The Week Ahead

When I was a mom of only two small children, I asked a woman who was a teacher what I could do that would best prepare my children for school.  Her response was that I should give them social opportunities as much as was humanly possible.  I was really good at this with my first three kids--playdates, preschool, park & rec classes, etc., but after my mom passed away, I kind of shut down socially.  I've let things slide quite a bit, but as I was driving home from dropping my kids at school this morning, I got to thinking about the week.  Somewhere I must have turned a corner.

We had a friend's three kids this afternoon, so she could go volunteer at the school.  Tomorrow, #7 will be with her good friend "Kaffrin" at our house.  Kaffrin, last week, requested that we make cookies because we'd done it the week before, so I'm thinking every Tuesday with Kaffrin's going to be a cookie day.  Wednesdays, I trade with a good friend, and it's my kids' turn to go to her house to play with her kids.  Thursday, #7 goes to Kaffrin's and Friday afternoon, the friend whose kids I watched today will have mine, so I can go volunteer.  I guess, unknowingly, I'm back in the swing.  I'm loving that my kids have lots of good kids around them.

With all that fun, there are a LOT of projects going on....

I'm working on getting my school stuff all up to speed.  I have essays to write for careers and two more lessons to complete for personal finance.  I have other essays to write, but I don't really want to expose the reason for those yet.  I will eventually....just not yet.  Anyway, I have time in which to finish those, but they are sitting there nagging at me in the back of my mind.

The Primary program was yesterday, so that's a big relief.  To be honest, for that, I'm kind of a support person.  My wonderful counselor really pulled it off.  The kids did great, but I have to admit, it's nice to have that pressure behind us.  Now, to plan for Christmas and the coming year for the Primary kids.

Friday night, we're doing a big birthday celebration for one of our kids with a mystery dinner party, so there'll be decorating to do and food to prepare.

Sunday is the big Japan fireside for the ward.  I need to fine tune the power point I created for it and finish translating Sister Asano's testimony.

I still have a few cookbooks to deliver, so there'll be a trip to the post office.  I think I've come to a point in which I can release the last ten that I'd reserved just in case I'd messed up someone's order.  I've heard from no one, so they are $15 for anyone who wants one--first come, first served.  They're great for Christmas gifts.  If you want one or two, let me know.  When these are gone, they'll ALL be gone.

So, there you have it--the insanity that is my life.  I keep thinking that once school's done I'll have a blank space in my schedule, but we all know that's not going to happen, huh?  I'm sure there'll be something else to fill it up.  I wonder what that something will be....

I Have to Get Done

I have ten credit hours left.  TEN!  Ten measly credit hours until I'm done with my bachelors.  It's been a LONG haul.  I'm excited, but I'm doubting myself.  Can I do this?  I also have only one year.  One year in which to finish these ten hours--four classes.  I'm in the process of two of them, but I'm struggling.  Enduring to the end is difficult.  Once I got through the dreaded statistics course, it seems like I just felt done.  My biggest challenge had been surmounted.  I had succeeded.  These last classes should be a breeze, but for some reason, I can't get myself to stay on task.  I can't stay with the schedule I created and recreated for myself.  I've done this with every class.  It's worked beautifully.  Why not now?

Today I'm sitting down and creating the schedule for the last time, I hope.  I'm giving myself a bit of a break.  I think I was just trying to cram too much into each day and overwhelming myself.  I wanted to be done--NOW.  So, I was being unrealistic.

I have decided to give myself a week for each lesson.  These two courses I'm currently taking don't have midterms, so there isn't really a midway goal.  This is tough.

Within each week, I'm going to have specific goals from each lesson for each day.  As I accomplish these smaller goals, there will be rewards.  Most likely it will be something like blogging or facebook.  I have to make myself not touch them unless I've done the day's goals.  If I complete everything for the week, and get my assignments submitted, then there will be a bigger weekend reward.  I'll have to come up with some good ones that'll keep me motivated.  I'm open to your ideas.

Schoolwork with a little one running around the house is NOT easy.  It's hard to sit down; not to mention sit down and concentrate on something until it's complete, but I don't really have a choice.

So, tomorrow I get to run to my favorite library and work for a few hours.  I'm so thankful for a supportive husband.  For today, I will finish the schedule and make it much more doable--taking into consideration where I'm at in life right now.  Please remind me that this is all doable--even with an almost two-year-old.

