Keep Showing Up

I’m so tired this morning and I want to go back to bed. I stayed up later than usual trying to finish up my first perpetual menu plan. I drank too much coffee too close to bedtime and then I couldn’t sleep.

The morning came way too early and I’m still not feeling 100% myself so I was very tempted to lay in bed today. I had to do a lot of self talk motivation to get myself out from under the blankets but I did it.

I was thankful that I have been taking the time to prep the big coffee pot in the evenings. All I have to do is turn the warmer on and add water. My coffee brews as I change my clothes and it sends its lovely aroma to greet me… and then my unusually loud kids remind me that I really do need to be up and at ‘em.

We all have these mornings, days, weeks when we just don’t want to get up, we don’t want to do anything but lay in bed and binge watch our favorite YouTube channel or TV series. That’s ok but we can’t let ourselves get stuck in those habits.

I even forgot all about my new meal plan and was going to have one of the kids pull something from the freezer for a ‘mystery meal’ but they were too excited about the menu plan to let me do that so I’ll be placing a grocery order in a little bit.

I can think of 100 valid excuses for not getting out of bed every day as it truly is a struggle for me most days because of chronic pain. When you throw any illness on top or the fatigue from over doing it the day before that is a recipe for disaster.

I know I published about the Opposite of the Proverbs 31 woman a few days ago and this is still lingering in my head and my heart. I know I have eyes watching me heart’s depending on me to lead them the right way. Even if I didn’t have a houseful of kiddos there would be others watching behind the scenes.

I want to be a good role model and I strive to live as God would want me to live so that motivates me to keep showing up every morning. I know I’m not perfect and I have to ask Him for help every single day because I can’t do anything without Him. Even when things seem bleak and dreary I know He has a plan and I just have to keep trudging on.

If you are feeling down and weary please don’t give up trying. I know how tiring it can be to do the same thing again and again and again especially when it feels like you don’t make a difference but please know that someone is watching.

I am praying for each and every person reading this that they will find the strength to endure whatever trial they are going through and that they will have the courage to face any challenges that come before them. I am praying that they will feel loved and appreciated for who they are and that they can show this love to others. I pray that they can feel the strength of God in their lives and the joy that only He can bring. I am also praying for renewed health and strength and for God to bless you more abundantly than you could ever hope for.

Amen!

Have a blessed day!

Routines

I know, we’ve all heard about how important routines and schedules are. Some of us may have every minute of every hour planned out on a ‘perfect’ schedule while others would rather just have a  ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ kind of routine. I’ve always been kind of in the middle while I can say that at different times of my life I have leaned more towards one side than the other.

How do we find a balance?

Well, the answer is not the same for everyone, every family, or every situation. For instance, there are some children who thrive on strict routines and schedules and they don’t like change, I have one of those children. Then there are some families who are extremely busy with things, maybe a home business, and there is no way that they could guarantee that they would be home by 5:00 every day to eat dinner. Then we have work routines where sometimes there are deadlines and things that must be completed in a certain time frame.

I went through a period of time when I was really sick. I went from being a vibrant young wife and mother (who also held down a 40 hours + job) to almost being bedridden. I had a couple of different surgeries, followed by infections  and long recuperation periods. These illnesses triggered an autoimmune response in my body and I have been plagued by chronic pain ever since. I had been diagnosed with scoliosis, DDD, herniated discs, IBS, GRD, hiatal hernia, migraines, and fibromyalgia among a long list of things.

My doctors prescribed a cocktail of medications to help with the problems but those medications caused lots of side effects. I was extremely fatigued, developed seizures, and was constantly having various rashes and other conditions that couldn’t be explained.

During this time my housework really suffered. My house wasn’t a total mess but it did get pretty bad. The more I tried the worse it looked. This caused major problems between my spouse and I. I was trying to keep up with the inside of the house, the outside of house, the garden, the animals, and the kids.

I was OVERWHELMED!

Then I found an index card system for housework. They also have a book called Sidetracked Home Executives which I never bought but maybe should have. I immediately jumped in and began to use the system. I tweaked it here and there to make it work for our family. I then developed a similar system for work and it made an amazing difference in my productivity levels.

Unfortunately my spouse wasn’t as thrilled with my new found method. I could never keep our home as ‘showplace perfect’ as he felt I should. The marriage fell apart and I moved with my four kids to our current home. This is where I found FlyLady, who has been a lifesaver to so many people. (You may want to check out the site for yourself.) A lot of the routines I will list below follow along with her basic plans. I again tweaked them to work for our family.

My house is not ‘showplace perfect‘ nor will it ever be. My house is lived in and it shows. I do get a lot of compliments like, ‘I would never know that you had so many kids here.’.  I’m not quite sure what they expect my house to live in but I am pleased to surprise them.

The outside of my house is a bit of a mess and I am working on that. Many people have stopped as they thought I am running a daycare. I guess I kind of am in a way. Some of the mess is beyond my control as it doesn’t belong to me.

I really believe that everyone should be proud of what the Lord has blessed you with. Be content where He has put you and make the best of it. I pray that you will find some helpful tips and suggestions as you read through the links. (If a link isn’t working please let me know in the comments below.) Please remember to use these as a guideline for setting up your own routines. If something isn’t working then change it and make it work for you. Don’t get discouraged!

Getting Routines Started 101

Morning Routines

Kids’ Morning Routine 

Daily School Routine

Afternoon Routines

Evening Routines

Weekly Routines

Monthly Routines

Yearly Routines

Laundry Routines

Yearly kids chores by age

Age-appropriate chore charts

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