Rushed

It seems like I am always rushing. I am late to a lot of things. My daughter has been late to preschool both days this week, but hey, at least I picked her up on time. I rushed through the mall yesterday so my kids would not have to shop too long. I have rushed through Walmart so I could pick up my daughter from preschool on time. Rush here and there to get somewhere. But why do I do this to myself! Why is it so hard to do something slowly and right the first time so I don't have to return things I did not mean to buy, or so my kids can be on time to school/church/play dates on time! It just is hard though.

It is a hard habit to break!

It seams like by Christmas break I was getting a handle on the schedule of school and things, then we had a two week break and now I am starting back at square one! Seriously why is it so hard to wake up early when you don't have to be somewhere for a few weeks. Why is it so hard to get out of the house when you don't have anything planned. Seriously. It has thrown me off. Now I am at a new normal as well. I have new church responsibilities that have thrown my brain and focus on the fritz. Why do I do this to myself. I will never get more time, I just have to make something of the time I have. I have to set a new routine and stick to it!

Here is to getting back on track with the new year! Here is to new routines and time management! Good luck on your quest as it is surly a quest for me!

A New Habit

After spending a wonderful evening sewing and visiting with my friend Kathleen, I have decided to start a new habit--and hopefully it will be a good one!

I seem to find millions of wonderful sewing and crafting ideas online, and then I think to myself, "I'll have to remember this for..." so that I can come back to it when I need it. I actually started a spreadsheet of ideas and links to blogs and tutorials so that I could find them a second time. I'm not very good at actually adding the info to it though, so that is one thing I can work on... BUT, for the ones that I really love, I'm just going to print them when I see them. I'm going to keep them in my wonderful pattern binder--or maybe start a Volume 2--and then I'll just have them on hand to peek at and choose from when I need to, or when I just want to. Inspiration at my fingertips and instructions for my own success!

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=8154

Here is a tutorial for a skirt from Sew Mama Sew  that I am excited to try...except I think I'll make mine a little longer. :)

Thanks for the tip, Kathleen! Maybe if I pick up a few more of your habits I'll be as good as you are at all the crafty arts!

What habits do you have for successful craft inspiration and execution?

Odd Habits

I have a few odd habits. I will name some of them for your comical enjoyment. Most of them pertain to my self diagnosed OCD.

1) Every time I visit my parents/in-laws/any vacation for that matter, I love to clean out and reorganize the fridge. Odd, really odd, I know.

2) Every few weeks, I reorganize something in my fridge/freezer/pantry. I love to compact things and make them fit better.

3) I have a habit of sitting in front of the TV and doing nothing in the evening. I feel like such a lazy bum, but man it is so nice to just sit sometimes.

4) I have a habit of sorting through the kids toys once a month or so to make sure all the parts are there and in the right spot, so in a day they can all be mixed up again.

5) I have a habit of buying fabric with the intention of doing something with it to only have it stacked and looking nicely every time I am in the office.

6) I have a habit of walking all the back walls at Target and spending more time there then intended. I love finding deals.

7) I have a habit of leaving the kitchen floors unswept or mopped until till my awesome husband comes home to clean them. I hate sweeping and mopping. I will vacuum any day.

8) I have a habit of waiting to buy something until the price is right only for it to be gone.

9) I have a habit of wanting and choosing to buy something only to mull the purchase over in my mind until I talk myself out of it. (My husband hates this one. He is more impulse then I am.) I am just like my Dad on this one. He wants a motorcycle and has been looking at the same one for years now and has yet to get it. He probably never will. Who knows.

10) I have a habit of eating dinner at 5:30 or so everyday. It makes it nice when my husband can come home and dinner is already ready.

Alright, I think 10 is enough for today. There are plenty more to list, but you get the picture. We all have weird habits, and I am sure we all have healthy habits.

