Several years ago when I had only littles, I stumbled upon a message board for moms with many young children. A frequent discussion that caught my eye was establishing helpful habits as a mom.
Do you remember message boards? They were so fun! Message boards were around before the days of modern blogs. Circa 2008ish.
This idea of a mom developing a routine of helpful habits was a new concept for me.
Because I was drowning in diapers, nursing babies, and working nights outside the home as a registered nurse, I was desperate to find some semblance of routine and order.
I craved order, in fact.
Fast forward in time just a bit, and this same concept of helpful habits for mamas comes up again, this time at my friend Tricia’s site Hodgepodge.
Since first reading about the concept of helpful habits for moms, I’ve researched and brainstormed and prayed over what those types of habits should look like for me.
And the beginning of the year is a great time to re-evaluate those habits and see what’s working and where I need improvement.
While I still have a long ways to go in maintaining habits on a regular basis, I definitely made huge progress this year.
Maybe it was because my youngest just turned 5 (sniff, sniff). Maybe it was because I leaned harder on the Lord to guide me than ever before. Maybe it was because I was more diligent in training my children to help with the housework this year.
Even though I went kicking and screaming into this phase of motherhood (I still long for those days of all littles, if truth be known), it has presented for me a fresh start in establishing those habits I long to have.
I’ll share what’s been working for me and what needs some serious attention!
My Daily Quiet Time with the Lord
For the past 18-24 months, I’ve had a very intentional Quiet Time each day with the Lord. It’s looked different in content and in time throughout the past 2 years, but one thing remains:
it’s been consistent.
Right now, I’m studying through the book of Judges (only 2 more chapters to go!) using Warren Weirsbe’s commentary Be Available.
Next, I’m probably headed to 1 Samuel using a book from the same commentary series Be Successful.
2 or 3 mornings a week, I also read a chapter or two form Elisabeth Eliot’s Keep a Quiet Heart. The chapters are only 1-3 pages, so they’re easily readable and give me such a fresh perspective on motherhood and what my goals are for the day.
My daily Quiet Time continues to be my favorite habit, but also the one I have to work at the hardest.
Read Alouds
Read Alouds have been more consistent in our homeschool this past year than ever before.
The kids adore them, I adore them.
If we could just sit and read all day with no other obligations, I’d be one happy mama.
I have a running list of our favorite read aloud books if you need some fresh ideas!
Trim Healthy Mama
On January 17, 2015 – almost a year ago – my husband and I started Trim Healthy Mama.
I was overweight, felt sluggish all of the time, my hips hurt, and I knew I needed a change. Also, I could see me heading down the road for diabetes, and I want to avoid that with all of my might!
I’ve lost weight, but better than that, I feel like a different person.
My mind is more sharp, I have more energy, and I very rarely have that sluggish-all-the-time feeling.
Yes, I am tired a lot, but I work hard! That’s different than being sluggish.
Oh – and did I mention I gave up sweet tea?!
That was part of the deal with Trim Healthy Mama, and I was super nervous about it. I asked the Lord to completely take away my desire for sweet tea and coke, and truly He did.
It’s nothing I could have ever done on my own!
I have no doubt that establishing this habit will be a literal life saver for my husband and me.
Gluten-Free!
Yes, two of my habits focus on food! Preparing food, washing dishes, and planning food seems to take up a LOT of my time.
Since planning and preparing food is so time consuming for me, I wanted to get some doable habits figured out.
I have a daughter who is gluten intolerant (long story), so it’s extremely important to me that she stays gluten free most of the time.
So she’s not singled out, our whole family is (mostly) gluten free. My other kiddos and my husband aren’t quite as strict as my GF daughter and I are, but they aren’t affected by wheat in the same way, so they can splurge from time to time.
In addition to using our favorite gluten free baking mix, I’ve been intentional to find a wide assortment of gluten free meals and snacks that our family can eat.
My two favorite gluten free cookbooks are The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook and The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook Volume 2, which I just got for Christmas! The sandwich bread in my new Volume 2 GF cookbook looks fabulous and I can’t wait to make it!
If you’re interested in learning how to cook gluten free, these two cookbooks are the best I’ve found. They teach you why gluten free flours are so temperamental and how to cook gluten free foods well.
A great investment, in my opinion.
Now on to a few areas that need some serious attention!
Starting School Earlier
The Lord has been tugging at my heart lately that I need to start our school day quite a bit earlier. I’ve let it slide to starting at 9:30 or sometimes even {gasp!} 10:00.
I have 4 kiddos to school each day, and they each require substantial one-on-one time from me.
For our family, school needs to start around 8 or 8:30 at the very latest.
The rebellious side of me does not want to start that early. I like having time to drink a cup of coffee while I do some of my online work prior to school each day.
So an earlier school time it is.
Which leads me to…
Getting Up Earlier
I’ve known for months now that I need to get up earlier. Hearing the clock go off at 6:00 just makes me cringe.
I’m much happier waking up at 7:00.
But in order to get everything that must be done prior to school (breakfast, chores, laundry), that clock needs to be set at 6:00 each day.
Ouch.
I’m not gonna lie. I’m dreading this one.
School/Home/Mothering/Work Balance
Some days I have a great handle on life balance and other days, I just drive it into the ditch.
My goal is to have more securely set work hours so I can be present with my family instead of my brain being elsewhere.
That’s no good for any of us.
I’m going back over my list of priorities and pruning along the way.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Jamerrill over at Free Homeschool Deals has written a great series on tips for scheduling that work time that some of us need. Make sure you go read the whole series:
–> My Real-Life Work at Home Mom Schedule: Part One
–> My Real-Life Work at Home Mom Schedule: Part Two
–> My Work at Home Mom Scheduling Secret Weapon
What new helpful habits do you need to establish this year?
Leave me a note in the comments! I’d love to cheer you on and pray for you!
Merry Christmas from Mama’s!
Hi. I am like you, I need to get up a bit earlier, but the problem is being more consistent in when we start school. I know kids need routine. I have a hard time getting up early so I will definitely need the Lord to step in (once again, right?). Not like I can do any of this in my own strength! I am not overweight, but as a 41 year old woman, I need to exercise to keep up my health, maintain my weight and have energy…I have so not been as motivated the past few months. Hey, it is a new year and thank goodness God’s mercies are new every morning! Thank you for being willing to pray for me…even though you don’t know me. I have followed your site for about 4 years now and appreciate all of your ideas and generosity! Thank you for being real too!
BTW, my husband has Celiacs and has to be ALL grain free-so I so get the craziness of dealing with food. My blog touches on that a bit if you want to read it…although, I am not a faithful blogger lately-wink.