sick again

Miss Maryn Louise is sick.  At first we thought it was because she ate too much broccoli.  Yes, she turned down my extraordinary fettucine alfredo (I licked the bowl.  John took one for the team and ate up Maryn's leftovers) and opted to eat a bunch of broccoli.  And just before bed, she snuck up to the table and shoved a whole bunch more in her mouth.  So when she threw it all up a few hours later, we really weren't that surprised.  But her fever and vomiting continued through the day and through this evening.  Poor baby girl.  It could have been the broccoli that made her sick, or maybe I didn't clean up properly after making the chicken, or maybe it was the cookie dough she ate, or maybe it was the disgusting gutter water she was playing in yesterday...or maybe she got from our neighbors who had the same thing a few days ago.  Sigh.  We just keep getting sick.  And I am sick of it!

Anyway.  In other news, I've been following a "schedule" that is not a list or normal schedule.  I am a list maker at heart, but I've found since becoming a mommy of two that lists are very defeating for me.  I can never accomplish everything on my list.  And once I start making a list, I can't stop.  And once I start filling out a calendar, I just keep thinking of more and more things to put on the calendar.  So then I go through my day trying to complete my list, not succeeding, blaming myself and my children or whatever gets in the way, getting angry...Now come on.  Sometimes I think to myself, this is ridiculous!  Who the heck cares (SERIOUSLY, who cares?) if the laundry gets folded today?  And then other times I think, why is this so hard?  This is not rocket science, people.  Why is this so hard?

For example, Josiah peed on our bed the other day.  Long story.  I had over 12 hours to get the sheets washed, dried, and put back on the bed.  We live in the 21st century.  I have a washer and a dryer, two hands and I don't think I had anywhere to go that day.  I had very little on my to do list.  I didn't even get the sheets dried. 

Enter my new genius idea.

6:00-8:00 am         ME TIME
8:00-10:00 am       KID TIME
10:00-12:00 pm    Household Time
12:00-1:00 pm      Kid Time
1:00-3:00 pm        Nap Time

ME TIME is whatever I want it to be.  Guilt free.  The goal is to get up, shower, have breakfast and have my quiet time with the Lord.  But if I don't, I don't.  If I decide I want to clean the bathroom, fine.  If I want to sleep, fine.  It's ME time.  I can do whatever I want with it.  If Josiah is awake, he gets what he needs.  He can sit in his high chair while I read. 

KID TIME is play.  Play, play, play.  Without thinking about chores or whatever.  And if neighbors stop by, who cares if my house is messy?  I've been loving this time with my kiddos!  We just play and play.  And Maryn seems to be catching on to this.  She knows when it's over, and she adjusts to that.  She knows she'll get more time with Mommy later.

Household time is basically cleaning up from breakfast, making lunch, having lunch, cleaning up lunch, etc. 

Nap time is usually putting the kiddos to sleep/settling them down, and doing whatever needs to be done during that time.  I have weekly chores to do during nap time (Monday:  Kitchen, Tuesday:  Floors, etc.) and I usually try to do 10-minute cleanup in each area of the house. 

I LOVE this!  It's amazing how much time I can truly spend with my sweet children without distraction and then I still get stuff done.  Maryn has been so much more behaved and both kids are driving me less insane.  I love it when I can get up at 6 and have great time alone.  But it's also nice to sleep in if I need to and realize, it's okay.  It's okay!