Old Habits Die Hard: Breaking the Monotony of Daily Repeat… Becca Style

Old Habits Die Hard: Breaking the Monotony of Daily Repeat… Becca Style

by | Feb 21, 2020 | Anxiety, Coping with Stress, Family, House Work, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Motivation, Parenting, Self Care

Sometimes life repeats itself in a never-ending circle of monotony.

Get up in the morning.

Get the kids ready for school.

Bathe, dress, and feed the babies.

Housework routine.

Mom routine.

Kids come home from school.

More mom routine.

Eat supper.

Everyone gets ready for bed and sleeps (usually later than planned).

Up the next day and repeat…

How does one break up the monotony of this cycle? Is there a productive solution?

If there is one thing I know it is that old habits die hard, and bad habits die even harder.

So, can someone who lives in the broken-record style of life smooth out the chaos?

YES!

How does one start on the progress part of this mountain climbing expedition? By taking the first step, and then each step thereafter.

There are a lot of different things that someone can do to change the routine in their home from “non-routine” or “organized chaos” into something a little more fulfilling. I mean, I’m in the process of doing that myself!

So basically, I am inviting you to join with me in making a positive change. I am in the trenches right there with you. My family and I are working on lots of things! And me, being the scattered personality that I am, I have overwhelmed myself with too many amazing ideas of change and progress.

I don’t recommend doing that, at all! Ha! It’s bad for the mind. Have you ever seen a machine that overloaded? It starts steaming, shaking, and making weird noises as it begins to crash… and at the end, when the whole thing shuts down, it sits there… smoke creeping from the cracks as it makes that slow hissing sound of death.

That’s what I do to my brain when I get super excited about making changes and forget to take it slow.

This time I decided I was going to do it differently and prevent a premature shutdown of progress.

Where did I start my routine change?

My first change was staying up after I got the kids off to school.

That’s it.

One thing.

Don’t go back to bed. Stay up.

Of course, during the first weeks and months after having the twins, I slept as much as my body and brain would allow. But, they are seven months old now, and I have been able to bring myself out of the habit of sleeping in too late.

I get up, get the older three boys ready for their buses, see them off, and then set to the task of feeding myself and maybe getting a thing or two done before the twins wake up and need my attention.

Enter my personality quirk.

I realized just how much can get done in an hour or two, when you have motivation, progress happening in front of you, and some awesome music to listen to while you work. Or, a friend or two to chat with on Marco Polo on the phone while working as well. 😉

Just by staying up I figured out I could clean an entire house before 11am!

Now, you don’t have to jump in headfirst like I did. I only mentioned staying up instead of going to bed as a first step. My “all or nothing” personality gets in my own way all too often, and I did my first step (staying up instead of sleeping in) and then took three more steps at the same time!

And that brings me to step two: MODERATION

Do NOT overwhelm yourself with “change.”

This is where things go south, and fast!

How do you eat a 10lb steak? One bite at a time, right?

Don’t expect yourself to transform into some super-parent model for the world to admire in a day, week, or even a month!

Like I said before, I am a scattered personality, and I will lose direction if I don’t stop and check myself now and then. I even have to tell myself, out loud, to slow down and remember Moderation!

So, remember Moderation, because it truly is one of the most important things when making changes in a family dynamic, routine, schedule, and so on.

Now, are you ready for step three?

Step Three: which is basically a repeat of step one. Pick one thing to work on, and work on it. It can be anything. A routine change like my step one was, or a menu change for the family. Maybe clean out a closet, or kitchen cabinet. It can be whatever you want it to be.

And then step four: MODERATION.

That’s it!

I love how simple things can be if we allow them to be!

I am the master of complicating things that can be simple, because of how my mind processes the little things. Anyone who lives with anxiety understands the necessity of reminding ourselves to slow down, use moderation, don’t overdo it, and pace ourselves.

So, here we are. And it’s kind of funny how I got here.

I wrote at the beginning of this post that the cycle that never ends, constantly repeating itself, broken record style, is monotonous and I am trying to change mine. And yet, I just wrote out a repetitive list, broken record style, that would be the breaker of the monotony! Ha! It doesn’t get any more “ME” than that, does it?!

Welcome to my world! Hahaha!

