Well, last week did not turn out to be as productive as I had hoped. It started with that Zumba class Monday night and kind of went downhill from there. I hated the class. I really, really wanted to like it. But it’s just not me. I’ve never been good at dancing and I’ve always been super self conscious about it in any sort of situation that requires dancing. And being in a room full of people dancing super fast and actually being really good at it? I felt like such a fool! And like I was going to die. I was going to try out the Zumba Toning class on Wednesday night just to see how it differed, but I couldn’t do it. My friend Laura and I were then going to go to the Drumfit class in a neighboring town, but it ended up being cancelled due to snow. Maybe this week… Otherwise the search for an awesomely fun exercise routine continues. I did find a cool website called Fitness Blender with loads of workout videos to do at home. I haven’t explored it too much yet, but I’m hoping to take advantage of it in the future. Soon.
I did make a change to my work routine that I’m hoping will help me be a lot more productive. It’s so simple, but – I’m going to start recording my hours. This has two advantages. First, it will help me think of sewing time as my actual work time. Sewing shouldn’t be something I’m trying to fit into the rest of my to do list. It NEEDS to be my top priority during the day. And because I love to see that I devoted a big chunk of time to it, once I “clock in” I’ll feel a lot more inclined to keep at it and not be distracted by other things. The other advantage of writing down my hours is that I can see when I’m putting in the most time and try to rearrange my schedule to a way that I’d rather do it. For example, most of my working hours this week have been at night. That’s not what I want. And yesterday I started at 6:30 am, ended at 8:30 pm, and only took minimal breaks to make and eat meals and run to the grocery store. That shouldn’t be what my average Saturday looks like. I don’t want to be the workaholic mother that is in the house, but not at all present. But I also feel deeply conflicted about this, because I’m genuinely behind at work and if nights and Saturdays are the only times I can sew, then I really need to do it! It’s so tough to find the balance. I did give myself the day off today to do what I wanted (mostly read!), but I still haven’t had any real connections or time spent with my family and I just feel yucky about the whole weekend. I don’t want weekends to be like this. But…I don’t want to feel behind either.
So my other priority last week was to take care of myself. It started with a bang and by the end of the week I was eating like crap and not even trying to exercise. But I did have some me time and really enjoyed the Vintage Shop Hop with my parents all day Friday. I didn’t find as many cool treasures as last year, but it was still really fun to check out some new stores and admire so many handmade gifts and creations. It was great just escaping responsibilities for a day too. Being driven around to loads of vintage stores is pretty much living the dream. 🙂
Top Priority: Be Present
It’s kind of a busy week ahead. There’s something important going on almost every day. And while I really want to get a lot done this week, I’d also like to be fully present for the people that need my attention. Life isn’t all about work!
Tomorrow is Caden’s last IEP meeting. We were told that he’s graduating from speech, but he just told us tonight he has to have his final testing tomorrow afternoon. So hopefully, presumably, he’ll be testing out! It’s been six and a half years of very hard work for him and we’re so proud of how far he’s come. We’re going out to dinner with the grandparents afterward to celebrate his huge achievement.
Tuesday morning we’re taking Shepard for an echocardiogram. When he was sick in January the doctor noticed a heart murmur. She thought it was probably because he’d been sick with various colds and strep for three months and the result of dehydration. But when he had his well child visit the other day she could still hear it. So it needs to be checked out at the children’s hospital. It’s hopefully nothing, but still scary thinking there might be something wrong with my baby’s heart.
Friday it looks like we might finally get a date night! I’m assuming we’re probably just going to stay in, but it’ll still be nice to be kid free for the night. It’s very hard to connect when the boys are demanding Greg’s attention every waking moment.
And then Saturday and Sunday I’m going on a girl’s getaway weekend with a few of my friends! It’ll be SO awesome to have some girl time. I feel like I’ve barely had an adult conversation with anyone in months and months. I need this trip. I’m also looking forward to some more fun shopping and restaurant food!
Second Priority: Work Hard
So in between everything, I really need to keep working. Keep writing down my hours and try to keep it to daytime only, as much as possible. I’m in the middle of a really big batch of dolls and I’m hoping to finish them up in the next day or two. Then I need to focus on Easter and start churning them out. Lots to do. Always lots to do!
Meal Planning
Well, I haven’t really thought about this much, but I’m not going to sweat over it either. We have a lot of food in the freezer that we need to start eating up. It’ll be another easy week. No use stressing over meals that take too much time or effort.
Anyway, busy days ahead. Have a good week!
