25 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs

After a week or two of cold wetness outside and hacking feverishness inside, my whole family was a little stir-crazy. If it hadn't been for this recent warm spell, we might well have lost our minds. I sat down a few nights ago and made myself a list of things that I think I can do to help myself and my family beat the usual winter blahs.

1. Make praise and worship music be your background noise, broken up by bits of classical music, or whatever else your family likes. . . BUT. . .
2. Carve out an hour of pure quiet time every day -- some time to get away from eachother, breathe, and listen to yourselves think.
3. Spend more time on your beauty routine, especially in the area of moisturizing -- condition, lotion, pamper. . .
4. Invest in a good computer game, deck of cards, or puzzle book. . . or just clip the crossword puzzle out of the paper every day.
5. Read at least one chapter of a good book each day. And by book I mean something with a cover and pages made of paper, not an e-book.
6. Memorize a good poem, passage of Scripture, or piece of literature.
7. Do one creative thing each week.
8. Spend some time talking with your spouse each evening after the kids go to bed. If he's not the talking type, then sit and enjoy a snack and TV show with him.
9. Reserve one night every week for a "date". If you can't afford dinner and a sitter, then just do something special at home.
10. Limit screen time, both for yourself and your kids. It may seem like the only thing to do some days, but too much TV or computer will only lead to headaches and bad attitudes.
11. Read, aloud, at least 6 picture books or 3 chapters of a children's chapter book to your kids each day. There's your TV alternative.
12. Take your kids out for at least a 30 minute walk at the warmest part of each day. If you have a heat wave, get the kids playing outside as much of the day as possible; you take a book out and enjoy the fresh air as you read your obligatory chapter.
13. If the weather will just not permit a walk, do some pilates, yoga, or dancing with the kids inside for 30 minutes.
14. Sit around and tell family stories whenever the kids get bored. See if they can tell any family stories on their own.
15. Sit down and sing with the kids. Get out the Mother Goose and go over those good ole nursery rhymes. And, of course, sing Christmas songs from the end of Thanksgiving all the way through the first week of January.
16. Read poetry -- all winter. Jot down each child's favorites, and then help them each put together their own anthology. Let them decorate each page using a variety of art forms -- collage, paint, pencil, rubbing. . .
17. Help each child start their own scrapbook full of their favorite memories and pictures.
18. Have each child start a nature notebook. Spend time each day observing, identifying, and sketching critters in the backyard.
19. Put together a winter craft supplies bin, and don't be afraid to use it. Whenever you have some spare cash, head to the dollar store for supplies and coloring books.
20. Bake something with the kids each week.
21. Make every moment special. Whenever you turn on the TV, snuggle up together with a bowl of popcorn. When you have a snack, get all the kids to the table to chat over the goodies.
22. Plan next year's garden! Google seed companies and order a catalogue from whoever will send you one for free. I find that those that offer heirloom seeds are especially fascinating and lend themselves well to dreams of lovely cottage gardens. Then get out some graph paper and plot away!
23. Deep clean a new room of the house every two weeks. Stretch your tasks out over the two weeks so you don't feel overwhelmed. Then, you won't have to spring clean when the time comes!
24. Have dinner guests over once every week or two. Get the kids excited and involved in helping with food preparations and setting the table.
25. Write a hand written letter or note on paper to a friend or family member every week. Stick it in a paper envelope, put a postage stamp on it, put it in a mailbox and send it on its way.

Care to add to the list?

Sharing

I don't normally post links to what I share over in the "realmomma's shared items" box to the left, but I don't want anyone to miss these great, inspiring, encouraging posts.

Anne at Holy Experience has two great posts up.

• One links to Veritas Press' new, downloadable Reading Journal. Even if you don't want to go to the trouble of printing it out, you could follow the simple format in a store-bought journal or notebook.
• The other post is all about making your home a house of prayer or "SHELTER". Great, great, great stuff!

The other great post is up at Sally Clarkson's I Take Joy. I've mentioned before how Sally can bring the Holy Spirit's conviction on me like no one else. She does it again, talking about our words. This is a must-read for every wife and/or mother.

