Helping Myself Out

I’ve been adjusting little things over the past few weeks in an attempt to smooth out some rough spots in our routine.  Also, I think these adjustments will help as we prepare to welcome a newborn to our home!

1.       Prepping dinner at breakfast/lunch. Since I plan my menus I always know what we are eating for dinner.  Often between 4-5 in the afternoon I am highly unmotivated to go dirty my whole kitchen and work on complicated dishes. And Micah frequently wants a lot of attention then. So I’ve been doing as much prep work as possible in the times I’m already in the kitchen. We rarely have large breakfasts or lunches so this works out well. For example, one morning before we left for Toddler Time at the library I made a shepherd’s pie and washed up the dishes. Then when it was time to eat I only had to pop it in the oven. Another time I was preparing chicken carbonara pizza. I cooked the bacon during breakfast and the chicken at lunch. Those dishes were washed and the toppings for my pizza were ready.

2.       Finding a wake-up time that works. I get up at 6:45. Unless Micah’s been up a lot during the night then we adjust for a little more sleep and a better attitude. That way, I can read my Bible, get dressed, start a load of laundry, and get myself mostly ready for the day before Micah gets up.

3.       Incorporating more chores into my morning routine with Micah.  After Micah’s up, we water the plants on the front porch, change the laundry, make the beds, and pick up bedrooms. Then we move to the kitchen and while we’re cooking breakfast we empty the dishwasher and straighten up in there.  Micah actually helps me with most of these chores so we are spending time together and he’s learning to work!

4.       Working in 30 minute blocks of time. I try to alternate between hands-on playing with Micah and other activities. He watches Mary Poppins and plays with toys on his own while I practice piano. Then we read. And then we might clean. And then go outside and play. We don’t always do it in the same order but he’s not “ignored” for long periods of time either. Even when it’s not hands-on with him, he’s still very involved. He helps me with simple parts of chores and he comes up and plays the piano with me while I practice sometimes.

5.       Going to bed earlier. Remember how I said I’ve been getting up at 6:45? Yeah, we’ve been going to bed at 11 instead of 12 too. Works much better. And I know I need to be in bed earlier consistently before we have Kevin.

6.       Staying off the computer! We play music on the computer most of the morning. But I try to check my email in the morning and then once during the rest of the morning. Facebook beware! It’s mostly banned from the morning check until naptime.

7.       Finishing. I love to cross things off my to-do list. And I love to have things done by naptime. Starting laundry when I get up allows me to mostly be done by lunchtime. I’m not freaking out if I’m not but that’s my goal. Also I like to have my cleaning done before naptime.

Obviously all these things don’t happen every day. But they are slowly becoming part of our routine and I can tell they are making an impact! What’s the saying? “If you shoot for nothing, you’ll get there every time!”