Year of the Routine in 2014

Here is another thing I've been putting off.  The routine schedule for me and my kids.  I've been so hard on myself about this.  I think I've had to be in order to realize how insane it is to be hard on myself.  Being hard on myself at one time in my life would motivate the shit out of me to get moving.  Now all it does is stall me up.

I've been a FLY BABY for quite a long time.  As in 12 years I've been fluttering with my routines on and off.  For a while I was soaring.  I had so much under control with the house, it gave me confidence.  I became a pro at making the lists and updating and doing them for a while.  I'd fall off the routine thing and then I'd always have a decent Flylady base to get back into it.  

Emotional Land mine

Then in 2008, I experienced a stillbirth.  I don't want to go into the details of that in this blog post but I'd like to share how grief caused me to get out of a very productive time in my life.  I dropped the smooth running routine machine and I road the grief waves that carried me through the past five years. I know the lessons from that loss are still not over.

 I tried getting back on track but every time I tried I'd remember things.  Stuff that made me suffer like, "I was in the middle of making a new routine that included the new baby." Boom, land mine, "She didn't come, she's never going to come." Boom. Back to being hard on myself again.  I've played this out too much. It's only hurt  me.  I choose to stop playing.  It's the Year of the Routine!

Now to keep me motivated, to selfishly take care of myself.  I'm going to share the routine I've created for me and for my kids.  I use the Cozi app on all of our electronic devices and I check at night to see if we have all done our routines.  There's a satisfying check box that crosses out everything you have completed.  Kids check them and I uncheck them at night.  Hooray!

I'd like to share that so far this year we haven't experienced yelling or  screaming in the morning.  I haven't had to drive the kids to school.  No one has missed breakfast yet.  And at night, kids are getting in bed earlier and lunches are being made.  We get along so much better.   I feel myself wanting to backslide.  It's like an invisible wet blanket I feel over me in the winter and I don't want to move.  It's so subtle.  I'm grateful I'm noticing it now.

Here is to changing my patterns in 2014.  This is for me to honor my angel in heaven and become a better mom for my angel children I can see and feel. 

I love myself Morning Routine 2014 

• Are you doing your best?
• Rise and shine ( at least earlier than kids) ACIM LESSON
• Meditate/ Pray. Thank you, I love you, I am as God created me. (Take time if you can!)
• Bathroom, shower, face, clean up 
• Make bed
• Dress to shoes
• Start laundry
• Empty dishwasher
• Help kids do their routines
• Start breakfast
• Feed family, include me.
• Take vitamins and DRINK water! 
• Check schedule and calendar/ to do list 
• What is for dinner?
• Hit the hot spots
• Kid craft for today?

Kids Routines 

I've made one for each kid in Cozi and they have been tweaking it as we go.  For example my little girl with super curly hair has has to dampen her hair and scrunch it instead of comb it, otherwise it's a mess.

WAKE UP EARLY 6:45 A.M.

• Get dressed to socks

BATHROOM

• Check your time
• Do your personal grooming routine: teeth, face, straighten your hair? Before you go downstairs
• Make your bed
• Make sure your room is locked because of little guy.

DOWNSTAIRS

• Check the time
• Make/eat breakfast
• Clear your place (plate & cup in dishwasher)
• Get back pack ( homework ?/ Papers signed?)
• Get shoes and coat by door
• Be ready for bus by 7:15am (Are you doing your best?)

PRACTICE

• Is there time left to practice your instrument? 

It's all still a work in progress.  No more putting things off in 2014!  Best to you!