While I can’t believe it is 2009 already I am happy to have the opportunity for a fresh start. 2008 was a challenging year as I had too many balls in the air and tried to take on more than I could handle, saying yes more often than I should have. My goal to have Christmas wrapped up early failed as LIFE got in the way.

One of my favourite quotes, A GOAL without a PLAN is just a DREAM, has become my mantra as I realize most of my ideas are floating in my head and I don’t have a SOLID - DO-ABLE plan in place. So, with that in mind I am moving forward in 2009 with one thing on my mind: BALANCE.

My father passed away just before Christmas and since his passing I have reflected on what he taught me. My father, a simple man, was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He said what he meant and meant what he said and looking back at my childhood I can honestly say that he didn’t go on and on about anything. When something happened he dealt with it and moved on. I admire that in a person as spending your time in the past or worrying about things that are DONE or are out of your control is time wasted. My father taught me to listen more than I talked and to focus on the things that brought me joy. Dad had a garden every year, he built boats and he enjoyed a beer from time to time. When I would say goodnight, see you in the morning he would say “you might” because he took each day as it came and tried to make the best of it, like it was a gift. And sadly, the one lesson I learned from my father is that if you don’t take care of yourself - if you smoke and don’t get checkups - you may spend some of your final days not enjoying them like you had intended. This lesson will stay with me and my family forever as we strive to be a healthier family, not to “look good” but to live in a way that we are able to do the things we love to do - to have a great quality of life. Our new family mantra is - What tastes better CHIPS or LIFE!

I hope you will join me as I continue my quest to find BALANCE in my life - it won’t be easy but it will be worth it! Like you, each part of my life is important, my family, my kids, my husband, myself, my friends and my work. All of these things bring me great joy but when I spend too much time in one area I feel depleted. I hope you will share some of your strategies along the way!

So what is my PLAN? This year I PLAN to say NO a lot more. I will only take on things that bring joy to my life, simplifying life as much as I can so I have more time for what really matters. I PLAN to learn from others and look forward to the year long MomTalk Series on Work from Home Moms. And most importantly I PLAN to use a calendar/day planner to insure I am dividing my time accordingly. I think when you plan your day you are more likely to accomplish more. Of course that time planning has to be realistic! Incremental planning might seem over-the top but it helps you to see how long it really takes you to do a task. Putting more on your to-do list than you can possibly accomplish leaves you with a failed outcome.

I use to thing “multi-tasking” was the way to go, and to a certain extend you have to bounce between the important things in your life in order to get things done, but there are some tasks that can be accomplished more when you focus on them. I recently listened to a MomTalk podcast with Supermom Kathy Buckworth and discovered the benefits of having a laundry day. If piles of laundry are making you crazy I encourage you to listen too!

Stay tuned as I discover new and interesting ways to find balance in my life!

Happy New Year

Helen

It’s Family Day at our house! We are actually getting ready for a yard sale so the evening may not include a lot of family fun but we are making room for some new holiday gifts by getting rid of things the kids have outgrown or no longer need or use.

Part of the holiday season - the one we are working towards is the time we spend together with our own families and with extended family and friends. So today lets think about what we WANT to do when we have all the MUST DO stuff done. Maybe you want to host a christmas party this year? How about inviting some of your kids friends over to make cookies - just for the fun of it! Maybe you want to have a neighbourhood gingerbread contest or one within your family or group of friends? If you work at getting things ready by the middle of November, you will have time for all of these fun things.

Grab the family and make a list of what you want to do. You might want to try this idea from Cara and I from the summer - it is easily tranferred into December. All you need is a short brain-storming session and some paper and pens. When you show the kids how much fun you can have in December - they will all want to work together to make it a reality! Click here to watch the summer fun project and then make it a December fun project tonight!

Here are a few things we have done in the past or want to do this year.

Christmas Lights Drive

We make some hot chocolate and put it into car friendly cups. We all jump into the car and drive around looking at the lights. We stop at the main display in our town and get out and enjoy the light display.

Christmas Stories

We read two everyday during the month of December. I have a crate of books and the kids pick one each and we cuddle up on our bed to enjoy the stories. They have favourites and we pick up a few new ones each year. Watch the CPO Great Finds Blog for some new holiday titles to add to your collection this year!

Countdown

We love to countdown to Christmas with an advent calendar. We use a cloth one that I put treats into and sometimes I surprise the kids with a note instead of a chocolate. The note may be a clue to a little surprise in the house or something we may be doing as a family. Ice skating at a big outdoor rink, a family movie night with all-holiday movies or “invite a friend” may be included.

Christmas Movie

In addition to the DVDs we like to go to the movie theatre during the holiday season, where there is a Christmas movie playing. I am not sure if there is anything coming out this year but a good replacement would be a movie night at home where you can invite a bunch of friends or your kids friends to enjoy an old favourite. Serve up some popcorn and candy like they would get at the theatre!

Our “Wish List” for this year: Make our own candy canes!

I would love to hear what others do during the holiday season - or things you WISH you did but haven’t got to - but will this year, because you will be ready!

Have fun planning your holiday fun activity list!

Helen

Read Day 1 and 2 if you are just joining us in your quest to get ready for Christmas early enough to still have some holiday fun

Day 3…. Wednesdays is my project day. I like to use this day to get things done that I have either been avoiding or really want to get into. I stay up late once a week and this is the day! So, if you have any projects you want to get done before Christmas, consider making today your project day. If you are wondering what a project is - well anything that you need to get done (maybe a craft or homemade gift) or some extra cleaning. Having a late day each week means you have enough time to get into something and make progress. For me it is a big mess in the storage area of my basement and some of the cleaning I leave till later. I don’t do major cleaning at this time of year because I find when I put the holiday decorations away I like to do it then - I have more time (still busy with back to school settling in) and the new year is a great time to renew the house! So with the exception of the windows don’t feel you have to scrub everything down like your mom did - unless of course you enjoy that and January is not a good time for you!

Now - if you are like me you may have a list that is too long to accomplish overnight. So make the list and decide what you NEED and want to have done by the time the holiday season rolls around. Then break the tasks up into chunks that you can work with and starting tonight and until the end of November - make Wednesday night your project night!

For me…. tonight I will be pulling out a bunch of junk that we do not need in preparation for a yard sale we are having on Saturday. I am also working on my spice drawer and cutlery drawers - right now they are upside down and it is driving me crazy!

One final note - if your project lis is too long you might want to consider joining the CPO Clutter Control Club. The club gives you a step by step approach to getting your clutter under control. Click here to find out more….