Family By Divine Design:: Made a draft and never posted :D

THREE FOR THURSDAYS (prompt from awhile ago)

Three confessions:

I promised myself I would not yell at my children before I had them. Ahem. I am constantly trying to think of how to break this habit.
I sometimes let my kids watch way too much 'tv' (in quotes b/c it's really re-runs they're watching on Netflix). This last week for example I've done horribly. I really should try to make sure they get outside more b/c it won't be long before outside will not be where any of us want to be for very long.
I don't really like running. So why am I planning on training for a marathon? One, I want to be fit; two, I just want to be able to say that I've done it.

Three things I do to beat the heat:

This summer one of my solutions was to have a baby. The summer heat was much less oppressive when I wasn't growing a baby. :)
Our area really cools off well at night, so we open the windows wide at night and keep the blinds closed during the day. I'd like to have a little more daylight in my house, but since I also like the house cool I just have to get over it.
Eat copious amounts of ice cream . . . wait, I do that year-round!

Three lessons, skills, or new tricks I have learned this past month:

I shouldn't choose not to do something just because it's hard. Example: continue having children even though the ones I have occasionally drive me crazy and make me wonder why I wanted to be a mom so badly. :)
The number on my clothes does not matter a bit. Clothing is about being modest, and then it's about creating an optical illusion. Plus, the clothing industry is inconsistent across brands on how they size their clothes, AND they've been fudging the numbers for years. It's not about the number - it's about wearing whatever clothes don't make me look fat.
There are many things that affect the speed of recovery after having a baby, and some of them I have no control over. Having just had baby number three, and having felt like my previous recoveries went pretty darn well I can say that this one went the best. The only thing that I did differently this pregnancy was exercise consistently, and I'm fairly convinced that that one thing sped my recovery process the most. Never again will I be less than diligent in exercising during pregnancy.

Three things that motivate me to be a better person:

The first is not a thing, it's a person - my husband. We've been married almost seven years, and have known each other twice that long. I know all of his imperfections (and he knows mine), but I'm telling you he is awesome. He's strong where I'm weak and I love it that as time goes on I am growing in those areas. Marriage rocks.
My children motivate me to be a better person. I'm not a super awesome mom (in my opinion), but I'm a better person b/c of my kids. For example, I would totally let the routine of having family scripture study and prayer slide sometimes (and then it would happen more often than it should) if it weren't for my oldest son. His OCD tendency is that he's a very routine little man. The situation has to be very extreme for him to let the regular bedtime routine (which includes scripture and prayer) slide. I just realized this today, and it's awesome!
Temple covenants are a very strong motivator for me, and that's b/c I really want the promises to be fulfilled that are associated with those covenants.

Three things I would do if I wasn’t “Mommy”, married, and burdened with cares:

I'd be trying to get married.
If I were just married, I'd be trying to become "Mommy".
Frankly, as hard as being a parent is (much harder than I suspected) I generally don't wish I were doing something else. I have my moments, of course but I'm thankful for this role.

Three people I call first:

Three things I changed about my parenting after testing them out on my guinea pig child (first child):

Potty training will not happen when I want it to - it will happen when and only when my child is ready.
Yelling is only effective once or twice. Unfortunately, the yelling became a bit of a habit which I am now trying to break. But at least I know it doesn't work. :)
Ditto with spanking. In fact, in terms of disciplining children I just don't know what's the most effective. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. Everything seems to have varying levels of success at different times, with different children. Hm. Those kids really should have come with their own personalized manuals. hahaha

Three things that make me cry:

When I learn of people who's young children die. I don't have to know them, either. I'm an empathetic person, so I don't find it hard to put myself in their place. So naturally, it breaks my heart.
There have been a few times when I've been so unkind to my children I had to cry. It's a tough feeling when you reflect on how you've treated someone who is just a child and can't do so with any satisfaction.
There are times when I haven't been able to keep my home in a tolerable amount of order, and it's been so discouraging that I cried. Understand, my discouragement is not based on comparison to other people's homes. It's just based on how much disorder I can tolerate. Perhaps it's a silly thing to cry about, but I can't help it if my spirit requires order! It weighs me down.

Three things I’m going to accomplish before the summer is over:
I'll change it to before the month is over . . .

Run a 5K
I have several little disordered corners in my house at this moment - at least half of them will disappear before the month is out.
Go visiting teaching - right now I only have one sister to visit. That really should be a do-able goal. :)

Three pictures: