Birthday Countdown! :)

It's 35 days until my 35th birthday... and for the first time in many (many, many) years I am excited for my birthday this year! I LOVE birthdays... just not my own. But this year is going to be different. I have some fun things planned leading up to the day, and I hope to take y'all on the adventure with me. Feel free to jump on to the Cassie Birthday Train and join me in any of my adventures.

Here is the game plan:

1.     Write and actually send out 35 hand written letters. I am sooo bad at this, but have been so encouraged by people that do this for me, and I LOVE to receive them... so time to share the birthday love.

2.    Run or walk 3.5 miles everyday.  I have some friends I walk with, and I like to run alone... so I am really hoping to accomplish this. It would get me 122.5 miles closer to that yearly total. ;)

3.    Keep a prayer journal for 35 days. I spend a lot of time in prayer, but the only time I kept a prayer journal was during the year of fasting... so I am going back to it to see what the Lord wants to show me.

4.   Do a Random Act of Kindness everyday leading up to my birthday! I am MOST excited about this one! I already have some fun things planned. Some on my own and some with the fam. It's going to be great!!! I also have 72 people that have pledged to do a RAK in those 35 days... so the goal is 35 states!!! If you want to jump in and do one... I'd love to hear what you did and where. Yeah for spreading the birthday love!!!

The girls made me a birthday chain tonight, and all I could think is "Wow. That is a lot of links." :)

It is going to be such a great year... I just know it.

Thanks for joining me on the journey!

41 days!?!?!?!?!?

Is it seriously 41 days until January 1?!?!? I posted a "memory" on Facebook of Family Pictures two years ago and it has a link to my blog on it. I thought, "Wow. I wonder how long it's been since I blogged?"

9 months. It's been 9 months.

And I believe in the last blogpost (AAALLLLL the way back if February) I said, "I'm going to try to blog more often to keep you guys up to date on my goals and Kriete happenings." Well... obviously I didn't do so hot with that. :) But... believe it or not, I have been working toward those 15 goals set all the way back in January (some a little harder than others... as you will see). So, with 41 days left of the year... here is an update on where I am... and (a little of) what I've learned about myself in the process. :)

Goals for 2015

1.                 Get Established in a Church/Find a place to serve in the community. I'm going to say Yes and No on this one.  We are attending a church that we enjoy, but we still don't really feel like we belong. We aren't really involved. But outside of church, I feel like I am finding my place at the kid's school. This is the first year of no one home... so I am finding lots of ways to volunteer in lots of different areas at school. I'm even subbing a bit.

2.                 No soda. I'm doing it, but I don't like it. I have not had one single sip of soda at all this year... but I still crave it. :( I kind of thought that would be gone 11 months in. 

3.                 Give up Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and all rated R movies. I've stuck with this one too, but I've got to say, there have been many, many times I've almost cheated. I mean… seriously… McDreamy DIED and I didn’t cave to see how that played out. ;) BUT... I've held true to the commitment. :)

4.                 Weight loss of 25lbs. LOL! No. Just… No. 

5.                 Run 804 miles. Ummm.... not even close. (Probably the reason #4 didn't happen... ya think?) Here's the thing... I have had some health issues this year, and... well.... yeah... not legit excuse. I didn't do it. At this point I have to run/walk (because I added walking) and average of 16 miles a day to accomplish this. So it's not happening. I'm at 189 miles (give or take a few... I didn't track all my runs). I ran a BRUTAL half marathon in May, but other than that... pretty slim pickins.

