Tuesday 19 November 2013

A minute please, pretty please!

Well with Halloween over I thought there might be time to relax for at least a morning before I was on to the next thing. I should have known better. It seems Christmas is already upon us, and with that and planning on starting a daycare in the new year, I have had an appointment or meeting or interview or shopping to do or something else every day. This is by far the fullest month on my humongous fridge calendar this year. There is one day that's blank, but give it some time and that one will be filled too. There's still a week and a half of this month to come up with something I'm sure.

With all that's going on, I've found it hard to maintain a daily routine. I like routines, probably more than the next guy (or mom), but this time of year is busy for everyone. I also have the added responsibility of volunteering in J's class every other week, baking muffins about once a month for the school Breakfast for Learning program, baking enough snacks and desserts to feed my hungry hungry hippos, er kids, and cooking dinner every night. And we can't forget J's soccer and swimming two nights a week, my husband's weekly appointments, E's gymnastics once per week, the weekly resource centre play group the E loves to go to and drop in gym where he gets to drive a little car around for 90 minutes. Oh yeah, and getting the house up to code for a home daycare.

I have also managed (with help from my family) to get Christmas presents bought for my nieces and nephew on my side of the family, and organize a weekend that my mom can take the boys so P and I can get their shopping done. Speaking of shopping, I think all of J's many friends were born in either November or December, because in the next three weeks he has four parties to attend, and I haven't even thought about buying birthday presents for those yet.

Something else that's on my to-do list before Christmas is getting my First Aid and CPR certification again. And we all need flu shots. I also have to prepare for all my Christmas baking, because I will have about ten families to provide with baked goods. This is not a complaint; I do this as a Christmas gift because it's more personal than buying a present (and also cheaper).

Needless to say, I haven't been to the gym in over a week. This is okay for several reasons. One, I was going regularly for over two months and working out hard (as in running a mile or more, at least three times a week) and didn't lose any weight. Of course I know I've got to keep trying, but enough's enough for now. It's not like I'm going backwards if I stop for a bit. Another reason this is okay is that come January, I'm going to have to find a new routine for going to the gym. With several more children in the house during the day, I won't be able to go in the mornings like I did. The last reason is that I don't have much time to eat, so I don't need to burn the calories as much. Yes, I know these are all excuses, and not very good ones at that, but I have to tell myself something, right?

Anyway, through all this craziness and running out of time I forgot to mention that I've been having a lot of fun. I am a person who needs to be busy. If I have nothing to do I will stand somewhere, slightly resembling a cactus out of the desert (in other words, lost), and go to bed because I'm bored. And that's definitely not productive. Or fun.

For those who don't believe me, let me tell you about our weekend. Saturday was Free Movie Day, or Community Day, when we could go see a movie for free in the local theatre and buy cheap popcorn. I went with J and we invited one of his friends. That covered our morning and then he had a play date in the afternoon. Then we bought groceries and did the dinner and hygiene and bedtime thing, and I made muffins for the family. And cookies. Sunday J had a play date with one of his friends and another friend called and asked to come over at the same time, so we had a mini party. Then we had to go out to do some Christmas shopping and get the kids home for a rushed dinner and early bedtime. Then I made more cookies. Two days went by in a whirlwind, but it was fun. I did a lot with E too, like playing outside, playing games here, dancing and building obstacle courses in the living room.

The two days of this week have been filled with 100 mini muffins for J's school, a doctor's appointment, two phone interviews with the school and two local play groups for E. If this keeps up I won't even remember the month leading up to Christmas this year, which might be a good thing considering how stressed out most people get. So while I ask for a minute, a quiet one without other people or anything to do, I don't think I would appreciate it or acknowledge it if I got it. This is my life, and I quite like it. Even if I forget a few things along the way.

No comments:

Post a Comment