A Bright New Year--- Hooray for 2016!

There is one post that I wrote in 2013 based on a talk given by Sister Beck that I just re-read.  I could have titled the post "Advice I need to hear again and again,"  because as life gets busy I need to stop and read the advice I wrote in that post!  Sister Beck teaches that as women we can't overwork ourselves, we need balance!  Read the post here.    Life has been joyously busy lately and rather than increase in speed, I am choosing to deliberately and carefully proceed into this new year with thought and purpose!

In November our ward boundaries were re-aligned and not only did we get an entirely new ward, my husband was called to serve as the Bishop! (The Bishop serves as a leader of a congregation in addition to their regular career).   It is such a blessing on so many levels and I am learning even more about how to prioritize my time (as if 8 children wasn't enough :)

I am so excited for a new year!  2015 was a difficult year for our family.  The first few months of the year I was miserable with morning sickness.  I barely scraped by and accomplished the bare minimum for the survival of our family.  Hyrum's health issues consumed many many days and hours.  During the summer I tried to smile and love life, but lets face it, I was getting really tired of being pregnant!  We were overjoyed to have Lydia join our family in August and I haven't slept through the night since!

2016 is a bright new year and I am looking forward to thriving, not just surviving!  Hyrum seems to be feeling better.  I feel great and continue to get more sleep each night.  All the kids enjoy school are doing well.  We love all our new friends in our new ward!  So I thought long and hard about what I need to focus on this year. I like to pick a word and try to study my scriptures about that topic and listen to General Conference talks on the subject and read books that will help me.  My word for this year is "Prepared."

I am sick of being the mom that rushes to pick her kids up from school. . . late.

I don't want to be scrambling to throw their cold lunches together just before we walk out the door for school --with me in my cheetah print pajamas.

I don't want to have to move a large pile of laundry off of my bed so that I can go to sleep at night.

I don't want to wonder if their is anything important in the large stack of papers on the kitchen counter.

I don't want to run out of dish washer detergent.

I don't want to just read my scriptures to check a box and say it is done.

I don't want to miss minutes I could spend with my family because I am wasting time on the internet.

This year I want to be prepared!  

I am so excited to be more organized, deliberate, faithful, focused, and most of all PREPARED this year!   

Creating Margins

I have been watching a Virtual Retreat on the Power of Moms website.  A section that I listened to recently while exercising was very inspiring.  Sadie Eyre Shumway talked about how as mother we often feel overloaded.  She explained that we need to create margins in our life.  When you are given a piece of lined paper to write on in school it is expected that you leave the margins clear and just write in the middle of the paper.   Sadie had many good ideas about how we can simplify so that we have time in our life to enjoy the beautiful moments.  We all need to create margins of space in our lives.

a few of the thoughts that stuck with me are:

- evaluate all our commitments

- less clothes for kids and us (less laundry, shopping, less to clean up)

- less extra curricular activities

- decided when we are available (if it isn't convienient don't answer the phone or respond to a text immediately)

- No debt (act your wage) live on what you make

- cut back on magazines and other information that comes to your home or email inbox and takes your time.

- if it doesn't inspire you cut it out of your life (blogs or websites)

Life Lessons From The Lap Pool

(Saturday, July 20, 2013)

My wonderful husband has granted me an entire day off today!  With our 7th child coming in 7 weeks I knew I needed some time to think, prioritize and focus.

So, what would you do with an entire day to yourself?

We woke up and planned to read family scriptures together before I left.  Of course, the two year old had wet her bed, the girls wanted me to do their hair, we read scriptures, and had a few cries over a variety of things.  When I finally got out the door I was only gone for a few minutes before I realized that I had forgotten something.  When I walked back through the door my husband laughed, "I knew you couldn't make it more than 6 minutes without us!"

My first stop was the pool.  I had determined to spend an entire hour, uninterrupted, swimming laps. I don't think I have had that much personal swimming time since my days on the high school swim team.  Surprisingly, there are a lot of life lessons that come from the lap pool:

Life Lessons

1.  Get a great start-  In swimming your start is critical.  If you start with a great dive or push off you are able to glide yourself through the water and use your strength later on in the race.  In life how we start the day is critical.  I personally have found that I need to start my day by myself (before my kids get up).  If I can pray, read my scriptures, plan my to-do list and get ready.  I am a much better mom. My boys are always up early, but they know they can start reading their scriptures and making their beds or play quietly.  If your prefer to exercise first thing in the morning, great.  Just find what you need to accomplish most first thing in the morning.  That great morning start will help you glide through the day.


