Friday, January 4, 2013

Too much of a good thing...

It's time!

I might get flamed for saying this, but I can't wait to get back to normal after these two weeks of "vacation". I want to have a full week of Adam disappearing into his office in the morning and reappearing for dinner, to attending all our scheduled activities, to getting my daily chores done.

Back when I was working I looked forward to any vacation like an oasis in the desert of a long commute and a tiring workday.  But as a stay at home mom, vacation for Adam and Madison (and by extension Reagan, since she tags along to all those "official" activities) it feels like...well...not what a week or two off should feel like.

By the way, as much as I tried to explain to the girls that we were on "vacation" (hey, if Adam gets one, I do too!), I didn't seem to get one.  They still wanted to be fed, dressed, changed, etc.  Man, these bosses are intense.

The thing is, I thrive on routine.  I have the girls on a great schedule of wake up, meals, activities, naps, and bedtime.  I broke down the weekly household chores and gave myself several "jobs" per day.  I do laundry on a schedule.  I do errands on a schedule.  I plan out our meals to make sure I have everything ready to go.  I'll plan simple meals on days when I know I have a big chore to do, more elaborate ones when I know I can do a lot of the prep during naptime.

Some people think I'm crazy and a control freak, and maybe I am, but honestly, this saves me a lot of time and a lot of stress.  When I stick to our schedule, I'm never overwhelmed.  The girls do really well on their routine.  They're well rested, they eat well, they're happy!

Anyway, for the past two weeks, we've been off.  And it's starting to get to me. 

Adam has actually been off work.  Like I've said, he works at home, so having him in the house all day isn't unusual.  But having him around all day isn't what we're accustomed to.  Not to mention the fact that he is trying to be on vacation and take a break.  The guy works hard.  So he wants to relax in his chair and have the TV on, watching Fox Business or ESPN, or playing wii.  But the girls feel that if the TV is on, it should be playing Little Einsteins or Sofia the First.

We haven't had many of our normal activities.  Most of what we do follows a school schedule.  So we didn't have dance, or art group.  We had Gymboree, since our class day didn't fall on an official holiday, but that was it.  Therefore, we had many lazy mornings in our pajamas, watching TV for longer than I'd prefer.

We did have many irregular days.  Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Adam's birthday...these were wonderful days.  But they meant the girls weren't eating at their regular times, napping at their regular times, in bed on time.  The problem with having kids who really embrace routine is that when you break that routine, they can have a tough time with it.  They would have a really fun time, stay up late, crash in the car, and then wake up at their normal time the next morning, cranky and overtired, not hungry, or wanting to eat all morning, then fighting naps, then ending up overtired, so not sleeping well, and on, and on.

Because I can barely tell what day it is, and we've been so incredibly off, my organizational tools have gone by the wayside.  I'm incredibly off myself.  My Monday and Tuesday chores were totally shot because of the holidays, and then I had holiday cooking and toy organization and non-napping children, and the end result is that my house is a mess, the laundry is off, and there are piles building up.  I make a list so I can catch up...and it doesn't happen.

Two weeks is a long time to be off your game.  It's been a fun two weeks of holiday celebration, family, friends, and having Adam around full time, it really has. But two weeks, in the cold, in the snow, with two little girls, is a long break from routine.  It's too much of a good thing.  We need to go back.

There is nothing worse than being so behind, you don't know where to start.

Anyway, after this weekend, we are back to routine.  Tomorrow will be a usual unscheduled Saturday, Sunday we'll go to church, and on Monday, Adam will have breakfast with us, say goodbye to the girls, and then head upstairs to his office while we get in the car to go to dance class.  We'll come home for lunch, the girls will take their naps, and I'll do my Monday cleaning (ummm...whatever that is.  It's been too long).



And I can't wait.

Only a few more days to get all your entries in for Ollie!  Like, comment, follow, share, and treat Traci well!

4 comments:

Janelle said...

I totally understand. I was on vacation this last week and I was really looking forward to my normal work routine. Instead, I got sick. Phooey. Stuff is piling up at home and work and it's going to be hell getting back into routine again.

Meredith said...

That is the worst! I hope you feel better quickly!

Unknown said...

I'm SO all done with vacation! Especially since we were all so sick for most of it. My kids went back on Wednesday and I can't explain to you how amazing it was to have the house to myself! Today I did a lot of "undecking" the halls and I'm looking forward to a clean(er) house and our first full week of normal routine next week.

PS - here via the YKIHIYHT linkup!

Meredith said...

So glad you found me on the LinkUp! I've been reading you as well from the Pinterest board. Love this blogging community! My undecking started today and I'm looking forward to a nice clean slate for my girls to mess up.

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