Veronica the Grouch

I've been allowing myself to complain too much lately. It occurred to me today that I've been irritated by the level of bickering and fighting among my children lately. I keep yelling at them to tell them to quit yelling.... which, now that I think about it, really doesn't make even the tiniest bit of sense!! I've been more a part of the problem than a part of the solution!

So I've set a New (School) Year's resolution for myself: I am going to spend some time each day reminding myself of all of the reasons that I am grateful for my children. And I am going to take some time to play board games or read stories with them several times a week, even if it means pulling out games or books when the house isn't clean yet!

I realized, as I was thinking about it during Sacrament meeting today, that one of the biggest irritations for me lately is that I have so much work to do, and all I want is to take time out to play with the kids! It is so frustrating to me when they ask if we can play a board game and I look around to see toys and books and dirty clothes strewn all over the house. The frustrating thing is not that they want to pull out one more thing to add to the mess (although, I guess that is a part of the frustration). What bothers me the most is that I want to play too, and I get sad thinking that I have to clean up and keep working so that the house will look nice, even when the kids are taking a break to play a fun game. So, why do I have to have a spotless house before I can play with the kids? Maybe, if I stop working for a bit and play with them for a little while, they will be more willing to help me clean up afterward.... I don't know if that will work, but I figure it's worth a shot, right? If nothing else, it will give me an excuse to play some of the games that are just sitting, unused, in my huge game closet right now....

Also, I'm going to try to get to bed earlier each night. Staying up late to try to get things done really isn't working, because all that happens is that I wind up falling asleep on the couch while trying to fold laundry or something like that. And it can't be helping with my grumpiness to be getting so little sleep each night! With that in mind, I am off to bed now!