I need to readjust my plan.
During my first year of SAHM-hood, I managed to find a routine that worked for me and get myself and the house organized. I had a clean(ish) house, a (fairly) well kept blog, happy kids and a decent dinner on the table every night.
No, really, I did. Most of the time anyway.
Once Reagan was consistently napping around the same time as Madison, and I had an idea of what each week held in terms of activities and errands, I did a schedule.
Every day I had one "chore" I wanted to get done, one load of laundry to get done, and something to do with regards to the blog. I could easily get the bulk of the housework done during nap time, with time to sit and catch my breath. And once the girls were in bed, I could relax with my laptop.
And it worked...
But now it isn't working.
I could blame our new fall schedule. This is our first full week, where every activity is happening, and I'm not quite used to it. The girls were getting up early all summer, but I wasn't exactly rushing to get us dressed, organized and out the door. Now we need to get up and get moving.
I could blame the blog. Back in January I was still just...writing. I wrote posts and shared them on my Facebook page. Now I'm managing a blog page, a Twitter account, I'm pinning on Pinterest, and I'm also involved in several blogging groups. I dove into affiliate marketing, and I've been working with sponsors and companies who've had me doing reviews. This is all awesome, it really is. I've met some amazing people, and although I'm not really making much money, I'm not losing it either. But it takes a lot more time. And a good deal more organization to keep on top of it.
I could blame Adam. He's been crazy at work lately, which means that the help that I'm used to hasn't really been there. Normally he helps get things organized in the morning, and helps clean up at night. Now he's having to rush up to his office almost immediately after getting the girls up (he still gets the girls up and makes the coffee, so I won't whine too much) and usually does work in his chair right after dinner. He plays with the girls and helps get them to bed, but he's usually back on the phone while we're doing the evening cleanup. Tragic? No. But it's another thing to do.
You know who needs the bulk of the blame? Madison.
She's phasing out her nap.
I should be happy. She's doing it gradually. She's still willing to go into her bed every afternoon, but more often than not, she's not sleeping. I get about an hour of happy reading and playing in her bed while her music plays before she starts calling to get out of her bed. If she sleeps, great, if she doesn't, she's fine. Either way she'll still go to bed early and sleep all night. We aren't fighting about it. She's resting, and when she needs it, she'll sleep. I know eventually she'll revolt about being in her bed, but for now, it works.
The issue is that an hour or less, when I'm used to two - or more - just isn't enough to get done what I need to and what I'm used to getting done.
The past two weeks I've been valiantly trying to get it done anyway. I'm trying to follow the schedule that worked so well for so many months.
Yeah, that's not working out for me. And I'm done trying to make it fit when the girls have clearly changed the schedule.
Now I need to figure out my new schedule.
Here's what I know:
I start with the girls at 6:30 am (at the latest - that's Reagan's wake up).
Both girls are in their beds by 7:00 pm.
We can count on being out all morning.
I get about an hour of "alone time" after lunch.
So how do I do it? How can I get my housework and blogwork done, now that "my" daily time has been cut so short? What kind of cleaning/laundry schedule works for you when you can't count on naptime?
