Change in Game Plan - Again!

It was just about a year ago when I wrote this post on how I was going to change my game plan and get up earlier.  I wrote that because I was frustrated, overwhelmed, and irritated.  My days were not going the way they should, my kids were super whiny, and I was not a happy camper.  So, after being convicted that it was mostly because of me that things were that way, I made a plan to change it.  I was going to get up before my family and be more organized.

Well, I did that with great success - for a while.  Things did change.  Life was happier.  I was happier and much less stressed.  But then the excuses started to creep in.  The main one being my pregnancy.  I stopped getting up early.  I stopped planning meals and such.  Now, granted, I was very sick with my nausea that it naturally would affect how I operated.  But I find it interesting that, now, almost exactly a year later, I am in that same boat.

I knew adding another child would add a lot more busyness to our lives.  So I was trying to mentally prepare myself for it.  And since I knew what would help those frustration and stress issues, I was making plans to get right back "in the saddle" so to speak and begin my schedule again.  But here we are, almost 8 weeks since Lexi was born, and I'm doing nothing but being lazy again.

Oh, I am not as bad as last year.  I am trying my best to keep up with the planning the meals (planning meals on month at a time, in fact!).  I am trying to stay on top of things.  But I am still not getting up early.  Not even trying.  I think about it.  But I don't do it.

As you know from some recent posts I am really trying to get things organized in our house.  That's partly because I love organizing, but also because it dawned on me recently that when our home is so unorganized, I feel really out of sorts.  I know that is silly that it just dawned on me, but hey, I'm a sleep deprived mommy of 4!

I realized that it wasn't just the getting up early that made my life easier.  Everything runs smoother when things and stuff is where it should be.  At least for me.  Think about it.  If things are all over the place, untidy and messy, then we waste so much time looking for things, or cleaning up messes that shouldn't even be there.  But when everything has a place and is IN its place, that doesn't happen.  So that is the major reason I am organizing.  And it is already helping.  Even this week I have been working on more stuff that I am excited to show you soon.  I am not only having tons of fun cleaning up the physical stuff, I am feeling so much better mentally.

I do want to insert here lest any of you have this mental picture of our house being like those hoarding shows on TV.  It is NOTHING like that.  Our home is not "dirty" and super messy.  But it definitely has that "lived in" look.  No, the mess that I keep referring to is what is in the drawers, closets, and the rooms that no one goes in.  (Sorry, just had to put that out there for fear of people thinking we are dirty hoarding people! Ha!)

So, I guess all that is to say this.  Yes, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything.  Yes, I am not doing everything I should to help my household run smoothly.  But, yes, I am going to, with God's help, change all that.  No more am I going to use the excuse, "I just had a baby, so I deserve to sleep in."  No longer am I going to just make a pile of papers and such telling myself, "I'll take care of that later."  Nope.  That's all changing.  Today.

Tomorrow I am going to get up before my kids.  And shower!!!!! I'm going to have more time with the Lord at the beginning of the day, not interspersed in one and two minute increments all throughout. (not that I am not going to meditate, etc.  You guys know what I mean!).  And I am going to keep on my self set plan of organizing.  Because once I have everything done the way I want, it will be easier to keep it that way.  It can be an overwhelming task to begin the organizing, but I am just taking baby steps and it is slowly but surely getting done.  And it is making me feel great, excited, satisfied, and like I am accomplishing something.

Before, I would wake each morning with a HUGENORMOUS list in my head of what I wanted to get done.  But I quickly learned that there is a big difference between what I WANTED to get done, what I HAD to get done, and what I DID get done!  Now I am only giving myself two, maybe three things on that list.  And it seems so much more manageable rather than overwhelming.

As I close this post, I wanted to share with you all a few blogs that I read at least a couple times a week.  They are very encouraging to me, as I am sure they will be to you.  So if you get the chance, check them out.  Especially you mommies.  If you are like me, it is very encouraging to know that there are many other mommies out there struggling with the same things you are.  Sometimes, as a stay at home mom, you can feel alone in all the things you deal with each day.  But believe me, there are millions more just like you!  So check them out!  I am also adding them to my blog list on the right side of this blog.

Emerging Mummy

Inspired to Action