It’s a New Year, and what follows is a newly refreshed outlook on how we can improve ourselves and our home life throughout the year. Over the past year, I’ve personally had the chance to reflect on our family and home life. Sitting down in the silence and writing down all the areas in which I can improve as a SAHM and a flower farming business owner has been very enlightening.
This past year came and went in the blink of an eye – we dealt with family hardship – my sister in law being diagnosed with Glioblastoma. It’s crazy how your perspective on life changes when someone so close to you is dealing with such a horrific illness.
Our household has been able to step in during this time of need and I feel blessed to be able to do that. At the same time, my intentions for this New Year have shifted.
These three questions stood out to me as I reflected on the year ahead:
How can I better our daily lives and household for our mind, body and souls?
What ways can I improve in being a SAHM/homemaker, business owner, sister and friend during a time that is not our usual “norm”?
How can I create peace in our home on a daily basis?
Bettering our mind, body and souls
This year we have BIG intentions towards making sure we are bettering our mind, body and souls as a family unit.
Soul: Shifting our focus and making daily prayer a priority. Life is short, eternity is forever – we NEED to be in constant communication with God. We are not in control and this past year has proven that. Living our lives with God at our center is something we are working hard at improving this year. First, we are trying to incorporate nightly prayers and a solid routine around this. We found a prayer that we love, followed by stating what we are thankful for and our intentions as a group. I also want to lean more into having our kids rely on prayer during times they are struggling. I suggest, “why don’t you pray about it”, not as a cop out, but a way to start building that communication between God at a young age. Teaching our kids about our Catholic faith is important – yes they have school, but learning new prayers, attending confession more regularly and acting more Christ like is important for them to see at home!
Body: Since my sister in laws diagnosis, we have seen the ways she has altered her daily life from a health perspective. She put in a lot of research and listening to her talk about these things as well as doing our own research has been eye opening. Last year, I altered where we shop for groceries, trying to focus on more organic/local meat options. Is it more expensive? Yes, but it is worth it for our overall health. We’ve been focused on more home cooked meals – making sure they are healthier where we can be. Meal planning has been instrumental in our success in eating in and making good quality meals. I also am conscious about what snacks the kids are consuming on a daily basis. We aren’t super strict, but I have eliminated A LOT of junk snacks from our pantry. My husband and I are trying to fast once a month, my goal to get to a 72 hour autophagy fast.
We’ve also been conscious of the products we use around the house and on our body. I’ve switched our deodorants, soaps, shampoos, detergents and even some household items to reduce outside toxins as best we can. Again, these are all small little changes, but every bit can’t hurt!
Mind: I am EXTREMELY conscious about how the kids spend their time at home. You can ask them, they know I tell them daily to go use their imagination – you might even get a chuckle and an eye roll from them because I sound like a broken record, but I don’t care. In Winter, things are a little difficult as we are stuck in the house quite a bit, but that is where I want the kids to truly embrace this quiet and peaceful time and use their imagination. I’ve had to learn to accept myself that the “mess” is important. We currently have a UPS store in our front family room. The kids have been playing “church” non-stop and also school in our basement. I’m proud of the way they have been using their imagination, it truly is creative! This year, I want to encourage reading during free time. I hope to be able to read more myself. There is no reason our days should be packed with no quiet time from start to finish!
What ways can I improve in being a SAHM/homemaker, business owner, sister and friend during a time that is not our usual “norm”?
Bettering myself as a SAHM: One area I’m trying to do this, is by being motivated by the fact that this is my “job” and I have the ability and some free time available to tackle projects or pain points in our home and find solutions for them. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of maintaining a household, but being less busy is crucial for overall well-being. Last year, I tackled A LOT of home organization projects that I am proud of. My goal is to start viewing the house in the eyes of a minimalist. Trust me, I am not built this way naturally, so shifting this mindset can be challenging, but I am truly seeing how great it is! I want our house to flow, be super easy to maintain and ready for guests whenever. I want it to be a place where family and friends feel cozy and welcome!
I do have a pretty realistic approach towards our home. I know – it won’t be perfect, but maintaining and trying to focus on a couple areas in the home a day makes it manageable! For example, I dedicate my mornings to household management and try to keep afternoons open when the kids are home. I still do things in the afternoon, but I’m able to not be running around like a mad woman! By consciously planning my time, I try to avoid the trap of endless to-do lists and instead focus on what truly matters.
Speaking of planning our time, I want to be more attentive to setting up time to be with family and friends. This is so important. I find just making the first step of picking a date to get together and having it set in stone – the more likely the get together is set to happen! Being there for family and friends is so important and I want to make sure our family feels that. A simple text checking in, listening more and making time to get together is important. We’ve talked about having a tradition of Sunday dinner. People can pop in and out as they wish, it can be a quick meal, but having it 2 times a month allows our family to feel welcome and we make sure we are spending time! Nurturing our relationships and just being there with family and friends is the best medicine and so important! My friend and I have been working out together since the fall and even just meeting in the mornings for a little bit has been so great for us!
From a business standpoint, I have come to figure out what I want for my flower farming business, Sherman Acres Floral. What started as a hobby has morphed into something so special, but I am mindful of how far I want to take it in this phase of life. I spent time reflecting on my goals for the upcoming year, and my overall theme is working smarter not harder. I started this to be a part time business and I need to make sure I keep it as such. It is difficult to not get too carried away, but setting these boundaries is important for myself and my family! I want to implement more of a schedule and a start stop to my days. I decided to limit subscriptions this year and go all in on one stop drop offs that make sense. I also started selling single variety bouquet bundles that have saved me SO much time it’s not even funny!
Finally, dedicating downtime to spend with your kids is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a stay-at-home mom. It has looked a bit different this year as we have stepped in to help our family. We generally pivot and make sure we can help my brother, sister in law and kids as best we can! I do want to make sure I am conscious though, that my kids do need my presence during these times too. So making sure I prioritize dedicated family time each day is important to me.
How can I create peace in our home on a daily basis?
I want to be better about creating an environment that is peaceful for our kids. When they return home from school to a tidy house, you can tell things just flow better. My mood is naturally better, I feel like I’m a better Mom and I see the importance of my role as SAHM to keep a more tidy, peaceful environment. With less stress in our lives – this will also bring peace to our household. We’ve been trying to make an effort to say no more, not feel bad about having down time/lazy days and protecting our lives from extreme busyness. Trust me, fall and spring can be crazy times for us, but learning to be selective about what we participate in is important for our sanity. I don’t want to rush through each and every day missing all the little things because we were running around like mad. As a SAHM I feel peace in the house does fall heavily on me. How can I be a better wife and Mom for our home – that is something I want to think about everyday and put focus on.
Wow, that was a lot, but all major goals for the year ahead. It is wild how much life evolves and can change from year to year. It’s important to take the time to sit down and check in to make sure you keep on track!
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