Choosing to FLY

Again, I am taking a step back from blogging about the kids to journal my own feelings in this stage of life. (Sorry to those who really just want the cute videos and pictures, maybe next time).

As the weather has turned warmer and the kiddos are growing by leaps and bounds physically and emotionally, I find that I too am growing, changing, embracing my role in life. I know that seems odd to still be embracing it all after becoming a mother 4 and half years ago, but it is a slow process for some. This summer for the first time I am taking on adventures with three kids. All under the age of 5. We have gone to the Children's Museum, the library, the stores, and the park. I feel victorious every time we come home in one piece, all accounted for and without major melt downs (me included).

 So onto the next BIG goal: 

Enjoying the summer with all the activities 

AND keep the house in order (somewhat).

Now this is where I start to loose a lot of you. I know, this is overrated and in the end it won't really matter. I get it, and I do have the perspective that says my kids won't remember how clean the house was, but they will remember (and cherish) the time we spent together. However, I am learning that there is something to be said for a (moderately) clean house.

A couple of months ago or so a friend of mine posted on facebook about going to bed with her sink shining and how the FlyLady would be proud. I had no idea who the FlyLady was or why she would care that my friends sink was shining. Withing a few weeks another friend mentioned this FlyLady. So I asked her more about it and learned the basics of the FlyLady.net website. I still didn't go on there because I felt that I was staying afloat in the chaos that is my life with three preschoolers around. Then one day I just decided to read up on it for myself. Well, this website is something else. She has the whole house mapped out and everything broken down by day and month and habits and so on and so forth. Well, let me tell you the website as a whole is overwhelming! If you think you are going to look at all of it and adopt it as a way of life, good luck! You are a better person than me. (The FlyLady herself would not condone such a bold move).

BUT, here is what I am doing and this is all I may do for the rest of the summer.

1.) I get up everyday and make my bed. This may be old habit for some of you, but for me it is new. I don't hold this habit in high regard. If you are going to just get right back in to it, why does it matter? Well, it kinda doesn't matter, but it sets a good tone for my day.

2.) I keep my sink empty (er). I fix breakfast and then I do the dishes. I fix lunch, I do the dishes. I fix dinner, yep, you guessed it, I do the dishes. I make sure there are little to no dishes in the sink when I go to sleep. I will be the first to tell you I HATE doing dishes. My hands HATE doing dishes, but I find the task split into 5 minute increments (several times a day) beats the 60+ minutes I stood at the sink every couple of days. I am interrupted less since the task takes just a few minutes. And for some reason (just like FlyLady says) I feel amazing when I wake up and come down stairs to start my day with a clean (or mostly clean) kitchen and sink. I liken this to a professional who starts her morning with a clean/organized desk. We are just naturally more productive right out of the gate!

3.) I get dressed (before 10:00). I am prone to stay in my pajamas for most of the day when I am not going anywhere. This, I have found, does in fact hinder my productivity (as much as I tried to convince myself to the contrary). I don't get dressed the second I wake up (like she suggests) because there are days when I work out first, or the kids need attention before I get a shower so dressing doesn't make since. But nonetheless, I make an effort to dress as soon as I have the opportunity. This is one that I almost didn't adopt right away. But I have found that we are ready to go and do with much less stress if everyone is already dressed. When we decide to spontaneously go to the park at 10:00am, everyone is already ready to go.

(If you have hung with me so far and are still reading, give yourself a mental high five)

That's it, these three things are my only changes and my only goals for every day for now. They may seem small. Some of you may already do these things. Kudos. I think they have drastically changed how I run my routine around here. And here is an example of why that is true.

We were heading to Chicago last Friday for a weekend with family. I had spent the week hammering these three things into a daily habit and low and behold, I started seeing that I could think more clearly. I went to bed feeling good about what I had accomplished and I began tackling some other areas that never made it on my "Today To-Do List". So when we backed out of the drive way on Friday morning, the dishes were done and my bed was made. Which meant when we got home Sunday afternoon, my dishes were done and my bed was made! I had a little clean up that night after dinner, but Monday morning I was starting three or four steps ahead of where I usually am the day after a vacation. So when a family member came to stay with us on Tuesday night, the house was clean. Not having to worry about the kitchen gave me freedom to clean areas not usually on the list AND I even made homemade bread. I am learning to clean as I go.

There is more to the story, but I have to stop for now. More on this new change in my life from the spiritual side next time. (I promise a cute kid update will be stuck in shortly after this post)