Labels: motherhood
I have made a realization today. I realized that it is really important to listen to your body. Let me explain further. I am a mother of 3 boys (and to all moms I know you can relate with me when I say it is difficult) and I have been experimenting on how I can make everyday life as easy as it could get. My maternity leave will end soon and I will be back to work this November 9. And I foresee how the morning rush will be such a chaos. Because of this, I have developed a schedule or a routine. Please note that I give myself an allowance of few minutes which is my key to avoid rushing. And please note that I am always with a 11 month old baby (he could be either sleeping, crawling, watching t.v. or in the stroller).
A.M.
5:30 to 6:00 = get up from bed (alarm is set up to snooze so I still have the time to fully wake myself up)
6:00 to 6:30 = while preparing heavy breakfast ( i.e fried rice, egg and bacon or french toast with bacon) my son Janvier takes his shower which will be followed by Justin
6:35 to 7:00 = at this point both of the boys have finished taking the shower and are dressed ready to have their breakfast
7:10 to 7:30 = everybody eat their breakfast (lunch already prepared)
8:00 to 8:15 = everybody ready to leave home to walk to school
8:20 = out the door!
Middle of the day (errands and household chores, walking the block with the 11 month old baby doing groceries)
P.M.
3:00 to 3:15 = pick up the boys from school
4:00 to 4:30 = arrive home
4:45 to 5:00 = snack time
5:10 to 5:45 = homework time (I sit down with the children)
6:00 to 6:30 = prepare dinner
7:00 to 8:00 = having dinner
8:15 to 8:20 = rest for a bit
9:00 to 9:15 = boys ready to sleep
9:20 = Boys are sleeping (with a big maybe for the 11 month old whose sleeping schedule varies a lot)
10:00 to 11:30 = washing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, preparing tomorrow's lunch and dinner (cutting veggies, put out meat for thawing) things can get done depending on how baby is acting.
11:45 to 12:00 = taking a shower
12:15 to 1:00 A.M. = in bed (hopefully sleeping)
So that is the routine I have designed to avoid rushing. But boy, oh boy! One night, as I was about to wash the dishes, I felt so weak in the knees that I almost passed out. I got dizzy. So I skipped the dishes and went to bed. And of course, the next day, everything was disrupted. It was a domino effect.
Then I said to myself, ok fine... I will just have to move faster. I have no choice I have to rush. So I did for the following days which led me to realizing two things:
It helps me to focus to take things slow when I'm rushing. It means that I take time to breath and say to myself that, "ok this is what I need to do" instead of "oh my god! we are going to be late!"
It is okay to have a downtime and not follow the routine for a day and I should not feel guilty about it. I find that there is always a day that my body is too tired to even get up in the morning and do anything. I feel that when I give myself a chance to rest, I am more energetic and more positive the next day. I feel that I love what I do and I am fortunate to be able to do this for my children.
So there you have it, my thoughts for today. I want to note that my husband and my eldest son help me a lot. Janvier watches Jesse (the 11 month old baby) every time I ask him to. My husband is my reliever during each every down time. I'm sad that he has to go to Yellowknife to work permanently, also the fact that I am going back to work makes me realize that I have no choice but to stick with my designed routine. But hey, he said that I am his wonderwoman and I believe him. I can make my routine work and be happy doing it!
**all my love**
A.M.
5:30 to 6:00 = get up from bed (alarm is set up to snooze so I still have the time to fully wake myself up)
6:00 to 6:30 = while preparing heavy breakfast ( i.e fried rice, egg and bacon or french toast with bacon) my son Janvier takes his shower which will be followed by Justin
6:35 to 7:00 = at this point both of the boys have finished taking the shower and are dressed ready to have their breakfast
7:10 to 7:30 = everybody eat their breakfast (lunch already prepared)
8:00 to 8:15 = everybody ready to leave home to walk to school
8:20 = out the door!
Middle of the day (errands and household chores, walking the block with the 11 month old baby doing groceries)
P.M.
3:00 to 3:15 = pick up the boys from school
4:00 to 4:30 = arrive home
4:45 to 5:00 = snack time
5:10 to 5:45 = homework time (I sit down with the children)
6:00 to 6:30 = prepare dinner
7:00 to 8:00 = having dinner
8:15 to 8:20 = rest for a bit
9:00 to 9:15 = boys ready to sleep
9:20 = Boys are sleeping (with a big maybe for the 11 month old whose sleeping schedule varies a lot)
10:00 to 11:30 = washing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, preparing tomorrow's lunch and dinner (cutting veggies, put out meat for thawing) things can get done depending on how baby is acting.
11:45 to 12:00 = taking a shower
12:15 to 1:00 A.M. = in bed (hopefully sleeping)
So that is the routine I have designed to avoid rushing. But boy, oh boy! One night, as I was about to wash the dishes, I felt so weak in the knees that I almost passed out. I got dizzy. So I skipped the dishes and went to bed. And of course, the next day, everything was disrupted. It was a domino effect.
Then I said to myself, ok fine... I will just have to move faster. I have no choice I have to rush. So I did for the following days which led me to realizing two things:
It helps me to focus to take things slow when I'm rushing. It means that I take time to breath and say to myself that, "ok this is what I need to do" instead of "oh my god! we are going to be late!"
It is okay to have a downtime and not follow the routine for a day and I should not feel guilty about it. I find that there is always a day that my body is too tired to even get up in the morning and do anything. I feel that when I give myself a chance to rest, I am more energetic and more positive the next day. I feel that I love what I do and I am fortunate to be able to do this for my children.
So there you have it, my thoughts for today. I want to note that my husband and my eldest son help me a lot. Janvier watches Jesse (the 11 month old baby) every time I ask him to. My husband is my reliever during each every down time. I'm sad that he has to go to Yellowknife to work permanently, also the fact that I am going back to work makes me realize that I have no choice but to stick with my designed routine. But hey, he said that I am his wonderwoman and I believe him. I can make my routine work and be happy doing it!
**all my love**
I know what you mean!!
ive been extremely trying to work with my schedule it always rotates with jaedhans tho.
at least you have down time in the middle of the day! and not at work
yet...
lol
Well our schedule rotates with our boys now. This is motherhood. Although it is this way, we should think of it as our time with them... not our time "to them" or "for them".
and gee, thanks for pointing that out! Didn't I say November 9 is when I go back? You just reminded me that it is coming so soon! Waaaa!
**love you lots**