Oh organizing my schedule. Nope nope nope. I was not going to do it. After all - my littles are so happy and we are all so peaceful and life is for spontaneity!
And then I got pregnant.
And then I got tired.
And then... I got grouchy.
It takes an awful lot of patience to live without any sense of order. Apparently - I was quite the saint pre pregnancy - because now ... I am a mean old troll.
Also... little by little - they started watching a lot of movies. Like - we are talking hours of Netflix. And the more movies they watched - the more difficult they were when they weren't watching them. And then the snottiness from the 8 year old and the tantrums from the 3 year old and the ragey pregnant me where just normal.
It was like - super sad.
Except for the part where we devised a plan so brilliant - it just might work.
We concocted a Schedule! Dun Dun Duuuuuh!
I consulted mothers of pure awesomeness who advised me on various things chore and schedule wise.
It took us hours and days to map it all out - me and my mister. But what we came up with was that there must be something very visible and we need to utilize those smart phone calendars to play loud alerts on the hours tolling the scheduled thing to do next (or we will just forget). And there needs to be a bunch of other things to do besides movies. Like chores. And I need to be more disciplined about meal times and outings (cuz money) and now that we have discovered our little girl has a learning disability - we need to dedicate more time to the new approach needed for homeschool.
And here it is! In all it's awesome Majesty. Bask in it's simplicity.
So I spent hours looking through mommy blogs trying to find someone elses schedule to launch from. But - none of them encompassed the whole picture. They would be meticulously detailed about lesson time, quiet time, nap time, food time - but really - what about showers? Bed time? The classes to ferry kids to and from that change from day to day? Doctors appointment's? Like - all the times!
So - firstly we have the column of daily routine the morning and evening will likely be the same every day and I put in a bit about lunch - on the days we'd be home. Huzzah!
And each thing I put in my iphone calendar alert - so the alarm goes off to remind me that in 15 I am suppose to start dinner or get the kids prepped for bed. So - as flighty and distracted as I am - I am still watching my own back! Then I threw in the stuff we have to leave the house for, then the things that have to be done to run the house smoothly. Like for realz. Everything you see here - is now also on my phone calendar - set with a LOUD alerts. This is prolly the only reason why this is working at all. And... I loves it ^_^
CHORES.
OMgolly. The chore schedules I found online had like - mopping and bathroom cleaning and vacuuming and dusting (like dusting?- more then every other month? Who does that?) happening multiple times a week... um - yeah. We don't clean our bathroom more than once a week. I mean - we spot clean as needed (3yo boy aim) - but like mirrors ? No. These schedules would make cleaning a 40 hour work week all on its own! Ain't nobody got time for that! I just threw in what has to happen daily - like dinner clean up and then made sure time was set aside for showers and laundry to alternate days ( cuz with a lazy water heater - that was a cluster chuck and source of stress in even our most peaceful times of chaotic living) Then we threw in the needed rest of the chores - watering the yard, vaccuuming, picking up. And Saturday can be project day - if no other errands are in order - for things like weeding and more once a month kinda things. I put those post-its in the upper left hand corner of the Schedg for just such an oddity ;)
So then we made these signs in each room to remind everyone what needs to be done and the process! I don't have to nag! I just have to point at that sign on the wall!
( um - we need to correct that - it is suppose to say "laundry BIN" not "bid" )
And here we even set up whose job is whose - so even 3 year old has work he can feel proud of!
We actually bought 7th Gen detergent pods JUST so the kids could do their own laundry.
Then we are left with how to get the 8 year old on board with the chores. Well - remember when I said the movies had taken over? Well - we cut them off cold turkey. After a week of no movies - my 8 year old finally had currency I could play on. I came up with the idea that for each chore - she is awarded movie minutes. For instance ~ cleaning the bathroom is 30 movie minutes. When she has finished the chore - she has a jar full of popsicle sticks with the amount of minutes represented in sequins and she can take the amount she has earned and put it in the "Earned" jar. She can then redeem those minutes during free time and enjoy as many minutes of movies as she has accumulated - yo! ( moderated by a timer - of course - so again - no nagging) Yeah. She couldn't wait to clean the living room!
She still has work that is only for the good of the household. She will make the occasional meal and water the yard and unload groceries - as she always has - because we must all do our part - and we will still give her treats and privileges for nothing - because we are family ( Daaaw)
And finally - bed time. These guys have been going to bed whenever and watching movies to get to sleep for sooo long. So - we made this happen all fancy style. The girl has an alarm telling her it is time to prep for bed. And she that's that. No more nagging from me! Just pointing to the list on the wall.
We put the boy down at 7:30 with a story and come in and read to her at 8:00. lights out at 8:30. And yo. It is working.
