Hello everyone! Yep, it's been awhile. We had so many things going on the last few months that something had to get pushed aside. A few somethings. Blogging was one of them. Illness, including a couple of big scares that ended up turning out alright; a wedding in which both myself and my Hubby were participants; a new school year with new curriculum; and my first birdie getting ready to fly the nest. It's been a whirlwind, definitely super stressful at times. And I am SO READY for routine. For calm.
That being said, the next month or so will be all about pulling back and getting back to the basics. My oldest will be moving out at the end of this week, so we still have some not normal stuff left. But in order to keep the transition as smooth as possible on both ends, I'm trying to get back into a modified routine this week.
::God::
First order of business. I need to get back into regular, daily Bible study. I have been slacking on this lately, and I gotta say, I can feel it both mentally and physically. This needs to happen in the morning right when I get up. The two that I'm homeschooling will also wake up before chores and breakfast and separately do their own Bible study. My 13-year-old son has an independent study he's doing for school, and my 10-year-old will just read out of his own Bible while myself and his brother are doing ours. He does enjoy journaling while he reads, so he will have those supplies on hand.
::Sleep::
On top of everything else going on, Hubby has had some weird work schedules lately and both my and his sleep have been sorely lacking the last couple of months. I've been relying entirely too much on coffee during the daytime hours to keep me spinning and it is catching up! Getting back into the habit of having a decent bedtime is going to be essential now.
::Food::
Confession time. I have not been eating the best at all lately. In the beginning of all the busyness, I made sure to prep. Toward the end, I started slacking. I have not fallen off the Trim Healthy Mama wagon altogether, but there's been quite a bit of off-plan food slipping through the proverbial cracks around here. It hasn't gotten to the point where the scale or my clothes have been affected. But again, it's catching up with me and I am REALLY feeling it. Between this and my sleep situation, my energy is running on fumes.
So, I'm bringing back the mentality I started a little over a year ago when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Eating off plan is simply not an option. As I type, I have my Instant Pot and Crock Pot going, getting on-plan food prepped for the week. I have finished restocking my pantry with THM-friendly foods, and am currently working on my freezer.
::Movement::
This goes right along with the food. My workouts have pretty much stopped these last couple of months. This is another factor in my waning energy and mood swings, feeling bloated, and rising blood pressure. I want that feeling back that I am getting strong! Since the weather is getting colder, I have my stack of preferred DVD workouts. To keep it from getting boring, I'm changing it up every day. On the nice days we still have left, my workout will be bike riding with my boys.
::Basic Daily Routines::
A couple of weeks ago, I had this notion that I was going to do a massive Fall cleaning and decluttering. Well, that fizzled out pretty quickly, as most would understand with everything else. Now? Nope. Taking it way back to basics and just having Flylady tell me what to do! It's so much more simpler than when I try my own perfectionist methods. And ironically, it gets more done!
::Homeschool::
Our homeschool over this busy season certainly hasn't gotten shoved aside completely, but out of necessity it had to be moved down on the priority list a few notches. Starting last week, it got moved back up to one of the top priorities in our home. And we are on an awesome track! It helps that we all absolutely adore our new curriculum. Stay tuned for posts about that in the coming months!
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Hmm, seems like a lot doesn't it? These were all in place before the whirlwind, so believe me it is SO NICE to get back to it! Obviously, I am slowly getting back to blogging as well! I also enjoy YouTube, both making my own and watching the videos of others. I haven't done either one lately. I definitely want to get back to watching and supporting my friends! And I'm sure I'll eventually get back to making videos, but that can't be my priority quite yet.
Thank you all for reading! It's nice to be back. If you would, I would so appreciate your prayers for this mama heart and my family as we navigate this time of transition in our lives.
Have a great week!
