Monday, April 18, 2011

Mid-Month Update

So it has been a couple of weeks,  and my April resolution is going pretty well.  I think I have incorporated the 15 minutes per day per kid into our schedule very well.  It has turned out that it can't really be something I plan for, but rather when the opportunity presents itself I take it.  Sometimes that means I sneak into one of the girl's rooms during reading time.  Sometimes we have time in the morning before the other sister wakes up.  Sometimes I stay extra long at bedtime.  I have to say I have really enjoyed the conversations I have had with Curly Q. during these private times.  I also love how cuddly Bear gets during them.  So I would say that the extra 15 minutes is a great success already.

I will give the hour per week mixed reviews.  I managed to find the extra hour for Curly Q. both weeks.  The first week we went to get her hair cut, and it was a fun bonding experience for us.  The second week we went out to dinner and shopping at Target.  Once again we got to spend time chatting which is what Curly Q. does best.  Finding the time to spend with Bear was more difficult for a couple different reasons.  First, she is at gymnastics 9 hours per week.  That severely limits the time she and I can spend together.  The second reason is embarrassing... I knew that our time together would be very different from the time I spend with Curly Q.  You see Bear like to play.  Legos, dolls, cars, store, school, I could go on and on.  The problem is... I don't really play.  I didn't really play when I was a kid.  I LOVE to create so when we play Legos I can build lots of cool buildings, but that isn't what she wants to do.  She wants to pretend that I own a gas station and she drives her Lego car over to buy gas.  I admire her own creative spirit, but I really don't enjoy that kind of game.  I did make time to play with her last week, but I think going forward I need to come up with something we can do together that we both enjoy.  I am considering cooking because I like that, and I think she would too.  I also think that the hour needs to be planned for as opposed to just finding the time as I have been doing.  So starting this week I am going to do that.

As for all my other new found habits... I need to get back in the habit of posting here.  One way to do that is to renew my habit of acknowledging the things I have to be thankful for.  So starting tomorrow I will try to post once a day.  The posts may not be very long but at least I will put something out there.  I am still doing a great job with my decluttering.  It is going a bit slower than I expected, but I am making slow steady progress towards a clutter free life.  In fact I decluttered our basement and created a great space for our whole family to work.  This leads to my renewed interest in exercising.  I now have a nice open space to workout in, and so starting tomorrow I will try for 30 minutes per day.  I think the easiest time will be while the girls are watching their morning tv show.  That way it is done before the day gets away from me.

So as a recap, I am planning for the extra hour of personal time with my girls each week.  I am getting back in the habit of blogging every day, and I am exercising every day in the morning.  Sounds like a great plan.

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