Getting My Thoughts in Order. . . Or. . . Listing on My Blog

1. God.

• Slowly reading through Seasons of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson. I recently told my mom that I bought SC's The Ministry of Motherhood several years ago, but put it on the bookshelf because I couldn't take the guilt. I wasn't ready for it. I picked up Season's of a Mother's Heart at the library and, still feeling some guilt, am now ready to learn and grow and stretch and all that other fun stuff.
• Made a list of books to read on "Spiritual Formation". Looking forward to delving into some of those as $$ allows (most are *not* at the library).

2. Me.

• Working through an incredibly extensive list of books to read. They cover the gammit of literary themes and genres. Right now I'm reading Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Bring Me a Unicorn -- a collection of her letters and diary entries. I love reading things like that. They intrigue and inspire.
• Consequently, I am thinking of investing in a very nice journal and doing some night-time journaling *on*paper* while J monopolizes the laptop. I used to journal like crazy in the middle school through college years. Have all those boxed up in the garage along with my raggedy baby blanket that I finally broke with when G was born.
• Would love, love, love to get a sewing project or two done, create an white picket-fenced heirloom country vegetable garden in the backyard, can all my home-grown goodies, decorate my house with all my hand-made decor, make each and every food item that graces the table from scratch, and write a few prize-winning books. . . but I've been brought back to a good reality reading this post.

3. Marriage

• Well, it is no secret to those that know both J and I that we are both opposite in everything except our strong wills. That makes for some hairy situations. I'm working on submission.
• This is pretty broad and general. Specifically I am working on breaking down my defenses and receiving criticism and correction with a more humble, teachable attitude.
• I'm also committing myself to putting into practice that proverb: "A soft answer turns away wrath."

4. Parenting

• We begin homeschooling on Monday, and I'm looking forward to it. Truly. It looks to be a fun year full of all kinds of good stuff. We'll be learning to read, discovering the history of our country, exploring great art and doing some ourselves, and dabbling in the world of science. But mostly we'll be reading lots and lots and lots of really good books. Because, isn't that really the best foundation for learning?
• And, as that will all require much of my time, I will be learning to put down the computer or book or whatever else has my attention and give my time to my children rather than to myself. I'll still have "quiet time" and bed time though.
• As a family we will be memorizing Romans 12, learning about unity, reading these Bible readings daily. . . And I'll be working through this book with Teeny, and J. will be working through this book with G.
• We also have a good Christmas plan or two cooking in our brains, but I'll save that for another post.

5. Homemaking.

• I semi-finished Getting It Together by the Sidetracked Home Executives. Good stuff. I now have a daily, weekly, and monthly plan/guide; and I've found that cleaning thrice daily takes less time and energy than cleaning once daily. Whoopie!
• And I now hope to get back to reading and applying Edith Schaeffer's What Is a Family?.

BTW: I'm missing a ream of paper. If you've been over lately and have seen one laying in a place you thought seemed strange, that is probably it. Please let me know. The poor paper is dying to be drawn on by broken crayons wrapped in soft, dimpled fingers.

Reclaiming Joy

A while back I posted on facebook that I had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. I listed my circumstances and then went about my day. . . like a person who woke up on the wrong side of the bed would.

Not long after, I read a blog post about making your situation right so that you will be more pleasant to be around. Then, I recently began reading Seasons of a Mother's Heart in which Sally Clarkson does what she does best -- encourages mothers to live a life of joy, peace, and love. One of her first "assignments" for readers is to list the things that are keeping you from experiencing joy, and work on fixing those situations so that you can live in joy as a mother.

I looked back at the circumstances I listed that morning: I had gone to bed too late the night before and woken up too early that morning, the house was a mess, the kids were ravenous and I didn't have anything to feed them that was not going to take considerable time to prepare, I had already had a little spat with J, and I just wanted to get a way for a minute to collect myself a bit.

