Re-established 2012

Project Reorganize is well under way. Our garage sale is coming up this weekend as long as the weather holds out! We are hoping to off load a bunch of stuff and make a little money. Packing is in full swing and is as organized as packing can be. We spent an entire day prepping meals for the next 2 weeks that will help with the chaos. We're making progress. I know I still have a few more weeks of organizing before I can feel that the goal is accomplished but I'm feeling good about where we are at and am ready to get the ball rolling on Goal Two: Re-establish.

One result of our lack of time and jam packed schedule has been the unraveling of our family routine which is the first thing to be reestablished post move. Over the holidays we had so much going on and the constant visitors seeing the baby and Gramma and then our daily house hunting, moving and packing, it has been hard to keep up with any semblance of a routine. J., our toddler, is a creature of habit and has probably suffered most from the craziness. He's a toddler so he's pushing boundaries as it is but with multiple people to turn to for direction, distracted parents and a major upset in his routine his behavior over the last couple months has been less than desirable. With my Gramma now having moved and the holidays long since over, the visitors have tapered off tremendously and we've been actively working on figuring out and adapting what works for our family so we are hoping to see some improvement on that front. In fact, it is improving already but we're a long way from where we'd like to be.

One-on-one time with each of the kids is also at the top of the list. Having two older kids and two younger ones proves to be tough at times. A. is of an age where she'd rather be solo and  hang in her room which is OK because quite frankly the teen attitude is rearing it's head and I'm not a fan. N. still hangs with us and his brothers but often wants time with just Dad that is hard to give when the little ones are in need as well. Incorporating T. has been harder than I expected. He's tougher than J. who took to a schedule and routine very easily. Little T. needs a little more time to adapt which is making meeting everyone's needs overwhelming at times. J. is still very attached to his Daddy and rarely gets to spend one-on-one time with me because if Daddy is home so is everyone else and when he's gone I've got both boys by myself.  We are trying to carve out some time for us to go to the library for story time just the two of us. I'm hoping to make it a regular thing once we are settled again. Little T. probably gets the most one-on-one time because he needs me so much.

And not to leave anyone out of this ... bringing up the rear (not because it is any less important) is one-on-one time with the hubs. Simply put ... re-establishing our date night. Parents know that it isn't always easy getting out for some alone time with the spouse but it is uber important. Our children learn how to treat others by watching how we treat each other. I want my kids to see the love we share when they look at us and then I want them to take that with them out into the world. So, in the name of the kids, I'm making date night mandatory! :-) We're aiming for at least one night away from the actual house to start.

We did go out once already this month and it was sooo nice. Funny thing was it had been so long since we'd gone out we spent hours trying to figure out what we wanted to do. We were like kids in a candy store... "Oh, we could go for a movie... or down to the beach for dinner ... or... " I'm stock piling a list of date ideas so we don't have to waste so much time figuring out what to do next time. Once we made it out of the house we realized how much we missed the time together. When we aren't able to get away from the house we are trying to make sure we carve out a few hours after kiddo bedtime to sit quietly, share a drink and talk without interruption.

This goal is going to probably take the most effort. It requires us to be actively thinking of this goal all the time and admittedly I've become quite absent minded since my children were born. We get so caught up in the daily grind that it's easy to lose sight of your goals. Our first step is to simplify and slow down. Now, that's a step I can manage.