Moshe and Dovy had their first day of Pre-K and 1st Grade today.
Moshe wouldn't reveal too much, but not to worry, I already e-mailed the teacher my questions. It was just a few, I promise.
Dovy was so excited that he ran to California in gym class (remember those maps painted onto the blacktop?) and he was a 5-star listener.
People often ask me how I do what I do. If you really want to know how I accomplish so much-I don't sleep! I stay up late, and I wake up early, and I started drinking a lot more than my usual one cup of coffee a day. But, I will share with you my tips and my mantras.
1. My biggest tip, is to plan. Everything ultimately comes down to planning. Everything. Plan in advance for the knowns and the unknowns. Plan your day, plan specific parts of your day, plan your phone calls and when, plan the nitty gritties not only what you'll make for dinner but when you'll prep the food and warm it up. Schedule routines: laundry routine, a cleaning routine, a morning routine, a nighttime routine, an exercise routine. You know what they say, "fail to plan, plan to fail" and that couldn't be more true!
2. Make a list-on paper, in your phone, on post-its, on all three of those options, several times over even...things get hairy, we're often times over scheduled so a little mishap can throw everyone off.
3. Take time for yourself. Find a way to do things you enjoy. To have the quiet time you need to focus on tasks, or just re-energizing for what's ahead. It's so important to remember that if you are not happy, no matter what you do, your children and your home will not be happy.
4. Take deep breaths. It will all be ok. Tonight I had grand plans: the kids would be in bed by 8, and I would have a solid few hours to myself to get things done around the house. It was all going according to schedule, but then at 7:53, Hannah threw up on Dovy and all of the boys' room. For a moment, I almost lost it. But then I remembered that if I just kept going, it would get done sooner than if I sat around and moped or cried about it. Moms are allowed to cry, ok? Oh, and just in case you were wondering, in my mind, I throw tantrums too!!! By 8:18, the mess was cleaned up and my kids were headed back into their room and for the most part bed time was a success. I'm working on getting better at accepting my surroundings and my daily situation. My house won't be as clean as I'd like, my to-do list won't be wiped empty by the end of every night. But none of that is important. Truthfully, what I wish I could do, is have a family bed and go to sleep with my kids every night. These cuddles, they won't last forever.
5. Find something in your day you can look forward to. It doesn't have to be anything major. For me, I look forward to my nightly hacked smore (more on that later) and drinking a diet beverage. When it's quiet and I have uninterrupted me time. For others it could be that early morning run. Or your commute where you get to listen to the radio and drink your coffee. This is a hectic season in our lives, but you know what they say:
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