I've posted this on a couple of sites - but said I would post it here too. So this is my daily schedule - it's like the foundation of the house. I deviate it from it when needed, but always circle back to it. Every house hold runs differently - you have to find what works or you and yours.
6:30 - wake up
7-7:30 Wake up kids
8:00-8:10 - everyone out the door (I leave earlier a few days a week)
8:35 the oldest is dropped off at school by hubby
8:50-9 the little one is dropped off at daycare by hubby
noon - i'm eating lunch in front of my computer at work or socializing with friends
3:15 - school pick up for the oldest
3:45- leave work unless I have a meeting
4 pick up the little one - snack in the car
4:30 arrive home
4:30-5 (ish) the kids and I take a 30 minute unwind break. They can watch TV - but it gets turned off after 30 minutes. I set a timer
5:00-5:30 - homework for the eldest, the little one like to "help" me with dinner
5:30 they start to pick up their toys, put books up, get backpack ready for the next day, set the table, etc
6 :00 dinner is on the table
7:00 bath's for the kids, teeth brush, etc
7:30 book and snuggle - hubby wraps up dinner dishes, cleans the kitchen
8:00 lights out - kids like to fall asleep next to me - hubby moves them later
8:30 - I confess- I play games on FB (don't judge me)
by 9 I'm doing creative biz stuff
11 - hang out with hubby
11:30 he usually falls asleep and i keep working
12 - try for lights out, but often its 1 am (like now)
I know it sounds rigid and compartmentalized - but it works for all of us. They know exactly what to expect each day and in some way - it helps them feel more secure. Hope this gives you some ideas for setting a schedule for your own life :)
Showing posts with label mother. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mother. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Slacker
Well, it's official. We can add slacker to my list of transgressions against my Mother of the Year award, henceforth referred to as the MoY. I had a mother son date with my oldest (newly age 7 as I write this). Only lately has he been interested in my husband and I again, so we are taking all the opportunities we can get. Anyway, we went to the mall and passed by all the Easter stuff. I silently promised myself that I would return to pick up goodies for my two cherub's baskets. I had another three or four days left until the big E (who can remember time when you have two young children), so I decided to put it off until later. The next day passed, and then the next - there was an Estate Sale with a new friend-girl followed by tea at the most divine tea house I have ever been too - and then there were the Estate Sale treasures we found - but that is another post. In any case, Estate Sale day came and went, and still I had not Easter shopped. I wasn't worried though because I knew I had two more days to pull it together.
On Good Friday, I made my first attempt at sanding one of my Estate Sale treasures. This was a massive mistake on my part as I am still recovering from a car accident(s). So, neck, shoulders and back now screaming at me (and a pounding headache to round out that trifecta), I spent the rest of the day in bed - irritated and medicated. I was supposed to visit the new scrapbook store in town with another friend-girl, but she didn't get back in town in time. It worked out anyway - I was still in bed.
Today, Saturday that is, I had made plans to visit a third friend girl who had recently given birth. She was in desperate need of some girl/mommy time. Her beautiful new baby was nothing like her first baby. My friend girl was now learning one of the hard mommy lessons - you think you have it figured out with the first one and go confidently and competently into the second only to realize (a bit too late) that each one needs it's own individual operators manual. My friend girl was sleep deprived, in need of some hot food and a kind soul to bring her hot Starbuck's. I'm always willing to oblige a fellow addict when it comes to the big S - so I brought her two drinks instead of one. She was more than grateful. As it turns out, her baby is beyond super cute and snacky, and she loves to snuggle. I got almost two hours of baby snuggle time - and I haven't had that in a good three years or so. I know it sounds like I've digressed, but I'm circling back around to my point right now. I stayed a bit longer than I intended to, and even my husband had to text me to ask about dinner. I told him I was holding this sweet baby and seriously thinking about taking her home. He laughed and suggested I pick up McD's on my way back. By the time I got home with dinner, fed the children, bathed them, washed the little one's hair and pinned her down for a tangle comb out, trim and blow dry, it was 8:45 pm. It was long past their bed time, my Saturday before Easter (and it's shopping time) was gone, and now I could add McD's and late bed time to my list of transgressions against the MoY.
Trying to save time tonight, and secretly knowing this was NOT a good idea, I sweet talked my husband into running to the store for said Easter goodies. I asked him to pick up a bag of small Reese's peanut butter cups and two hollow chocolate bunnies - I demonstrated small circles for the former and approximated six inches for the latter. I should back up for a second to say this - I have a great husband, but he is NOT a great grocery shopper. He tries - but unless I am specific, he usually gets the wrong thing. I thought I was specific enough this time, gesticulating wildly to him what I was looking for when I sent him on his way. Pleased that I had solved my own dilemma, and truly thankful that he was saving my slacker mom ass, I turned my attention towards getting the kids in bed. Hubby came home all smiles and proudly showed me the bag...with six gigantic Reese's peanut butter eggs and two, twelve inch tall solid chocolate bunnies. My heart sank, but I had a back up bag of jelly beans. I thought I would be okay. Dont worry - I did not breathe a word of this to said wonderful husband. Nothing will dash future grocery store runs by him than my complaining that he got the wrong thing. Like laundry and mopping, I some day hope to have him trained in the fine art of grocery shopping. Okay - now I am digressing. Back to the story.