The whole blooming thing is working! My kids are so much happier! They are nicer to each other! It's like how it was in the good old days! But... with order!
And you may have noticed - we have scheduled cuddles and GoTs for after 9:00 - for just me and the mister. Also - we have an after noon meeting/date every Saturday now - to discuss family business if needed - or just hang out and enjoy each others awesomeness. During our "date" time - we utilize those movies with the littles! And Huzzah! We win again!
So - if you are like me - and all the other kinds of schedules didn't work - maybe this one will help? Or maybe just - take courage? You will figure something out?
And then I got pregnant.
And then I got tired.
And then... I got grouchy.
It takes an awful lot of patience to live without any sense of order. Apparently - I was quite the saint pre pregnancy - because now ... I am a mean old troll.
Also... little by little - they started watching a lot of movies. Like - we are talking hours of Netflix. And the more movies they watched - the more difficult they were when they weren't watching them. And then the snottiness from the 8 year old and the tantrums from the 3 year old and the ragey pregnant me where just normal.
It was like - super sad.
Except for the part where we devised a plan so brilliant - it just might work.
We concocted a Schedule! Dun Dun Duuuuuh!
I consulted mothers of pure awesomeness who advised me on various things chore and schedule wise.
It took us hours and days to map it all out - me and my mister. But what we came up with was that there must be something very visible and we need to utilize those smart phone calendars to play loud alerts on the hours tolling the scheduled thing to do next (or we will just forget). And there needs to be a bunch of other things to do besides movies. Like chores. And I need to be more disciplined about meal times and outings (cuz money) and now that we have discovered our little girl has a learning disability - we need to dedicate more time to the new approach needed for homeschool.
And here it is! In all it's awesome Majesty. Bask in it's simplicity.
So I spent hours looking through mommy blogs trying to find someone elses schedule to launch from. But - none of them encompassed the whole picture. They would be meticulously detailed about lesson time, quiet time, nap time, food time - but really - what about showers? Bed time? The classes to ferry kids to and from that change from day to day? Doctors appointment's? Like - all the times!
So - firstly we have the column of daily routine the morning and evening will likely be the same every day and I put in a bit about lunch - on the days we'd be home. Huzzah!
CHORES.
OMgolly. The chore schedules I found online had like - mopping and bathroom cleaning and vacuuming and dusting (like dusting?- more then every other month? Who does that?) happening multiple times a week... um - yeah. We don't clean our bathroom more than once a week. I mean - we spot clean as needed (3yo boy aim) - but like mirrors ? No. These schedules would make cleaning a 40 hour work week all on its own! Ain't nobody got time for that! I just threw in what has to happen daily - like dinner clean up and then made sure time was set aside for showers and laundry to alternate days ( cuz with a lazy water heater - that was a cluster chuck and source of stress in even our most peaceful times of chaotic living) Then we threw in the needed rest of the chores - watering the yard, vaccuuming, picking up. And Saturday can be project day - if no other errands are in order - for things like weeding and more once a month kinda things. I put those post-its in the upper left hand corner of the Schedg for just such an oddity ;)
So then we made these signs in each room to remind everyone what needs to be done and the process! I don't have to nag! I just have to point at that sign on the wall!
Then we are left with how to get the 8 year old on board with the chores. Well - remember when I said the movies had taken over? Well - we cut them off cold turkey. After a week of no movies - my 8 year old finally had currency I could play on. I came up with the idea that for each chore - she is awarded movie minutes. For instance ~ cleaning the bathroom is 30 movie minutes. When she has finished the chore - she has a jar full of popsicle sticks with the amount of minutes represented in sequins and she can take the amount she has earned and put it in the "Earned" jar. She can then redeem those minutes during free time and enjoy as many minutes of movies as she has accumulated - yo! ( moderated by a timer - of course - so again - no nagging) Yeah. She couldn't wait to clean the living room!
And finally - bed time. These guys have been going to bed whenever and watching movies to get to sleep for sooo long. So - we made this happen all fancy style. The girl has an alarm telling her it is time to prep for bed. And she that's that. No more nagging from me! Just pointing to the list on the wall.
The whole blooming thing is working! My kids are so much happier! They are nicer to each other! It's like how it was in the good old days! But... with order!
And you may have noticed - we have scheduled cuddles and GoTs for after 9:00 - for just me and the mister. Also - we have an after noon meeting/date every Saturday now - to discuss family business if needed - or just hang out and enjoy each others awesomeness. During our "date" time - we utilize those movies with the littles! And Huzzah! We win again!
So - if you are like me - and all the other kinds of schedules didn't work - maybe this one will help? Or maybe just - take courage? You will figure something out?