So a simple breakdown of the way to kill the broken record monotony in your life:

Pick ONE thing to alter, change, eliminate, add, etc in your life.

Execute.

Remember Moderation. Slowly!

Pick ONE thing to alter, change, eliminate, add, etc in your life.

Execute.

Remember Moderation. Slowly!

Pick ONE thing to alter, change, eliminate, add, etc in your life.

Execute.

Remember Moderation. Slowly!

Pick ONE thing to alter, change, eliminate, add, etc in your life.

Execute.

Remember Moderation. Slowly!

Pick ONE thing to alter, change, eliminate, add, etc in your life.

Execute.

Remember Moderation. Slowly!

And SUCCESS!!!

Ok, I had to do that. I couldn’t help myself!

I love you all!

What are you going to pick to work on this week? Let me know how your journey is going, and I will do the same!

Much Love!

Becca

The Rare “Perfect” Monday

The Rare “Perfect” Monday

by | Feb 7, 2020 | Anxiety, Coping with Stress, Family, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Motivation, Parenting

After months and months of attempting to order groceries online, only to fall short just of submitting the order, I finally did it!

Y’all…

Why didn’t people tell me how easy and great this is for people like me?!

Oh wait…

You did!

Well, I am happy to say I finally listened! And the result was great!

This was an experience I am more than happy to repeat!

But you already know there is a story to be told here, and I can’t help but share it with you now.

Sunday night:

I was so excited about getting my purchase done, plus one of the twins was awake later than usual, I just kept shopping and looking for ideas before finishing the order. Before I knew it, my clock told me I was up way too late.

I double checked and submitted the order. I love how they send you to a “pre check out” screen where they ask if you missed anything and show you options of snacks, side items, and things that impulse buyers would definitely click on.

Yes, I clicked on a couple.

It’s like they KNOW what you’d buy!

Finally reaching the “cart” screen, I finished everything up and went to sleep.

Monday morning:

Ok, honestly this is where the actual story comes in.

Even after having a late night, everyone did sleep all night long, so getting up at 6am wasn’t really all that bad.

I got everyone up and ready, the boys all got on their buses for school, and I got myself ready to feed the twins and get them ready to go into town.

I had appointments in town, and I was determined I was going to be on time for once!

It was a gorgeous day outside! I contacted my mom to see if she wanted to do some shopping with me, since I was going to be in Paducah anyway, and we could take the twins on their first trip to the mall!

As it happens, she was also in Paducah for the morning, so it worked out perfectly!

Babies fed, dressed, diaper bag ready to go, I got everything and everyone into the Denali.

I held my breath as I pushed the button on the “kill switch” for the battery (our current symptom treater for whatever is wrong with the thing…) and, click! It made a ding sound, meaning the car was going to start today! Yay!

I got less than a mile from my first destination, only to remember that morning was the 3rd… my appointment there was the 4th.

Sigh…

I decided to go ahead and go in, because I had to schedule another appointment for something else at the same location anyway.

We all had a great laugh at my expense, I got the other appointment on the books, and then went on my way saying, “See you tomorrow!” as I went out the door.

I drove around town, parked in an empty parking lot, and messaged my mom.

We met at the mall in Paducah and started our fun journey with the twins as I waited for 12pm to come around so I could pick up my first ever grocery order at Walmart.

I realized just how much of a hermit I had become when I stepped out of my vehicle in the parking lot. There were new stores everywhere!

We walked through most of the new places, and I made a mental checklist of the things I wanted to come back for when I had the chance and the money.

What made the journey through the mall most entertaining were the encounters we had with people from start to finish!

“Oh! A baby! I love babies! Wait… are there TWO of them?! Oohhhh! Are they Twins???”

Yes, my dear stranger… this is a double stroller, clearly occupied by two babies of the same age and size. With one mommy and grandma in attendance with them.

I resisted the urge to pull a Bill Engvall and say, “Nope. Found the extra one in the parking lot and figured ‘why not? I have a double stroller here just in case that ever happens!’”

It was glorious!

The notification came on my phone that my order was ready for pickup, and we left the mall.