That list of unfortunate circumstances pretty much sums up the five things that most often keep me from experiencing joy as a mother:

1. Lack of sleep leading to weariness and sometimes exhaustion.
2. Lack of cleanliness and organization in the house.
3. Lack of a well-thought-out menu and stock of food in the house.
4. Lack of peace in my marriage as evidenced by a tendency to argue.
5. Lack of quiet-time to prepare myself or calm myself down in the midst of the stress.

And all five of these things are pretty easy to remedy:

1. Get into bed by 11:00pm, Sunday through Thursday.
2. Find a system, any system, that works to get and keep the house clean and organized. For me, the Sidetracked Home Executives' (fore-runners of the Flylady) material has worked literal wonders.
3. Make a meal plan and stock the kitchen with groceries that will keep the kids well-fed and me sane (still working on this one -- I've got four really good eaters).
4. Commit to not arguing. Just don't do it -- with J, the kids, or anyone else.
5. Guard a daily quiet time, and take the time to get alone for just five minutes when things get really hairy.

So, I've committed myself to slowly making these five remedies to "wrong-side-of-the-beditis" into habits. I'm reclaiming joy -- the joy that should come with the blessings of loving a husband, raising wonderful children, and keeping a cozy home.

Spring Antics

So, each of my little guys greets the warm weather with their own flare. I just sit back on the deck or in the sunroom and watch as they attack the world.

G has a "best friend" down the stream that he seeks to play with daily. Together and apart these two confine a good bit of their play to the stream, making "secret potions" with the water, building dams, and digging for all sorts of water critters. When they aren't busy at this water play, they are practicing every sport from baseball to basketball to tennis and everything in between.

Teeny's favorite outdoor activity is collecting dandelions and any other permissable flower she can get her little hands on. And, being the little fish that she is, she lives for time in the "pool" which is a plastic sandbox bottom that they occasionally fill with water. I seriously need to sign this girl up for swimming. She also loves running around the yard as I turn our hose into a sprinkler for her.

Bud-Jack, well, as usual he has the most unique way of greeting the season. He takes off all his clothes and his diaper and runs around the house and yard naked. I suppose this is his way of thanking the good Lord for warm weather -- a sort of offering of himself. He literally spent all of yesterday naked, despite my many efforts to clothe him. I could discipline his little streaking sprees, but they are what I think may actually get him potty trained; so I rest contented.

And my dear little M&M, who will turn the ripe old age of one next week, is enjoying walking. She walks in the sunroom, she walks on the patio, she walks on the deck, she walks in the grass. And, wherever her little feet take her, she finds something new to explore and perhaps chew on -- rocks, dirt, flowers, grass, kitty cats. . . It must be exciting to be almost one.

But being a mother of young children, I am finding, is also exciting. It is all I can do to get up and get myself cleaning some days. The warm weather and the vision of my kids at play outside constantly tempts me away from my indoor responsibilities. So, I do what absolutely needs to be done and rush outside to join in the fun.

I AM, I CAN, I OUGHT, I WILL ~ Myself

I AM --
A temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own. A 31 year old homeschooling and nursing mother of four young children. A reader, a writer, a baker, a planner/lister.

I CAN --
Eat better, drink more water, and take my vitamins every day. Take care of the easiest and most basic of physical upkeep like brushing my teeth and taking showers. Read a good book and do some journaling every day. Bake good bread for my family. . . and an occasional dessert.

I OUGHT --
To exercise regularly and get outside in the fresh air more often. To get more sleep.

I WILL --

1. Put *good* things in my body -- healthy foods, clean water, and daily vitamin/herb supplements.
2. Give myself time each day to shower, brush and floss my teeth, and get an adequate amount of sleep.
3. Go for a walk outside for at least 10 min. at least three days a week.
4. Give myself time each day to read, write, and bake.
5. Allow myself the fun of listing and planning, but not allow myself to be a slave to my lists and plans.

Resources:

• The Seven Pillars of Health by Don and Mary Colbert
• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
• Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt
• My blogs and many journals and notebooks
• More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre
  

. . . And Speaking of House Cleaning. . .

There is no better way to clean a kitchen then with open windows ushering in the first Spring breeze of the year!