Happy 2008 everyone! I hope your eve was exciting and filled with laughter and friends. Now we are on to the actual first day of 2008 and so far so good! Unfortunately though, Brian is leaving for Bloomington soon so that's no fun. But I guess it's perfect timing to put my new "full time stay at home mom" status to work! I'm not sure if this is what you would do, but I've been really, really, really thinking about how I want this all to look. I mean, seriously, what will my average day look like? Yes, I know that some days will go brilliantly well, and others will be chaotic and anti-productive. But I operate much better when there is structure in my day/week and so I've got to find a way to make a good start with the boys. The problem is, I am not a organizational person. I know what I want, but not really sure how to get there. What's funny is I'm a detail person........I mean, really a detail person. I remember every little bit and piece of a conversation, or every number off a page. But when it comes to making details to organize my life.......ummmm I'm lost. That's where my wonderful husband comes in. He is so organized and creative it's amazing. So the other day I was admitting to him that I felt a bit lost in trying to figure out what we would "do" all day and how to do it. He laughed and gave me some pretty good advice. "April, you have to realize that all your friends who stay at home didn't just wake up one day and decide this is how they want it to go. It evolved, over years of doing it, and their routine came out of everyday experience." I thought that was pretty smart.:)
The thing is, if I don't come up with atleast a fragmented plan, then I will be totally unproductive and unhappy and feel lost. This being at home stuff is totally different than sitting at a desk and having a very structured task list! (Duh, that's a given)
So if you have any great tips, or resources or tools to send my way, please do. I'm all ears. I need ideas on fun things to do with the kiddos as well.
I need to get the boys in the bath so I'll pick up soon with this post. I am also really excited about getting healthy, exercising and losing weight in 2008. I'm reading Bob Greene's The Best Life Diet and it's actually not a diet as normally thought of. It is a wonderful book and very very different from anything I've ever read before. Highly recommend it! Ok, be back soon!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
It's a wonderful NEW year!
Posted by April Spicer at 1/01/2008 04:35:00 PM
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2 comments:
Hey girl! You will have the stay-at-home mom thing down in no time:). The things I try to do with chores is to either pick certain days to do certain tasks...or pick a.m. or p.m. Then I feel like I am accomplishing something but not that "all I do is laundry:)" Then when you are staring at your dusty house you can say, "I don't have to worry about that until--------" If I choose to do am chores then I spend the rest of the afternoon doing whatever the kids want to do and don't even think about my to-do list! It seems to have made me a lot less anxious.
As far as "to-do" with the kiddos...I try to pick one day to go somewhere...library..park..museum..etc. The days we stay at home we do craft time...game time...reading time..build with blocks..bake cookies...play on the computer; and in between these times I just let them play on their own. I know this isn't anything new and innovative...but it works for us:)
amber
Hi, April - I'm excited to hear about your move, and really excited to hear that you'll be able to be home with your cutie boys all the time! I've only been at home with my little guy for 17 months, but I love it. A couple of things that help me as far as keeping my sanity are:
- making time for getting ready every morning (shower, hair, make-up, "real" clothes). Even if the only people who I'm going to see are hubby and baby boy, it helps my attitude and my sense of productivity
- scheduling a time to get out of the house every day (even if it's just a walk around the block)
- scheduling in advance one or two play dates every week (baby boy AND mommy really need this!)
- nap time (or quiet time) after lunch every day. Isaiah is still young enough to take a long nap, but even if/when it outgrows it, I plan to give him a "quiet hour" in his room when he can read or play quietly, but he has to stay there. I really need that break in the day (and I think he does, too).
- schedule regular time when you can be out of the house sans kiddos. I have a friend here who has 5 little boys, and she gets 2 mornings a each week when hubby is at home and she goes out for coffee/reading/quiet time. I appreciate their example.
I am still a newbie, but those are some of my top things so far - Enjoy it!!
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