It was lunch time, and the babies were ready to eat as well, so we stopped at a Mexican restaurant to get something before loading up all my food items in the car. This was a great idea, because I’m prone to eating whatever I buy on the way home if I’m hungry… *Shrugs*

Steak Fajita Taco Salad for the WIN!

With happy bellies all around, we were ready to make our way across the highway to Walmart to do my very first pickup.

So, I look at my phone before leaving the restaurant parking lot, and it says I can check in online while on my way, so I don’t have to wait at the door.

I click “check in” and headed across the highway.

Dude…

That thing has access to your location while the app is open and you’ve “checked in”!

It saw me in the parking lot and instructed me to select which parking space I was in. They are all numbered.

I was in spot #1.

Then it asked me what color my car is.

I looked at my phone and mumbled, “well it’s supposed to be white, buuuuut… gravel road life shows otherwise.”

I selected “white” and within SECONDS the door opened and two people rolling this towering stack of crates on a cart came out and down the ramp toward my car.

Whoa! Did I buy that much?!

Haha! Yes, I did.

I got out of my car and opened the back. The double stroller is still back there, mind you, so I told them I just put everything in here around and on top of the stroller when I load it up, and said they could do the same.

They got a kick out of me, because apparently it was obvious this was my first time. Ha! I have no idea how any of that works, and I guess when you are loading up people’s cars all day, every day, the “first timers” are easy to spot!

It was all good, though, and we all had a good laugh… again at my expense.

Happy Monday!

After that was done, I filled the tank up with gas, marked my mileage because of the gas gauge needle not working, and headed back across the river into Illinois.

We still had one last stop to make, at the new Dollar Tree.

I have been searching for some clear bags for my Scensty “grab bag” parties I’m going to start doing, and I hadn’t been to the new Dollar Tree in Metropolis yet since it opened.

We didn’t find any bags there, but we had a blast! Lots of cute things, and fun things, all over that store!

We made it back to my house just in time to meet the kids getting home from school. They helped me unload the vast amount of groceries and fill my kitchen floor with Walmart bags.

Some bags only had one item in them. Like… a little bottle of seasoning.

It made for a fun event of un-bagging and putting things away.

So, here’s my takeaway from this adventurous day in my week!

Monday was the ONLY good day I had, physically.

Literally every other day this week has been rough. Rough on my body, rough on my mind at times, and just… rough.

So, with every difficult moment I experienced this week, I have looked back with a smile on Monday. It was fun. It was good. And it was the one thing I needed to make the rest of the week shine.

I am thankful, always, for the little things. And I am thankful that I got to enjoy a day out with my mother, my babies, and for every chuckle we shared. Most of them at my expense. LoL!

I can’t wait for the next adventure!

Hold On And Have Faith

Hold On And Have Faith

by | Feb 6, 2020 | Anxiety, Coping with Stress, Depression, Family, Motherhood, Motivation, Parenting, Self Care

Hang with me here, while I speak some life. Real, raw, and genuine life. This is my life, my soul, and my journey. But it is one I know others are on as well. And for you, I hope that you will read this and find support, because you are not alone.

I heard a lesson this past week on the “Armor of God” and I just had to share some thoughts that came to me about that glorious “Shield of Faith” that is a part of it.

For those who know me personally, and those who have followed me for a while, you know I have had to pick up this shield of faith for myself and my musketeers, many times and for a while now!

It hasn’t been easy.

But faith never is.

Think about it…

It seems easy, and it’s good to have faith in people, in God, in life and all that. But when do we most often reach out for that faith? Exactly.

When things aren’t going so great.

The past three years of my life have been some that I have had to live almost exclusively on faith. Believing that one day it will get better. One day I’ll be able to believe people when they speak to me. One day I might find love, true love. One day, maybe, my dreams to be a published and successful writer, author, speaker will come true. Maybe one day, I won’t have to live in a broken house, driving a broken car, and no more wondering if the bills will all be paid on time.

Do you know how heavy that is?

Yes, you do. I feel you! You get this! You’ve either been there, or are there with me now.

Faith is far from the glorious depiction given it by the poets and artists. Take for instance the shield of faith described in the Armor of God:

The man giving the lesson last week spoke of his excitement at building an armor for visual aid for kids, when they do lessons on the Armor of God. The shield could be this gorgeous thing, with emblems and decorations all over the front of it, as many shields have. And that got me thinking…

That’s a great thought. A glorious, beautiful shield! But it would only be pretty for a short while… until it’s being used.

