Hey, all! No, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. I just went back to work. My students come back on Monday, but teachers started back last Friday. Since I have been either working or prepping for work for the past two weeks, the blog kind of ended up on the back burner.
We have been busily trying to perfect our back-to-school routines to make the transition easier. We do not have a school aged child yet, but she is in pre-school. She is also beginning gymnastics for the first time, so we have a little hustle and bustle to factor in as well.
One solution to stress busting before the school year starts is to plan, plan, plan. Sunday is our "get-ready-for-the-week" day. We go to church, go to lunch, and then we come home and plan meals for the week, update our family command center, clip coupons from the Sunday paper, and grocery shop. We also plan outfits for the week. This saves me so much time throughout the week!
We also try to firmly establish a routine and stick to it. I can already tell my kiddo is going to be exactly like me- very schedule driven and very routine-oriented. When her routine is off, even a little, WATCH OUT WORLD.
There are exceptions to the following schedule, of course. We go to church on Wednesday nights, and one night a week, she will have gymnastics. As far as my being a teacher, I try really hard to manage my time at school well so I'm not frequently bringing work home. It's hard to do school work with a small child. I do usually do some sort of work on the weekends, though.
A typical day for me looks like this:
4:45 AM: Wake up
4:50- Devotional (I have been doing so much better! I've been reading my Bible daily for two months. Pray for me so I will continue to do this when school starts).
5:10- Run/workout
6:00- Get ready
6:30- Leave the house
6:50-4:30- Work day (includes morning tutoring- sometimes we have afternoon meetings and leave closer to 5)
4:50- Pick up Emorie
5:30- Dinner. Michael is usually home at 5:15
6:30- 8:30- During this time, we do our evening chores, take care of animals and play with Emorie.
8:30- Emorie's bath
8:50- Emorie gets ready for bed (teeth brushed, jammies on, grab a bedtime book)
After she falls asleep, we get out our clothes for the next day, get the meal items ready for the next day and make sure our bags, etc. are ready to go. The mister and I are usually in bed by 10:30, although there are occasional late nights, of course.
The easiest and least stressful way to balance a home, a family and a career (I'm still learning to effectively do this, by the way) is to plan ahead as much as possible and manage your time well. Please share your tips for maintaining the balance, because this is something I am constantly trying to improve.
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