40 Days to Kindergarten: Day 8 | July 19, 2026 | A Week In

Well… Week 1 is officially behind us. If I’m being honest, it didn’t exactly go the way I pictured it. 😂

Last Sunday I was feeling so motivated. In my head, I was going to wake up early every morning, get to bed on time, jump back into healthy routines, keep the house running smoothly, and have this whole “new life” thing figured out by the end of the week. Turns out… life doesn’t work like that.

This week was full of some really beautiful moments. Alessandra got her first haircut, we had our little pookie and bestie day, and then she was baptized. We spent a lot of quality time together as a family, laughed a lot, made memories I’ll never forget, and I honestly cried tears of pure joy for the first time in a long time.

But it was also a week of late nights, hard conversations, emotions, and realizing that old habits don’t disappear overnight just because I decided they should. But I think I'm okay with that, because one thing I don’t want this journal to become is a highlight reel where every week sounds perfect. That’s not why I started this, and that wouldn't be authentic. I wanted an honest record of our lives. The good, the messy, the funny, the frustrating… all of it. So here’s my honest Week 1 recap.

Wins this week:

• We spent intentional time together as a family.

• Alessandra faced a fear and got her very first haircut.

• We had an awesome pookie and bestie day.

• She was baptized and surrounded by so much love.

• I was reminded that ownership starts with me.

• I laughed a lot.

• I cried happy tears.

  
  

Still needs some work…

• Going to bed before midnight. 😅

• Waking up early enough to actually enjoy the mornings.

• Getting our routines back after the move.

• Setting our family systems back up instead of just winging it every day.

• Moving my body.

  
  

So here’s what I’m focusing on this week:

• Get the Skylight Calendar back up and running.

• Go to bed earlier… seriously.

• Wake up before everyone else and have a peaceful start to the day.

• Continue making intentional time for our family.

• Be more consistent instead of trying to be perfect.

• Keep putting God first, even when life feels busy.

  
  

If there’s one thing I really need to own, it’s my bedtime. Joey definitely makes this one more difficult for me to accomplish, but let’s be honest… he’s not keeping me awake. I am. I have the worst case of FOMO. 😂 Literally anyone who knows me can attest to this.

I convince myself that if I go to bed, I’m going to miss something and/or that if I stay up it will be fine, I will still wake up early and get it all done. Then the next morning snooze multiple times, I’m exhausted, dragging myself out of bed, and wondering why in the world I did that to myself.

The answer? Because apparently I forget this lesson every single night. 😂

The crazy part is that it is literally never worth it. Not once have I woken up thinking, “Man, I’m really glad I stayed up so late.”

So this week, I’m choosing sleep. Not because it’s exciting, but because I know I’m a better wife, mom, employee, and human when I’m rested. And honestly, if I can’t get something as basic as sleep under control, the rest of these goals are going to be a whole lot harder.

Week 1 may not have looked exactly how I imagined, but when I go back and read my very first post, I realize something. I never said I wanted perfection. I said I wanted to be intentional, wanted our home to feel calmer, wanted us to enjoy each other again, wanted to build a stronger foundation before kindergarten.

I think we’re already doing that. Maybe not in the way I expected, but we’re doing it... one day at a time.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” — Psalm 127:1

I chose this verse in my very first post, and I think it’s worth repeating. It’s a good reminder that this challenge isn’t really about color-coded calendars, earlier bedtimes, or checking boxes. Those things matter, but they’re not the foundation. The foundation is inviting God into our home and trusting Him to build the kind of family we’re trying to become.