{phfr} - Post Christmas Days

My hubby is on work travel for the next three weeks overseas.  Then he comes home for a week, and is gone for another three weeks.  I'm looking for contentment wherever I can find it...

{pretty}

I've been spending lots of time on Pinterest lately.  I've got quite a bit of dissatisfaction about my house.  Things that have remained plain or not given love for too long are being changed up.  I've restarted my own version of zone cleaning, and with that comes a Friday beautify day.  Essentially, I look at the space and see what areas need help.  Sometimes it's just a question of a little decluttering.  But this is where I am allowing myself time to make my home and not just survive in it.

This week I've been deep cleaning bathrooms.  We have two and both are unbelievably small.  The children along with any visitors must share a bathroom, and that poses quite a challenge.  The focus here for so long has been on clean and functional, not beautiful.  But there was a big blank wall above the shower that was just asking for attention.  I like the idea of gallery walls, but just haven't found the perfect thing to put up there.  And then I remembered that I have prints my cousin took from our long ago trip to Hawaii that just might work...

Yay!  A pretty wall in the bathroom.  Still working on the other bathroom's wall.

 This actually inspired a few other changes, including a new shower curtain and some storage baskets to clean up the visual clutter.  No pictures, because I didn't take any before, and what would be the use of showing you after with no before?

{happy}

My little Teddy bear is a very happy, cuddly baby.  He is learning to coo and has smiling down pat.  He's given us a few chuckles too.  This is my comfort while daddy is gone.

{funny}

I'm just now getting the last of my Christmas cards out.  Right before Lent starts.  I am on top of things!

{real}

This is life right now...

...hard work, focus, diligence.  All habits we are trying to increase.

Go visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more contentment!

Unproductive Delight

As I'm sure you can imagine, life right now is a bit...crazy unpredictable full.  Besides the fact that I have five small children nine and under, one of those small ones happens to be six weeks old (yesterday!  How can that be?!).  I have purposely slowed things down to almost a standstill around here, providing only clean clothes (that may or may not be gotten out of the laundry basket) and what I'm counting as meals, and maybe a little cleaning now and then. But at some point, we do have to get back to whatever counts as our new normal, my older two children do need to be educated as well, and we should probably be eating a little better. 

I sat down last week determined to hammer out a new routine that would help us get everything in order.  I reread A Mother's Rule of Life.  I wrote out chore lists for the children and myself.  I produced a school routine that covers the basics and a few extras as well.  I went into all of this understanding that I have a newborn and I must be flexible (not a gift God gave me). 

I have visions of calm productivity, each of us doing as we can.  Our Classical education looking a little more Charlotte Masonish every day.  And then the baby needs to be nursed.  And after?  I can't bring myself to put him down.

Unless it's for some tummy time action.  Then I can put him down while I coo and make faces at him, and he does the same to me.  And then I take pictures.

"I am mommy's productivity killer.  She can't help but stop what she's doing and kiss my cheeks."

 I know just how quickly these moments go by.  This little guy won't be so little for so long.  Already he's growing and changing.  Soon enough he will take his first steps towards venturing away from mommy's arms.  Scooting, crawling, walking, running, climbing.  All good things that must happen in their time.  But this time?  This time is for cherishing.

A smile!  I captured one on camera!

And that is one of the reasons that I have chosen "delight" as my word for the year.  Beyond the schedule and routine (which must happen!) I am going to try to delight in these people entrusted to me.  My husband, my children.  Because they are delight-ful.