More and Less: February Edition

Here's a little update on how things have been going with my goals of more and less this month...

MORE....

*Going to bed early. This one continues to be a success! Yay! We are just a few weeks into our sports season and I'm still managing to get in bed *usually* before 10:00. I'm so glad I've made this a priority because I believe sleep and rest (and enough of it!) are super important. Especially during this time in my life when I feel like I'm on "go" constantly. I will say that over Winter Break last week I stayed up later every night because of being out of school, and I know we haven't hit the heart of our sports season yet, sooo, we'll see how my bedtime is effected moving forward. 

*Cleaning during the week. If I'm being completely honest, I've already wanted to scratch this one. I'm just not sure it's for me. #eeesh My cleaning during the week consists of vacuuming regularly and keeping my kitchen clean (dishes washed and put away, counters wiped down, table wiped down, etc). The kitchen isn't always clutter-free, but we keep it clean for the most part. What I can't seem to do during the week (unless we have a party planned or are hosting something soon) is to dust. Or clean a bathroom. Or swifter. Or windex win It just isn't a priority and doesn't happen. I keep telling myself that I need to give it a try before throwing in the towel but then other things come first and it just doesn't happen. Maybe there's hope for March? It's doubtful but I won't scratch it yet. 

*Praying and time with the Lord. I am still feeling progress in this area. My prayer life feels back on track and my quiet times are way more consistent. One thing I want to work on in March is more time in the Word. I've really slacked on my Bible reading and want to do better. 

*Physical Activity. Good report! Good report! Haha. While the first half of the month wasn't very active for me thanks to not feeling so good and at least 1 of the boys not feeling so good either, the second half of the month has been full physical activity. Yay! Our sports season started a couple of weeks ago and since we have 1 boy playing soccer and 2 boys playing baseball, with practices on the same nights, I am forced to go to practice. Ha. (In the past, Terrell has always taken the boys when he could so I could stay home and cook, do things around the house, or be with the kid who didn't have practice.) Terrell is coaching Austin and Layton's team so I'm on soccer practice duty every Monday and Thursday and I've been walking the soccer fields for almost the entire practice every time. Yay for multi-tasking. 😊 Then, over Winter break I walked at practice or on a family walk while the kids rode bikes almost every day. It's even continued into this week. So for now I feel like I'm on a roll and I'm hoping to keep up the momentum. 

*Blogging. I'm keeping up with once or twice a week during school so I'd say that's a success! It's hard to find time for lots of days but I still enjoy it and still appreciate keeping a "record" of our memories. So hopefully I can keep it up!

LESS...

*Time on my phone. I've made some progress this month. I still have a looooong way to go but I'm thankful for baby steps in the right direction. I actually completely put my phone away, out of sight-out of mind, a few times this month between 5:30ish and 8:30ish. But when I started missing phone calls from Garrison's school I decided I might need to keep it within earshot and just exercise some self control about leaving it there and not checking it/looking at it until our "family time" was over or the kids are in the bath, etc. As for progress keeping it put away in the car, I'm doing much better than I was. I'm no longer reading blogs, scrolling FB, or texting every time I'm a passenger. I'm hoping I can do even better in March.

*Sweets. This month was the tale of two halves. During the first half of February I was very intentional and did great avoiding the sweet stuff. Then came Valentine's Day, Layton's birthday party, and sweets and chocolate galore. So. Let's just say my self control wasn't as strong come mid-February. I'm still doing great with sweets control at school though! So that's a victory that I believe has the potential to be long term and dare I say a lifestyle change. Not a huge one, but I'm counting it! Haha!

*Being overwhelmed. So this month is when things got real. Our Spring sports got started, school is starting to catch up with me again (meaning I'm no longer ahead on my lesson plans and I'm starting to feel the looming pressure and time crunch of getting it all done), and I've started anticipating Terrell being out of town for a week... something I've always struggled with, dreaded, and probably not ever handled so great. But this morning I read Isaiah 40:11 and then ended up finishing the whole chapter and felt in awe and amazed and relaxed in Him. It was just what I needed. March will probably test me, but I know my source of strength and I know that even though I can't do it all my own, I don't have to. #Praisehands!! 

That's a wrap. I'm praying a lot moving into March. 😊

Happy Hump Day!