2.   Faster isn't better-  In swimming moving your arms and legs as rapidly as you can will actually slow you down and tire you out too quickly.   To make the most of your stroke it is best to focus on your form and glide through the water.  I know I am guilty of trying to swim too fast in life.   I must look as funny as someone trying to move their arms and legs too fast while swimming.  So today I am focusing on how to swim through life at the right speed, using my glide and enjoying the water. I think for me that means cutting the to-do list down and taking time each day to look my husband and kids in the eyes and let them have a peice of my time.  I also think it means having less so that I can do more with my family.

3.  Work all muscles at the right time-  The great part about lap swimming is that if you swim all four strokes:  free, breast, back, and butterfly, you are able to work out most of the muscles in your body. If you try to swim all four strokes at the same time I am pretty sure that you might drown.  Over my hour workout I was able to swim each stroke and at times focus on just arms or legs.  In life as a mother I try to do it all, all the time, every day.  No wonder I start drowning!  I wish that everyday I could have an hour to swim for exercise, but as a mother of 6 the schedule just doesn't allow for that.  I have to be content that sometime in the future I will be able to do that and for now I need to be content with the stroke that I am working on.  Exercise at this point in my life is a walk around the block pushing the double stroller, running on the treadmill, or doing push ups with a two year old on my back.  The truth is when I have time for an hour at the pool each day, I will long for the grown up two year old.  Take it one stroke at a time, I can work on the other strokes later.

4.  You Can't Quit Swimming-  When you are swimming quitting in the middle just isn't an option, especially when you swim in deep water.  In life and especially as a mother, quitting isn't and option. We chose to swim, we need to pace ourselves.  Fortunately, there is help.  When you're feeling out of breath grab a kick board and swim a few laps focusing on legs and give your arms a break.  When our new baby is born I realize I won't be able to swim at my usual pace, I will need a kick board for a while in order to keep swimming. My husband and kids always provide added support and I need to lessen my personal expectations.  We all have times when we can't do the full stoke, so figure out what you want to focus on in life when you find yourself in survival mode.    

Balance

Note to self:
(I wrote this about the first week in June, it was extra busy and unusually cool!)

It is good to be busy and active, but there is such a thing as too much!  When my oldest daughter said on Wednesday, "Mom, I think you over scheduled us this week."  We all knew it was an understatement!

We take one kid to summer camp at 8:30 a.m. and head directly to swim team in the opposite direction.  While two kids swim on the swim team I sit on a freezing pool deck and I have two others read to me.  We run an errand and then pick the summer camp kid up.  We stop at home, eat a quick lunch, and take the boys to basketball camp. Tuesday afternoon one kid goes to a library class, Wednesdays are flute lessons, while waiting for them I walk on the track for my exercise, and then we are ready to pick the boys up when their basketball camp is over.  We drive home and get ready for dinner.   Two nights a week the boys have soccer and one night is a swim meet which we are usually gone to from 4:30 until 8:30.  Throw in a date for Justin and I on Friday, family home evening on Monday, some grocery shopping at some point  and what do you have?  A crazy week!

When we made it to Friday of last week.  I took a deep breath and cleaned the house because it had been very neglected!  Thankfully, that was our craziest week of the summer and it is over!  

The problem that I realized with over scheduling yourself is:
You miss the magical moments of life when you are in a rush.
You don't take time to serve when you have too much on your plate.
You become overwhelmed and emotional (especially when you are pregnant :)

Summer Camp.

A typical morning of swim team.

A stop at the park for a picnic lunch.

It seems tha we are constantly pulling in and out of the garage.

This sweetie doesn't want to take naps and miss any excitement, but by the time bedtime comes she is exhausted!

She enjoys going to the library and park with her friend.

First ever swim meet.

A Typical Day

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule 

I know that some mothers are scared of the word "schedule."  They feel like if they commit to a schedule that they will be tied down and confined.  I actually feel like it brings so much freedom.

Habits are powerful tools when we use them to help us accomplish our goals. 

If you have kids, it seems that you don't have full control over your life and anything can happen (and does happen)!  I use my schedule as a guide for what to do next, but sometimes something comes up and you just try to survive.

From time to time I write down my schedule so that I can see how long it actually takes to do laundry, prepare meals, clean, and take care of kids.  It always helps me realize how much time I don't have:)  

This is my general plan for life (more than you ever wanted to know about what I do!):

I try to have a good morning routine that focus on four areas:

Prepare myself for the day

Prepare my family for the day

Prepare the house for the day

Prepare meals for the day

5:30 Wake up (I will mention that  I don't have a tiny baby and I currently sleep through the night!)

