Rhythms and Routines this January

Rhythms and routines... I think it's mostly my personality and the peacemaker in me, but I love thinking and creating healthy rhythms and routines for our home and family...knowing the stable and steady parts of my day and week that will be there most times. Last semester, it took a little while to find our grounding again with our days looking so differently than the past several years and with little Jane now a part of our family...

But Christmas break was such a restful time to reflect, and we had some time to think about changing a few rhythms that hadn't been working too well to ones that might better serve our family, and they have been game changers. Today I thought I'd just share a few and would love to hear any that you and your family are doing as well!! 

For one, we started using YNAB again. If you've never heard of it, it's an app called You Need A Budget, and it's a great way to keep track of all that you're making and all that you're spending. We've used it since we were married (and we both used it individually before), but when you're actually sitting down every month to put your budget in place, it really does make a world of difference. We upgraded about a year or two ago to the one that automatically tracks your purchases and that also made the biggest difference. Now we just have to categorize a transaction when it pops up, and it's the been the best way for us to keep track of all the categories and spending that each month holds. We sat down at the beginning of January and reset our categories, and it's been a regular part of our days this month. It's always such a blessing when we carve out time todo that. I couldn't recommend it enough if you're looking for a budget resetter. 

We also moved our workouts to virtual. We love Camp Gladiator and the mission behind it, and we really love our sweet trainer here in Nashville. I've been going to her workouts since 2018 and Pierce joined shortly before we got married, so that community has always been such a sweet part of our mornings each week. 

We used to go almost every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5:30 before school and work. But...with Jane, it just looked different... We used to try to go on Fridays and that worked for a bit, but it just didn't feel very sustainable. So, we switched our accounts to "virtual" and that has really helped us get back into more of a routine. Now, we can let Jane keep sleeping and head out to our garage on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to say hi to our sweet trainer as she trains virtually. If you're looking for a way to get some workouts in at home, it would be something fun to look into!! 

We also are reading through the Bible this year and it's been such a blessing. I know there are so many different plans out there and so many ways to complete this goal, but we've been doing a plan with our small group that is six days of reading with Sundays taking off mainly for church or study or getting caught up. And I know we're only a few weeks in, but it has felt like the most sustainable reading plan we've done yet and I've really enjoyed it. Absolutely feel free to download the plan here if you're looking for a place to start this year! We'd love to have you join us!! 

And I've already talked about the ESV Reader's Bible, but that's also been such a fun and fresh part of reading. It's actually really encouraging to read without headers or verse numbers. I find myself really enjoying each chapter instead of sometimes looking to see how many verses there are or what's coming up next. A fun recommendation if you're looking for something new in your reading. 

And lastly, we have really been trying to do a better job at setting ourselves up for success on the meal planning/grocery shopping part of life. I mentioned this in the Organizing Our Family post here, but we took some time to write down almost all of the meals we love and love to make. We used the Reminder app and wrote down all of the ingredients under each meal. So during the weekend, we can now just go through and click the five or six meals we want to make for the week and all of the ingredients are already there for us to add to our grocery list. It's been such a blessing and a system that feels really manageable, quick and simple. It seems perfect for this little season we're in right now. 

We've also been picking up our groceries after church on Sundays, and I just don't think I will ever not be so grateful for people that are doing our grocery shopping. I really don't mind grocery shopping and love going with Jane, but in this season right now, it's really nice to have someone have everything ready to just simply pick it up. Goodness, I am so thankful for that small blessing!! 

And as a bonus one over here... I'm reading The Lazy Genius Way and just loving it so much. I love her heart for the home and for habits and for creating spaces that function well for your family and matter most to your heart. It's been such an encouraging read the past week or so, and I'm already loving how inspiring it's been to my little mind and heart.  I'll have to post more soon and update all that I'm putting into practice, but I had to share incase you're looking for a great little read this January as you're finding rhythms and routines as well! 

Well, that about sums up a few of the big things we're doing over here this January. It's felt like a really good month, even though sometimes I think it feels like the longest out of the twelve. It's always a fun fresh start and to my brain, it always feels good to take some inventory and figure out what might work better for us over here. I'd love to hear what life looks like for you right now and some rhythms and routines you are putting into place as well!! I hope you guys have a great Tuesday!!! 

I'll see you back here tomorrow!!
Blessings,

Tab