6.                 No clothing/shoes/accessory purchases for myself. I must say this one has been MUCH harder than I thought it would be. I really miss buying things for myself. CONFESSION: I did have one purchase this year. In March, I was helping a child in a public restroom and my (already broken) sunglasses fell into a toilet full of #2. I couldn't bring myself to put them back on my face. So after 2 weeks of squinting and headache from staring into the sun... I broke down and bought a $5 pair of shades and have been sporting them since. :)

7.                 Invite people into our home at least once a month. Every month except for August. And we have had, on average, 3 families/friends a month over... and neighborhood kids are always here. So I have no guilt about missing one month on this one. :)

8.                 Sell/Donate 2,015 items. 1,392 things sold or donated. 623 to go. Not going to lie... little nervous about this one. I might start counting "things I donate to the dump" ;)

9.                 Visit at least 10 DC attractions/museums. I've been to 8 new ones (ones I have never been to before), but 14 total. I feel good about getting 2 more in before January 1.

10.            Read through the Bible. I'm about 3/4 the way through. This one is not going how I wanted it to... at this point I just want to say I did it and make a better goal next year. I actually haven't "read" a lot of it. I do lots of "listening" to the Bible on audio while I fold laundry.

11.            Pay of SallieMae.  Yes

12.            Put $5000 extra in savings.  Yes

13.            Have the whole house painted and functional.  Two rooms still to paint. All the living spaces are functional, and actually getting some decor up in this house. It is a work in progress. :) The basement... that's another story. 

14.            Weekly family devotionals and communion. No. just no. I am really disappointed I did not put more effort into this. No excuses.

15.            Make a friend. Dare I say it... yes. I do believe I have a genuine friend or two in the state of Maryland. :)

           So I still have 41 days to get some stuff done. And next Tuesday (the 24th) is 35 days until my 35th birthday... and I have some fun stuff planned to maybe help get closer to some of these goals (and some other stuff that has nothing to do with these goals too :)). 

           BUT... here is what I have learned about myself so far this year: When it comes to giving things up, especially if I have prayed about it and I feel like it is something the Lord wants me to do, I do it. I don't like it. I usually complain about it. But I do it. I think it is because I feel like if I ever give in and do the "forbidden" thing (drink soda, watch the movie, purchase the t-shirt) then I have messed it up for the year. So I feel like I am better (though I really hate doing them) at giving things up. 

           I have also discovered I am a procrastinator. I am supposed to do something... I put it off thinking, "I have plenty of time" or "I can focus on that next month". This leaves me with the problem of 41 days left... 25 lbs to loose, 615 miles to run, and 623 items yet to donate. I'm not good at this. I know. Maybe it will be something I focus on next year... or maybe not. :)

           I have several fun things planned for the 35 days leading up to my birthday. I hope to blog about it... I am determined to have the second half of my 30's be better than the first half. :)

        Thanks for joining me on the journey!

Snow Days

Holy Snow Batman! So in the last 2 weeks… we have had President’s Day, 3 snow days, 2 late starts, and one early release. In case you need help with the math… that means in the last 10 possible days of school, we have had 3 full days. WE. ARE. SCREEN-FREE!!! Meaning, no TV, no videos, no tablets… NOTHING! And it is not Spring, or Fall, or Summer. We are in the heart of winter here on the east coast, and it is COLD!  I think when I make a commitment, out loud, to my children… God just says… ”Hahahahahahahahaha…. Thou shalt be tested to keeping thy word… I cast upon thee…snow days.” (said in my best God voice of course). 

Ok… so it hasn’t been that horrible, but it has been a challenge. There have been many a day in the last couple weeks I have wanted to cave. And to be honest, I have cheated a couple times… I haven’t let me children… but I have. I’ve been online a couple times for the sake of killing time after everyone is in bed. I’m thankful for grace, and glad I still have my sanity. :)

Our first snow, we got about 7 inches here at the house. It was a super powdery snow. The first couple of days it wasn’t so bitterly cold that the kids couldn’t get out in it. So we had lots of sledding fun, tons of shoveling, and a very, very sad attempt at a snowman. 

 

We had a couple days of super bitter cold. No one was going outside. So we had painting, and board games, and reading, and legos, and more games, and more reading, and more legos, and more pipe cleaner jewelry than a girl could ever need.  