What are some of your habits?

a beautiful family culture

The title of this post is Stephen Covey's answer when asked what is "effectiveness" of a family? He outlines methods of creating a beautiful family culture in this book:

I, like many of you I'm sure, have read his original book, and this is a follow-up using the same principle habits but focused on family relationships. I recommend reading the first one...well, first. The habits are pretty much the same in both, and it's interesting to see how habits like "Be Proactive", "Think Win-Win", and "Synergize" can take on drastically different levels of significance whether you're thinking of yourself individually or of your family dynamic.

This is a good read, no matter where you are in your family - parent, spouse, sibling, aunt/uncle, grandparent. I hope you'll give it a try, if you haven't already, and let me know how it has helped you better empathize, share, affirm, pray and sacrifice in your family.

Forming a Habit

It's over halfway through the year and I'm nowhere near meeting the goal I set as my New Year's resolution. Maybe you're in the same boat.

My resolution this year was to become a moring person. Or, at least, get myself up earlier than the rest of my family and do it without grumbling. I decided to make this huge change in my life not long after I learned that being a night-owl or early-bird may actually be genetically ingrained.

It hasn't been easy, but there's no way I'm giving up. I still have beautiful images in my head of those quiet, peaceful moments before the day really begins, maybe even watching the sunrise. I still dream of waking up on my own terms, rather than by an adorable little voice right next to my ear saying louder-than-is-acceptable "Mama, I'm hungry!" With that in mind, and with new resolve, I'm reviewing these steps for achieving just about any goal:

- Imagine your goal becoming a reality. In my mind's eye, I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 6:00 a.m.

- Set specific small goals. I'm renewing my efforts to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and to do it with the help of a regular bedtime routine.

- I'm writing it down. Right here!

- I'm making a deadline. Or reminding myself of my deadline. If needed, I'm breaking the deadline down into smaller bites.

- I'm reminding myself of why I set the goal in the first place. I want that time to myself at the beginning of the day, not at the end when I'm tired.

And finally ... I'm NOT - no way, no how - giving up! They say it takes three weeks to break a habit - I'm hoping it will take less than a year to form this one!

Thumbs Up!

 I have an almost 5 year old little boy named Payton who is starting Kindergarten next week. He's smart and friendly and kind and funny...he should have no problem right? Well...the one thing I didn't mention is his little thumb sucking habit he picked up when he was 3. Not when he was an infant...when he was already 3 years old.

It's been two years since Payton saw a cute little girl sucking her thumb in church. Like any normal kid he decided he would give it a go. She loved it...why wouldn't he? I was nervous at first but decided to ignore it. I was hoping that his tiny experiment might just fizzle away if I didn't do anything to bring attention to it or discourage it. Well, I was wrong (AGAIN). He has sucked his thumb ever since and now I am afraid he is going to get his feelings hurt at school. I know there is a possibility that that particular thing might help him kick his little habit but I don't want his first experience in school to be scary and I don't want him to feel like he has to anything just because a classmate tells him to. Maybe I'm just over reacting...that happens a lot. He could just be one of many who do it. I did it until I was 5 and I don't any more. Either way I am wondering if there is anything more I can do to help him. I want it to be a loving. I don't want anything that tastes bad (tried it) and I want him to want to stop.

He only does it when he is being still (falling asleep, watching TV, sitting in the car, waiting for something exciteing to happen) so you see it's not like I can take all or any of that away from him.

Do you think something like this might work? I could make him one of these.

source

We have tried the sock on the hands thing.

We have tried the bad tasting stuff you put on the thumb which I believe to be serious torture.

We have had him sleep in a shirt that has the sleeves sewn shut.

We have told him that he might just turn into a wrinkly crinkly old man soon.

We have told him about all the little bugs that live on thumbs.

We have tried it all...at least that is how I feel. There has to be something else I can do.

I know it's a habit and habits are hard to break even for adults. Should I even be worried? I know there are bad side effects to this eventually. Any suggestions? Is anybody else going through this or has successfully helped their child over come this?