fall-like friday

As far as I'm concerned, fall is here. The wind is blowing leaves off of trees, and relatively chilly rain is falling. Time to dress cozy and bake something with pumpkin! Fall is fast becoming my favorite season, compared with my love of summer a few years ago (before Adam, while I was either in college or teaching).

As fall rolls in and school starts, this seems like the perfect time to create a schedule. As I attempt to find balance in my life, I am facing the things head-on that have been holding me back. I printed a weekly schedule and dedicated each weekday to a couple of chores. I have been researching and learning about student loan repayment options. Adam has been enjoying a tidier house to play in and a happier mama (for the most part). I have a couple of phone calls to make today and some stuff to mail, but other than that I have the reassured feeling of having my ducks in a row.

Next week, Adam and I will have a schedule. It's only going to be rigidly followed when we're home for the whole day. It's so easy to be a slug when you're home day after day after day after day... The walls close in and the mundane daily tasks that are so simple are waved off until "later". You know what that means: insanity and stress are about to set in.

Inevitably, "later" would stumble in like a puking drunk after about 4 days of complacency (yes, the dishes, vacuuming, and laundry sat that long, sometimes longer). Like the puking drunk, it stunk, was ugly, nobody wanted to touch it or approach it, and cleaning up after it was a task full of resentment and unkind words.

Yuck. :o(

It seems so obvious, but if I just keep up, I won't have to play catch up and be overwhelmed. It feels like so many days Tim walks in the door and asks what Adam and I have been up to and I can't even say I've gotten dressed or showered. How does that happen?? Well, I am not going to pretend to enjoy doing the dishes, or find joy in scrubbing the toilets. Ever. But you can bet I'll be reminding myself that I should be thankful for dirty dishes because it means we have food in our house.

Phil 4:6 reads, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Someone please tell me why I should be thankful for scrubbing toilets. Ha!


Here's what my weekdays will consist of:

Monday: floors (sweep, mop, vacuum)
Tuesday: bathrooms and laundry
Wednesday: the big 3 (because of how our house is laid out): kitchen, dining room, and living room; next week's menu
Thursday: grocery shopping and rotate toys
Friday: groom Sophie (bathe and brush) and vacuum

If When I get off-schedule, I'll catch up the next day. Each morning has time set aside for walks with Sophie and Adam. Adam's naps are dedicated to reading the Bible and Internet time (blogging and playing). My work for my insurance job (approximately 10-12 hours/week) will be done after Adam is in bed each night except on weekends. Bible studies are Wednesday night, and Sunday mornings (with church service to follow on Sundays). That should keep us adhered to a decent routine, which makes for happy Mommy and Adam.

As I proofread this post, I realize how lame my life sounds. I can't really argue with that, but we manage to stay busy and with some guidance our hearts are kept full and happy. :) Here's to a happy weekend, and looking forward to a new take on being a work-at-home mom. Now to print off that pumpkin recipe and get baking to really get me in the fall spirit.

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my thoughts are all over the place. i have quotes to do so this is gonna be quick, although i don't know what direction i want this thought to go. i'm scattered because i'm tired. i'm tired because Adam was sick for the last day and a half. he was sick and now he's fine and sleeping. it was tough getting him down tonight. Tim was outside selling his mazda while i was inside trying to sleep-train Adam. again. and it makes my head hurt because of his whining and my aching desire to pick him up that i fight and fight. i lost that battle tonight and i'm not sorry. my baby is still a baby. and i'm tired. wait, i said that already...

time to get to work so i can get to bed. tomorrow is the day i go through my wedding pics and order my free 8x8 photo book from shutterfly.com (thank you Ellen!) and praise God it's Friday. off i go.

call me procrastinate kate

I just ate 3/4 of a Jack's pepperoni pizza by myself. I'm satisfied, somewhat ashamed that I don't remember chewing the last 3 slices, and I think I'm done with pizza for a very long time. I ate supper at 5 with Adam. I got him down and he hasn't made a peep (which after the last 24 hours of sore throat sobs is a great relief). It's almost midnight and Tim's out of the state. It's been a looooong day. Supper number two was a high-five to my college days.

I am caught in my struggle with sanity like a handkerchief on a tug rope. I feel like I'm being pulled in a few directions constantly, and yet I don't understand what those directions are because my life is simple. I am a SAHM of a 1yo son; my husband works full-time and comes home to work part-time; my 1yo son hasn't been in the best health, but I certainly know how blessed I am so you won't find me complaining; my desire to be at church frustrates me because I'm not as involved as I'd like to be; I feel bad for my dog who I've been neglecting for over a year because my priorities made a drastic shift; I have an online job (that I should be doing right now, actually); I make a pathetic income and spend a tragic budget.

The list goes on, but that's because I am holding the shovel that's digging the hole around me. I need to set down the shovel and focus. I am overwhelmed by the amount of little stuff around the house that needs to be dealt with before Adam turns 20. Pathetic, I know.

Like a wise friend of mine has inspired me to do, it's time to quit thinking about these things (pinning) and start doing them. Here's the thing... I'll start tomorrow. The Bucky Run is tomorrow, and so is the first Saturday of May (GARAGE SALES!!!!!!!!!!!). Sooooo... I'll make a list of things I want to do tomorrow and I'll start them the day after tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow is church, and visiting with my parents. So maybe I'll budget time for one thing the day after tomorrow, but won't get a really good start until 2 days after tomorrow.

I'll procrastinate tomorrow.

You know the piles and stacks and mountains of papers that are waiting for me in the basement, and in my bedroom, and in my kitchen, and on my table? And the laundry? And the accumulating heap of crap that I plan to sell at a garage sale this summer? And the dishes? And vacuuming? What about time for Sophie? This makes me want to go to bed.

I'll make my list tomorrow. Oh wait, no I won't: tomorrow is 12 minutes away and I haven't started work yet. I'll do it later.