Sometimes chores are just plain dreary and overwhelming.

If you are willing to be a little silly, you can get through them with quickly and have fun doing it.  Here is an example (originally posted on my old blog):

Once upon a time there was a mountain of clean, unfolded laundry on a bed, in a house, somewhere in the U.S.A.  Sadly, that laundry pile was mine. And I was not extremely motivated to get rid of it.  I just knew it had to be done.

My two little helpers (six and three at the time) were not very excited about the laundry mountain either (unless they were allowed to climb it!)

Now, I could just buckle down and say, “let’s put this laundry away,” but that would be boring.  Don’t get me wrong, kids need to do chores without them being made into a game, but sometimes we need to have a little fun, right?!

So we decided to make a game of it.  The two little helpers were now “delivery people”. For some reason, these delivery people spoke with English accents.  They stood at the door and waited for instructions while I folded.  The instructions would be something like, “Please take these to 2374 Kitchen Drawer”, or “2952 Brother’s Bed”

They ran and ran, delivering their packages quickly and efficiently.

Sometimes the boss (me) would find some shirts that were missed and would call the delivery person back stating that the people from 5273 Shirt Drawer were very upset because they had ordered 5 shirts and only received 4.  The “deliverer” would then apologize profusely and hurry to said destination.  Upon returning I would hear a full report of their encounter with those unhappy people from 5273 Shirt Drawer.  Very entertaining!

I know this is ridiculously silly – but what fun we had.  The kids laughed, made memories, and worked hard (they also think their mom is pretty cool).  I folded and folded – but didn’t put too many clothes away – my delivery people did that for me 

My favorite part was when the kids started to make up some addresses of their own.  The one, that made everyone giggle was, “2402 Daddy’s Undies” (Don’t forget to say it with an English accent) hee hee!

Of course this is very silly, but a handy tool for conquering the dreaded laundry mountain.  It worked for us!

Do you have any tricks for making chores fun?

Finding the time to exercise with little ones around can be a challenge.  Here are a few suggestions for exercising with little ones at home. Some you have probably tried already. Hopefully there will be a few news ones to motivate you!

1.  Get it done first thing in the morning

Exercising in the morning is a great way to start the day.  Not only does it give you energy, but it gets the task out of the way.  Circumstances can’t cause you to miss your workout, because it is already done.  If you can get up before the kids wake, that is the perfect time.

If you have super early risers and are unable (or unwilling) to beat them out of bed, have them stay in their rooms until a specified time or create a signal that lets them know it is time to leave their bedroom…I read about one Mom who slips a piece of paper under the door with a note telling them it’s time to come out.  Or you could simply knock on the door and say, “Time to come out now.”

2.  After the kids are in bed at night (if they have an early bed time – or you are a night owl).

I can’t do this one, but everyone is wired differently and some come alive at night.  If that’s you, then use some of your energy to workout.

3.  While the kids are occupied.

I don’t recommend allowing the kids to just play together while you workout if they are fairly young.  I tried this a few times and had to pause the workout over and over to deal with arguments, or injuries (my son ran into a wall) J Putting on a 30 minute DVD for them to watch is fine.  Especially if they don’t watch much television – they will be glued to the spot!

4.  During nap time/quiet time.

Dressing in your workout gear early in the day and being ready to go at nap time or quiet time can work very well.  I have done this recently.  My baby is still young and taking two naps a day.  During her afternoon nap the other kids have quiet time and I do a 30-40 minute workout. By quiet time, I mean each child is in his/her own room or space with something quiet to do.

5.  Trade childcare with another Mom or have Dad or Grandma watch the kids.

This could be done once a week for a longer time of focused exercise, or more frequently with shorter workouts.

6.  Put the kids in stroller and go for a walk/run

Pack a snack for them and some water and get outside.  The fresh is good for everyone!

7.  Exercise with the kids.

One set of DVDs I have been able to use with the kids is the Walk Away the Pounds series by Leslie Sansone.  I usually prefer a more strenuous workout, but when I want to do something the kids can do, I pick this one ( I use the Walk Slim
workouts).  I can always add ankle and wrist weights to make it more intense.  Or do it with the baby in the ergo carrier

You can also simply pump up the music and dance around. Kids love it.

8.  Do short exercises throughout the day.

This one works in theory, but I have not tried it yet.  I figure if you designate specific days for specific muscle groups, write down or find a list of exercises for those muscle groups and post in on the fridge, you could work through the list as the day goes on.  Doing a few sets here and there.  I think this could work quite well for strength training exercises.

