It seems like ever since I started linking up to #3ThingsThursday, the weeks are speeding by. Next thing I know, it’s time for me to pick 3 things to share with you. If you’d like to join in, please visit Pink Chai Living, The Write Balance or Love Laugh Mirch and add your link to the mix!

This week I am sharing 3 things I want more of; I’d love to hear if you could use more of these in your life, too. What would YOU add to this list? Leave a comment – I’m always happy to hear from you!

1. sleep

Something happened over Spring break that hadn’t happened in a long time: I started sleeping in. There were still a few days I was up earlier than the crew to throw a blog post together or schedule tweets for a client, but for the most part, I was lazing in bed sometimes till 8 am!! That’s an additional 2 hours of sleep than normal! Granted, about 75% of the time I’m still getting up once just before dawn to feed the baby back to sleep, but that is still bucketloads more sleep than I have gotten since before I got pregnant with this girl! And OH.MY. did it feel awesome!

First of all, the reason I set my alarm before the birds start singing is because I am pretty much guaranteed uninterrupted work time. Usually when I crank out these posts, it’s still dark out. And it was working for awhile. Until it wasn’t. I started crashing at 3 pm – a super inopportune time to crash since that is precisely when all 3 kids are in my loving care. Or my grumpy, easily-frustrated, tired care. Spring break sleep-ins taught me that I really do feel optimal with more sleep (imagine that!). And studies on the repercussions of sleep-deprivation have made it easy for me to make sleep more of a priority.

So, for the last week, I have been setting my alarm for 6:45 am. That gives me enough time to get ready, journal for a few minutes and then start the morning routine. That gives me an extra hour of sleep. I’m now blogging while the babe naps and doing other work when the kids go to bed, or right after dinner. You know, so I can give the kids some quality ‘dad’ time. I’ll let you know how this goes!

2. listening to my intuition

My dad was the first person to introduce me to the idea that we are all intuitive. As a child, this both thrilled and spooked me. As an adult, I can see how honing into this sense can be pretty useful. And really, it’s not about crystal balls and predictions…it’s about tuning into my inner voice and making decisions from that place. It’s the basis of authenticity, and I was reacquainted with this when I had my first baby. I had to sit for forever in the armchair feeding her, many, many times a day. And do nothing. Nothing but listen to my own thoughts until finally, those thoughts got quiet and other more grounded thoughts bubbled up from ‘nowhere’. And when I listened to those phrases I was guided back to writing and stepping back onto a path that was more ‘me.’

I want to use this gift more – something that we all have access to – and make empowered choices from this place.

The key symbol on this bracelet (a gift from Kate Muker, founder of Thriving Moms) is an affirmation that I am willing to be open to my own wisdom.

3. one on one time with my kids

It doesn’t matter how many kids you have, ‘making time’ to spend one-on-one with them is not always an easy task. You might remember I took my eldest daughter out for tea last year. And seriously, that was almost a year ago. My son at the time was not interested at all in spending time alone with me; he was disappointed the whole family wouldn’t join us on our date. But recently, when I asked him again, he said he would like to do something with just me – and in fact he wants to paint a mug at Create-It Emporium. I could always use a new piece of pottery, too, so that is definitely something we can plan!

As a family, we don’t really like to keep busy. We LOVE our lazy days when we don’t even get out of our pj’s and just plutter around the house; the kids can be playing, I can be trying out a new recipe, everyone can be doing their own thing and then we have these overlapping moments when we do things together or even just be near each other. No schedule, no outside interference…just us. While we do get out to let the kids experience things, and so we can connect with family and friends, our favourite place to be is home with each other.

But I think it’s worthwhile scheduling in these one-on-one times; they can be simple and inexpensive outings, but adventures nonetheless.

Thanks for reading again this week! Hope you enjoy your Easter long weekend! I may be back tomorrow with a book review, or it might come out next week. Because, you know, tomorrow sounds like a great day to sleep in!