Cautiously Optimistic

Other than a few bumps in the road (and what road doesn't have bumps?) today has flowed by at a nice even pace, leaving me cautiously optimistic. You know that feeling you get sometimes, when so many good things happen in a row that you just know something bad is going to happen? That's why I say "cautiously." It's like... I'm happy with the way things are going and I'm slowly starting to breathe comfortably again, but I'm bracing myself for when the sock full of rocks hits me in the head (that is an ongoing joke with my brother, I don't expect you to understand it; imagine instead just about any quick and unexpected object slamming into your skull-- it has the same effect).

The first good thing I got today was that I woke up with some amount of energy. Not a lot at first, but just the fact that I opened my eyes and actually wanted to keep them open is a big deal for me. I glanced over to the other side of the bed, where this time of morning (around 9 ish) I expect to see one or both of my boys. Neither of them were there. I sat up and listened for a moment, and did not hear them. I leaned over the edge of the bed and glanced down the hallway, into the boys' room (where I have a clear view of my youngest son's crib). He was still sound asleep. I was able to slowly get out of bed and get dressed without any hair pulling, crying, jumping, or rushing. It was very nice!

I tiptoed into the boys' room and saw that they were both still sleeping peacefully. I went back to my room and began working on the activities listed on my daily chart (you can read more about that on my post, Charting my Habits). I made my bed (which was NOT messed up immediately by jumping toddlers), I folded and put away ALL the laundry (which was NOT messed up immediately by curious toddlers) and I cleaned and swept the living room (which was NOT messed up immediately by snacking toddlers). It was amazing. I was able to enjoy my clean house for almost 2 hours without a crumb out of place.

I then went into the kitchen and washed ALL of the dishes, made myself a bagel, and was able to calmly sit down and SLOWLY eat it. In peace. I felt like I was being spoiled. When I was done eating I wiped down all the counters and the stove, then swept. By this time (around 11 am) the boys had begun waking up. I went into their room and put away their laundry, made their beds, and got them changed and dressed. We all went into the living room and I put on "Your Baby Can Read" while they ate their breakfasts. I mopped the house really quick, and when their video was over we went to the bathroom to brush teeth. My son is SO good about brushing his teeth. He's barely even three, but quite a few times a day he brings me his toothbrush and points to the faucet for me to turn on the water. He lets me take the brush first and clean his teeth, then I rinse it off and hand it to him so that he can brush them himself. He does such a great job! He watches me brush my teeth, and does everything I do. After he was finished, I let the boys play in their room (which I had been slowly cleaning up throughout the day) and I went into my room to check a few things off my chart... and before I knew it, realized that we had completed EVERYTHING on the list!

Right about then, my mother in law came over to pick up my oldest son. Today she's taking him to the rodeo, "to watch the cowboys ride the bulls." He was told about this Wednesday and has spent the last few days wandering the house in his cowboy hat saying "Yee haw!" It's adorable. Once they were out the door, I laid my other son down with a bottle and let him take a nap while I spot cleaned a few more things around the house and my bedroom, then checked Facebook. That was a few hours ago. It has been a nice, peaceful day... things are getting done quickly and efficiently... and to top it all off, it's Friday!

So, a few things I noticed about my chart system, which I'm excited about. I unknowingly (or perhaps subconsciously?) chose activities for this list that are making me do more than I expected. I finished the dishes today, so what did I do? I felt the need to complete that item and not just "check it off" so I wiped down every hard surface in the kitchen. Sweeping the house can't be done unless the toys and such are picked up off the floor. So I picked things up, put them where they belong, and before I knew it the bedrooms were cleaned and organized. I folded all of the laundry, and having an empty laundry basket inspired me to collect any loose articles of clothing that might have ended up lying around the house (a few socks and a shirt). Knowing that 'working out' is on my list has made me think twice about piling that second serving onto my plate, or grabbing that Coke can before noon. I wasn't expecting to get so much extra done just by listing a few basic activities/chores. Today marked day 10 of my chart, and I'm still following through. I'm very optimistic about this chart system, and so glad to see positive results so early. It's very motivating.

One more exciting turn of events recently-- new internet! As many of you know, my husband and I play World of Warcraft together in the evenings. The problem is, Blizzard (the company who makes the game) does not support satellite internet. We can play the game, but it lags. What that means is that when we click a button, it takes a few seconds for the game to register that we pressed that button, and any actions we take in the game are affected. We have never been able to truly enjoy the game, because we are always worried that the smallest rain cloud outside will disconnect us, or that our lag will get worse when we attempt to interact in any parts of the game that get more intense (such as battlegrounds, raids, or dungeons). My husband has been searching for any possible way to get us a better internet connection... but sadly, living so far from town has it's price. For us, that means no such internet connection exists.
...or does it?

My hubby decided to test out the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. He ordered it online and it arrived the other day. We turned it on, and our computers recognized a new wireless internet connection. We connected to it... logged into World of Warcraft... and the magic began. Our latency (the amount of lag we experience) which on satellite internet was 1500 at it's lowest, was now 158 on this Hotspot! We tested it out for a few hours. We were able to do those "intense" situations in game-- the battlegrounds, the raids, the dungeons-- all of it. Without disconnecting. Without lag. It is an entirely new game to us, and we LOVE it. We are continuing to use our satellite internet on regular web browsing and downloading, since the Hotspot has a monthly allowance of 5GB, but our evening entertainment is much more relaxing and much less frustrating.

So, that being said, it has been a pretty amazing day... I think that if I continue to stick to my chart, I can continue to see more energy, and keep a positive outlook on things. Especially with this new internet to unwind to in the evenings. Speaking of, I think I'll go log on now... See ya later, blog. =)