When do we use our shield?

In battle.

During the fight of our lives, for our families, our sanity, our very souls! Sure, the shield can start out as a glorious work of art, but when it being used it’s weighing on the arm, heavy. It’s bloodied, sometimes broken, and battered by the time the battle is over.

This is faith.

“Now faith is the evidence of things HOPED for, and the evidence of things NOT seen.”

Faith and Hope are two, very different things. Hope is exciting. When we have hope, we have a positive feeling about the outcome.

Faith is what we lean on when the hope is gone.

That has been the story of my life for the past few years. Empty hopes, lost dreams, failure after failure in one part of my life or another. Feeling useless at anything, including (for a time) my role as a mother. All hope was sucked right out of my spirit, and all that was left was a tiny shred of faith.

Here’s the good news, though! That tiny shred? That’s all you need!

How is it described? Oh, yes. Faith… tiny as a grain of mustard seed.

Faith that even in my darkest of days there would be a light shining on my world, eventually.

Faith that there would be hope again for me and my little family.

Faith that the bills would be paid.

Faith that the car won’t fall apart the next time I drive it.

Faith that the floor won’t fall in when I cross the hallway.

Faith that the kitchen sink won’t fall into the hole it doesn’t fit properly into in the countertop.

Faith that the roof won’t leak when it rains anymore.

Faith that the kids will always have what they need, and eventually have the things they WANT.

Faith that I can pay my darling Grandparents back for ALL they have done for me (and that will be a huge payback!).

And Faith… that one day I will look back on today and remember what it was like, because I WILL be blessed enough to bless others!

And with each statement of faith, I am in battle for these things. My shield gets smacked hard with bills, jumper cables for the car, the slip of the sink into that hole, the drop of water that hits me on the head inside my house on a rainy day, my children asking me if/when I get paid, the propane tank running low again, and the list goes on.

My shield is ugly.

It’s heavy.

Faith isn’t easy.

But it’s amazing! Because with Faith, we can move mountains.

Faith renews a little hope within us. Believing in your dreams, believing in the possibilities, and believing in YOURSELF is just the start!

Take your Faith, honey, and hit those things back that are coming at you! Can’t pay that whole bill? Pay half of it! Make an arrangement before the due date, and they’ll work with you! (most of the time lol) Faith just smacked back!

Can’t buy that toy for your child? Set a dollar aside in a jar! Smack!

Eventually your child will feel that faith too! Maybe not with the first dollar, or even the second. But as they build up, so will their hope that the reward is coming. Again… smack!

Car dead again? Jump that baby one more time! Smack!

And with every small victory, because they ARE victories, take a deep breath, hold it, and then let it out with even half a smile. Because honey, your faith just got a little bigger, and a little stronger.

Feel that? Faith just became Hope.

And you just felt a spark, however tiny it was, it was there!

Lately, Faith is all I’ve had. But recently, I’ve built up a little Hope as well!

In my world, right now, the ONLY way to go is up! And by golly… I’m going!

And you are invited to go with me!

How I Rocked My “Rocky” Day

How I Rocked My “Rocky” Day

by | Jan 27, 2020 | Anxiety, Coping with Stress, Depression, Family, Motherhood, Parenting

I had some interesting days last week!

Most of my days have been a bit less than productive, but a few have been better.

I’m not going to talk about my better days, though. Good days typically speak for themselves, but bad days we try our best to bury.

Bad days aren’t fun.

In fact, bad days just suck!

Bad days make us feel like we didn’t do enough, weren’t good enough, and just didn’t have it all together.

Yes, good days have those components as well, sometimes. There are plenty of days that are “good,” but we still don’t feel so great about them. But those bad days just grab you and you tend to forget that, even those bad days, there were good moments.

So, I’m going to pick one bad day from last week and expound on the day as a whole. The bad, the good, and the Becca of it all!

I overslept. The kids overslept. Only one made the bus for school, so I had to get one to school and another to the doctor by 9:30, with the twins in tow.

Coffee was necessary.

