Saturday, October 13, 2007

SMART Habit Saturday


Why do I participate in SMART Habits Saturday? Because it helps me to stretch myself and it gives me opportunities to see wonderful things happen. This last week I have been working on having dinner on the table no later than 10 minutes after DSSH gets home from work. On Tuesday I was preparing hamburgers and I had everything ready so early that I decided I had time to cook them on the BBQ. That evening my DSSH walked through the back door with a big smile. He gave me a big kiss and then told me, "I was walking up the street and I could smell that someone was having a BBQ. I was thinking, 'Man, some lucky dog is getting BBQ tonight.' Then I get in the backyard and I see that I'm the lucky dog." That made me smile the rest of that night because my man deserves to feel like a "lucky dog" for all he does for this family. Another wonderful thing that has come from having dinner ready on time is a clean kitchen afterwords. Because I am preparing dinner earlier I have more time to clean as I go so there is less mess, I also empty the dishwasher so it is ready for the kids to load with their dirty dishes. Oh, and on Sunday I was completely prepared and able to ask a recent divorce (His wife left him and took the kids and it has been really hard for him) to stay and have dinner with us when he stopped by to talk with my husband. So, I want to say THANK YOU to Laura for starting this wonderful program.
I did great on jumping out of bed. I started Monday rather sluggishly but then I told myself, "If you don't do it it won't be a habit and you will have to take it off your habit list." That made me jump out of bed, make my bed, clean my room, put on my walking clothes, and rotate a load of laundry. WooHoo!
Walking kids to pick Cookie up from school is going well too. I need to work on getting them ready for the walk BEFORE 2:55 so that there is less rushing, but we have had a great time looking at spiders along the way and getting the mail on our way back. This has also helped Cookie and I to have some nice, relaxed, carefree conversations as we walk back.

And now for the new habit... What part of my life could use some good ol' stretch marks? I never thought that this would be an area that would need work but I seriously need to start habitually reading WITH my children everyday. My kids read all the time. Every night as we tuck them in they are all reading something, even little Sweet Terror has a book in her hands. She likes to talk to the pictures. but for some sad reason I have stopped sitting with them for a good reading time. So, Mon-Fri after I come home from taking Cookie to school we will all have breakfast and then we will have reading time. This will require special effort on Tuesdays because we leave rather early for a co-op that we go to. It will make me stretch, but it is definitely going to be worth it.

15 comments:

andalucy said...

good luck with reading aloud. I recommend The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the reading. My kids love books and are too young to read to themselves. I want to continue that love and teach them all of the great books there are out there, so we are always trying to keep up with reading every night!

Montserrat said...

Our family read-aloud time is everyone's favorite time of day. Please tell us about the books you end up reading!

How great that DH could be the 'lucky dog!'

penguinsandladybugs said...

That is a great habit!!! Everyone will enjoy it!!

Kassie said...

Got a good laugh over the Lucky Dog story! Hooray for you, being able to surprise him like that. Hope your reading time becomes a precious time for you and a habit as well. Good Luck!

An Ordinary Mom said...

Your habits are coming along quite nicely. Go you!

Good luck with the Family Read Time. Not that Keri is reading a lot on her own, I need to be careful not to neglect this in our house, too.

Rebecca said...

I so hope I can make my hubby feel like a 'lucky dog' someday. That's great. I really need to start planning my menu & find a way to get excited about cooking before hubby gets back. Great job on your habits & have a great week.

Julie Q. said...

My 12 year old son just asked me this week if I would start reading another book aloud to them at night (it's been many months since I've included the older boys in what used to be a sacred family ritual). I imagined he was too old to care, but I guess you're never too old to have mom read to you :)

Your goals truly inspire me. I need to do better on making my hubby feel like a lucky dog.

Caffienated Cowgirl said...

You should be proud of yourself for committing to the SMART Habits...

And as for the reading - BRAVO! We read to Little Man every night (which is easy because he's so young), but it's something that we would never do without.

Anonymous said...

I'm right there with you on this habit! I also recommend the Read-Aloud Handbook, I'm in the middle of this right now.

And yay for you--making your husband the lucky dog!! Loved that story.

Anonymous said...

such a sweet story about your hubby. it is nie to be appreciated especially when you are making someone else feel appreciated! i love it!

reading with your kids is a great habit. as my kids got older, it seemed to happen less and less. my third grader has to read each day for school. i noticed he was having some trouble and began reading aloud with him and he has made huge improvements! it's a great way to bond but a great tool at the same time. enjoy!

Josi said...

You are so good! I love your enthusiastic commitment to your hunny. A lucky dog indeed. thanks for the kick in the pants to do better :-)

Lara said...

What a cute story about your husband! Finding the right books is key to a great reading time with the kids. Have fun!

Sonja said...

I. am. inspired! And I need to check out this program...I need some help in the good habits department.
Thanks SO much for sharing these. Keep up the AWESOME work!

Anonymous said...

Well done for getting dinner on the table on time. It is something that I often strive for and very rarely achieve...!