It's The Little Things

Little changes in the daily routine can make a big difference in how smoothly the daily routine goes. Little changes can make a big difference in my mood, too!

Examples:

We have had a pretty set evening routine ever since our older child was a baby. Of course we've adjusted that schedule over time, to fit our current needs. But it's always been in place, and it's proven not only to be a necessity, but a comfort. We made a minor adjustment two days ago. See, hubby and I take turns taking breaks every evening. It has been a fantastic thing, and we both look forward to our breaks every day. I take mine (45 min.) shortly after hubby gets home from work. He takes his after dinner, when the kids and I head upstairs to get ready for bed. In recent weeks, getting the kids through what we call their "list" (pjs and teeth, washing face/hands, whatever...) has been a bit challenging. The kids are rambucteous (sp??) before bed, which is fine. But it got to be quite a challenge to get our daughter to change her clothes. And god forbid she help. She just runs! Argh. And then our son has developed this new war against toothbrushing. Double argh! So hubby has been coming up to help. Of course this means that his break is delayed, which is not idea. And dear daughter puts up resistance and refuses to let him to her list with her. "Mama do it!" (she's 5, but likes to talk like a toddler sometimes) Triple argh! Then it dawned on me. In the past, when managing the children on his own, my husband has pointed out that DD is fine with him, as long as he is the only adult available to her. Once I'm in the picture, she starts in with the "No Papa, Mama do it!" stuff. The answer was in the question. ONE of us needs to do the kids list. If we switch off nights, then it reduces my stress a bit, and the kids won't give him as hard a time. So we started this a couple of nights ago, with good success. Every other night I get 10 minutes to breathe before going up to put the kids to bed. Nice! 10 minutes may seem like nothing, but after a long day, I'll sure take it! Anyhow, it's a little change, and it's making a big difference.

Another example is the talk hubby and I had last night. He and I are cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways. One of them is communication. We don't spend a lot of time talking. It's definitely not his nature, and I'm only chatty with chatty people. So we enjoy spending time together, but doing other stuff, like watching movies. So last night we got to talking about DD's issues with anxieties. Fact is, both hubby and I are shy types who become anxious easily. Just talking about that fact with one another and admitting certain scenarios that were especially difficult for each of us was a relief. We obviously need to work together to help our sweet daughter with her anxiety, and recognizing it in ourselves and each other is an important step. So where communication comes easily and often to some, for us it is a little more work, so when it's good, it's really good. =)

That's it for now!