I looked at the sad bag of candy, the sad bag of jelly beans that I had already gotten into, and the baskets no longer looked as promising as I had hoped. Then I got to thinking about the items I had for their baskets this year, and comparing them to previous years baskets, I felt, well, like a crappy mom. I hemmed and hawed for a good thirty minutes or so while completing my farm chores on Facebook/Farmville and Country Life (lord, but I have a sick addiction to that game). I tried really hard to justify not going back to the store to pick up what I really wanted. I told myself that the kids would just be happy to GET candy since it's a rarity in our house. Slacker mom didn't win out though - guilt mom did. And there I was - at 11:30 pm the Saturday night before Easter, trapezing back out to the store to get what I really wanted for their baskets.
When I returned home, hubby had already pulled down the Easter paraphernalia and placed it in my craft room chair for my perusal. Did I mention that I also had not yet planned their Easter Egg hunt? In any case, at the predawn hour of 1:00 am, I got it all ready to go. I first had to repair the broken handle of the little ones basket which had mysteriously broken as it rested in the Easter paraphernalia box all year. I would like to tell you that I did something crafty and beautiful but I didn't - I used duct tape. If I could have found the box o' bows left over from Christmas, I would have happily covered up that duct tape in the hopes she wouldn't notice. But I couldn't find said box of bows, and the curved handle now has a distinct corner in it. You could say it's more of a redneck basket theme this year (and yes, I can say redneck - they're my people). As I picked out plastic eggs that coordinated with the cheap baskets, I couldn't help but notice that several of the plastic eggs were heavier than others. There was leftover Pez in the bottom of their baskets and unopened candy.
I sat back and laughed as I opened up still full plastic Easter Eggs from last year that they hadn't eaten. I felt truly silly for worrying so much about the contents of their Easter baskets when clearly - the candy wasn't that important to them.
Happy Easter everyone. Pictures to follow.
On Good Friday, I made my first attempt at sanding one of my Estate Sale treasures. This was a massive mistake on my part as I am still recovering from a car accident(s). So, neck, shoulders and back now screaming at me (and a pounding headache to round out that trifecta), I spent the rest of the day in bed - irritated and medicated. I was supposed to visit the new scrapbook store in town with another friend-girl, but she didn't get back in town in time. It worked out anyway - I was still in bed.
Today, Saturday that is, I had made plans to visit a third friend girl who had recently given birth. She was in desperate need of some girl/mommy time. Her beautiful new baby was nothing like her first baby. My friend girl was now learning one of the hard mommy lessons - you think you have it figured out with the first one and go confidently and competently into the second only to realize (a bit too late) that each one needs it's own individual operators manual. My friend girl was sleep deprived, in need of some hot food and a kind soul to bring her hot Starbuck's. I'm always willing to oblige a fellow addict when it comes to the big S - so I brought her two drinks instead of one. She was more than grateful. As it turns out, her baby is beyond super cute and snacky, and she loves to snuggle. I got almost two hours of baby snuggle time - and I haven't had that in a good three years or so. I know it sounds like I've digressed, but I'm circling back around to my point right now. I stayed a bit longer than I intended to, and even my husband had to text me to ask about dinner. I told him I was holding this sweet baby and seriously thinking about taking her home. He laughed and suggested I pick up McD's on my way back. By the time I got home with dinner, fed the children, bathed them, washed the little one's hair and pinned her down for a tangle comb out, trim and blow dry, it was 8:45 pm. It was long past their bed time, my Saturday before Easter (and it's shopping time) was gone, and now I could add McD's and late bed time to my list of transgressions against the MoY.
Trying to save time tonight, and secretly knowing this was NOT a good idea, I sweet talked my husband into running to the store for said Easter goodies. I asked him to pick up a bag of small Reese's peanut butter cups and two hollow chocolate bunnies - I demonstrated small circles for the former and approximated six inches for the latter. I should back up for a second to say this - I have a great husband, but he is NOT a great grocery shopper. He tries - but unless I am specific, he usually gets the wrong thing. I thought I was specific enough this time, gesticulating wildly to him what I was looking for when I sent him on his way. Pleased that I had solved my own dilemma, and truly thankful that he was saving my slacker mom ass, I turned my attention towards getting the kids in bed. Hubby came home all smiles and proudly showed me the bag...with six gigantic Reese's peanut butter eggs and two, twelve inch tall solid chocolate bunnies. My heart sank, but I had a back up bag of jelly beans. I thought I would be okay. Dont worry - I did not breathe a word of this to said wonderful husband. Nothing will dash future grocery store runs by him than my complaining that he got the wrong thing. Like laundry and mopping, I some day hope to have him trained in the fine art of grocery shopping. Okay - now I am digressing. Back to the story.
