Sunday, March 29, 2009

An Attempt

I like to sleep. Seriously. It is my favorite hobby.

Unfortunately, I sleep better during the day than I do at night. If I take a nap in the afternoon, I feel like I could sleep for hours. And I sleep hard. The phone rings, neighbors knock on the door, kids need snacks and I just snooze. It's quite pitiful really.

But, at night. I wake up at least 3 times. Sometimes I am lucky enough to go right back to sleep but most times, I get up and use the bathroom, check on the kids, get a drink, etc. I never wake up feeling like I've slept.

Since my night time slumber is lacking, my mornings are pretty slowed paced. Well, that' not exactly the right word. The pace is fast--getting kids up and ready for school, breakfasts made, lunches packed, clothes set out for the little ones--there's always alot going on here in the mornings. Just most days, it's 9 a.m. before I get my shower or at least dressed. Then I eat something then start my days chores.

The point I am trying to make is that I have been feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at my lack of accomplishments. I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day to get nearly as much done as I would like. By the time I get any housework done, it's lunch time and everything gets messed up again. My kids' rooms are always a mess because I can't get in there to get things organized. If we have errands to run outside of the house, forget about anything else getting done.

Our goal is to eventually home school our kids. This scares me because I don't know when I'll fit it in. Or fit in the housework/child rearing/quality time with kids/"me time".

I have an easy solution. Or at least it is easy in theory but to a sleep lover like me, it's going to be a challenge.

I am going to attempt to get up a couple hours before the rest of the household to get a jump on the day. It's kind of embarrassing to state this "goal" out here for all the world to see because it makes me seem so lazy and I assure you I am not!

As things go now, I stay up a couple hours at night to finish any chores and that is not working well. I end up going to bed way too late and it makes the next day even worse.

So. I stated my goal and I am hoping the fear of embarrassment failing would bring, will help me attain it.

Any of you who already do the "getting up at the butt crack of dawn the glorious sunrise" thing, how does that work for you?
For those that manage to squeeze in everything we stay at home moms must do everyday, how and the heck do you do it?

I am hoping I will see a difference quickly or else I am going back to bed.

2 comments:

  1. I hope that works our for you Jackie. Let me know. I use to be the one that got up before everyone and I really enjoyed it, but then with each kid my sleep habits have changed for the worse. I feel overwhelmed sometimes with the house, but It is impossible to keep it perfect.
    I can't imiagine home schooling the kids. More power to you if you can. I have two friends that do it and they make it look easy.
    Ricki

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hear you Jackie. I had the same problem and then I ran into a book called Managers of Their Homes by Steven and Terri Maxwell. It is very goal oriented and explains how to manage time, etc. I do the same thing you do. I do really well at night (night owl) and struggle during the day. Next year, now that I am better physically, I am going to go back to homeschooling. This schedule has really helped me to try and stay on track. Also, sometimes the house has to be let go for a bit so homeschooling can get done. I include all three of my kids on the chores. This book explains how to incorporate the little ones, too. I also make myself a check list and set a goal for each day on what needs to get done even if it's just one thing. I hope this helps. Laundry is my demise and that is where I struggle the most. Right now, I have 12 loads waiting to be done. Not everything is perfect.

    ReplyDelete

Please comment! Even if you just say "HI!".