School Year Resolutions

As the summer winds down - at least the part where the munchkins are home all day, every day - not the part where the pavement is so hot eggs can be fried on the drive way - I have started to think about how I am going to spend my days at home with just one teeny munchkin by my side most days. I want to make each day as productive as possible. I still have several out of the home responsibilities that will get my attention as needed, but my ultimate goal is to be at my house as much as I can! 

I had a difficult time settling into any sort of a routine last school year. It seemed like I would get in a groove for a week or so and then the cart got flipped over by some pressing issue like counting fundraiser money for the PTO or having a randomly sick child stay home from school or birthing a precious baby girl. These interruptions or opportunities, I guess, seemed to come in pairs or threes even! 

My favorite days of last year were those days when I got to come home from dropping off the kids and just stay at home. No rush to be somewhere. No errand that had to be accomplished pronto. I am looking forward to lots of those days this school year and will be as intentional as I can about making those days happen!

So what are my resolutions, exactly? Here they are - in no real order.

Regular Exercise.

 The big kids are talking about riding the bus to school in the mornings. Our bus info notice says the bus will be at our stop 30 minutes later than the past two years. It is a much more doable or attemptable time than the 0 dark 30 time. I am hoping this will afford me the ability to get a workout in fairly early in the morning instead of procrastinating until I just don't do it at all. I have lost 10 pounds in the past 6 weeks and am hoping to continue that downward trend!

Purge, Purge, Purge. 

Have you seen the quote going around that says "Cleaning house with the kids at home is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos?" Let's just say that has been the theme of my life all summer. I have given up on having the kids' rooms look at all clean since they have been home for their break. It is pointless and futile for me to help them get things in order when 5 minutes or less later earthquakes will mysteriously occur in their rooms causing all toys to tumble to the ground or under dressers or beds. It is an amazing phenomenon! I sometimes think I live in one of the Toy Story movies where I close the door and all of the sudden toys come to life until I open the door again and they just freeze wherever they happen to be. The scary thing is that this doesn't just happen to toys or just in the kids' rooms. It happens to laundry and dishes and office supplies, and....

Besides the living toys and other items in our house, we have a looming more than likely going to happen move coming in the next year and I don't want all of these walking clutter, energy sucking creatures put in boxes to come alive in our next house. It is time to let go of the emotional ties I have to stuff and make friends with big black trash bags!

Paint. 

There are currently 4 rooms in my house that have random paint sample spots on at least one wall. There are also doors that need to be touched up. A big arch that needs to be painted to match the trim. There are pieces of furniture screaming for a bright, fresh coat of paint! 

Friends. 

 I do not make enough time in my life to cultivate deep friendships. I just don't! My picture is in the dictionary right next to the word Introvert! I just don't let people in and I like being at home - alone. However, I have realized that I long for deep friendships and the only way that can happen is if I make time in my life to spend with those people that I want do develop those friendships with. 

Enjoy my kids when they are home. 

Probably the most important resolution on my list. I want to be at the point in my day when the kids are running up the street from the camel bus that I can truly enjoy them and sit and talk to them. I am usually so behind or feel like I have 1,000 things that I have yet to accomplish in the afternoons that I don't just hang out with my favorite 8 and under crowd. I want to be relaxed when we are trying to do homework that is vague and not making sense to any of us. I want to make time to read with and to them more than just our bedtime story routine. 

Blog. 

I want to make time to write. To journal. To share pictures. To remember the good, the bad and the ugly about the things that are going on with us or me. 

There are a slew of others that I could probably add and will throughout the year. The beginning of a school year is not just a new beginning for the kids, but it is also a time when I can look ahead to various attitude and habit changes I can make to help this school year be enjoyable for all of us!