I've been neglecting my poor blog. And I love it so much. I should not treat it this way! ;)
Really, all is well here. We're healthy, busy, and aside from wallowing in a bit of clutter and disorganization, we're all pretty happy.
I am trying to tackle the clutter and disorganization. The holidays were fantastic, but they also got us out of our groove a bit. Slowly but surely, in amongst the kitchen clean-up and laundry I have to do daily, I'm trying to organize and re-establish systems that make our household run more efficiently. Unfortunately, I have to be very patient because time is limited in a house with 6 people and 1 dog. ;)
School is going great for the kids. I laugh at myself, but I am almost counting down the days until Friday, which is the day report cards come home. Henry is getting straight As again, and Seth and Caroline should do well too. I am proud of the effort the kids are putting into their homework and classwork, and am so thankful that their hard work is paying off.
We are keeping busy with extracurricular activities right now too. As I mentioned before, Seth is playing basketball, and Caroline is cheerleading. It is the first time for both of them. (We're really looking forward to the game that Caroline gets to cheer for Seth's game!) Henry, Seth and Caroline are all still in scouts as well as Religious Education. Henry tried out for and made Jazz Band at school. We are so proud of him, and he is really enjoying it! Once basketball and cheerleading is done, Henry and Evan will get a turn at a sport. Henry will be running track and Evan will be playing baseball. Having only two kids in sports at a time has been a LOT easier on the family schedule. We probably won't always be able to do that, but we're really appreciating it right now.
I'm continuing my preparation for a 10K in March and a 10 mile race in June, both in Chicago. Four of my friends are doing it too. Its been nice to be able to support and encourage each other. I'm looking forward to choosing a race to run in with my sister as well!
That's it for now...gotta go run! :)
UPDATE:
Just finished my run. Tonight while I was doing that, I watched The Biggest Loser. Wow, is that show motivating. I credit a lot of my weight loss last year to watching it.
Before my run, I wrote this post, but felt kind of blah about it. I mulled over the reason why when I was running. I think that I gave the impression that I have my act mostly together, and truthfully, that's really not the case. As a wife and mom, I think that it is important to focus mainly on the positives, and really, that is what I try to do in this blog. Reflecting on what is going on right now, I am thankful that what is going well lines up with what Dave's and my priorities are for our family.
But if you were to see our everyday life, you would realize that besides our strengths, we have our struggles too. I mentioned the clutter and disorganization earlier, but I kind of glossed that over. Really? Our house is out of control. One example...the laundry room. Mountains of laundry; endless coats, mittens, scarves, snowpants, boots and jackets that need to be dried again and again and again; back packs, a trumpet, a pantry that constantly overflows with food that has next to no organization; kid's art projects; clutter that we don't know what to do with so we hide it in there so that nobody sees it :)... Oh my word. Part of it is life with 4 kids. But part of it is that we need to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and get it together.
So, I started on that this week. The pantry is done, the laundry is caught up, and the refrigerator is cleaned out. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like much, especially in light of the fact that there is so much more to do. I have to remind myself to be patient, with perseverance and endurance, hopefully we'll get there.
Another thing is that I don't feel the kids do enough to help out. There have definitely been times when they've been better at that. I keep telling myself that the reason they don't do more is that they have school work and activities, and things are so out of control that we don't have our systems in place anymore. Grrrrr...in the end, those are just excuses, and we need to figure out how to make sure the kids feel more responsibility for their family and where they live. I really want Dave and me to feel good about how we are training the kids, and I want all of us to feel proud of the house we live in. I so want to get our acts together in that way.
What else? Grumpiness. I'm tired from our hectic schedule. I don't always sleep well because I am a terrible worrier. I'm often stressed by all of the demands on my time and energy. I want to be more patient and understanding, handle stresses with a calmer spirit, and enforce boundaries without snapping at the people I love most in this world. I really want to rise to the occasion.
There is oh-so-much more, but because it's getting late and my patience level tomorrow really is contingent on how much sleep I get :), I need to get myself to bed.
But the bottom line? Things are going well, but we definitely still have our work cut out for us. :)
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