Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I've Had ENOUGH!

This summer has been completely chaotic at best as far as developing a routine and structure for the development of our little Kaia. I think my neglect is really starting to show, and I have simply had enough of the incessant whining and wrestling and chasing down just to take care of the routine daily duties.

I finally dug up the old family values that my hubby and I agreed on back before Kaia was even in the picture, and we set up some new house rules so that Kaia can expect consistency and fairness from both of us. I figure that writing it down is a form of commitment so sharing it must take things a step further. It is important to me... one of the MOST important things to me to be a good mother, and this is going to help... A LOT!

I know our intentions are really good, but thus far we have done NOTHING to implement them. So here is our "Hail Mary" attempt as we launch into a renewed effort to be an intentional family.

HOUSE RULES


1

Respect each other's bodies, beliefs, feelings, spaces and things



Things to be respected include:




Guns





Harmful Chemicals





Medicines





Dad's Uniform and Work Equipment



Fragiles, Expensives and Irreplaceables



Table Tops




2

Honor the family values





Honesty: Always tell the truth and follow through on commitments



Unity: Support and defend each other



Neighborly Kindness: Give back to the community and help others



Spirituality: Seek connection to God and Universe



Adventure: See opposition as challenge and play hard



Knowledge: Seek understanding of truth in all things



Excellence: Give 100% to everything you do



Respect: Always respect self and others


3

Live by your best understanding of truth and right



Promote seeking truth and right, even if there may be opposing views.














We haven't quite agreed on a form of punishment and the spanking thing bothers me a great deal... besides, it's not working. There has to be a better way to enforce the positive behavior without threats or anger. When yall find the cure for that, let me know.

Anyway, I figured that it would be good to be more specific in our family goals and objectives and came up with this:

GOAL: Be PHISHI

OBJECTIVES

Progressive

Dedicate at least 1 hour/day to personal study and

development time

Happy


Maintain a balanced daily schedule by weighing activities
and prioritizing weekly

Inspirational

Dedicate at least 1 hour/day to achieving personal goals
and 1 hour/week helping others do the same

Strong


Dedicate at least 1 hour/day for physical activity, family
recreation or team sports

Healthy


Eat natural foods in healthy proportions by taking time
each week to plan and shop for meals.

Intentional


Dedicate at least 1 hour/day to meditation, mission-
oriented development and visualization.

Once establishing this, it was much easier to set up a schedule that meets my needs, Kaia's needs and stays in line with the family rules, values, goals and objectives. So, I came up with a great schedule to intentionally implement traditions and healthy habits into our daily routine.

At first it seemed like a crazy thing to attempt, but if I give a little flexibility to allow a 15-20 minute activity to take place anytime within an hour of it's intended time, things really go a lot smoother for everyone. I actually began implementing the week before we went on vacation and it worked out really well for everyone. Now I must re-dedicate myself to this so that I can keep my sanity and prepare for the long winter ahead.

Now I am looking at how to best fill the toxic hour between 5 and 7 with something that is meaningful to me and gives me a break and transition from my day. That time should be fun bonding time or simply recreational and there are some really good options.

There is a FREE open swim at the high-school during that time that was actually a lot of fun for both me and Kaia. I think with the child-care kids, she feels a little needy for mom at the end of the day and that is a great place and time to play together on Mondays and Tuesdays and Ben will even be able to join us every other Tuesday.

On Wednesdays, I think I will give to Daddy for a Daddy/Daughter date night and hit the open Gym for serious, uninterrupted weight training with a friend. Thursdays are really our best night to do a Date night, so I think I will try to arrange a baby sitter for that night and see if hubby would be interested in hitting up the lap swim, the open gym or see if there is a couples team sport we could do together and maybe even have dinner or a "treat" before or after.

Friday nights work best for our social nights as Hubby will sometimes have poker, and I may have Bunko, a Pure Romance Party or hit up the bingo hall for some wild and crazy girlz night goodness. I haven't quite figured out what to do with Saturdays yet. Maybe they will be floater days for Pure Romance Parties, the rare outdoor adventure (yah, while the temperatures are above 0 degrees anyway), or even my guilty pleasure... scrap booking/ play dates. Sundays are good for church and planning the activities for the following week.

I think that about covers it. Wish me luck on maintaining my determination to stick to this and regain and maintain my sanity as my two favorite addictions (mountain adventure and junk food) are not options with my current location and goals. Hey, If I can stick to it, I figure there won't be time for an addiction anyway and all that will be left is exactly what I want.

3 comments:

NicciN said...

Wow. I think this is great and inspiring. I keep wanting to make a schedule and house rules, but my husband isn't into schedules. He sees them as filling up all of his free time, while I see them as helping me have more free time by getting things done in a more efficient manner without procrastination. I also like that your ideas are active things to do with people. All to often my socializing is done over food, and I want to change that.

Anonymous said...

Sounds great! Just the fact that you are thinking about these things and writing up rules puts you ahead of most parents. We are using Smart Discipline in our house and it's working very well.

Kuwaitia said...

Good luck with everything! Sounds like you are off to a good start!