9.  Integrate exercise into daily life.

Do stomach vacuums (pulling your belly button toward the spine and holding it there) while cooking dinner?  Stand on your tip toes while brushing your teeth.  Do calf raises while washing your hair. If you watch t.v., do push-ups during the commercials.  But proceed with caution; I think you can see how this couldeasily go wrong!

10.  Let go of the all-or-nothing mentality

If you plan to workout in the morning but sleep in and miss it, it doesn’t mean you can’t do something else. It is usually possible to fit in some sort of physical activity.  It may not be the kind you really want to do, but something will work.  Any exercise is better than no exercise.

I have let this happen to me many times.  Especially when I am completing some sort of workout DVD series.  The DVD runs for a specific time period, if that time period is not available to me, I have often done nothing.  That is when the all-or-nothing mentality is really doing me a disservice.  So, do what you can.  Look for opportunities, and you will find them.

How do you fit in exercise with young children at home?   What would you add to this list?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by We are THAT Family.

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I came across the following quote recently:

“You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be.
If you really wanted to be different, you would be in the process of changing right now.”

– Fred Smith

When I heard it, all I could think was, “OUCH!”  There are many things I’ve wanted to change about myself or about the way my family functions, but I have not.  Excuses come easy to a tired mind.

It got me thinking, do I want to come to the end of my life and have only achieved that which happened to me by accident?  Of course the answer to that is a resounding, “No!”  It is so common to be pulled along by the tides of life, doing what is necessary, but never really doing that which is good or beneficial. Sure, some of the necessary is good, but what about those things that truly matter? The things that have eternal value?  The things that can be so easily pushed aside because of more pressing concerns?  Things like daily Bible reading, prayer, exercise, teaching the kids about God, or teaching them life skills.

If we want to be more than what life throws our way, we need to live intentionally.  We need to live with purpose.

Change is hard.  If you’ve ever tried it, you know that.

As a kid I made the same new year’s resolution every year: to keep my bedroom clean.  The punishment for not keeping it clean was to eat a plate of peas.  I hated peas.  But you know what, my room clean was never clean for more than a week. And I never ate the plate of peas.  It is hard to impose rules on ourselves. But if we really want to be different, we have to.

Most of us find fault in some part of us (or many parts).  We are human after all.  But we can change.  “Nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

Last night I had a bit of a stomp-my-foot, hand-on-hip moment.  Mostly at myself.  I felt crabby with the fact that I had so many areas to work on.  But it’s OK.  These areas CAN be worked on.  They key is, they will not change unless I do something.  If I want to succeed in creating a peaceful home, I must put the work in. If I want my children to grow up to be God-fearing, hard-working individuals, I must put the work in.   No one can do it for me. And it takes a whole lot more than wishing.

I want to get to the end of my life and look back to see that I did the best I could.  All the things that steal my time and energy won’t matter in the end.  By what I did with my children will matter.  How I nurtured my relationship with my husband will matter.  How I treated God’s people will matter.

You’ve heard the saying, ““If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” If we don’t want to be the way we are, then we have to do something different. As Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Well, people may call me crazy, but hopefully not for that reason.

I’ve decided to make a plan of attack.  To dream about what I would like my family to become, and write down the steps it will take to get there.  Then TAKE ACTION!

If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go and eat a plate of peas

*The pictures in this post were drawn by my 8 year old daughter after we talked a little about changing.

There are many factors that affect the tone of the home.  Our goal here is to work on the ones we can actually control.  Why?  So we can create a refuge from the world for our families.   A safe haven.

This blog will be focus on a few key areas:

- Healthy Spirits
- Healthy Minds
- Healthy Bodies
- Healthy Relationships
- Healthy Habits

When  we develop these areas, we can’t help but have a happier, healthier place to call home. Over the coming weeks and months we will delve more deeply into each category.

I like to think of the above as a kind of formula for creating the home I desire.  None of these are a one shot deal.  This happy home thing is a constant process.  We must continually work on it.  We can’t expect perfection, but we can do our best (that looks different for everyone).

Below is a quick overview of each category:
(There will be overlap – since those  things that give you a healthy spirit, also benefit the body and mind, and so on.)

Healthy Spirits

Knowing God
Refreshing your spirit through prayer and Bible Study

Healthy Minds

Home education
Keeping your brain alive while taking care of little ones!

Healthy Bodies

Eating real food
Exercise
Reducing toxins in the home
Natural living

Healthy Relationships

Mom’s relationship with her husband
Mom’s relationship with her kids
Mom’s relationships with others

Healthy Habits

Home organization
Routines, planning and scheduling

This list is a place for me to start. I have work to do in each and every area!  Since I am by no means a superwoman, I pray that God will fill in the gaps left by my failures.

Where do you feel like you are doing well?  Which areas do you want to improve?  I’d love to hear!