Prayers

Scriptures

5:50 Shower and get ready

6:25 Make sure that everyone is awake

6:30 Family Scripture Study and Family Prayer

7:00 Help kids get dressed, make their beds, do their hair

Chores- between 7:00-8:00 the kids do their chores which really helps our morning get off to a great start! (more about chores in a later post)

7:20- 8:00 eat breakfast, make lunches

8:00 Take kids to school

8:10 Dishes-  I don't like to do dishes (who does?) so I set the timer for 10 minutes.  I can do anything for 10 minutes and I usually get it done!

8:20 Think about dinner (if it is a crock pot meal I throw it in, if I can thaw or chop something ahead I do)

8:38 Start a load of laundry (it is always sorted so it is quick and easy to start)

8:40 Exercise (walk on the treadmill or do another workout) I am in the basement with all the toys so the kids will play, do puzzles, or they can watch Dora or do something by me.

9:15 House pickup- I start upstairs and open blinds and pick up.

9:30 Laundry in the dryer

9:45 -12:00 (this time varies from day to day)

Mondays- I do all the house cleaning

Tuesday- Go to an exercise class and playgroup

Wednesday- Grocery Shop, Tanner has a soccer class

Thursday and Friday-  Visit teach or run errands or stay home.  I try to have at least one of these days be a home day. 

12:30 Eat lunch-  I always tell the kids a story with a scripture picture during lunch.

1:00  Ellie’s nap- I read her a story before she takes a nap (this is her bedtime story, our evenings are usually busy with the older kids)

1:15 Dishes

1:30 Tanner Preschool-  I teach him for about 30 minutes 4 days a week.

2:00 Tanner’s quiet time, he plays toys in his room

2:00 Computer time-  I use this time to respond to emails, write down thoughts, do anything else that needs to be done.   This is my moment of downtime before the afternoon rush!

2:55 Pick up kids from school

3:10 Snack time

3:25 Homework x 4 kids

Our chore charts have helped the kids know what has needs to be accomplished. I sit at our "homework" table and assist everyone.  

5:00 Finish preparing dinner (Abigail and Alexis set the table)

5:30 Pick up the house (by this time it looks as though a Hurricane has hit our home and if anyone were to stop by they would wonder if I ever pick up!) –Thankfully Justin always calls when he is leaving work and it gives me 30 minutes to pick up!! 

6:00 Family Prayer, Dinner, and Dishes

6:50 Sometimes we have scouts or activity days, sometimes it is Relief Society, other days it is soccer or something. (usually Justin and I trade off who takes and who stays home)  We cherish nights that are free!   

7:00 Little kids get in the tub

7:30- 8:00 Little kids to bed

8:30 Big kids to bed

9:30 Ideally I like to get in bed and read until 10:00, but this doesn’t happen often enough :)  

Reviewing our Routines

This morning we barely made it to school on time.  Hyrum was waiting (as usual) while the rest of the kids scrambled to find their snow pants, gloves, and lunches.  I ran to get last minute things we had forgotten while everyone scrambled into the van.  

After dropping everyone off at school I came home a reprinted our morning routine chart.  We are going to get back to marking it every morning so that we don't have to scramble at the last minute. 

School kids weekday chart

 Preschool kids weekday chart

Organizing Your Time

* This post is a little outdated, it is before I used technology to organize my time.  Here is a video that is a bit more up to date:
http://organizeddinner.blogspot.com/2014/10/keeping-life-organized-and-staying-on.html

Life is busy.  As a mom I sometimes feel overwhelmed by deadlines and tasks.  I also feel responsible for all of the deadlines and tasks that our children have.  (School is harder than it was back in my day!)  In order to organize my time I do a couple of things that make a big difference.

1.    A family calendar-  Our calendar is on the computer.  Justin and I can both add family items on our calendar and they sync together. 

2.    We keep our shopping list on the computer.  Less paper and we both add to it when we think about something we need.  It has a few categories. 

Grocery Store – Sam’s Club – Walmart/ Target – Other

3.    Little Book-  I bought a little notebook at Walmart for $2.97.  I start the day 

with two lists.

Need to do. . .          and          Want to do. . .

Some days I only accomplish a few of the items on my need to do list.  Sometimes I get all of my need to do items done and start working on a project I want to do. 

4.    A place for thoughts.  I can’t tell you home many times I think about this or that 

and jot myself a note on the notebook page that  I am on that day.  

In the evening I sit at the computer and type in things that need to be on the 

calendar or record in my journal something funny that one of the kids has said 

during the day. 

5.    I am always trying to learn and improve.  My birthday is coming up and this year I asked Justin to get me the Mind Organization for Moms program from the Power of Moms website.  I am really excited to learn how to better organize papers and projects. 

Speaking of Power of Moms, they have a new book out that I am reading.  Leave a comment if you are interested in a free digital copy of their new book.  I'll choose a  random winner on Monday, October 29^th.