The Results of Some Quiet Time

This morning, I woke up and just enjoyed some time in bed--just thinking.  When the Warden woke, he rolled over and said, "What'cha doing?"  He laughed when I told him I was thinking about the goals I have to create for class.  It seems like every time he's asked me lately, that's what I've been thinking about.  Just can't get it off my mind until I have something concrete.  This assignment needs to be finished before I can move onto the next.

As I lay there in the quiet, I learned to value quiet time--time to meditate and ponder on life.  I swear I don't take enough time for that.

Last night, I did a free write.  It always helps to get my thoughts down in written form (thus a major reason for this blog--too much in my brain and no real focus if I don't write).  I think that exercise really helped me come up with what my goals will be.

The deal with this goals assignment is that I'm supposed to figure out what I want out of life and figure out what God wants for my life.  Oh yah, not a prob.  I'll get right on that.  Ugh!  It's not been a simple exercise, as you can imagine.  After I figure those things out, I'm supposed to pick my top three and give a detailed description of what they are and how I'm going to accomplish them.

Because of some alone time, decisions have finally been made.  Here are my top three:

1.  I want to be around for my children's children.  I want to be able to be there (if my children want me) to help when they bring their babies home from the hospital.  I want to fill the same space my mom filled for me with my first three.  Therefore, my first goal is to work now to promote health and wellness for myself.  The steps that go along with this are:

• get enough sleep
• drink enough water
• exercise
• eat well

Sounds pretty boring, if you ask me, but my next step is to create a way to do these that will get me motivated.  I will write up a step-by-step plan that will fit with my personality--one that won't overwhelm but will be broken down into simple to follow baby steps.

2.  I want my home to be a "heaven on earth."  When my children and husband come home from school and work, I want them to find a refuge from the storms of life.  I want to incorporate, into our everyday life, things that will make our home peaceful and loving.  I also want to teach my children how to do the same so that when they're out on their own creating their own homes and families, they can follow a similar pattern and it will be second nature to them. 

In order to do this one, I got to looking at The Family:  A Proclamation to the World.  In the right hand column, first full paragraph about halfway down, it states: 

"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”

I'm going to base many of the things I do for this goal on this statement.  I'm still in the process of working through it, and I will post more when I get it figured out.

One thing that was stated in the course lessons were that you need to have some fun goals, thus....

3.  Take the family to Disneyland.  A few years ago, I started talking about how much I wanted to go to Disneyland.  The Warden chimed in with, "But wouldn't an Alaskan cruise be fun?"  Okay, yes it would, and yes, his marketing skills are way beyond mine because he grabbed all the kids and practically hopped them all right on board with him.  I had one little ally--my wonderful child #5.  I promised him that he and I would go no matter what.

This morning, after he asked what I was doing, I threw the Disneyland idea at the Warden again.  I explained that Disneyland would be so much more fun than the cruise for our little kids and for  me.  I think we SHOULD take an Alaskan cruise, but we should do it when all of our kids can appreciate it.  I think my skills have improved because he AGREED!  Yay! Okay, first hurdle jumped over.  Now for the others.

I think our biggest two challenges will be money and lodging.  If I can get all the family members thinking the same way, and we find some creative ways to make and save money, there won't be a problem.  Our second problem, I'm not sure how we'll overcome.  I don't think there are hotels big enough or crazy enough to allow a family with two adults and seven children to stay there, and we have no family down in California (plus who in their right mind would put up a family of nine?).  This will be an interesting obstacle to figure out.  Maybe we'll have to do some camping.  We are SO NOT campers.   Anyway, overcome it, we will.  I really want to take the family before #1 leaves for college, so we've got a little more than a year to work it out.

It's so nice to have this part of the assignment done.  Now I can work out the nitty gritty and get on to the next one--a budget.  

The first lesson in this class was on the purpose of money.  I know a lot of people who are out to have money just to have money so they can blow it on whatever they want.  This class has put money into a new perspective for me.  Money's purpose is to serve as a means not an end.  We are to use it to help us fulfill our purpose here in life--to help us reach our goals.  If I look at it that way, I can be satisfied.  If I look at having money as the goal, I will never be satisfied.