Why I do things the way I do things

We’ve had our little family in our own home for almost 6 years now. I’ve been trying the last little while to get a handle on the domestic part of my existence as a stay-at-home-mom. Some days I do better than others, but I know I’m growing in experience and learning better how to do things. One thing really sticks out in my mind, though: I do things the way I do things on purpose. Here are a few reasons why:

I want my kids to be safe despite my cleaning. I realized quite quickly that I didn’t really know how to clean. What am I supposed to use? How often do I need to clean? With little ones crawling around on the floor, I wanted to be sure my kids wouldn’t get sick from whatever I was using to clean. I have discovered that I can use homemade cleaners instead of buying expensive ones that are full of chemicals.

I like to do things in a certain order so I don’t have to remember every step. Busy moms have a lot on their minds. Having to remember small details can be frustrating and annoying. So instead, I try to do things in the same order every time. For example, when I put a load of laundry into the dryer, I put all the clothes in, then the dryer sheet, turn the dial, clean the lint trap, and hit the button.

I don’t want to feel like I’m cleaning all the time.  Okay, yes I’m home pretty much all day every day. That doesn’t mean I should have to clean all day or even feel like I am. So I’m trying to schedule things, doing a little every day or at least every day that I’m home.

It works for me (at least right now). Just as life doesn’t stay the same, how I do things doesn’t have to stay the same either. What’s working for me right now may not work later on.  And I’m always learning new things and hearing of new ways to do things. I at least try some of them out, keeping what works.

Overloaded

Overloaded - that's how I've been feeling lately. You would think that getting back into a school-centred schedule would be the overwhelming part but it actually wasn't. My kids and I have fallen back into the school schedule with ease. It's everything else that seems to be weighting me down.

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with my volunteer work with the Women's Ministry at my church but I'm feeling a little bogged down with all the stuff I need to catch up on. It all starts with the mass of emails I need to get through. Now granted, they aren't all related to my ministry work but I do need to keep chugging away at the piles of emails.

I am also working on figuring out how to get my house cleaned and go through all the items we have stored. I've got my daily tasks going pretty well. Still need to work on the extra stuff.

And now we're transitioning into a different cooking season. Time for less BBQing, more oven and crockpot cooking. It's making life interesting trying to work it all out, including meal planning, grocery list making and shopping.

And there's my knitting.... Still trying to work out getting it all done and when to do it. I need to get planning what to make for Christmas presents. Oi!

And with all this, I feel overloaded. I will get to the spot where I'm feeling balanced, it's just going to be a journey to get there.

Where are you on your journey to balance? Are you overloaded or got it all under control? Has the Fall helped you start to find your footing again or are you feeling completely out of it?
 

A Good First Day

We've been anticipating this day with excitement and nervousness. After a great Summer,  Bugs (my son) and I had to say good bye to Tookie (my daughter) at school once more. She started Grade 1 today. There was definitely mixed feelings for everyone. The kids have gotten a long so well this Summer. Bugs was a little sad to have his playmate gone leaving him. Tookie wasn't sure what to expect and wasn't sure she was going to like it.

Hubby wasn't able to take Tookie to school so Bugs and I walked her there. We found her new classrom and met her new teacher and the kids who she'll be sharing the year with. Once Tookie felt comfortable (actually very quickly), Bugs and I could go but he didn't want to. "No go. Stay school." It was actually cute to see him lined up there with all the other kids.

Eventually Bugs and I made it home and had a quiet day. He was a little lonely for his big sister so I let him take it easy and had kids shows and movies on most of the time. I got started on some Fall cleaning and organized a bunch of paper .Supper is in the crockpot already. :) And now we're back from picking her up. Back pack is unpacked, lunch stuff ready to be cleaned, no homework yet.

Tookie had a good day. Bugs had a good day. I had a good day. Guess that's all that really matters.... :D