So my last post was rather raw. I was able to get away for a few hours on Sunday to pray, think, and write down some ideas. Funny thing is that Jeremiah thought I was going to the pottery place to finish my pottery piece, but I changed my mind last minute and headed to the 'walking park' with my Bible, a notebook, and a bunch of colored pens.
It was a great few hours, time well spent. I seriously have NO time at home to think straight! The kids are out of control, the house is a wreck, errands that can not be put off, etc. Anytime I wake up early, the baby wakes up minutes later. I am too exhausted to stay up later than the kids, so it is just go, go, go all the live long day.
I got to the park and I prayed and prayed and PRAYED!!! There is NO way that this ship can change course without the very needed help of the Lord.
Today I got online to look up 'house cleaning' on youtube. Awesomeness!! There are two channels that I have taken the time to watch some of their videos, and plan to continue to watch for more inspiration. Because here is the thing...I was a BORN messy. Yup, sad but true. I grew up in a house with an OCD mom who had everything folded one way, all boxes lined up shortest to tallest, etc. My sister had this crazy idea that you put things away immediately after using it! :-) Needless to say, having me as a roommate was probably hard to deal with.
I am sure I can not be the only one out there whose life feels out of control. So I plan on doing some videos of my own so that you can follow along. Because the channels that I will link you to are GREAT, but....how does one go about doing a 'night routine' when it would take ALL day just to clean ONE part of the kitchen? So join me in the near future to see how I turn my house around. No, it's not turned around yet, so how can I know that it WILL be? Well for one thing, I believe God, and there really is no way I can continue to live the way we are.
Go and get some of your own inspiration! Here are two of the channels that I have been watching (I'm sure there are plenty more too!):
Do It On a Dime
How Jen Does It
Here is one of my pages from my park time. I'll share the rest of them later.
It was a great few hours, time well spent. I seriously have NO time at home to think straight! The kids are out of control, the house is a wreck, errands that can not be put off, etc. Anytime I wake up early, the baby wakes up minutes later. I am too exhausted to stay up later than the kids, so it is just go, go, go all the live long day.
I got to the park and I prayed and prayed and PRAYED!!! There is NO way that this ship can change course without the very needed help of the Lord.
Today I got online to look up 'house cleaning' on youtube. Awesomeness!! There are two channels that I have taken the time to watch some of their videos, and plan to continue to watch for more inspiration. Because here is the thing...I was a BORN messy. Yup, sad but true. I grew up in a house with an OCD mom who had everything folded one way, all boxes lined up shortest to tallest, etc. My sister had this crazy idea that you put things away immediately after using it! :-) Needless to say, having me as a roommate was probably hard to deal with.
I am sure I can not be the only one out there whose life feels out of control. So I plan on doing some videos of my own so that you can follow along. Because the channels that I will link you to are GREAT, but....how does one go about doing a 'night routine' when it would take ALL day just to clean ONE part of the kitchen? So join me in the near future to see how I turn my house around. No, it's not turned around yet, so how can I know that it WILL be? Well for one thing, I believe God, and there really is no way I can continue to live the way we are.
Go and get some of your own inspiration! Here are two of the channels that I have been watching (I'm sure there are plenty more too!):
Do It On a Dime
How Jen Does It
Here is one of my pages from my park time. I'll share the rest of them later.
1 comment:
Oh WOW! I just caught up with your blog and I do say, you have it more together than you think! Now don't get all crazy on me and say "No Way!!". Hear me out! As your favorite sister in all the world, I will tell you that rooming with you was no big deal! The only issue I had was mom yelling at ME to keep cleaning when all my stuff was already put away. SHE drove me bonkers....not you. Now mind you, I had roommates in college that equaled your vision of "I'll put it away later"....but they drove me bat shit crazy because there were clear lines of division and they always broke that line! You and me however were just who we were and we accepted each other because we just did. So here is why you have it more together than you think....your house is not one of your priorities....your children are! You make them your priority day in and day out - making sure they are loved, nurtured, and eat as healthy as possible. You take them out for walks and adventures outside. The problem with your kids not helping to clean is not a discipline problem - it has everything to do with kids learn more from our actions than our words. So they have just followed your example of "I'll get to it later" - unfortunately with 8 children, getting to it later creates HUGE messes. This is NOT a bad thing, just a priority and personality thing. It is NOT a FLAW, just who you are as a person and how God created you. It is a direct reflection of your right brain hard at work and dominating! I am clearly all left brained - can't be late, have to be organized, etc. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing harm to my kids - we were 2 minutes late for ice skating one day and Emma was freaking out - she clearly has my left brain! While GG and RJ are not so bad. In fact GG and Emma are identical to you and I when it comes to their bedroom! BUT at the end of the day, you have to look at your kids and ask yourself if you did right by them that day? And that question does not include "Is my house clean?". YOU are uniquely made by God and He loves you regardless of your housekeeping skills. So does your family. Instead of thinking of one big huge project to get it ALL clean, just write down the bare minimum of what needs to be done - dishes, laundry, etc. Then each week add a SMALL project (clean the fridge, etc) to do and one small task to add to your bare minimum daily routine (i.e wipe down table each evening). Every time you try one of these Herculean tasks, you end up not being able to keep it up due to not only your own personality conflict with putting things away immediately, but then you are dealing with your children following your example. Again, NOT a flaw, just the way it is. You can always do what I do to get my kids to help - tell them very simply (not angry or upset) that if they don't do dishes, they don't get to eat the next day (locks for the fridge and pantry are cheap)...also if they don't help with the laundry, they get no clean clothes. If they don't clean up their toys off the floor, they just go in the garbage. I assure you, after one day of hunger, your kids will start doing dishes! :) Anyway, know that you are loved! God loves you, I love you, and most assuredly your children love you! You need to accept the person God made you to be and go from there.
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