Challenges

Within this past month, Sunday night is the start of my anxiety for the week. The laundry is piling up again--didn't I just finish doing the laundry on Friday?? What are we going to cook for next week? Do we need to hit the grocery stores one last time? We have to get the girls back into their "normal" routine!

Sometimes, our weekends are just as busy as our weekdays, in that we're going from one store to another. We do enjoy our walks up and down the aisles at Costco, grazing from one food sample stop to another...and then back again to our FAVORITES. By the time we get home, we've got a dozen bags from Henry's and a couple from Trader Joe's. Then, it's time to put all the groceries away, cook a meal or two, squeeze in some play time and family time before getting through dinner and flying through bedtime routines.

Sunday is the one day that's more laid back for us. Sometimes Savannah (and Robert) get a nap in the afternoon. It's also the one day we're free to visit Gramma and Grampa, especially since it's Grampa's day off. It's an added bonus if Alyssa and Mike are there too! But as the hours pass, and the day is drawing to a close, I feel my stress level start to rise. Another week starting, which means it's time to juggle all my responsibilities, which seem endless.

My top challenges are related to cooking, taking care of the household chores, and disciplining.

I have grown to enjoy cooking, and definitely love making cream of chicken and cream of mushroom for our newly-found favorite recipes. The problem is that it takes time--a whole lot of time--to make, and that's just one ingredient in the recipe. In the meantime, I am missing out on playing with Savannah and Gaby. There's still the crockpot, but it takes planning to make sure everything is ready (and thawed out) in the morning. AND planning has not been my forte the past few weeks.

I am thankful that I am able to put together a really good breakfast, lunch and snack for Savannah's school days. As for Robert and myself, we have to find our lunches somewhere between clients.

On to household chores! The laundry is the chore I would like to do without, but cannot do without unless wearing nothing is acceptable in public. I don't know where all the clothes come from. Midweek, I am close to rejoicing that all the piles on the floor have made it through the wash and all I'm left to do is to put them all away. Suddenly, as if dropped off by the mother ship, there are two more piles to take care of before the weekend.

I am just happy that I can now see my desk and not have to be resting my arms on piles of "stuff" and tiptoe-typing. I am also enjoying a halfway organized bedroom. Not quite there yet on saying that it's a relaxing environment to escape to. The toys from downstairs seem to be making their way into our closets and spreading out on the floor.

The house is now cleared of Christmas decor. Yes, we finally got them all down and boxed just last weekend. I have pause and smile, and be appreciative of the stress it puts on me and my mom to have the house cleaned and dinner ready for their home fellowship night. If home fellowship didn't meet here this month, we'd probably still have Christmas decorations up until next month!

Now, anyone coming over wouldn't think there's a lot of clean up yet to be done. But, if you know us Niedo women, there is always, ALWAYS something to clean. And I'm not talking about the BIG projects either (the garage and the guest room). I'm just thinking about the kitchen counters that need a good wipe down, and that includes the items on the counters. The floors need vacuuming and mopping. The little things need to be put away, or make their way to the trash. Speaking of the trash, I think we're holding on to two weeks of dirty diaper trash--EWW!

Robert and I are still ironing out the kinks in our schedules, especially on the days that I work. It's getting better, especially in keeping more consistent with Savannah's bedtime routine. Just as I typed that out, I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us in giving Gaby a better bedtime routine. I do miss winding down at the end of the day with a few good shows and a bowl of coffee ice cream with strawberries. At this point in my life, going to bed close to 10:30 pm has become my first choice--obviously, tonight is not one of those nights...and I didn't even need caffeine to give me this extra kick!!

I saved our biggest challenge, and highest in importance for last: disciplining Savannah. It has grown increasingly more difficult the past couple of months. She seems to be more argumentative, and resistant. The potty issue is the worst. When Gaby was much younger, Savannah was getting to the point where she would go and sit on the toilet all by herself, and even change her own pull up. My attempts to getting her to sit on the toilet are met with the following phrases:

No, not yet!
I don't need to go potty.
I pee-pee already (last night).
There's nothing there.

At the same time, I am walking her to the bathroom while she's protesting and the behaviors are getting worse by each step. Bedtime can be like that too, especially when she's fighting sleep and wanting to stay up and watch a movie or play. We've dealt with nights of crying, screaming, and full blown tantrums lasting almost half an hour--try that at three in the morning.

Spankings are not working. In fact, they seem to escalate the behaviors, and we're seeing more aggression in her. Time outs are still our best option. Keeping her there until her time out is over is the tough part. We always talk to her about why she is getting the consequences we're giving her, and we know that she is truly understanding how they go hand in hand. She's put her own dolls in time out for the same offenses, saying, "___ is not listen-obey me." or "___ hit me.". She's even taken Pa to come see Charlie in time out, and said to him, "Pa, this is what I do.". She is a very smart girl and I know she thinks about these things and is coming to a better understanding how it all works out.