FaithHopeLove: Back to 'Normal'

I went back to work this past week. I started back on Monday. The week was a little crazy but not as bad as I thought it would be. I jumped right back into a groove routine wise at work and at home. Logan did very well adjusting back to 'school' (daycare). His teacher said he acted as if he had not even been gone. Landon did very well for his first time at 'school'. I was able to go and get some snuggles with him for a little bit on my lunch breaks. I think I can say as a family we are back to 'normal' (whatever normal is). It feels good to be back in the working world. As much as I love my kids and love to be home with them, I am just not fit to be a stay at home mom. Stay at home moms get my respect because they may not work outside the home, but they sure do work inside the home.

So I guess you all may be asking the question of how in the world can I work, have two kids (2 years old and 2 months old), a husband, AND run a household (chores, groceries). Well it is very simple; organization. It took a little time to think about how to organize the routines, the grocery shopping, the cooking, and the cleaning. I did a lot of run by plays in my head like a sports team. After doing that and getting a vision I was able to decide, 'okay this how we will do this or that'. One thing that has made it very easy is I meal plan for 2-3 weeks. I will only do grocery shopping a week at a time, this way I am never overloading the kitchen with food we won't eat for another week.

As far as our family routine goes, we only have one car so we have to take Rob to work and then go on to work/daycare. We also pick Rob up from work but he works an hour and a half later than I do. Our evening routine is when I get off work we come home and I cook dinner. Everything for dinner will be out already waiting for me to cook it. Once it is cooked, Logan will eat before we go to get Rob from work. Landon also usually will eat a bottle will Logan is eating. Once both boys are fed we go to pick up Rob. When we get back home, Rob and I will eat dinner and we let Logan play for a little bit. After we eat one of us will get Logan ready for bed while the other cleans up from dinner (load the dishwasher, put the food away, clean the kitchen, clean the bottles/sippy cups). We let Logan play for a little bit more after he has had a bath and got his pajamas on. During this time I will either fix my lunch or Logan's lunch. Once Logan is in bed that is when I get to fit in a shower (yup I schedule my showers). Rob stays up until midnight and will do any of Landon's feedings that are before midnight and if Logan wakes up, Rob will settle Logan back down. I usually will go to bed between 9 and 10. Landon will either sleep the whole night or wake up around 3 or 4 so I get a good 4-5 hours of sleep. That is our evening routine.

Our morning routine starts with me waking up at 5:30. I get myself ready first. If Landon wakes up I will feed him and then finish getting ready. Once I am ready for the day I start my coffee (seriously need my coffee or I won't be able to function). If Logan is awake by this time I get him ready and get him breakfast. Rob wakes up around 6:30 and he will get ready and help in the mornings where he is needed. The boys are pretty low key in the mornings (in the evenings they are a little more fussy). Rob and I eat breakfast together. I also will fix either my lunch or Logan's lunch depending on which lunch I made the night before. I also have to make Landon's bottles every morning. We have a pretty good routine in the mornings and we are always able to get everything together with time to spare. Since Rob has to be at work at 8:30 and I have to be at work at 8:45, we leave here at 8:15. Both of our jobs are within 5 minutes of where we live.

Grocery shopping takes place every Sunday. We keep up with dishes and laundry throughout the week so on the weekends we vacuum and clean the bathrooms as needed. I have become very laid back as far as house chores go. I still like a clean house but it gets done when it gets done.

It took a lot of thought on how to set up that routine. The best part is: it works very well. Rob helps out a lot. I have gained respect for single moms as well. I have imagined if I were a single mom, I don't think this routine would work quite as well. I am very thankful to have a husband by my side. He is a great father and a wonderful husband.

So if you are looking for a 'routine', my advice would be to go through different play by plays of different routines and pick the one that seems to fit best. Also, I would advise to organize in a way that fits with you and your family. Organization and a routine is how I am able to do it all.

Here are some pictures from this past week...

Last Saturday...the boys were sleepy.