Pulling together and Being Prepared!

One of the most significant concepts for me since I began blogging is that of being prepared.  It was the subject of one of my very early posts as I reflected on my mother in law's incredible pre-preparation for just about anything.

Particularly now, as I am feeling more positive, happy, upbeat and capable than I have in years, I find myself reflecting on this concept of preparation.

Recently (during that quiet time when no blog posts appeared) my husband travelled away for work.  He was driving to a major regional town, about five hours away.   When he'd been gone 4 hours already, and I was mid-breakfast, mid-getting children to school, the whole trip hit a terrible snag in the form of my coming down with a very severe case of gastro. I couldn't move, and he was 4 hours away.  I am so grateful for his boss, who immediately drove him home again to look after the children, as I was so incapable.  I spent the next several days feeling quite off, but the worst passed that first day, and along with the sickness came some pretty significant realisations for me.

The first one was that there was no way that hubby could travel for work again, at least not until our youngest is a little more independent. We simply don't have a 'backup' network to call on, other than each other. This didn't take much contemplation, after the horrible hours waiting for him to arrive home, I'm not doing that again with such small children.

The other realisations however came hot on each others heels and do require a bit more contemplation and change.  After a very upset week, I realised that not only have I established a solid family routine since returning to working, but that this routine was hanging on by a thread. We simply aren't that used to it, haven't settled into it, or gotten comfortable enough with it that it tolerates much battering. The week I was at home sick threw the entire concept of 'calm', 'organised', and 'routine' out the proverbial window, it seemed at the time as though never to be seen again!  (luckily I'm more resilient than that and this week is going OK)

Hand in hand with how precariously our little family is balancing its 'routine' is the entire concept of being prepared! After all, if we are more 'prepared' then by extension our balancing act is more stable, and less likely to topple at the slightest adjustment required.

Which leads me to my focus for the moment. I am still determined to lose weight, keep exercising with the same intensity as in the last month or so, and still quite keen to keep my positive attitude, however I feel a little like the tough work of beginning those changes has been accomplished and I need to consider how being prepared will accentuate the positive attitude and exercise transformations. 

Firstly, simply being more prepared in the meals department will provide me with an even better daily diet to get the best nourishment without any excess sugary carbohydrates!

Being a step ahead of where I am now would mean having an idea of tomorrow's food, and it being in the fridge (its been a lean food prep week this week!); not running out of cat food; having photos uploaded every week; having activities ready for the children when they get home (OK that one is only if I turn into super-Mum!). It would also mean being on top of the mountains of paperwork for myself and my Dad. I feel like I'm drowning under papers at the moment, but will leave that conundrum for another day! I like the sound of being a step ahead, however for now, the tiniest fraction of being prepared that I see now is a bit less dramatic, but might give me a few hints about how to operate in a prepared way.  I've already noticed that the better my communication, the more we are able to negotiate through things as they crop up. Put another way, two grumpy snappy adults don't make great decisions!

Since the returning to all hands on deck working, we've established some routines that sort of work. Hubby does early mornings (when my arthritis still makes me a slow turtle) and drops big children at school before work; I take our little one to her various morning activities; we come home and she naps while I get housework done; the almost 2 hour pickup of big children happens at the end of nap-time; we have a very early tea when we get home; then homework after Daddy gets home and a bit of chaotic energy, then bedtime. This is what is working for us.  

Two times I am focusing on improving is the activities I get done while little miss takes her nap, and what I get done after hubby is home at night.

At the moment, I am happy that at nap time daily I seem to be managing to completely clean the floor off in the entry and kitchen as well as downstairs toys.  This is a bit of an extension of what I've achieved in the past, and this week I'm trying to work out how to extend past that point into uncharted cleaning territory.  I'm still not sure, but some experimenting is on the horizon to find the balance that will fit in my 2 hour time frame. 

In the evenings I am juggling between walking (its not practical at 9pm any longer due to the cold!); school homework; and cleaning!  I am using the early evening time to get into extra projects or washing up, whichever is needing doing more.  This is how I managed to get the floor scrubbed on Monday night, determination!

I need to refresh and revisit the concepts of this post about Working Smart. That's the essence of what is going on here, an attempt to make the obvious easier!

