In case you're interested, this just happens to be the 100th post in my blog. Yes, yes, you may sing to me now..."Happy Blogging Milestone to you, Happy Blogging Milestone to you..." Sorry, little things excite me. =)
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This school year is different...
You already know that I have OCD and that change is very hard for me, but this change has been good. As I think back on last year, I cringe at the thought of my schedule and have no trouble figuring out why I ended up with a stress-induced health problem earlier this year. One of the biggest things that has changed in my schedule is that I am no longer working. Last year, I was working from home for about 3 or 4 hours a day. This would usually take place in the afternoon once all the homeschooling was done. While I somewhat miss the extra income and the feeling of being needed, I really feel like I've been given the gift of precious time with my family. There were many times that I was working at my computer while Jason was playing with the girls, and I would desperately wish that I could be involved.
This year I am trying to incorporate a most unusual schedule. It's flexible! In an effort to work around Jason's schedule, I'm not tying myself down to a certain time of the day to complete our homeschooling. One day this week, we started school in the 8 o'clock hour, Jason got home at about 9 A.M., we took a break around 10 A.M. to play dominoes with him, ate lunch together at 11 A.M. and then finished up our schooling after he left for his appointment. I think that really helps the kids to work and concentrate better. They get to "recharge" during their break, so that they're ready to get back into their work.
Another change I'm making to our "schedule" is that we are only doing "school work" for 4 days out of the week. The 5th day will be used for either extracurricular activities (ie. piano lessons, Home Ec. lessons, field trips, home school park day, etc.), a trip to Granny and Papa's house, a 4-day weekend trip with Jason or just a plain ol' day off. This 4-day-a-week schedule means that they will have to complete extra pages on certain days, but since they thrive on over-achievement, this should not be an issue. =)
Side Note: We love playing games! Here we are playing dominoes while at the condo in Orlando...
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This week, I discovered that I did not talk very much over the Summer. My throat became very sore after the 1st couple of days, and all I can figure is that I must be talking more since we've resumed school. Either that or I'm about to come down with the latest cold. =P
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Because I do have OCD, I have an immensely huge problem delegating certain household chores. I have learned, though, that it is much less stressful to just let go and let Jason and the girls help with some of them. Since I can not do it all, it is much more satisfying to see it accomplished whether it be "perfect" or not. Along with the new school year, I have incorporated a revised "chore chart" from last year. The girls each have anywhere from 2 to 4 chores per day. Not all of them are huge, and most of the time they are all working together to complete a task. They seem to enjoy the chores more when they know what to expect each day. If I just rely on impromptu chore assigning, they tend to feel as though it is a drudgery. Here is there chart hanging on our refrigerator along with some of their artwork...
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A month or so ago, I purchased a plain cork board to hang over my desk, and of course, it just sat under my desk. It wasn't so much because of procrastination as it was indecisiveness. =) When I bought it, I intended to make it more attractive in some way but couldn't decide what I wanted to do. This week, I went through some quilting scraps that I have and found an adorable green plaid piece of fabric that was the perfect size to cover that ugly brown cork. =P
Here's what it looks like now hanging over my desk...
The green in the fabric matches my green laptop! Just in case you can't tell or didn't know already, green is my favorite color! =) It makes me happy! Here's a close-up of the fabric...
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The End!
The End!
3 comments:
And another thought - it's not that you're "not needed" at work.. you've just been promoted and have a more important job to do - like a CEO. A more eternal job too- you get to disciple 3 little ones all day long!!! And it is over before you know it.
I know what you mean about time!! I'm (still) working, too, and I really love it. Right now it's giving me some "break" time, and I really enjoy what I'm doing.
We have a VERY flexible homeschooling schedule - usually four days a week, but some weeks it's three. We very rarely EVER start school before 9am, and we have "morning school" and "afternoon school". Andrew is the only one who really thrives on routine, so I'm trying to incorporate a little more structure, or at least "schedule" or flexibility - lol! - for his sake, and so far he's doing pretty well with that.
Taking it easy is awesome! I know there's a LOT of stuff that I don't get done...my floors are NEVER clean, and the dishes are never completely done. And you should SEE the kids drawers and closets (from them putting up their own clothes) - they are almost as bad as Jeremy's! (Haha) But I truly think it's worth sacrificing those things because we are all much happier when I'm not "drill sergeant mom" and I can let some of those things go.
Thanks for sharing - it's encouraging to know that we're all going through the same thing!
Whohoo! I love the fabric-covered cork board. Your desk area looks so nice and organized. :)
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