And just as a week rolled around, and the first day I could see grass on the ground again… we got another 3-4 inches. This was a better snowman making snow. :) And we got smart and rigged up (in the most ghetto fashion possible) a “snow plow” (I used that term very loosely) so we had a lot less shoveling.

I’m not going to lie and say it was all peachy… there were some fights, there were some, “what can we do NOW?” comments thrown out there… but all in all not horrible. I will say this… My house has been messier and louder in the last 3 weeks of no screens than it normally is, but my kids have used their brains and interacted with each other and laughed more in the last 3 weeks than normal too.  The kids have been helping out with things I normally do for them, like helping with meal prep, cleaning, unloading/reloading the dishwasher, loading and unloading washing machines, and folding laundry. These are all things they should probably have been doing, but it was easier for me to do it alone rather than have them help me. The initial goal was to get better attitudes for the kids, though I think God did a lot of teaching me the lessons on this one.  I really didn’t realize how much I wasn’t interacting with my kids they way I should. It’s not that I wasn’t interacting; I just don’t think I was doing it to the best of my ability. 

The verse  Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the away he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it has been through my mind about a million times in the last couple weeks.  

It is not always the easiest or the fastest way, but it necessary.  I’m not saying we will always be screen-free… we actually have a family movie night planed on Sunday to celebrate getting screens back… but it has definitely made me aware of how I over used them, and how to be better in my parenting as I move forward. 

So an update on goals…

-I still miss soda… I probably will all year long… but I haven’t caved.

-This month has been cold and snowy. I have been running, but not nearly as much as I need to in order to reach my goal. I’m hoping for some motivation to come with the spring weather.

-I haven’t left the house a lot with all the snowy weather, but I have been putting things in piles of where they are going… so not a lot of things have left my house this month, but many, many things have a destination.

-It’s been screen –free… so obviously haven’t given in to the Thursday night TV or R rated movies.

-I’m working on friends and getting plugged in. I took a leap of faith and started a run club at school. I still don’t love running, but I like for my kids to be active and this was a great way to get to know kids and teachers at school, so I’m going for it. Wish me luck.

-We have a paint day scheduled for tomorrow… so hoping it happens. I also finally have a vision of what I would like to do with décor… so at least I have something to work toward. ;)

-During screen free month I have got a lot of Bible reading done. :) I’m finally ahead of schedule on one of these things. 

And now a confession… I tried to scam the rule. I tried to see what I could get away with, without “technically” breaking a rule… and God put me in my place.  So I bought the girls these super cute/stylish headbands that I could “borrow.” Well, I let Eleni wear it to school first, obviously, because I’m not making accessory and clothing purchases for myself this year. I made sure to remind her to take extra special care of this headband and not to loose it (she never looses her headbands… I’m not sure why I felt the need to emphasize it to her this day… but I did). And the first thing she said to me when I picked her up from school, “I’m really sorry mom, I lost the headband today.” For real? Truth be told… I bought the dang thing for me and passed it off as something I could share with the girls, and she went and lost it. I even had the nerve to make her go back and look for it. I think it was God saying, “you can’t lie to me… I know your heart even if you don’t say it aloud.” So I’m saying it aloud to all of y’all reading… I cheated and I didn’t even get to wear the dang thing! Lesson learned.

I appreciate all the kind and encouraging comments, texts, and messages that people send. I’m glad that some of you can get something out of my ramblings. I still really miss Missouri and everything and everyone that comes with it.  It is always so nice to hear from home… especially during these cold, screen-free days. :)

 

Thanks for joining me on the journey!

February Happenings

So we are screen free (sort of) here at the Kriete house. We have had some pretty rotten attitudes from the kids and I could feel myself using the TV and/or electronic devices both as distraction to do what I needed to be doing and a babysitter for my kids.  So we have decided to cut out screens (for the purpose of entertainment or escape) until March 1^st. I get to check email/messenger and post blogs on Facebook, but otherwise I’m not on for now. It’s only been a week, and I can already tell a difference in the kid’s attitudes and mine as well. 

