The Cozy Roost

So, Friday nights are Family Night in our house.  No cell phones, no friends staying over, no work.  Just good ole family fun!  It’s a great way for us to reconnect after a long, busy week and enjoy each other’s company.

Tonight is Monopoly night.  Have you tried the Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition?  SO much fun!  For eats we are having Sloppy Joes and french fries for dinner.  Healthy, huh?  But oh So good!  I will post pics later!

Okay, the last few mornings have been a little “less crazy”… not perfect, but less crazy!  I feel like I have a plan when I roll out of bed.  However, I did forget to take my vitamins this morning, which was frustrating.  Other than that, it went pretty smooth.  I actually packed my lunch and didn’t leave it sitting on the kitchen counter all day (this happened quite frequently).  That’s a HUGE plus!  The only thing we haven’t quite followed through with is getting our clothes together and ironed the night before.  I’m thinking that I need to work on an evening routine to make sure those things happen… along with a few others.  Our mornings may need to be tweaked a bit.  I’ll post our final routine once we have it finalized.

Buy Nothing Day, November 28th!

We all have too much stuff!  We over consume, waste, hoard… shall I go on?  Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism.  Saturday, 28th November 2009 will be Buy Nothing Day in the US and internationally the following day.  It “isn’t just about changing your habits for one day” but “about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste.”

Our family has decided to “take it easy” this Christmas.  Yes, it will be a difficult change, but a change for the better.  I want my daughter to grow up and realize what is important… and it’s not the amount of gifts piled under the tree.  The most important thing during the holidays is getting together with family and celebrating Jesus Christ… not gifts!  I’m not going in debt to buy miscellaneous crap for my friends and family.  Rediculous!  We will celebrate Christmas and remember the meaning of Christmas.  For most people, that meaning is buried under a pile of wrapping paper and ribbon.  Dig yourself out and remember what Christmas is all about! 

I’ll be posting more about this as the Holidays approach.  I’ll give an update on how we are planning our giftless Christmas.  More to come!

Wow!  I get quite a bit of junk email delivered to my inbox daily.  The sad part is … that most of it is newsletters that I have signed up for.   I don’t have time to read all of this stuff!  So today I did it… I went through all of my emails and unsubscribed to ALL of my newsletters.  I’ve saved these websites in my favorites, so if I want an update I’ll just visit their site.   I have to say, it felt great to get this done.  I feel cleansed and refreshed!  Ha!  Go ahead… try it!

Okay, our mornings are simply crazy! My husband usually leaves the house around 5:45, and I haven’t been getting out of bed until around 6:30 (I need to leave by 7:00).  My daughter and I snip at each other and are rushing around the house like crazy women!  By the time we are in the car and on our way… we are exhausted! Craziness! This is not a good start for the day.  So… here’s the plan (subject to change):

~First and foremost… no yelling. Only use my calm voice.
~Layout clothing the night before and iron if needed.
~Get lunches, books, etc. together the night before.
~Wake up at 5:45.
~Make coffee and actually sit down and enjoy a little breakfast and a cup of coffee before my daughter wakes up… a little quiet time!
~Get myself dressed, hair, makeup, etc.
~Take my vitamins.
~Go over Daily To Do List (MIT – Most Importan Things)
~Wake up my daughter at 6:30 and get her breakfast ready.
~Once she is dressed (she dresses herself) help her fix her hair.
~Be out the door by 7:00 a.m.

I’ve posted this routine on our fridge.  My husband thinks I’m crazy!  “Why do you need a list to remind you how to get ready every morning,” he asks.  I just respond, “A peaceful morning makes for a productive day.”

Can we do it? Guess we will find out over the next few days.

How do you start your day? I would love to hear about it?