There Is Gunna Be Some Changin Round Here...

So as the title suggest there is going to be some changes made to our lives in the next few months. And, no, I am not just referring to the addition of another child.

I am in the beginning of a complete overhaul of our ways. Everything from the kids behavior, to chores, to cleaning, and beyond.

With this pregnancy has also come the need to make things as simple as possible not only for me but for the rest of my family. We all know the sayings, "A happy Mama is a happy family" or "If Mama ain't happy, no one is happy", right? Well that is what we are working on.

I feel like i spend way to much time asking for things to get done and inevitably end up doing them myself. This often leaves me stressed, tired, and angry. In turn i then spend the rest of my time bitching about not receiving any help, or how things just are not working out the way we have them now.

So i have decided to stop bitching and start implementing a new plan. It started last week when i did a complete overhaul of our closets and dressers. I went through every piece of clothing in this house and gave away what we didn't need, want, or wear. I also went through shoes, blankets (am i the only one who has a gazillion blankets and no clue where they came from?), sheets...etc. This is the results:

One 10 gallon bucket of blankets/sheets/pillowcases

One 10 gallon container of shoes

And what ended up being 8 bags of clothes and another 2 bag of blankets.

I feel lighter in a way having all of this stuff that never got used out of the house and going to people who truly need them.

The next thing we are working on is a massive clean up and organization party (or that's what i am calling it).

So far i have managed to get the kids room, my room, and the living room completely rearranged and cleaned from top to bottom. Next on the list is the harder rooms like the dinning room, kitchen, and laundry room. Those are the rooms where we eat cook and do a lot of things that usually require daily cleaning so we saved those for last.

As far as behaviors go we are working on things one step at a time. It begins with taking responsibility for their things. When they come in the house and take off their shoes they go by the door and no where else. If they take off their clothes they go into the designated laundry basket (there are 3 one for the kids, one for mommy and daddy, one for daddy's work clothes). Toys are to be picked up every night before bed and put in the toy box. If i or daddy have to pick them up they go away for awhile not to be played with until they earn them back. They lost the TV in their room on Sunday since they refused to clean and wont get it back until Sunday if and only if they can keep their room clean for the rest of the week. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Other things we are working on with them is indoor vs outdoor behavior. Screaming and yelling along with running, jumping, and flipping are to be done outside not in the house. We are working on attitudes and how we speak to people if we want people to respond nicely to us. If they want to cry of have a tantrum they must do it in the privacy of their own room and come out only when they are done.

My sister is making me a star reward chart to help implement these new changes. They can earn up to 10 stars a day and 70 a week. They get these stars by following the 10 rules (which are board to encompass the difference in age). If at the end of each day they have earned at least 8 stars they get a small treat like a candy or some special treat and at the end of the week if they have at least 50 out of 70 stars they get a prize like a small toy or something similar. If at the end of 4 weeks they have at least 200 out of the possible 280 they will get a trip to say Chuck-E-Cheeze or the Toy Store or something similar.

I think this will work great because the school they attend does a similar system. They get hand stamps at the end of the day all week and if they get all their hand stamps Mon - Thurs they get to pick a treasure from the treasure box on Friday. I will update you more about this who chart and how it is working as we get into it.

As for my husband and I we are going to have to do some compromising of chores. He is usually responsible for the kitchen since i do all the cooking but i have come to realize i hate having to tell him 20 times a day to wash the dishes.

So my new idea is that i will wash the morning dishes that the kids and I use while he is at work and then he can be responsible for cleaning up after dinner in the evening. Other compromises are to come I am sure.

Other things going on with us include cutting out nap time for the boys. It is a long time coming but not only will it make it easier to get them up and ready for school in the mornings but it means they will be in bed and asleep by no later than 8. With them in bed early it will make things easier once Sione gets here. I am going to need that time to either go to bed early myself or have me time once they are in bed.

Also i will be moving dinner time up to 5 so we can all eat before we go to the football field. Practice during the week is from 6 to 8 and we will need to have already eaten so they can come home, maybe have a snack if they need it, and be bathed and in bed no later than 8:30. Thank God Little League Football is only a few more months.

So i am sure there are some things i have forgotten to mention but for now this is long enough and all i can really think of. Any ideas, suggestions, and comments are welcomed and appreciated.