Habits = GOOD! (most of the time…)

I am on a quest in my house.

I shared on Monday my QUEST to be not-quite-so-fat.

But as much as I try to not take on too much at one time, I’m also realizing that the other areas in my life that are LACKING also bring me down emotionally, thus making me eat, thus making me fat, thus making me feel like crap, thus making me eat more, thus making me fatter, thus makign me have no energy, thus making me not wanna do things around my house, thus making me feel bad, thus making me eat, thus making me fat….

Do you see a pattern here?

So as I start my weightloss journey, I’m also on a quest to start (or, in most cases, RESTART) some good habits around my house.

I’m giving myself allowance not to be perfect. Because I can’t do everything perfect all the time. NONE OF US CAN. But I can pray, I can commit my family to Jesus, and I can try and be the best Momma and wife I can be with the strength he has given me.

A few things I’m trying?


CLEANING

When my kids were gone to their grandparents house (all but Annabelle) I spent the last two days before their arrival REALLY cleaning my house. What usually happens is that I get one room nice and clean, all the while another room is getting messy. Then I move to that other room the next day, and the first room gets back too trashed. So it was REALLY nice just to spend two days cleaning, with minimal children to mess it up, and get most of it done all at once. I even organized my laundry closet! This is a huge accomplishment, let me tell you!

So, kids came home, and I was determined to keep it clean. It is by no meals spotless, but I’ve been making an effort pick up things as I go, and spend a few minutes at the end of the day (instead of flopping into bed) cleaning up the remnants of the day.

DELEGATING

Along with ME cleaning, I’m trying to do better at delegating tasks. Instead of putting something away a kid left out, I remind them of what they’ve left out and ask them to pick it up immediately. Instead of spending Saturday “cleaning” (which my kids HATE with a passion) I ask them to do smaller chores throughout the week. I don’t have a set schedule, as our daily schedule is so crazy that a set chore schedule is hard to manage. But they do have assigned kitchen chores, and instead of doing them once a day, they do them now after each meal.

While they don’t love the extra work throughout the week, I think once they see that we don’t have a clean-a-thon on Saturday, they will appreciate this new method as well!


COZI

Unpaid advertisement here: Our family schedule is CRAZY!!!!!!! With four kids, me working part-time, and Annabelle’s crazy doctor appointment schedule, trying to remember everything and not “double” booking things is NOT simple. Granted, we don’t do a ton of extra “stuff” like some families… mostly because OH MY GOSH it’s expensive. But what we do and once school starts… yeah, my head spins.

I saw someone talking about the cozi app on Facebook so I thought I’d try it. And so far, I LOVE IT!

It is an app that all members of my family with a phone can access and update. So when Karalynn has something to do? Mommy says, “Make sure you put it in cozi!” I put all doctor appointments, birthdays to go to, days that I’m working, and anything that we have planned in it. I can even keep track of my grocery list and make a to-do list. What I LIKE is that it is something me, my husband, and my daughter can all access to see if something is going on before they “schedule” something. And it is an easy app to go to when I’m on the go.

I used to keep track of everything in Outlook only, but that wasn’t helpful when I was at the doctor’s office trying to make an appointment!

I’ve been using cozi for a while, but with vacation and things, I hadn’t updated it in a few weeks, and had been saying, “Yeah, I think that day is open” instead of logging it. And my brain was overwhelmed! So I took a few minutes to update the app and make our calendar, and PHEW! Momma feels much better!


EXERCIZE

I’ve always said, “I don’t have time to exercise.” But I’m determined to MAKE time. So, starting last Monday, I’ve been going to the rec center in town to work out. I’ve gone EVERY day this week except yesterday, and then we took the kids to the rec center pool, then Scott and I took a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood later.  (By the way, I totally recommend walks in the dark with your hubby. Relaxing, romantic, a GREAT way to end an evening!)

And low and behold, I’ve FEELING better about myself, and able to come home and be MORE productive when I’m done. Hoping, praying, DETERMINED to keep up the pattern!

I have a whole bunch of other good habits I WANT to start doing… but I’m excited that I finally feel like our family is back on track, that I’m not looking in the mirror and frustrated with how awful I am doing as a mother/wife. I am giving it effort, I am committing it to Jesus and trusting HIM to be my strength, and I’m doing my best. Not anywhere near perfect, but my best at the moment.

So WOOHOO for forming some good habits.


What about you? What are some GOOD habits you’ve implemented that you’ve seen rewards for?