Epiphany/Turning Over A New Leaf

I had a humbling experience during this Thanksgiving. We visited my hubby's extended family, which we do about once every five years or so. When getting directions to the home that we would be visiting, I had a hard time listening to the twangy accent of our would-be host. Do I sound like that? I thought to myself.
Now on a side note, I know that my dh makes quite a bit more money than the owners of the home we visited. So when we arrived I was a little taken aback at what a nice home they had. Not hugh, but nice. Once inside I looked around and discovered it was all white interior and white furniture. Granted, they no longer have kids, but they do have three grandkids close to my two middle children. It was very clean. There weren't marks on the floors or clutter in the corner. Everything had a place. The kitchen was technically smaller than mine, but we probably had the same counter space and maybe the same cabinet space. Her counters were clear and her sink was empty.
When the three kids arrived they behaved as normal kids did, but they didn't yell. They never yelled. When it was time to eat, they sat at the table, ate somewhat quietly, cleaned their space and went to play. The almost 2 yr old even drank from a regular cup without spilling it. My almost 4 yr old was ecstatic because she drank out of a 'grown up' cup.
So my epiphany became clearer and clearer. My children should behave this way. My home could look this way. I can have this peace. It's up to me. I am the keeper of my home.
I'm sure that I'll need God's help. I won't be able to retrain my children without some supernatural help. So I will start my day with prayer and end my day with prayer. I'll work out all the stuff in the middle with God's help.

What's Your Happy?

Last night my hubby and I watched The Pursuit of Happyness. For those of you that haven't seen it I highly recommend that you do. If you have ever quit something or thought of quitting then this movie will make you think twice. The man goes through Hell and back to make a better life for him and his son. And not just a 'better' life than what they had but his goal is to become a successful stock broker with Dean Witter.
It left a big impact on me. How many times have I thought "it's just too hard" or "I can't take anymore". How many times have I felt things were hopeless? This man had to spend the night in the subway bathroom because he had no money and no place to live. He had to work twice as hard as the other interns that wanted the one job that was being offered. When life slammed into him, he pushed back. (This movie is based on a true story.)
At the end of the movie he says "This is my happy." So today I was thinking, what is my happy? I have small, daily happies. But I'm not sure what my big happy is. I believe that it would be a happy, healthy family and financial freedom. My goal is to reach financial freedom over the next two years. Over the course of those years I plan on working on making my family healthy and happy.
Today my happy is: my 9 month old laughing hysterically. Something about a baby's laugh that just makes you smile.

What's your happy?

A Turtle Can Move Faster

I got the grocery shopping done today. That's it. I got nothing else done today. Oh wait, I made breakfast and dinner.
Is that insane or what? I'm not sure where the time went, one minute I was jumping in the shower and the next thing I knew it was time to go to the grocery store so that I could be back before my oldest two got out of school. Then I had to race the clock to get through the grocery store-with my 3 yr old and infant in tow. Yeah like that was gonna happen. First it was "Mommy I want to get in the cart" then a few rows later it was "I want down". Meanwhile baby decides he is just not happy in the carrier seat any more and he wants out NOW. I then proceed to beg the preschooler to help me reach items on the bottom shelf as I try to keep the list away from the baby who insists that he has to eat the paper. All the while trying to keep my eye on the clock, double check my coupons, look for the best bargains by doing the math in my head because the 3 year old wants to use the calculator as a cell phone. "Hello, grandma? What do you want us to buy you at the grocery store?"
If it's not a cell phone then it's the babies chew toy. Don't you love the taste of plastic?
Now the rest of the house is quiet except for the laundry monster and crusty dishes calling my name to be washed. Oh and let's not forget baby and his nightly 'snack'.
Gotta go. The chaos wins the day, but I will win the war. Or at least I'll die trying.

All the balls are in the air

So I started this juggling act and I have all my balls in the air at one time. Now what? The problem I'm having is that everything is only half done. The dishes are half done, the laundry is half done, the cleaning is half done. So once again I'm standing around waiting to drop one of the balls.
I have to admit, I'm still moving forward. Probably not as fast as I could/should be. But it is forward motion. Yeah me!
My husband helped me tackle the boys' room last weekend. It is officially the boys' room as we have now moved the baby into the room with his big brother. Whoopee! Now I can actually get to my side of the bed without running into the playyard/bassinet. My hips are saved.
On another note, I decided that my blog was quickly going to become cluttered if I included every facet of my life that I'm trying to fix. So as of today, this blog is for the household stuff. The getting organized and the cleaning progress, or lack there of. Keep an eye out and I will link to my other blogs that will deal with the many other personality issues that I intend to deal with.

getting organized

So after being sick I'm still trying to play catch up with the whole house thing. Plus I'm implementing a new discipline thing. Trying to get things in order. Chaos with four kids becomes insanity. Insanity is not a good thing when you're balancing so much at one time. I am conducting a plan and I am determined to succeed if it kills me. The whole 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger'. Well I'm going to be able to benchpress like 400 lbs when I pull this organization, cleaning, discipline bing off. But I am going to be a much better mommy and wife. Actually I'll be a much better person when I'm done.