Start By Doing

With there being so many changes that I want to make in our family structure I know that I could easily get overwhelmed. A planner by nature, I tend to pore over ideas and plan and plot them out only to have these elaborate schemes pitter out shortly after implementation. This is no good for me and it certainly isn't good for the kiddos.

Planning is all well and good, and I would argue very necessary for many things in life, but when there are many changes to be made finding a place to begin writing down a plan would take too long. Part of my problem is that I live in a perpetual state of  "I'll start tomorrow" and well, tomorrow never really comes. The issues just pile up and collect. My plans end up being just plans with no action. Great ideas with nothing being done to implement these ideas.

Instead I have been jotting some of my thoughts and ideas down in my journal. Just little thoughts here and there of things that I would like to change, things that I would like to continue, things that seem to be working, and things that aren't working. This seems to be more effective right now and much less overwhelming than extensive plans to change everything that I want to change. Plus, I am finding that some of the best ways for me to reestablish some of the things we need to get back to is if I just start doing it. No plans - just action.

A few of the things I will be reintroducing into the house are as follows:

1.  Limited electronic time. (For myself included.)
2.  Dividing up household chores more consistently and equally (according to age and ability).
3.  Getting out of the house more for day trips during the school week.
4.  Spending more time together as a family after Bob gets home from work each night and also on the weekends.
5.  Establishing family meals times for all 3 meals. (We have the opportunity to eat together and take a collective breath at least three times a day. We should take advantage of that.)
6. Bed time routine.
7. Adding more fun to our school day. 

We have established some pretty good routines that are unique to our family in each of these areas. I would like to regain those routines once again as I feel that they will allow our family to run optimally. This will also help make some of the growing pains we are currently experiencing. 

I will be happy to share more about these routines as they are solidly reestablished into our home.