It's Epiphany, its a new year. We're taking down Christmas and simplifying. It feels good and right and quieter. I am trying to focus more on what it means to create a home for my family this year. Trying to be intentional about having a clean (enough) house that we can live and play and learn and create in. Having a place for all things, it's a challenge after all the new things we've gotten lately but we'll get there. It's a challenge with a toddler around too who thinks she helping straighten when she pulls things off the shelf as I'm putting things back on. She's in that stage of development where she enjoys putting things away though, especially in a basket, so that helps. The big kids don't have the patience to wait and let her do things on her own, or wait and teach her or let her figure things out. They don't understand that they were able to have that time as toddlers and she deserves it too. They also need a routine of how to care for their things and help around the house so I'm developing a new morning routine and evening routine chart.
We're trying to be intentional about what we eat and how much of it. Meal planning, more vegetarian, and more whole foods. ^J^ is doing a better job of exercising than the rest of us, but we're all doing more than we used to and that's what matters. He's also motivated by the crazy-nuts Spartan race he signed up for, personally I have no interest in crawling through the mud under barbed wire, but we'll be there to cheer him on!
Reading is a big goal of mine this year. I want everyone to be reading more. I'm in 2 bookclubs and there's no reason I can't stay current and read at least those 2 books a month. The kids both need more reading time and practice and we need to model the importance of reading to them. *A* has finally found a chapter books series she can read well on her own (Bad Kitty) and it's been awesome watching/listening to her finally succeed in this area. (H) is getting there with sounding out words and I'm hoping reading will come more easily to him than it did with *A*. We need to have dedicated reading times where we just sit together and read. The kids got a lot of Art kits and other crafty stuff for Christmas so there's that too. Basically we're ready to get rid of the t.v., not totally but only use if for specific programs we enjoy and nothing else.
Lots more ideas and thoughts, but the kids are ready to play and there's greenery to take down outside.
Happy 2013!
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