Sunday, December 26, 2010

Only 364 Days til...

Christmas. Yes, it was just yesterday.

But my kids are already planning ahead for Christmas 2011, and frankly, so am I. Last night after we arrived home from Christmas with my side of the family, Paige (10 years old) promptly announced to her 3 younger siblings, "Tomorrow is the beginning of the new Santa year." I.E., anything done between today and next Christmas Eve can either make you or break you. Smart kid.

For me, it's a little bit different. I am not happy with myself at all: I need to lose weight, keep my patience better with the kids, budget better, clean up the house and get it organized (and keep it that way, of course), get a cute haircut, become glamorous: you know, basic staple mom things. Some are more attainable than others. 

I have attempted the Flylady way many times over the year, and usually, each time, I am able to get through parts of it successfully--but never consistently. Last January through May, I lost some weight, I kept the house fairly cleaned up, I accomplished some things...but I gained most of that weight back, and I have gotten back to a messy house, sloppy finances, and feeling, well, downright blah again. It's a cycle that has recurred often throughout my 37 years. And with the dawn of each new year, I think, aha!! THIS will be my year. But it hasn't happened yet. 

So this time, I am not thinking in terms of goals, I am thinking in terms of a gift--my gift to myself, and my family, for next Christmas, is a better me.  One who looks better, feels better, and behaves like the mom I have envisioned in my head. Not perfect, but better.  I know it's corny, but what the heck. The goals and to do lists and resolutions haven't worked yet---so here goes. Perhaps corny will work. 

We still have Christmas with the Mailman's side of the family tomorrow night--then he will be off work til next Monday, January 3. Yippee!! The tag team parenting will make a comeback!  And in the meantime, I am going to spend a few days planning my plan of attack, preparing, with hubby's help, then I'm going to hit the ground running...next Monday. 

But I'm not going to call them New Year's Resolutions. I'm just planning ahead for next Christmas.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Truth

I have a confession:

 I'm a mess. Honestly, I should count my lucky stars that my husband truly loves me, because if he didn't, he probably would've been out the door long long ago. Or so I tell him. 

I'm a really bad housekeeper. What's worse, is I'm an inconsistent housekeeper.  I may have a 3 month stint of keeping the house pretty clean, dishes done every day, laundry folded and put away.........and then bam, before you know it, I hit a slump. And it's not just keeping the house clean, it's our whole lifestyle. 

One week I have the menu posted for the week on Sunday night, grocery shopping done and put away Monday morning by 9 a.m, the next week, he can call me on the way home from work at almost 7 p.m. and ask what's for supper and I have no clue. And we run out of bread by Tuesday noon and just get by until he offers to stop at the store on the way home later in the week. It's not good.

My mom tries to tell me that everybody is like this, and they just put on a good front, but I don't buy it. If so, this world is in a pretty sorry state. Either that, she says, or if they do have clean houses and peaceful frames of mind, then their lives just aren't as busy as mine. She's an enabler, I tell you.

I can usually get the house cleaned up but keeping it that way is another story. Maintenance and I are not good friends. And this time it's gotten out of hand, in my opinion anyway.

But today I'm bound and determined. The hubby is at work, so it's just me and the kids here; I've threatened bribed  kindly asked my middle kids to play with Bea (who is 2 and makes me certain we're not having more kids), because in general, she tears up while I pick up and I ended up wanting to cry. An aside to this problem is that the middle kids have been arguing an awful lot--just this week since school started, after school every day, they've been at each other, they just can't get along. And my oldest, Paige, is busy with homework, and lots of it--that's the tragedy of 5th grade. So she will be no help.

Normally my dent is just doing the dishes, laundry, regular stuff--but I never really make a noticeable difference. Next time someone wears clothes or we have a meal, we're back at square one.

But not today, today will be different. I hear the 3 kids playing dress up and singing the Batman theme (you know, "Batman...dadadadadadada....Batman"), all seems to be well, temporarily anyway. I hope and pray. 

So, with that...........I'm off.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Friday, August 20, 2010

So...



If you don't know me, or if you do, but maybe you don't know me well enough, the title is me being facetious. I am not a supermom, nor do I claim to be in real life, nor do I really ever think I will be. Perhaps I want to be, but really, I'm just like everybody else.

The truth is, the first title I wanted for my blog--Juggling Lessons--was taken, so Supermom it is. 

I am a Christian. A wife of 14 years, a mother of 4 (of 25 years if you add all that experience together!), a daughter (the baby of the family),  and hopefully a bit more. 

and really and truly, I don't know why I'm doing this. Maybe I'll be another blogmom posting about my kids, or my home improvement projects, or what's for dinner, or my love of my husband's stove popped popcorn. Who knows, really.  I guess time will tell.

My husband (the Mailman) said I should create a blog, he told me to be brutally honest, and just to get it all out there. So here it is, wherever "out there" is. 

And the honest truth is, I spent quite a while picking my font colors and background today, this inaugural blog day,  so now I have little time before my youngest wakes from her nap, and then the madness starts all over again.

TTFN.