Day in the Life

I have a day to myself to get stuff done.  YEAH!!! Hopefully it is productive.  I figured I’d keep track of how I spent my time to A) Motivate me to be more productive.   B) Help me know how I spent my time incase I get frustrated that I didn’t get more done.

4:50-6:00  In and out of sleep—-really weird dreams

6-6:30  Play on computer

6:30–8:00 Get kids ready for school and drop off

8:00-8:30  Load laundry and start this post 🙂

8:30-9:00  Fold and put away kids laundry.  Sort through pants drawers.  Refill coffee

9:00-9:40  Transfer Laundry.  Wash mirrors, toilets, and sinks.

9:40-10:38 Send emails, Talk with insurance. Pay Bill.  Tidy counter.

10:38-11:43  Load dishwasher, Talk with mother in law, and Eat lunch outside.

11:43-2:12   Watched American Beauty and folded laundry and MASSIVE pile of socks.

 

Well I think that’s good for now.  Enjoy your day!

Quote of the Week

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim.”  Anne Dillard

I’m trying to figure out a schedule for exercise and chores.  More to come on that later.

Due Dates

I decided that I love due dates.  It helps me prioritize and get things done versus waiting until some random time in the future.  The proximity of a due date gives me an added boost to get the job done.  I hate being late and missing deadlines even if they were soft deadlines.  If someone says they will be here at 5 and it’s 5:15, it bugs me.  Rationally, I know 90% of the time it will be fine, but  there is a part of me that just goes crazy.  If they say they will be here between 5 and 6.  I am cool with them coming at 5:15.

I’ve had about 5 different people at work say some variation of me being detail oriented and rule bound.  I never necessarily saw myself that way, but the odds of that many people commenting on it and ALL OF THEM being wrong are slim.  I told my husband that and he was surprised.  At home, I don’t have the same sense of productivity and drive that I do at work.  It got me thinking about the difference and how to make myself more productive at work.  The chores that I like the best are the ones with some sort of natural cause and effect.  No laundry—-no clothes.  No cooking—-no eating.  No grocery shopping—no food.

So I’m trying to thinking of ways to make my housework more structured.  I do well with trying to get a certain task done before X happens.  I’ve tried setting up a schedule like Mondays I clean bathrooms, but I know it’s contrived and so it’s easy to make an excuse (kids, tired, etc).   I’m off to tidy the kitchen and start sorting through either kids books while their sleeping or start on sorting through summer clothes to see what I need.  Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Me time and We time

My husband’s schedule changed and I see more of him which overall I LOVE.   It’s so nice to have someone else to talk to and share the daily parenting responsibility.   Some things are just more fun with other people.

The other side is that part of me is missing the me time or some of the routines that I got used to.  Little things like meditating more or watching my shows.  I’d clean during commercial breaks, but when he’s around we fast forward through the commercials.  Still sorting out that balance of when to get stuff done and how to spend free time. 

Finding that balance between couple, family, work, and self.  I’m giving up on finding “THE PLAN”.    I make it and don’t follow or life changes. 

Off to give some TLC to the house that has been ignored since family changes and work have hijacked my life right now. 

 

New Routines

Routines are interesting.  Sometimes you don’t realize they exist until they change.  Everyone in the family has had or will have a major change in schedule this month.  Changes in work schedule, change in daycare, on vacation, done with vacation. Overall they are welcome changes, but there are so many questions bouncing around. 

• Did we make the right choices?
• How will the kids adjust?
• How will it affect our free time?
• Am I forgetting anything that I need to get ready?
• When will everything change again?
• Should I make plans or wait until things are stable
• How will we do with waking up earlier?

The odds are high that everything will work out one way or the other.  There’s positive and negatives to every change.  Wish me luck!

Week in Review

It’s the end of my second week of back to work.  I feel like I’ve gotten into a rhythm with daycare and going back to work.  I have a better idea of what I need to do in the morning, but I should wake up the girls a little bit earlier.  I’ve been enjoying some lazy morning time in the morning, but cutting it a little close arriving to my work.  I feel like I am transitioning out of the need to survive and into a place where I can plan for success.  Make a plan or plan to fail time.

• The meal plan has been going well.  This week I will be having Ravioli, Weiner Beaner Loaf (sandwich), Beef Stroganoff, and Italian Dunkers (Are recipe names capitalized? Do they need to be underlined or in quotes?  It looked odd if I didn’t capitalize it, but I wasn’t sure what grammar requires).  I’ve made all but one of the meals I’ve planned for the last two weeks.  I may make it this weekend or I may use the chicken for something else.  I am going to start a list of recipes to add to next month’s plan.

• I met with a personal trainer for a free consultation.  I enjoyed it.  He gave me some exercises to work on my stability and muscles that are out of balance from running or having kids.  He’s also going to send me a heart rate training program and gave me pointers on my running form.  I ran 2.75 miles at the Y on Thursday which is more than I have been doing lately. It wasn’t in a row, but hopefully I can keep it up.  I’m hoping this combined with my Corn Maze 5K will motivate me to get into a more consistent exercise routine and to push myself harder.

• The house has slipped so hopefully I can get back under control this weekend and get back into doing some of those cleaning tasks done so it’s not a sprint to get it done on the weekend.

• We are taking a road trip to one of my husband’s inline skate marathons next weekend.  They are fun to watch; he goes about 20 mph.  I am getting to know some of the skaters so its more fun to gab with them and cheer on the ones that I know.   So packing is on the to-do list for next week

Now to plan out my weekend and next week so I can make progress on all my goals and still have time to hang out with my girls, husband, and relax.  So hopefully I can find a balance and not neglect one area of my life or burn out.  Have a great day!

Survival/meal plan

Well I am half way through with my first week. Man I’m tired. I didn’t get as much as I planned done, but I did squeeze in a run, clean a bathroom, washed a load of laundry, and tidy the main level. Not a lot, but more than lying on the couch after a long day.

I’m trying a new meal system. I was reading an organizational book and they suggested rotating a total of 20-28 meals. That way there is minimal planning and you have each meal 12-13 times a year. There are some meals I probably have more than that just because I’m lazy. He also suggested having a theme night for each day of the week—chicken, international, leftovers, meatless etc.

I’m doing a modified version of the plan. I printed out a monthly calendar and planned for just 1 month at a time. I don’t know that I have that many meals that I love enough to have monthly. So far the themes are Mexican/Italian, Sandwich (pizza, wrap, sandwich, etc), and Chicken/fish (we a lot of beef in our house). I have one more day a week that I just pick a recipe and put it on the chart. The rest of the days are open to grab whatever looks good at the store, eat frozen meals, or leftovers. So far I’ve planned the week, and cooked a few meals from my list. I’m hoping it makes me more purposeful with my meals and reduces the time I spend browsing cookbooks and making grocery lists. I’ll update you as I try the system more.