Batten down the hatches, ya’ll, it’s a virtual tidal wave of preparation before my sweet baboo heads out on the road, leaving us to fend for ourselves. *sniff* I’ll tell you – I have a whole new respect for the mamas and the daddies at home while a spouse is deployed; I honestly wonder how they do it. One thing is clear: this household is going to have to be run with military precision until he gets home, or Marty will return to find me silently rocking in a corner while Sebastian goes all Lord of the Flies.
Routines! I need routines! And a schedule! And a, timer! And a lobotomy (!), cause as every mama with small children knows, the best laid plans are the first ones to go all to hell the first time somebody poops in the tub or upends your potted plant onto the kitchen floor and rolls in it. So, in direct contrast to my OCD nature, I am choosing a soft focus here. My first impulse is to try to schedule my days down to the minute to make sure I get everything done, but it never works and I just wind up watching my Hulu queue with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, feeling completely overwhelmed. Routines – yes. Timer – yes, Soft schedule – yes. Here’s what I came up with:
- I made a list of what needs to get done each day/week/month. What really needs to be done, not what my Inner Superhero thinks needs to be done.
- As per Flylady, use my timer to help keep me focused
- Also as per Flylady, make a morning, afternoon, and evening routine
This is what it looks like if you care:
Morning Routine – nurse Seb, everyone dressed, breakfast, kitchen ready for the day (dishwasher unloaded, re-loaded, bread set out to rise, etc.), emails, Bible study, take Seb out for a jog in the stroller, shower, story time, nap time
Afternoon routine – do stuff, lunch, pole dancing class (kidding, kidding), afternoon errands/rehearsal/park/outing after nap, playtime, dinner prep
Evening routine – dinner, kitchen close down, Seb bath, Seb bed, free time (woot), 10:00 Mama bedtime
Here’s hoping this will work for the most part, because what I usually do is stay up too late “getting stuff done”, wake up exhausted the next day, slog, slog, slog, vicious cycle, slog, slog, slog… you get the picture. I really can’t let that happen again, because please believe me when I say all parties involved are miserable. So, routines in place. Next up: food made redonkulously simple (no, Miss Snarky, it’s not “open can, pour, heat, serve!). Of course, it ain’t London broil and risotto, either! Here’s a hint: it involves the freezer….
Oh – and here’s a picture of my awesome Amish dress. Actually, it’s too fancy to be Amish (pattern), so it’s more Old Order Mennonite-y I think. Shapeless? Yup! Modest? You betcha! I’ll post pics of me in it as soon as I get around to sewing the apron and head covering. I never go half-assed.
and thanks to that dress, you won't be bare-assed, either.
ReplyDeleteNot even if I wanted to be, Pam, not even if I wanted to be.
ReplyDeleteI feel for ya. I'm really interested in how the routine will go. I start out each day with the well laid plans and then... then... well. But I'm inspired. Going to try to do the same thing. At least the children are fed, clothed and at least start the day clean. That has to count for something right?
ReplyDeleteKaren, as far as I'm concerned, if by the end of the day everyone has eaten, no one has lost a limb, and the house is not on fire, we have had a successful day. I'm liking the routines thus far (all two days of them). You've got to figure that all good Amish households/farms run on a schedule (not a strict one, but a schedule none the less), so by golly - if they can do it with no electricity and 19th century farming tools, so can I!
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