Work I go-tomorrow!!!!
It may surprise you, but I'm not actually that upset that I'm going back to work.
Maternity leave hasn't been a walk in the park.
Hannah cries-in her carseat, in her swing, on the play mat, in the mamaroo, in the car...
She's pretty needy and while I don't mind sitting at the computer all day-the novelty has worn off and this mama has things she needs to do!
Laundry
Cleaning
Cooking
Organizing
The list goes on and on....
So yes, I am sad that I won't spend my entire day with Hannah, and I'll definitely miss the casual mornings of eating oatmeal and drinking coffee while perusing the interwebs, but I'm hoping the new routine will create some normalcy for me and allow me to better run my house.
Currently it has been just Hannah and I since 11 am this morning-I've successfully run the 3 errands I needed to take care of, and of course I've indulged in some fat free chocolate yogurt a long the way, but since I've been home for about 5 hours-I don't have much to show for it.
Two suitcases unpacked
1 load of laundry completed
Hard boiled eggs
Soup boiling
Sounds great but there's still a lot to be done before I venture back to work tomorrow!
My babysitter will be with us until 6pm Monday-Friday, so I'm hoping from 3-6, my alone time, will be super productive.
And along the lines of productive-I received some great advice when I was home this weekend (more on that in another post) but she said that once you accept that you're no longer living in museum, your life will get so much better!
Let go of needing to be perfect-laundry, dishes, cleaning-just let it go.
It sucks-and those were her words, but once you accept that, things will improve.
Now, I don't want to let it go and I definitely cannot live without a clean and organized house, so for starters-a cleaning lady will be coming twice a month to deep clean my bathrooms.
I just do not clean bathrooms.
And if twice a month grosses you out, send some money my way so I can have her more often!
My babysitter will pick up on the smaller, easier cleaning tasks-like putting away clothes, vacuuming, dusting, surface cleaning.
But the most important thing for me-is putting a limit on myself.
I need to be upstairs going to sleep at 10 pm-no matter what is left unfinished.
If that means dirty dishes in the morning, heck even dirty underwear, I don't care.
There just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done that I want, and I know that.
The To Do list will never be complete.
But I also know that pushing myself to extreme limits will mean that the things I really care about will be compromised.
But I also know that pushing myself to extreme limits will mean that the things I really care about will be compromised.
If I stay up late doing things that are not make it or break it-I won't get up in the morning to exercise.
I won't put in the time and effort to provide my kids with healthy, wholesome meals.
The overflow will be crammed into the free time I will have, but that free time shouldn't be for the necessities all the time.
The necessities have a time and a place, it's the extra stuff, although it makes a huge difference in my mood and in my house-it's just extra, and it will have to take a back seat.
The cute crafts, the list of organizational tasks, picture albums, facebook, it will all have to wait.
The only way I can manage a house with three kids and work full time is if I have my priorities straight.
Tonight, I will be setting my alarm for 5 am.
Tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes!
Wish me luck!
Hoping you had a great day! I hear you on the going to bed thing--I always have to remind myself that the to do list will never be finished, but if I don't get a good night's sleep we're all in trouble!
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