Food was forgotten.

I rushed to get everyone ready, and after the twins were changed, fed, and the diaper bag properly set up for the day, we got out the door, several minutes after I hoped to be.

Child One was dropped off at school, and I stopped at the gas station to put gas in the Denali before heading out of town to the Dr for my other musketeer.

I was tired, stressed, the day before had already been a total bust, and I just wanted to stay in bed. The coffee wasn’t cutting it this morning.

I went into the gas station and grabbed snacks for myself and the musketeer on the ride to the Doc, and some cold caffeine.

Now I have coffee, chips, soda, and more junk food. Breakfast of champions!

We made it to the appointment on time, and weren’t there forever, unlike other times where we were there for hours! Whew! So that was a small win!

I got him back to school just in time for lunch and made my way home. Yay!

On the way, I’m driving out of town and I look in my rearview mirror and see every city cop car in our town lining up on the main street behind me, coming my direction FAST! I pulled over to the side as soon as I could, and they screamed past me running full code! The only places outside the city limits that those cars would be going to were, the high school and the junior high… where my oldest two boys attend.

They turned that direction.

Panic attack occurs.

Slow, kinda rough day just got worse.

I found out later that it wasn’t a major threat issue, just a fight in the school that was getting quite out of hand. But let’s just think about the overactive mind of an anxious mother for a second, here.

As a previous cop, I knew that going to the school myself wasn’t going to happen, so I went home and waited, slightly tormented inside. I spoke with relatives who have radios and simply asked them to let me know what kind of call it was and left it at that. One of them let me know it was a fight and I was much better.

Needless to say, this mama got NOTHING done around the house all afternoon long! I had an anxiety attack to come down from, and anyone who has this knows it can be exhausting! I waited for the boys to get home just to make sure they were okay and get their version of the story. And, to be honest, I hoped it either wouldn’t be that great, or at least kinda humorous…

In his classic way, my son was nonchalant about the whole thing, and brushed it off like nothing. Great… I taught him too well!

I barely made it through the rest of the day and into the evening when we went to church for their first youth group meeting with this church family.

After that service, we went to Dairy Queen and enjoyed some food, because I didn’t put together a decent supper before church and I owed them all food and ice cream before going home.

We went to bed, much later than we should have, and overslept again the next morning!

And that, my friends, was quite a day! In my world, this is pretty “normal.”

But! Here is my takeaway from this “normal”, rough, tiring, stressful day…

I made it through.

I came up short on some things, but I rocked some others.

I got my son to his appointment on time!

He got back to school in time for a full lunch period!

My kids came home to me that afternoon, all well and safe!

We enjoyed some awesome food at a restaurant together and had some fun times!

And even though we overslept again the next morning, and the next day was equally interesting, we ended the day on a good note. Everyone was happy, healthy, and went to bed feeling loved.

At the end of the day, no matter how bad your day can get, if you can close it out with those things… that’s what matters.

All the love!

Becca

When It All Falls Apart- Laugh!

When It All Falls Apart- Laugh!

by | Jan 18, 2020 | Anxiety, Coping with Stress, Family, Motherhood, Motivation, Parenting

In my life there are always things popping up, here and there, that I have to deal with. Anything from sick kids (or sick me) to something breaking in my house… or my car.

Sometimes I get lucky and only one thing happens at a time. Lately though, I haven’t been so fortunate.

But I have been blessed with the ability to find humor in my situations. Especially with my car! For example:

Last spring, I was driving home, trying to beat the bus as it was dropping my kids off from school. It was already unseasonably warm, near the end of the school year, and I was having A/C issues. My driver window wasn’t (and isn’t) working, so I couldn’t roll it down. I had the others rolled down, though.

The gas needle is also “not working” and I can never tell exactly how much gas I have in the tank at any given time, unless I remember (haha) to write down my mileage on my gas receipts. And that’s only IF my odometer stays lit on my dash, because my dash has a mind of its own right now and just randomly decides it isn’t going to show me my odometer, but switch languages at random instead!

So far, I know my dash reads in English, Spanish, French and some other language that resembles alien verbiage from the digital planet of “let’s mix letters and numbers together.”

