Ever's six months now, and regular life- however irregular- has begun to sink back from it's bloated with joy we just had a baby oh god she's sick now she's in the hospital now we're home now my hours are cut at work now I have different hours every week now they aren't now they aren't... phase and into life. And I'm in over my head, sweet bloggy friends, oh hells.If I was web savvy, I'd like to make an old school idea storming bubble, with the central bubble being something like Our Successful Family and all of the offshoot bubblets being all of the ways that our family runs. Right now my bubbles would include: ( I'm including what we were doing before school got out )
Daddy makes dinnerMommy puts Ever Elizabeth to sleep at 7-7:30Lola homework 5pm, shower, dinner, no TV before 7pmFriday Night Family Night ( usually take- out and a movie we all watch- we used to play board and card games but since ee's birth we haven't )
Every other Wed. Lola has Girl Scouts
Dakota bass lessons Monday at 7pmMommy writes ( hours undefined, but I'd say 1 to 3 hours a day wherever schedule allows ) Lola practice math/reading/writing ( evening )
Saturday 'out' day, in afternoon we often run errands all together or go to park, bookstore, a family birthday party, etc.
Sunday lazy day ( which still means laundry, dishes and bills to be dealt with ) OR Sunday chore day THEN lazy day ( used to always be chore then lazy until ee birth )
Mommy's lunch break= picking up kids, making phone calls
Daddy bedtime 8-9pm ( wakes at 5:30am )Mommy bedtime either never get back up from nursing ee @7pm or around 10pm
Lola bedtime has been embarrassingly inconsistent since ee birth. Between 9-10pm.
Dakota walk dogs daily Lola feed cats daily Mr Curry picks up Ian every Friday
That's what I can think of. The challenges:
1 My schedule is ALL OVER THE PLACE. My work schedule changes every week. Some days I'm 7-1pm, some days 7-4pm, somedays 8-5pm. This week, for instance, I'm 7-1 today, 7-4 Thursday and 8-5 every other day.
2 Mr. Curry's schedule is almost as bad. His line of business has no 'hours' so he's off to work the same time but can come home anywhere between noon to fivepm, on average. Over the summer he can get home as late at six or sevenpm, and be working 12 and 13 hour days.
3 My writing output cannot slow. Now is the time to grab on tight and not let go, for me to make a living writing. I have great momentum going with various projects and some new offers on the horizon. I'm also trying desperately to finish my novel, Agitate My Heart.
4 There is no housecleaning or chore schedule/responsibility list anymore. This means it's done on the fly when someone thinks of it and can do it. This means our house is a mess most of the time. Of course, that's not the 'only' reason, the real reason is that obviously it's not a priority. But I want it to get done! Just not at the expense of my writing, or time with the family (where the kids are not moping or groaning) or sleep. Hahah!! I know. I'm funny.
5 I'm not getting enough one on one time with Lola. We talk in the car after school, we talk in bed at night for a half hour, we snuggle, we spend Friday Night Family Night and Saturday all day all together, but it's scattered, rushed, not focused, and often on Saturdays I spend the morning on the computer. I want to make better use of that time, which to be honest, has been hard because I've been mildly depressed since ee was born ( I always am after a baby ) and zoning on the computer makes the noise in my head stop. I also do get actual work done during that time, but I know I could cut the time down maybe in half, and use the leftover to be with Lola or to clean? Or get exercise?
6 There is no time ( in the thought bubbles above ) for extras that are still important, like organizing the massive amounts of paperwork that have to do with the kids and school, activities, insurance and etceteras or answering non essential emails or watering my poor plants.
7 I avoid doing chores and paperwork because it's so hard/stressful to do them with ee around. Mr. Curry and I, as I mentioned, aren't on the same schedules, so we arrive home at different times, and usually he gets home after I do right now, and is exhausted, and goes straight to making dinner. After dinner he watches ee so I can hurry up and write, and then I take her back and do bedtime with the girls while he eats and talks to Dakota or picks up a bit and then he's off to bed. There isn't much budge room for him taking ee so I can clean, and he's really exhausted and often doesn't clean up from making dinner, because he's holding ee!
Whew. So please, as I work on this, share ideas with me- what's worked in your family?
