Lately I have felt like I'm not living up to the standard of a true "Homemaker." Although I am only home part-time and I work two other jobs, my role as a wife and mother is to manage our home life. I also feel that if I am asking God to allow me to stay home full time, I need to show him that I am capable of keeping up with the important tasks of managing our home.
First of all, I have been convicted to pray for our family more and really spend time in the Word daily. I have noticed that when I wake up and spend time reading my Bible that my days go smoother, I am more calm, more thankful, and I get so much more accomplished both in my work around the house and my jobs. I am also more patient with Bubby and actually enjoy spending time with him! Other days, I find myself depressed, not motivated, and quite frankly no fun to be around. I hope to grow more in my faithfulness and trust for God by trying to be obedient to him daily.
Next, I have come up with a schedule to help me stay on top necessary tasks to keep up with our home. Here is what I have made:
Daily Tasks:
-Washing all dishes
-Washing and folding at least 1 load of laundry if there is a load to do
-Making the bed
-Picking up toys and clutter before bed
-Sorting mail and paying any bills
-Taking out any full trash
-Walking the dog
All of these are quite necessary because if they don't get done the first day, then they pile up for the second day and if the hamster wheel keeps rolling then I find myself spending an entire day doing dishes, folding laundry, sorting mail, getting behind on bills, and the house is a complete wreck. I no longer want to spend entire days doing these tasks, so if I have them written down then I can help maintain our home.
I also have a weekly house cleaning schedule:
-Mondays-Wash windows/mirrors, clean end tables in the living room and electronics (TV's/Computers)
-Tuesdays-Clean Kitchen, clean out refrigerator
-Wednesdays-Dusting
-Thursdays-Vacuuming and mopping floors
-Friday-Clean Bathroom
-Saturday-Launder cleaning cloths
-Sunday-Launder Bubby's clothes
I have a specific day for Bubby's laundry because it usually takes a full week to fill his hamper and that way I always know when to do his laundry. I feel really good about this! Since I clean houses 2-3 days a week the last thing I want is to come home and have to spend all of my free time cleaning MY house. I left the easier tasks for M-W because those are the days I usually clean other homes, which will make it easier for me to stay on top of my own cleaning time.
Lastly, I want to try and do more things with Bubby. I want to sit and read with him, build towers, chase him around, tickle him, and take him out to do fun things. I've made the choice to put my laptop in my bedroom and only use it during nap times. That way I am actually out spending time with him instead of being on my computer. I also try to only watch TV during his nap times, unless we are watching a show together. This is a challenge for me but definitely necessary.
What do you do to stay on top of your home?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sleep
I'm rather shocked lately with how well Bubby has been sleeping. Do you recall the days when I posted about all of the problems I was having with Bubby and trying to get him to sleep??? Well here I am feeling guilty that I have nothing to do because he's sleeping all the time!
Sleeping through that night has been quite a blessing lately. Bubby lays down for bed around 7 and puts himself to sleep VERY well and sleeps around 11-12 hours a night. He still uses his binky, stuffed puppy, and a little music box attached to his crib, but HEY if he's sleeping well I DO NOT want to try and change things, at least not yet. We did set up his toddler bed, which by the way he did sleep one full night in (and didn't fall out! I have pictures to come of all of the pillows and comforters I lined around his bed). But after that one night I could never get him to lay still in his bed. All he wanted to do was jump around. So, back into the crib he went and he's likely to stay there until he's at least 18 months. I have hopes of breaking the binky before we move him to his toddler bed, but I'm not guaranteeing anything!
Naptime on the other hand is another story. Not that he's sleeping poorly, but that he's sleeping a lot! I thought by now at 15 1/2 months he would be down to one nap per day. But nope, he's still taking a 2 hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap. Sometimes they are shorter, but usually his morning nap is just as long or longer than his afternoon one. It's really odd. I don't know if I should try to push him to just 1 nap or just let him keep doing this double nap deal. As long as he naps, it's fine with me! Another nice thing about nap time lately is that even if Bubby doesn't fall asleep right away, he's been really quiet in his crib. He just rolls around, babbles on to his puppy, or listens to his music. It's awesome! I will admit there are some days where he throws everything out and then screams for me to come get them. And there are days where he rolls around in his crib for an hour and half and doesn't fall asleep. But the majority of the time, he is a GREAT sleeper! I feel so blessed!
The funny thing is that during his nap times I find myself running out of things to do! I will get everything done on my list and then...I actually have time to relax, or read, or watch a movie or catch up on a show. It's NICE! Although, I was hoping to start doing some morning activities with Bubby, like going to story time at the Library, music class at church and possibly start going to MOPS again. We will just have to see how long this great sleeping streak keeps up!
Sleeping through that night has been quite a blessing lately. Bubby lays down for bed around 7 and puts himself to sleep VERY well and sleeps around 11-12 hours a night. He still uses his binky, stuffed puppy, and a little music box attached to his crib, but HEY if he's sleeping well I DO NOT want to try and change things, at least not yet. We did set up his toddler bed, which by the way he did sleep one full night in (and didn't fall out! I have pictures to come of all of the pillows and comforters I lined around his bed). But after that one night I could never get him to lay still in his bed. All he wanted to do was jump around. So, back into the crib he went and he's likely to stay there until he's at least 18 months. I have hopes of breaking the binky before we move him to his toddler bed, but I'm not guaranteeing anything!
Naptime on the other hand is another story. Not that he's sleeping poorly, but that he's sleeping a lot! I thought by now at 15 1/2 months he would be down to one nap per day. But nope, he's still taking a 2 hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap. Sometimes they are shorter, but usually his morning nap is just as long or longer than his afternoon one. It's really odd. I don't know if I should try to push him to just 1 nap or just let him keep doing this double nap deal. As long as he naps, it's fine with me! Another nice thing about nap time lately is that even if Bubby doesn't fall asleep right away, he's been really quiet in his crib. He just rolls around, babbles on to his puppy, or listens to his music. It's awesome! I will admit there are some days where he throws everything out and then screams for me to come get them. And there are days where he rolls around in his crib for an hour and half and doesn't fall asleep. But the majority of the time, he is a GREAT sleeper! I feel so blessed!
The funny thing is that during his nap times I find myself running out of things to do! I will get everything done on my list and then...I actually have time to relax, or read, or watch a movie or catch up on a show. It's NICE! Although, I was hoping to start doing some morning activities with Bubby, like going to story time at the Library, music class at church and possibly start going to MOPS again. We will just have to see how long this great sleeping streak keeps up!
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