So, my dash is flashing language options at me and not showing me my mileage, no A/C, windows down, gas needle on E, and I’m driving home to beat the bus… on a gravel road. Close your eyes and picture the scenario painted for you here.

I reach the final quarter mile, uphill, and…. She died.

The. Car. Died.

On a hill. A quarter mile from my house. On a gravel road. In 90-degree weather.

Oh, it gets better!

Now, the vehicle has had several other issues, so I sat there for a few seconds thinking, Please, be out of gas. Please! That’s fixable!

I grabbed my phone to call my grandpa up the hill, to see if he could bring me some gas, in great hopes that he would be home.

And my phone was dead.

“Seriously?!” I scrambled around my massive vehicle, searching frantically for a charger to plug into my dash so I could make the call. In that moment I vowed I would never allow my children into the vehicle again with anything in their hands. It was trashed!

I couldn’t find a charger. Dust was kicking up from all sides every time a vehicle drove by.

I could hear the bus coming.

It appeared at the top of the hill. Lights flashing, stop sign swinging out, it slowed to a stop in front of my driveway a quarter mile in front of me as I sat there watching from my dusty driver’s seat.

I started to giggle. Then, I began laughing. Deep, belly laughs that I’m almost certain could be heard atop the hill by my sons as they looked down the hill in confusion from the end of our driveway.

They all came running down the hill with their bus creeping behind them, and I had tears rolling down my face from the laughter by the time they reached me.

The bus driver stopped and checked on us. I told her, between gasps of air from laughter, that I was just going to get gas from my grandpa up the hill, but my phone was dead so I couldn’t call him. She said his truck was home. Thank God!

I sent the boys back up the hill to get him and the bus driver continued on her way to drop off the rest of the kids on her route.

I sat and waited, still laughing.

Grandpa and the kids came down the hill in his truck. Thankfully, he had a gas can that had two gallons of gas in it.

Grandpa pulled his truck around behind my vehicle and got out to pour the gas into it. After he finished, we all crossed our fingers and held our breath as I put the key in the ignition.

Click. Turn. Engine started!

YES!

Everyone piled in and we drove up the hill to our driveway. I pulled in, parked it, turned it off, and collapsed against my seat in relief!

Now, that’s just one story of many involving my 2003 GMC Yukon Denali XL and its troubles.

Our most recent situation with the poor thing is that it doesn’t start. Something is clearly drawing power from the battery, and it has spent many days hooked up to a slow charger, so it won’t be dead when I go to start it.

I would joke about my car being hooked up to “life support” with cords and things connected to it, hood up, or another car parked beside it to jump it when needed.

Recently, Dad got a “kill switch” for it. It’s this little remote that’s on a fob attached to my keychain. Every time I get out of the car, I hit that button, disconnect the battery from everything with a “click” and voile! It starts for me when I get back to it and “click” it back on again.

Of course, we are only treating the symptom. The bigger issue is still in there, but for now… at least it works. Well, it works as long as I remember to hit the “off” button on that fob. Which I have forgot to do once already!

Life is a journey! There are many chapters for us to enjoy (or endure)! The past few years of mine, I have referred to as “the constant struggle”, but not out of bitterness. More out of humor. I have learned that the “laugh or cry” look at life can have a positive effect… if we choose to laugh.

Plus, laughing burns more calories (still not enough for me!), and the lines left on your face after years of laughter are happier looking than the lines left after crying for years. And like I said, it’s been years for my little army.

We will have this broken vehicle until I either make enough money to purchase another, or by some miracle one appears in my driveway. So, until then, I’m sure there will be plenty more tales to tell about my Moody white Mammoth.

So, all of that for this takeaway:

When you’re stuck in a dead car, uphill on a dirt road, and it’s summer temps outside, and you got dust in your eyes, your phone is dead, and your kids are watching you from up the hill… have a little laugh at your own expense. Laugh till you cry, if you must. But still, laugh.

My kids live with me. They see that we are struggling here and there. They live in this little house with all its quirks, breaking parts, and drafty windows. They ride in that car, when it works, and they know. They already know we are in a rough patch. They don’t need to see me crying over it. They are already concerned for me anyway, bless their sensitive little hearts!

But when I laughed, they laughed, and it was good. We all felt a little better for a minute. And that’s what matters.