There is something else I'm realising as I go over all this while listening to Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town album.  It's that I need to find a way to really ENJOY getting more prepared!  I remember when I was in Girl Guides, that my Guide Leader instilled in me, for the shortest moment, a flame of inspiration of REALLY wanting to 'Be Prepared" and obtain my Baden-Powell emblem, the highest achievement for a Girl Guide.  Years later, I feel I'm finally getting the point of all those badges and things. A sense of purpose about how I am going about this domestic life, to relish and delight in what is necessary.

I think I'd much rather relish and delight in more Bruce Springsteen concerts, but in order to do that I need my house to be respectable and presentable for house-sitters, so it's delighting in house cleaning for me in the interim.

Hang in there Bruce, I'm coming to a concert soon!

Household madness and other cleaning conundrums

Has three months of blogging helped me to keep the house cleaner? If I look at the question critically, then the answer would be not a great deal.  The state of the house is still very chaotic, my 'hot spots' where junk collects appear to have grown in size and number.  However overall there are a few positive differences that would not have happened without blogging.  These make the optimist in me say YES, blogging has made a difference!

The most obvious change is my entry. Having followed "Inspirational Thursday"  and taken the advice of my friend, I 'made over' the entry over a month ago.  And it is still looking pretty spiffy compared to the mess of bags and shoes on the floor that I had previously.

I am happy with that result!   The second change is more subtle, but possibly has a much greater affect on our household. Since blogging, and my Bruce Springsteen experience, I have been much calmer and happier. My husband has  therefore been calmer and happier, we have better routines and it has become unusual for the chaos to get as out of hand as it used to when we were under pressure.  Now that I think about it, I think I've achieved a little glimmer of 'being prepared', something I so admired in my mother in law during my first week of blogging.

The more time I take to contemplate my household management and cleaning, the more I realise that the progress I'm making has everything to do with my positive attitude.  It is amazing what can get done when you stop finding excuses and simply begin doing!  This is particularly inspirational to me today, as yesterday I was feeling a bit unwell, I felt my positive attitude and energy had left me, yet I managed to cook 3 meals for a weekly cook-up with my hubby, and still went for a 20 minute walk for exercise.  Pre-Bruce, pre-blog, neither of those things would have been achieved on a 'bad day'.  I would highly recommend blogging, or journaling to anyone who is struggling with progressing in any aspect of life. Writing things down and practising self reflection are incredibly powerful tools for positive change!

Keeping a Healthy Family

Right now I have three sick children, my husband is unwell and I'd be sick too if I wasn't so busy looking after them all. It occurred to me that before our baby was born, we always managed to NOT spread germs through the whole family.

A survey of friends on Facebook has triggered my memory banks and added to the ideas for keeping well and avoiding the spread of infection. Here are my favourites:

Prevention
Use a hand sanitiser or nappy wipe to clean hands every time children get into the car from school or other outings. Wash hands before food and after the toilet. NB This is also a shameless plug for Epoch Hand Sanitiser, because you can purchase them through me. Or so it is rumoured, I'm still a complete novice as a distributor!

Keep a healthy family that drinks plenty of water (I need to be checking water bottles every afternoon as neither of my schoolchildren drink enough water at school), with plenty of garlic and vitamin C in their diets and plenty of sleep for everyone. As much as humanly possible. At least keep an eye out for major catastrophes in the healthy water / food / rest department and make an attempt to pick up the health boosting to counteract any unhealthy habits.

Last Minute Prevention
I like to think of this group of tips as 'last minute prevention' as they work best if you begin them at the first sign of sniffles, or fatigue or any kind of unwell-ness in the family. What I've learnt this past year is that timing of response is everything. Leaving it until there is one completely ill child before beginning these strategies is unlikely to stop other's catching their illness.  This is where I've been slipping up since having a third baby.

Quarrantine the child who is feeling off-colour into a room by themselves doing a quiet activity, keep that room aired well and keep their fluids up as well as whatever health boosting food you can get them to eat!  Keeping them away from other children will minimise the spread of illness. This is a strategy we used for years with a great deal of success and it is only since we stopped quarantining that we've had illness go throughout the family.

Clean all the things! As soon as someone seems ill, make sure all the washing up is cleared away (I still tend to struggle through the last few things that pop up), get out the antiseptic (we use a very mild bleach with no additives) and mop the floors, wipe surfaces (we use Vanilla Fresh), spray the air and anywhere you like with Eucalyptus Spray. Change pillowcases and sheets and wash in warm water with a few drops of Eucalyptus oil.

