CAN be the amazing parent I want to be!!
6 comments:
Inspiring! Accountability is such a powerful place to find solutions!! Blessings as you continue pressing forward!!
Wow, this all sounds so familiar! Except the part where you actually identify the problems and start fixing them right away. I need to do better at that. Thanks for listing out your feelings and your solutions. You always inspire me to become better. Love you!!
Thanks so much for sharing the journey!
It must be something in the water out here, because we are living in the same land, lately! LOL :D) I have learned how important it is to have a sense of humor! I always tell people that I laugh because it's more fun than crying! We are having some triumphs with daily routine and a chore program, so there are some good things happening, but it's been crazy too! Laughter is powerful medicine and it has helped me to evaluate my priorities and let the little things go! Keep on keepin' on, sista'! I am right behind ya'! :)
it's so funny because i struggle with those exact same things. i am always trying to find ways to fix those issues as i find they are key to a happy home and happy families. nicholeen's books is a great start. it is my favorite parenting book ever- and i've read a lot. so thanks for sharing your ideas. it helps me to see what others are doing on this homeschooling, tjed lifestyle. keep going!
Oh Andee, I am so happy to hear I am not struggling alone with those same issues.
Having a large family, homeschooling and trying to implement self governing skills all-the-while practicing leadership in the home is not easy, to say the least! Frustration & anger seems to be the first choice sometimes when met with a bump of chaos in our routine-road of life. It would be so much easier to meet those distractions with love and compassion. Let me know what you think of the book, "Real Love in Parenting"...sounds promising.
Also, being in the last trimester of my pregnancy of our 7th child, I am really interested in the "freezer meals" you mentioned. Let me know how that goes as well.
~DeAyn
Post a Comment