(Pre-warning… this blogpost might have a LOT of pics because I’m not posting on FB right now.)

I’m not going to lie… there have been times that I miss saying, “go watch ______” so I can get a task finished without interruption or inconvenience. Saturday morning was a wake up call. My kids were lost without the option of veg’ing out in front of screen until everyone was ready to be up and about.  There has been a lot more reading, board game playing, lego building, puzzle assembling, and kitchen playing… and not just by the kids. 

It has also made me aware of how much I do FOR my kids instead of WITH them. So I have had a lot more help in the kitchen and on projects. This does not always make the task easier or faster, but it is what I feel I should be doing, and I don’t do it well.  I’m not saying I want to be screen free forever, but the few times that we have given it up for a period of time as a reset have always been good for our family. We have 8-12 inches of snow coming tonight… so we will see how long this Postive Polly attitude lasts being trapped in doors. ;)

It was an abnormally busy week here, which has probably helped in the not missing screens so much department. We had Aunt Ivy and Uncle Derrick here. They were supposed to head out Monday, but weather delayed them an extra day (which was GREAT for us). Addi got some special one-on-one time while the other kids were at school. And we had a whole extra evening with them!

Tuesday we had a delay start because of weather… which I think is what threw my whole week off! The kids had award ceremonies on Wednesday. They do it a bit different here with K-2 in the morning and 3-5 in the afternoon… kind of eats up your entire day if you have lots of kids. Anyway, I got to school at 11am to realize that I missed the morning ceremony at 10am. :( I was super bummed that I missed Eleni (mostly because I knew she would be watching for me). I tried to make up for it by having lunch with her at school. She said it was WAY better than coming to awards. This way I could, “sit and chat and visit with her friends”.  It all worked out. She forgave me, and I stuck around for Brayden’s afternoon assembly.

It was Valentine’s week and the Sock Hop on Friday night, so we (and I do mean WE because we are screen free and doing EVERYTHING together) had lots of prep for parties and the Sock Hop. 

All of the kids wanted to make Valentine cards instead of purchase, and Brayden was the only one allowed, so he wanted to build a Valentine box. I would be lying if I said it all ran smoothly, there were zero tears shed, and no voices raised ever… but over all everyone finished and were proud of their end products with minimal casualties. Eric even mustarded up the strength to help Eleni with her Valentines that were covered in glitter (this is a HUGE step for the man that loathes glitter with all of his heart). 

The kids also created their teacher gifts (which was a big step for this craft-control mommy) and Eric and I stayed up late and got all the goodies made for parties.

The Sock hop was Friday. I must say… AMAZING! The PSTO here puts on some pretty fabulous events. Addi and I spent Friday morning (and even finishing up after all the parties) making poodles skirts. The kids looked adorable and had a BLAST! Eleni danced from the time she walked in the door until the DJ shut down! It was great see her in her element. She also won the hula hoop contest… which delighted her to death!

I must say, I was very surprised about Landen. He has really struggled this school year and with the move. It took him a bit to warm up, but after he got a root beer float in him… he was showing off his best white boy moves. It was very entertaining (and honestly relieving) to see that he felt so comfortable there with his friends. 

We have another family that we swapped childcare with, so Eric and I got to go on a date (PRAISE THE LORD!). We went to dinner and ice skating. I have never been ice skating… Eric on the other had, was apparently a professional ice skater in another life. Needless to say I was a bit mortified when I realized we weren’t going to be struggling through this together. I got to use the “assistance” that was provided. This came in the form of what looked like a walker on ice. My most humbling moment came when two 8-10 year olds came up to me with their “assistance” and asked if I wanted to race (probably know that this would be someone they could beat). So I didn’t have a fantastic attitude in the beginning, but I got the hang of it and was an independent (smiling) skater by the time we left.  It was a great date night!

So if you’ve hung in this long… thanks for reading this super long post. I’ll update on some of the goals later this week!

 

Thanks for joining me on the journey!