Make Chicken Soup - its proven to work, so soup up!

So thats my plan. Be prepared with a prevention strategy, especially considering the stress our family are under at the moment. And follow up more quickly with last-minute prevention is one of us starts to look a bit peaky.  And remember that for people prone to allergies, these transition seasons of Autumn and Spring are the worst for pollens and allergens in the air. So its a good idea to be on the lookout for early signs of illness as the weather changes.

None of these tips replace seeking medical assistance for illness. These are ideas for health promotion, based on personal experiences.


 

A great weekend!

I've been away from the blog because I've been too busy getting other stuff done!

I am thrilled to say that for whatever reason my husband found some inspiration and it is incredible how much gets done when both adults in the house contribute!

This weekend I have managed to get back on top of washing up, keep up with laundry and feed everyone healthy foods.

On top of that the list of clean spaces is long! I spent my alone time on Friday cleaning the kitchen floor, plus beginning some of the other spaces. That night my husband took only one hour to clean junk off the spare bed downstairs! (it was piled up with toys and other flotsam).  Then my husband got very inspired by his friend's visit and he cleaned the rest of the entry, moved the old bed from our sons room (finally) and rearranged and cleaned our elder daughter's room. Plus in the process, the steps were cleaned off and vaccuumed by elder daughter, and hallway cleaned!  Our house looks almost like real people live here!

The difference that is made when he participates is remarkable. I am shocked at how easily he makes a big change, and stunned that for the past two years he has not been a part of the solution. 

We were able to have my father for lunch from the nursing home and it is simply lovely to walk around the house in peace, without feeling crowded in by mess or clutter or untidiness. 

I feel so much lighter and I am holding my breath, hoping it lasts. While it is here, I'm taking advantage of the extra cleanliness to keep up my pace, so even if hubby goes back to being part of the problem, I've taken full advantage of the momentum happening right now!

Some pictorial evidence to follow in the next update!

Unfinished business ....

Todays thoughts are about never finishing anything or being prepared in advance with something so that I can get it completed properly. This is an increasing problem for me, 2 years ago when I started homeschooling my eldest I found it easier to work through things, now it seems impossible even getting simple tasks done. And this needs to change, it's been 2 weeks and my daughters 2nd school shoe is still missing. I am beginning to think I threw it out! But it's a sign of my scattered mind that until now I haven't cared! Yet it affects how she does at school (well it doesn't but soon I'll get a 'please explain' from the principal). I think to boost my spirits I need to plan and execute something simple but big enough to give me a sense of accomplishment. To get me over that line no matter what!

Incredible achievement of Steve Bradbury, to be the one who finished! Back to my more mundane unfinished business, I originally wanted to decorate one room as undersea theme. At the moment that seems daunting. I think instead I'll make an autumn theme and re-new our autumn wall - actually I'll do all 4 seasons and put them on a new wall in the house - with the craft all prepared before I start so kids get 4 days craft out of it with confidence that it will be completed not just a half arsed job. My TO DO list for this project looks roughly like this: Words - print out words and take to be laminated Craft - collect season craft ingredients in one box Location - find a location and make sure there is sufficient space - consider all seasons on one wall for practicality such as behind TV? Share - send to friends with children a care package ready to go; sell premade packages online Project complete! Autumn leaves, still have plus Pinterest Winter - Snowflakes doilies Spring - flowers Summer - sun craft, check Pinterest and pool theme or beach theme? I'll update with progress on the seasonal crafts later, but in the meantime, an update after today. I am shocked at how effective just thinking about things in a new light can be. Today, looking for an opportunity to finish a project, I came home from settling my father back at his nursing home, grabbed the pre-cooked potatoes from the fridge and set out making 'Tuna Beach Balls' from the recipe my daughter picked for her school lunches 2 weeks ago. Fiddly and annoying cooking, but a real hit with her, she wants 4 for morning tea! I am so glad I took the opportunity and time to make them, instead of catching up with washing up tonight. And I'm painfully aware my work isn't done as it is still laundry week and I'm heading back in there to see what I can get done tonight before bed! Please share any of your 'unfinished business'; I'd love to hear what you get stuck on.