Giving yourself more time

Within the last month or so, I've been trying to be more efficient in my every day planning. My goal is to have more "free" time with Cooper and Parker and reduce my self inflicted stress! 
By free time with the boys I mean, real time that I am not distracted and can just play with them rather than, unload the dishes, load the washing machine, dust, make dinner, etc, etc, etc....


One example of my pre-made lunches.
If I'm out of chicken, or need a change, I'll pack salmon or tuna instead.

One thing that has really helped reduce the stress levels is preparing my lunch for the entire week on Sunday night. I bake four chicken breasts, pack four containers FULL of greens and veggies (spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli)  Cooper likes to help me with his and really is good at jamming lettuce in! :) I also pre-pack bags of fruit, an apple, banana and one more snack for each day. I settle everything into the fridge so all I have to do all week is reach in, get what I need, load my cooler and go. Cooking on Sunday to last the entire week has really saved me in the morning when we're rushing out the door!


What I USED to see when I'd run in the morning.. now it's pitch black!

The next thing I have committed to is exercising before everyone wakes up in the morning. I joined LA Fitness recently, which means I have a financial commitment to use my membership and to get the insurance discount from going 12 times a month. Getting exercise in before anyone else is up gives me some "me" time while not taking away from family time. Plus I feel great after I work out- which means I am a happier person!

Finally, the biggest thing I've been able to utilize is nap time on Mondays. I do not work on Mondays which means I get to be at home with the boys all day. Rather than use the entire day to clean or catch up on life, I try to only do that stuff while the boys are  napping. Thankfully, they will usually nap for at least an hour at the same time. I will on occasion bring a load of laundry down with us if we decide to play downstairs, but that's about it! (Although the other day Cooper wanted to scrub the toilet... so I let him.)

Something that I try to do everyday is remember that the boys are growing up everyday, they will never be as little as they are right now. I don't want to remember cleaning or cooking or doing anything less than spending precious time with them. If I can figure out a way to "have it all" and remain a happy, sane mom, I'm going to do it. These little changes I've made will hopefully give me more of that!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Girl Next Door

Image
My second year of college was not going to be what I had imagined. Come to think of it, my first year wasn't really what I had imagined either, but that's another post. The school I was attending had a "rule" which I saw more as a guideline, that first and second year students needed to live on campus. Entering my first year of college I was assigned to an all girls dorm and matched to live with a girl from Fairbault, MN (Which, by the way is pronounced FAIR BOW... I was reminded a time or two). By the end of the first few weeks I had met a small handful of friends and before Christmas break we had talked about plans to room together that next year. Christmas break came and past and upon my return from home, was informed that I would need to find a new second year roommate. Well crap. I didn't have enough friends on campus to find a new on-campus living arrangement. I ended the year sweating the situation and picturing myself commuting from my parents home every
Read more

KARE 11, Are You Hiring?

Image
A few months ago my husband and I had some rare one on one conversation time as we traveled to a friend's wedding in St. Cloud. During the car ride topics bounced from the boys to whatever was on the radio, back to the boys, to an upcoming trip he would be taking for work, back to the boys and so on. My husband has been with the same company since graduating college, a rare feat these days I think considering that some of our friends have been with a handful of different companies in that same time. He loves his career! It challenges him, it makes him think, it is rewarding and he has opportunities to grow in his profession. When on the topic of his trip, I mentioned how proud I was of him and kind of nervously laughed and said I was jealous of him and all he's done. He responded by asking if I wished I were still working outside the home. My knee jerk reaction was no! I love being at home with our boys, even though most days I feel like I may lose my mind either from sensory o
Read more

Beauty Queen to BoyMom

Image
I remember very vividly walking through the Pamida parking lot near my hometown, talking to my mom in the way only a 5 year old girl can, “When I grow up and I’m a mom I’m only going to have girls.” My mom (also the mother of two little boys) smiled and said “little boys are really nice too you know.” But I was certain I would have two or three little girls just like me; in love with sparkles and the color pink,  attending dance classes and girl scout meetings, searching the aisles for the newest Barbie and someday maybe even competing in pageants like I did.  Fast forward twenty some years to the birth of my husband and my first child, a healthy, red headed, nearly 9lb BOY.  Cooper Day 1 Parker Day 1 Jump ahead another two years to when we would meet our second child, a healthy, red headed, nearly 9lb BOY. Are you seeing a pattern here...? Another three years later we found ourselves in the delivery room where my husband would once again look over at me to announce th
Read more