Accepting My Limitations

I've been working on this 31 Days to Clean Challenge and have to confess I've failed massively this week at the challenges.  But I'm trying to be okay with that.  I was pretty busy this week.  I was gone from home a lot and when I was at home a lot of other things needed my attention.  

My almost one year old is quite adventurous.  I've spent numerous hours this week keeping him out of trouble.  Even with all of that supervision he managed to get a bump on his head that I'm glad his newly cut bangs cover. That means I have fewer explanations to make.  :)   Brother Blessing is going to be the one that sends us to the ER for the first time - I just know it..  His wonderfully fun (well, most of the time) curiosity makes even things like doing the dishes difficult.  He either is trying to get into the dishwasher and pull things out.  Or he is trying to get into something else that means stopping what I'm doing and rescuing him (he is obsessed with his sister's crayons).  I'm really trying to focus on the fact that he is only going to be this little for so long.  Some days I'm successful at that and other days I freely admit my frustration levels are high.

Brother Blessing also hasn't been sleeping well this week which means Mommy isn't sleeping well.  I don't function very well when I am sleep deprived.  I struggle with this.  It zaps my patience and energy which leads to me feeling guilty because of something I've said or done or not done.  One of the chapters in the book this week talked about allowing yourself the freedom to do something that gets you excited.  This is a way to help you find the energy to do everything.  I realized how true this is.  I love to do crafts - mostly sewing, but I've dabbled in a lot of different crafty arenas.  I really like to make gifts for people.  This week I've been working on a gift for Sister Blessing's wonderful preschool teacher for the end of the year.  I've also been working on a birthday shirt for Brother Blessing to wear at his party next weekend.  And I realized how much energy I had after letting my creative juices flow.  I always forget this between projects and get mired down in the nitty gritty of life.  I feel guilty doing crafts when my house is a mess.  But I think I'm going to have to remember to allow myself time to create in order to have the energy and patience to deal with the rest of my life. 

So I'm giving myself grace for this week.  And maybe next week, too, since we'll be getting ready for Brother Blessing's party.  ;)  But I'm just going to jump back in and do what I can.  I already can tell a difference with what I have done.  There are two goals I've thought about this week in relation to this challenge:

1. Having a "clean enough" house to be more deliberate in inviting friends over to spend time enjoying each others' company.
2. Having a "clean enough" house that I don't feel guilty when I want to spend time in my creative outlets.

I'm going to continue to try to do the challenges.  I'm just not going to worry about doing it in a certain time frame.  Even if my own challenge lasts longer than 31 days - that's okay.  All of the things I'm doing are helping me feel better about my home and helping me put things into the right perspective.