I looked at the sad bag of candy, the sad bag of jelly beans that I had already gotten into, and the baskets no longer looked as promising as I had hoped. Then I got to thinking about the items I had for their baskets this year, and comparing them to previous years baskets, I felt, well, like a crappy mom. I hemmed and hawed for a good thirty minutes or so while completing my farm chores on Facebook/Farmville and Country Life (lord, but I have a sick addiction to that game). I tried really hard to justify not going back to the store to pick up what I really wanted. I told myself that the kids would just be happy to GET candy since it's a rarity in our house. Slacker mom didn't win out though - guilt mom did. And there I was - at 11:30 pm the Saturday night before Easter, trapezing back out to the store to get what I really wanted for their baskets.
When I returned home, hubby had already pulled down the Easter paraphernalia and placed it in my craft room chair for my perusal. Did I mention that I also had not yet planned their Easter Egg hunt? In any case, at the predawn hour of 1:00 am, I got it all ready to go. I first had to repair the broken handle of the little ones basket which had mysteriously broken as it rested in the Easter paraphernalia box all year. I would like to tell you that I did something crafty and beautiful but I didn't - I used duct tape. If I could have found the box o' bows left over from Christmas, I would have happily covered up that duct tape in the hopes she wouldn't notice. But I couldn't find said box of bows, and the curved handle now has a distinct corner in it. You could say it's more of a redneck basket theme this year (and yes, I can say redneck - they're my people). As I picked out plastic eggs that coordinated with the cheap baskets, I couldn't help but notice that several of the plastic eggs were heavier than others. There was leftover Pez in the bottom of their baskets and unopened candy.
I sat back and laughed as I opened up still full plastic Easter Eggs from last year that they hadn't eaten. I felt truly silly for worrying so much about the contents of their Easter baskets when clearly - the candy wasn't that important to them.
Happy Easter everyone. Pictures to follow.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
How It All Started
Several years ago, I went home to visit my mom and dad at Christmas time. We eagerly awaited the arrival of my brother, his wife, and my niece, who was two years old at the time. First, they had a family Christmas at their house at 6:00 am. At 6:45 am, they left for my sister-in-laws parents house, where unwrapping presents can only be described as a racous noise complete with paper flying and arms flailing. At 10:00 am, they arrived at my childhood home, stopped long enough to eat the breakfast my mom had made, and then we started opening the presents. I was probably 26 years old or so at the time. This Christmas was particularly exciting as it was the first Christmas that my niece was excited about. She proudly told us it was "...baby Jesus birt-day". We each took turns unwrapping our presents, and waitied with much anticipation as my niece opened up her first gift. She smiled politely, but didn't seem too interested in her new toy. When she opened her second gift, she seemed even less excited. We were puzzled, maybe she didn't really understand the concept of presents. When it was her turn to open up her third present, a glassy look came over he face, like a deer in head lights. She suddenly stood up and said "I NEED to color!" in a slightly panicked voice. My sister-in-law gently asked if she wanted to open her present. She emphatically shook her head no, looked even more panicked and stated "I NEED to COLOR!". It was clear to us that she was completely overhwelmed by the morning's events, and was in need of a break. We gave her crayons and a coloring book and she sat, contentedly, beside us coloring away for a good thirty minutes or so. An hour later, she was ready to open more presents.
Ever since then, whenever someone in the family is feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated we simply say "I need to color", and everyone understands. For me, coloring is crafting of some sort - usually whatever the latest thing is. Sewing and papercrafting have always been my fall backs, and sometimes, I just sit with my own kids, and we color together. My husband likes to play video games when he wants to color, and my kids like to do...well, kid things - especially the kind that get them our of chores!
"Coloring" is different for everyone. We all have some sort of coping strategy than enables us to get through the tough moments of our days and lives. "Coloring" is therapeutic, and it is essential to a healthy and happy life.
I started this blog for all the people out there who need to color and to share the stories of my daily life that lead up to my need to color. Along the way, I'll share my adventures in crafting when I am feeling brave or particularly proud of a piece. But in the meantime, I'm off to color. Good day to all!
Ever since then, whenever someone in the family is feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated we simply say "I need to color", and everyone understands. For me, coloring is crafting of some sort - usually whatever the latest thing is. Sewing and papercrafting have always been my fall backs, and sometimes, I just sit with my own kids, and we color together. My husband likes to play video games when he wants to color, and my kids like to do...well, kid things - especially the kind that get them our of chores!
"Coloring" is different for everyone. We all have some sort of coping strategy than enables us to get through the tough moments of our days and lives. "Coloring" is therapeutic, and it is essential to a healthy and happy life.
I started this blog for all the people out there who need to color and to share the stories of my daily life that lead up to my need to color. Along the way, I'll share my adventures in crafting when I am feeling brave or particularly proud of a piece. But in the meantime, I'm off to color. Good day to all!
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