Progress Update

I thought it was about time for an update on how things are going with our family transition. If you aren’t familiar with what I’m talking about, I suggest reading my very first post – Adventures to Mom-topia.  It’s been about 2 months now and although I see major changes in our family dynamic, there is still work to do. Here are a few updates from the list:

YELLING: Although there is definitely less of it going on, I do catch myself at times. I have learned that yelling is the lazy way to get what you want and it’s more out of my own frustration than anything. Luckily my son is good at reminding me when I’m yelling and I can take a moment to calm down. My son is also getting better at not doing it, although he still has some work to do. He often yells at his sister when she gets into his stuff or goes into his room and I’m trying to work on other ways he can sternly tell her how he feels without yelling or sounding rude.

CHORES: We are definitely not following it as closely anymore and we need a good kick in the butt in this department. It doesn’t help that our schedules lately have been all over the place. Our son hasn’t been following his schedule and I’m constantly reminding him to make his bed or clean up his toys. Laundry is getting done more often for sure but still not where I want to be. The kitchen is not bad though, Mike and I alternate who cleans up and although he has been working late a lot lately, it’s still getting done.

TIME-INS: Amazing, amazing, amazing! Although we aren’t sticking to the exact protocol each time, we are learning. It’s so easy to just send the kid to the stairs or their room so this has definitely been our biggest challenge. I catch myself falling into the old habit of “get to your room” but then I need to remind myself to go up there and have a time-in with him. We are talking more and getting those emotions out which is definitely making for a more positive household.

EAT DINNER TOGETHER: We are failing here, at least during the week. It’s been tough with Mike’s schedule, he doesn’t get home until late so I feed the kids first and then Mike and I eat later. I have been trying to sit down with the kids at the table any way but typically I have been using their dinner time to get the kitchen cleaned. However, I do engage in conversation with them while they eat so I guess that’s something. On the weekends though, we are doing great with this, sitting down together and having a nice dinner. Hopefully once we get back to a regular schedule in May, this will become more frequent.

FAMILY MEETINGS & WEEKLY GOALS: We are failing here as well. We haven’t had a meeting or worked on any goals in a couple weeks. Just coming out and admitting this now though is another good kick in the butt so I’m going to make sure we have one this weekend.

There are lots of positive things going on – we are definitely being more respectful to each other, talking a lot more and having more fun together. Our weekly game night is still going on. The reason that one is working out so well is because Nate pretty much runs it. He reminds us when it is game night, picks the game and gets it all set up. We don’t include Sophie quite yet but I think he prefers it that way.

I will admit this has been much more difficult than I first thought. However, I feel like we are definitely moving in the right direction, towards a more positive family dynamic.