Summer 2007 Update

In May, I shared the goals we wanted to accomplish as a family this summer. To help us meet those, I decided to do regular "checks" to see where we are. Below is a list of goals and where we are on meeting them.

1. Read books together. We are currently reading Traitor in the Tower together. Two of the three children can hardly bear to wait for the next chapter to see if Richard's father will be released from prison and what John Bunyan will share with Richard.

2. Work on math skills. We have been very successful in doing this with our older son, but I have been less successful at including the younger kids in working on this.

3. Physical Exercise. The kids are doing great in this area. Mom and Dad are not doing so well. :(

4. Household Chores/Projects. We are doing okay in this area. We have cleaned out some things, but have a long way to go in decluttering and deep cleaning. Still, I think it would be unreasonable to expect much more than what we have accomplished at this point, given our schedules and the fact that it is summer, after all!

5. Cooking. I am doing terrible in involving the children in this area. My oldest has helped once or twice, but the youngest two are often napping when I prepare dinner. I have decided to table (pardon the pun) any real effort in this area until July, when our schedule slows way down from the busy rush of sports camps and VBS.

6. Scripture Memory. Horrendous. Only one child has memorized a verse, and it wasn't in Philippians as planned. It simply had to do with his heart attitude and what God says about it. I have got to get better in this area.

7. Time with extended family/fun. We're doing well here. We have spent time with grandparents and extended family already, have played with friends, have been to the pool, have watched together the only TV show the kids really watch (Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?), etc. One area we need to work on is father/children time.

8. Catechism/Daily Bible Reading. We are doing so well in this area! We have worked a lot on learning a catechism together. So far, we have memorized just over 30 questions and answers, and the kids love to quiz each other and especially their parents. :) Also, we have made it a point to have the kids start reading their Bibles daily as Mom and Dad do. I can't say we've made it every day, but they are reading their Bibles most days. It has been so exciting to hear what they are learning.

So there you have it. My grand ideas for the summer and the reality of where we are with those ideas. To see the original goals and descriptions, click here. If you have any tips on accomplishing these goals, please let me know.

Smart Habit Saturday: Making the Bedroom a Haven Again

It's Saturday again...time to review the habits I am trying to establish and decide if I want to implement a new one.

This Saturday, I want to start making a habit out of making up my bed every day. This is something I always did prior to marriage, and due to schedules early in our marriage when I worked outside the home (or maybe just due to my husband's generosity), DH started making the bed in the morning, and I got out of the habit. This went on for about 5 1/2 years.

Shamefully, I must admit that now I have been home 5 1/2 years, and I have never regularly gotten back into the habit. My DH no longer makes the bed...after all, I am up last. There is something about going to sleep in a bed that has been made up during the day that just makes it feel cleaner. I miss that feeling. I also am tired of pillows laying all over our bedroom floor. Our bedrooms are supposed to be a haven of peace, and mine just isn't right now. This is a small step to reclaiming the room.

I actually started this new habit three days ago, and I am going to try to keep it up, even if it means getting rid of half the bed pillows that irritate me as I put them on the bed each morning!

Now, for an honest assessment of how I am doing in my other SMART Habits:

• Touch the mail only once: Week 1 has gone really well...6 out of 7 days, I have met my goal.


• Drink no more than one diet coke a day: I'm still working on this. About half the time I manage it. The other days, it might take me three to get through the day!

Smart Habit Saturday--Oh, How I Used to Love the Mail...

It's Saturday again, and that means it is time to reflect on the last smart habit I tried to establish, and implement a new one.

This week, I am going to start going through the mail and getting rid of it each day it arrives. I used to love getting mail, but now I get junk, and bills, and more junk...and occasionally something I am interested in. Thus, I have developed a bad habit of looking through the mail, pulling out what I am interested in, and leaving the junk for another day. When I finally sort it, it becomes several little piles--shred, discard, pay, reply, magazines to read, etc. I have grown to hate all these little piles that clutter up my living room. I want to start sorting the mail and doing everything that needs to be done in regard to it on the day it arrives (except, maybe, for reading the magazines that day). My family will certainly appreciate our living room being paperless!

Last week's smart habit was to reduce to one per day the amount of diet coke I drink. I succeeded every day, even going without diet coke at all one day, until today, the start of a new week, when I have had 2 1/2...okay, yes, it's soon to be three...diet cokes. So, I feel pretty good about it, but need to regain control after today!

What's your Smart Habit? Join Lara over at the Lazy Organizer to share what you are working on this week.

Smart Habit Saturday--A Diet Coke A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Lara at the Lazy Organizer has started a great trend of choosing to intentionally form smart habits at the rate of one (or so) per week. Since I have so many things I need to intentionally work on, I decided to join in on the fun.

The idea is to choose a new habit every Saturday and work on implementing it in our lives, giving blog updates on a regular basis. These habits can be personal, work related or family oriented...any area where you realize a change needs to be made.

This Saturday, I would like to start a new habit of drinking only 1 diet coke per day. That may not sound like much to many of you, but diet coke is sort of my addiction (ranging from 2 - 4 a day depending on the availability).

Occasionally, I break the chains of addiction, but then I fall right back into my bad habit. Not only do my friends regularly tell me that the artificial sweetener used in diet coke is bad for my mental and physical health, I have also discovered that I have severe headaches for 3-4 days whenever I go through withdrawal. Surely that is not a good sign. Beginning today, I am striving to cut way back, saving money, my health, and my memory.

What's your Smart Habit? Let us know.