Success Is Success No Matter How Small

Success Is Success No Matter How Small

by | Jan 17, 2020 | Anxiety, Depression, Family, House Work, Motherhood, Motivation, Parenting

A little follow up on the thoughts from earlier this week, about days I do and days I don’t…

For most of the rest of the week, I didn’t. I just…didn’t.

Barely making it to get the kids up for their buses for school, I felt rushed and disoriented.

I did the basics.

I fed the babies, made sure they were entertained and clean, and kept their bottles washed and ready for the next round.

I barely kept up with dishes. I did minimal laundry.

But I showered!

When the older boys came home from school, I made sure they were fed and finished their papers or other homework for school, then made sure they showered before bed.

That was it.

Every morning, we all struggled to wake up and repeat the cycle again. And every night, we all had a hard time falling asleep at a decent hour… again.

All week long.

I probably say this nearly every week, but I am so thankful today is Friday!

And to make it even better, this is a long weekend for us! The kids don’t go back to school until Tuesday.

Glorious!

But today was better for me, personally, for a few reasons.

A dear friend came and helped me out today, trying to get a few things handled in my insanely disastrous house.

And get things done, we did!

Let me preface today’s accomplishments with something first, though.

I woke up the same way today as I had all other days this week. I didn’t want to do anything. I wasn’t motivated, and it was a major “Don’t” day, for sure!

My friend and I had already planned on her coming to help me out today, earlier this week, so I was determined to follow through with it. But before she even messaged me this morning, I talked myself out of it and back into it again at least three times.

I sat at my table, sipped my first cup of coffee, and grumbled about the fact that Titus and Levi missed their bus this morning. Levi felt the need, last minute, to shower and Titus was trying his best to get out of going to school at all. That is rare for him, but it was happening today!

They finally left and I continued to sit and sip coffee. I surfed Facebook for a bit, glanced at Twitter, and checked my emails, then went right back to FB to just… scroll.

I did start the laundry and wash a few dishes, but I was nowhere near ready to hit the pavement hard, working to get things cleaned, moved, and organized.

My phone dings.

She’s getting herself ready to head my way.

My grumbling changed to a little hope. I felt hope that maybe I would see more than 30% of my floors by the end of the day. Hope that I would get all the baby stuff moved and my house looking more like a home and less like a walk-through storage unit. And hope that I would finally feel like I got something done for the first time this week!

She arrived a bit later, and we set to the task. Many of them, in fact.

Between the two of us we managed to accomplish the following:

My bedroom was cleared of ALL baby stuff no longer needed.

My bed was cleaned off, again.

My bedroom floors were swept and cleared, again.

The hallway was cleared of baby boxes and storage items.

The dining room was cleaned, swept, and the laundry in said room was all folded.

The kitchen was cleaned, swept, and almost all the dishes done and put away.

The living room was cleaned, organized, swept, and spot cleaned in places on the floors.

Trash was taken out and picked up.

More laundry was completed. Washed, dried, and put away.

And the babies were entertained, fed, changed, cared for, held, cuddled, and snuggled during the entire process.

We worked and worked until after the boys got home from school.

Mom and Dad came by and dropped off my new bookshelves, too!

Yayness!

When it was all done, and after she left, I sat down and started thinking about how much we got done and how excited I was about it.

And then, another thought occurred to me.

Yes, we got a lot completed. We cleaned, scrubbed, moved things, and transformed this place into actual living space again. It was great!

But every day, I have my own small successes. And I tend to forget those all too often.

Even on my “don’t” days, I actually “do.”

Everyone makes it to school. The babies get spoiled. Dishes get done (even if not all of them). Laundry gets done (again, even if not every piece). We all eat every day, sometimes big meals and sometimes hamburger helper or PB&J sandwiches, but we do eat every day. Everyone showers and brushes their teeth before they go to bed inside this tiny house, we call home.

Sometimes I get more done than others and sometimes it’s just the bare minimum.

But tonight, as I sit here reflecting on each day of this past week, I am certain of one thing, and I’ll put it in words that remind me of a Dr. Seuss line in one of his books:

A success is a success, no matter how small.

Remember that with a smile.

All the love,

Becca