Simplicity

Lately life has been hectic, stressful, exciting and exhausting.  Sean and I often find ourselves so stressed at the end of the day that we are struggling with  dealing with even the little things.  We closed on our house December 2nd and are now diving in (head first) into renovations so we can move in ASAP.  Why the rush? I will be going full time with my company in January, which means I will be taking call.  Right now, we are at least 45 minutes from the closest hospital, which is too far in the case of an emergency.  Unfortunately, this puts us in a bit of a time crunch!  Add the holiday season in and we are feeling a little in over our head!  We decided a couple weekends ago that our painting, flooring, bathroom remodel and everything else was going to have to be done by a contractor. At the end of the day, we would rather spend time together as a family, even if it means we have to spend more money.  So that's kinda where we are, we got all the quotes for the work this week and will be moving forward ASAP.  

All of this stress has made me re-examine how we deal with this stuff as a family.  The week we closed on our house we had a couple later bedtimes for Griff.  He didn't do so well with that, and I think as much as we try not to show it in front of him, he picks up on our stress.  The other day he got in a fight at daycare because he took a toy from another child. The kid didn't like it and hit Griffin and scratched him up.  I was really upset about it because his teacher said he was really on edge that day and could tell Griffin wasn't acting himself.  I guess I could chalk it up to just a bad day but I know he has had a hard time sleeping lately and hasn't been eating very well.  These are all red flags to me so I have to stop and examine what is really going on with him.  Toddlers who feel a little out of control tend to try and control the things they can, like what they are going to eat, how they are going to sleep and how they are going to interact with others.  So we are taking a little time out from life for the next week. I'm saying no to picking up more work and we are going to stay home, nap when he needs to and just over all take a break.  He needs his mommy and daddy to help him reset and deal with his ever changing world.  

During our break I'm going to continue to try to de-clutter and simplify our home life and focus on what's best for him.  My first step was to go through his toys and pack up almost everything (especially toys that came with a battery) except for about 10 of his cherished toys.  Too many choices and clutter is stressful for him and us so I have been putting his toys into a rotation.  He seems to have a much longer attention span when playing now, partly because he is not in "toy overload" and he is actually playing more!

The second thing I am doing is try and completely eliminate all of his screen time.  TV, iPad,iPhone, even looking a pictures with my camera.  I don't mind the occasional video here and there but I literally cannot stand the zone he goes into when he watches TV.  I have been reading a lot about how TV and things like that condition the developing brain of a baby or toddler to become accostomed to the bright lights and action they see.  To the point where the brain craves this type of entertainment.  Doesn't seem healthy now or in the long term so the TV time in our house happens after baby is in bed.  

Lastly, "house talk" won't happen in front of him anymore.  I want to try and make a long term change over the content of our conversation while he is around.  Not too much grown up stuff!   If Sean and I really focused on getting everything done on our house 24/7, we would blink and miss our son's growth and development for a year.  SO not worth it.  Being present in his life is what is important for us as a family and for him.  He needs strong, loving, present leaders for parents..not absent, stressed, inconsistent people.  

So, I'm calling for simplicity! No more over extending ourselves with family functions, house renovations, or errands. We are going to focus on our little family of 3 (well 5 if you count the pups:) and filter out all the noise so we can enjoy our little boy and be there for each other when we need it the most.