Surprise! I DO Need Structure!!

This weekend marked the beginning of the end......the end of the lackadaisical, loosey-goosey, schedule-less, structure-less way Gunnar and I have been conducting our lives. Nason and I have always been very aware of how different we are, in that Nason prefers things to be orderly, planned, organized, and structured. I, on the other hand, can typically do without all that, and prefer to just kind of go with the flow, figure it out as I go, every day different than the one before, etc. In other words...structure smuckture. With the exception of some feeble attempts early on to get Gunnar on a good schedule, we have pretty much just been shooting from the hip ever since. Now, despite my aversion to too much structure, I actually DID have good intentions to change, because I strongly believe in the benefits of getting a baby on a good schedule, setting a predictable routine for them, and protecting their nap times, to allow them to get good quality sleep. However, a couple of factors got in the way of my good intentions: 1) Lack of planning, discipline, and backbone on my part, and 2)Some "health" issues with Gunnar (feeding/weight gain problems, ear infection, serious cold, etc). I reached my breaking point sometime last week though, and realized that I am going completely nuts without a schedule. There is no order to our days, Gunnar has no set nap times (in fact, he has no nap times really), I'm getting much less done around the house than what I feel like I should, and as a result, I don't enjoy my time with Gunnar to the very fullest, because I'm distracted thinking about all the things I haven't gotten done for the day. All that to say......this week marks the beginning of a two week period I have coined "Baby Bootcamp". I spent some time over the weekend creating a schedule that I think is just structured enough, but not TOO structured so as to drive me nuts, and so help me God, we are sticking to it!

Besides planning and creating "Baby Bootcamp" this weekend, I also spent some time planning out my goals for the year. New Year's (Plus Two Months) Resolutions, if you will. I have quite a few, and I won't bore you by sharing all of them, but here's a preview of a few of them:

- At least two date nights per month with Nason
- Read 4 "parenting" books this year
- Feed my family healthy meals....let junk food eating be the exception, not the rule that it has become. Make all of Gunnar's baby food.
- Weigh 120 pounds again
- Complete the half marathon in October
- Learn how to knit
- Become a bookworm again!!!! I used to read non-stop. Lately, I hardly ever do.
- Get to know our neighbors better
- Faithfully complete my DWOP (Discipleship with a Purpose) Bible Study, and memorize all 13 of the Bible verses. Memorize 7 more, once the study ends, for a total of 20 for the year.
- Become a better, more thoughtful, friend

There's quite a few more, but if I tell you them all, you might hold me to them! ;)