Something is better than nothing

I am not one to make resolutions at the new year. But each year I do reflect on how I am doing in life. I do make goals, sometimes at the new year and sometimes at different points in the year. When we moved to Oz I really wanted to focus on being a better parent, in the avenue of focus and structure. I realized pretty quickly after the move that I would spend a lot more time alone with Erik here than I did previously, we are not as close to our friends like we had been in Claifornia where we could just walk to someone's house. And so I know that for both him and I it would be good, not to mention I knew some parts of my life NEEDED some organization and a specific direction to aim toward to help me grow and be better.

Back in the states January marks the middle of winter, holidays are over and sales kick up knockdown prices on organizational things of all shapes and sizes to help people kickstart their resolutions. I know its summer here and the school year just started. Our school supplies sales just went on, not nearly like what you find back home but I was impressed for what I normally see here.

So with a few rainy weeks where it seemed you could literally take a bite out of the air it was so thick with humidity and not wanting to step out into it, my natural mindset of organization time, and just some projects I have had in the back of my mind I got going. Many of these things I have wanted to do for a long time but of course in my mind my visions are intricate and perfectly cute and decorative and of course I dont have time or resources necessarily to do that. I kept putting things off waiting for that perfect day when the stars would align......and of course that didnt happen.

I wanted to make a really cool potty chart for when Erik was ready to help him be motivated. Well he blew that fish out of the water, he surprised us one day by deciding he wanted to potty train, I was stopped dead in my tracks and didnt have anything prepared, and you know what that sweet little man of mine taught me something.............something is better than nothing in a lot of circumstances and that snowballed into many other projects to just get something done. I feel weight lifting and freedom from my guilt and happiness. Thank you Erik for teaching me I dont have to be perfect, I dont have to be super mommy, I dont have to do everything like they show on pinterest, I can just do something that will work well for us.

This is our little board we use for preschool stuff. In my perfect world, it will be modpodged with cute paper, there will be a weather section, a scripture, and other things to incorporate into a morning circle time type routine. For now its perfect to hang a gospel picture, some family faces, and day of the week. It sits behind his table where we often do some school stuff.

 THis is where all of this beauty started, I made this potty chart on a when we decided that we didnt want to load Erik with tons of sugar for going potty. And actually the chart motivated him better than candy because he could see his progress. His goal was to fill out the chart and if he had it filled out by friday at lunch we would go to the shop and he could pick out a car to buy. Worked like a charm. If he filled up that day and still went potty more then he got candy. Not fancy like I had invisioned, not complex, just a 30 second draw it up, slap it on the back of our front door kind of thing. He loved running to it and picking out a monster sticker(luckily I had those on hand), and putting it in the box. SUCCESS.....oh how sweet it is sometimes to be simplistic.

 This is something I made over the weekend. This is another thing I have in my mind pictured and although I dont see it clearly, it should be cute and fun. The product I made is cute and fun, not anything like I invision but the program is now in place and I can tweak or change things as we go. I figure it is better that we have this in motion now than waiting forever for the right time to make a perfect chart/program and never getting it off the ground. So we started a chore system with Erik. He has grown so much lately we felt he could handle this extra concept. He already has jobs he helps out with and so I just structured it around those and this will evolve as he gets used to the program and gains more responsibility in the family. I simply printed a blank chore chart from many options here and downloaded this font to print out the pieces. I chose super heroes that I knew he loved and recognized. Well ok he didnt know the flash, but we told him about his Uncle Alex being fast and liking the flash and showed him some you tube clips. The "x" pieces are just markered pieces I colored and put up because he doesnt have that chore on those days.
  
                   
The program we have in place right now is to put up "stickers" velcro pieces up upon completion of the chore. I also made the jobs velcro pieces so I can easily change them up. Each day when his chores are done he earns a little bit of money to put in his bank. Eventually I dont want his chores tied to money, I want him to know he has responsibility in the family regardless of pay, and he can earn money for extra chores to save, spend etc. But for now they are linked. He has already asked if he can buy a few things and we told him he needs to save his money, so I know this will be great. And now we can start showing him tithing in action. I cant believe he is old enough to learn these things, but he is such a sponge that I want to take advantage of while I can.

Here is the front of our fridge, I have major images in my head of how I want this to look, right now it displays art and work Erik wants to show his daddy when he gets home from work, a calendar, pictures, shopping list. This is something to be organized soon, but at least I have some key things on there to have an idea of spacing.

 These are frames I have had sitting around and wanted to do something with, finally figured out how I wanted them hung but obviously need to fill a couple of them.....but now they are at least on the wall and not cluttering up my floor or precious storage space.

 This is a constant work in progress. This is our linen closet, and no you will not see any linens in there other than our beach towels. This is a bit overwhelming space but honestly I just organized part of it last week and was amazed at what I could fit in there, get rid of, etc. It feels good. Eventually I would like some linens, toiletries in there. But really it is the perfect closet for all our extra stuff that we dont need out but need to store.

 A couple of weeks ago, we had a family counsel and Lindsay set up this bulletin board, we filled it out with each member having a different color marker, family events in its own color. Our family goals and to do lists. Also our saturday chores are listed and honestly this board has been amazing. It sits on top of the book case in our master bedroom and Lindsay and I just write, change things as needed. LOVE it!

so all in all I have been doing small projects here and there, nothing major but we are getting more structure and routine which we need. In turn our house is becoming a house of order, we are all happier, we are all more productive and it just feels good. So this month and hopefully throughout the year I am learning.....sometimes something is better than nothing, just put that first foot forward and take the step. I am not a perfectionist really but I still have to remind myself sometimes that I dont have to be the professional interior designer I dream to be or see on the web, I can do simple things that will work awesome for my family.