Days 11, 12, & 13

Seems like these days are really lining up with what's going on in my life right now.  Day 11 is about limitations and the understanding that "life is hard."  There are definitely days when you have to just let stuff go and focus on the small things that you can get accomplished.  It's so easy to just throw in the towel when we realize that we can't do it all, but we need to persevere and just press on.  Day 12 focused more on our unrealistic standards of perfection.  This is a hard one for me because I do like to have things done just right.  I've been working to allow myself the grace and patience to just make things "good enough."  That one small change in thinking has already made such a difference.  Day 13 is about fighting fatigue!  As a mom of 2 small boys this one seems to be a constant battle.  I liked several of her suggestions for ways to push through the tiredness, but sometimes you just need to take a nap!  I have to remind myself that if I'm not physically and mentally prepared to "deal" with my kids and the house then nothing positive is going to happen!! 

Martha challenges:  I'm a bit behind, but I'll get there eventually.  Day 11 was to wash your walls and dust the ceiling in the living room.  This just isn't going to happen for me - I have a 2 story ceiling!  So, I compromised and instead focused on cleaning the baseboards around the living room and kitchen and spot cleaned the walls.  We have builder grade flat paint, so it gets marked up all the time!  Oh well, it will be easy to touch up when necessary.  Day 12 was to clean and organize the electronics and shelves and shine all wood furniture.  I didn't get to this at all yesterday - I was just too wiped out.  Maybe today I'll get an extra boost of energy or uninterrupted time and be able to put a dent in it.  Day 13 says to steam clean your carpets.  I'd love to be able to actually clean the carpets - but the timing of it isn't going to happen.  So, in an effort to let go of some perfectionism I'm just going to settle for doing a detailed vacuuming session.