So I have finally found it! After almost 2 years of motherhood, I have finally found the magic formula. That balance between being a mom, being a wife, working, keeping my house in some order, working out and taking a class. Well, at least for now. I'm hoping it sticks...we'll see.
It started with the class. A couple of months ago I decided that I just had to do it in the morning. I had to get up early and just do it. Well, I guess that has been the toughest part of my transition. Getting up early is no easy task when a certain little girl does not always sleep so well. So every morning I try to get up early and work on my class. I would say I make it 3 out of 7 days. Hey, at least it's a start. Better than the 0 out of 7 I was accomplishing.
Then I decided I needed to try and get in shape. Also, not easy when you only have 3-4 good hours a night and it's also the only time you spend with your family. So I have joined a gym 2 miles from my office and I go for 20 minutes 3-4 times a week during my lunch break. Bonus: My company pays for it if I go 9 times a month :)
Finally, and I think this is my favorite part, I have figured out how to keep my house relatively clean. Clif and I each do one chore a day/night. Like tonight I'll do laundry and Clif will pick up the clutter in the bedrooms. It's worked for 2 weeks so far. I know 2 weeks is not a long time...but if you have been to my house unexpectedly in the last 2 years, you know that 2 weeks is a LIFETIME!!!!! My house is always crazy, chaos, clutter, mess!!!! In the past I have tried to clean the entire house in the span of 2 hours. This always just felt overwhelming and impossible, which it is, so I would usually end up doing 1 or 2 things on my list of 20. This would then make me feel like a failure and I would end up eating ice cream on the couch for the rest of the night.
The mom and wife thing I think I had down pretty well. And work, well that's a dreaded necessity so it has to fit in for a whopping 40-50 hours a week. It was fitting all the other things I wanted or needed to do in to that tight schedule.
So that's it. Maybe I should write a book. Speaking of, I even managed to READ a book in the last couple of months. Imagine that!!!!
Now that I'm done praising myself for my brilliance, I'll move on :)
Sunday was Mother's Day (belated happy mother's day to all my favorite mommies). When I got out of the shower Sunday morning, Clif was making breakfast and my gift was sitting on the table.
Isn't it beautiful? I think she'll be the next Monet!
After breakfast I did a very brave thing...I took Ainsley to church with me, by myself. I was so stressed through the whole service, but it was ok. Not great, but ok. The people around us seemed very amused by Ainsley. She liked to announce to me, and everyone in the room, that the man next to us was sleeping every time we prayed. She also liked to sing her songs (Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and the Bumble Bee Song), dance and sway with her eyes closed while we sang hymns. She reminded me a bit of Stevie Wonder. God bless the woman behind us who put me as at ease as I was going to get. She said "Now just remember there is only one person in this whole room that she is bothering and who thinks she's out of hand...and that is you." It made me feel better, but it was still a bit stressful.
We made it through the hour long service then headed home so we could go to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. We did this last year on a rainy Mother's Day. This year, it was beautiful out and the garden was much more crowded, but it was still a really nice afternoon. Last year, Clif took this really great picture of Ainsley and me and we thought we'd try and get another this year. Well, here's the best we could do. Ainsley wanted nothing of it.
We spent some time walking through the new rose garden and meandering through the woods, but Ainsley was not enjoying the stroller much. As I've said recently, it's a bit harder with her so mobile. She just wants to get out and run.
We spent most of the time in the Children's Garden. Ainsley could be a little more free to run around and play there without tearing anything up.
It's a great area of the garden. It's fairly new and there are a bunch of things for kids to do. There's a tree house and a little area with water fountains that kids can run though. They also have these little huts and houses with brooms and drums and other instruments the kids can use. Then there are hula hoops and sidewalk chalk. Ainsley was kept very busy and very entertained. She really liked the broom. I guess that bodes well for us later.
I would have to say her favorite part was the little cottage in the Arboretum. She kept knocking on the door saying "Hewwoa. Hewwoa."
She seemed to have a good time, but was definitely over it by the time we left. She fell asleep in her car seat on the way to lunch.
All in all it was a fabulous Mother's Day. I am very grateful for my wonderful family, and I guess that's what you're supposed to realize on Mother's Day. So mission accomplished.
