happy {good} friday!

wow. is it crazy how fast each month passes? writing these posts on the first friday of every month has really put time into a whole new perspective for me. when i think i have a month to do something it feels like plenty of time, but that is not the case!

if you are new to seejaneblog. you can catch up with what i’m doing by clicking here – January, February, and March!

for personal-housekeeping, my general list of happiness goals for the entire year so far are as follows:

• get the house/life organized
• no dumping
• be jane
• enjoy now

so dear readers, have you bought the book? {step one} have you started reading {step two} are you applying the ideas/goals to your daily life??? {step THREE!}

i believe in the idea that these goals are long-term and overlap one another. i started organizing our home in january after the holidays, and with the kids help, it is almost done. of course, this is a temporary-done, because life is a constant rotation of organizing and de-cluttering. passing around hand-me-downs/etc etc. it feels so good to currently be on top of this. kj was a little chief when it came to his room – he got rid of two bags of old toys + found two lost recorders from his music class at school. cleaning out the house is a great chance to take inventory on what we have/what we need/a whole lot of what we don’t need anymore.

• with all this organizing, i was motivated to continue some more unpacking & home decorating. after 9 months, i finally hung-up sela’s name banner {above} and have been hanging other artwork around our home. i’ve been hesitant to decorate too much since we are in this home temporarily while we rent. yet, the more i unpack & decorate, the more I sense our kiddos are comfy here. so, it’s worth the work. i even find myself liking this 160 year old house more and more.
• i have definitely slept more.  it’s very hard, but i just make myself stop what i’m doing & go to bed.
• i have not started walking more – but i’ve become totally addicted to hot yoga. are you a fan?
• still working on “no dumping” remember that means not to unload all of one’s personal problems on spouse. very challenging. in fact, i’d say i’m at an all-time low on this one. ugh.
• growth – working on it.
• be jane – i’m good on this.
• work smart – working on it, creating ways to collaborate with other bloggers.
• enjoy now – depending on the moment in my day, i am good or awful at this. how about you?

so. onto April! the theme in the happiness project for april is, Lighten Up – Parenthood.

because i am a parent to four children, i have a lot of notes written in this chapter – literally, in the book. lots of stars & asterisks by every other great comment gretchen makes. in fear of sounding redundant and writing a post that is a turn-off simply because of it’s length. the chapter can be summarized easiest by this paragraph found on the last page:

…my happier mood affected the household atmosphere. it’s true that “if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” and it’s also true that “if daddy ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” and that “you’re only as happy as your least happy child.” Each member of a family picks up and reflects everyone else’s emotions – but of course I could change no one’s actions except my own.

i find that when conflict arises in our home, if i just hug that person, listen and keep hugging, perhaps turn on one of our families favorite “happy” top 40 songs – the mood will pass without any criticism being exchanged. yet, how often i do the opposite of this. i say something like, “…be nice to each other, stop being rude!” or something to that effect…

for april, i am going to lighten up. what will you do?

xoxo.

{all photos by me. this is not a sponsored post.}