One Day at a Time

I've been thinking about how it is I'm managing to juggle everything in my life right now. All my goals at home and at work, doing the whole Airbnb hosting thing, being in two shows (and JUST added a third-I'll be playing Fiona in Shrek the Musical in August), and keeping my little family happy, healthy, and sane. Well, sanity is actually thrown out the window. We're a little crazy and that's ok. So, I'm feeling pretty good about things in general and while I'm behind on my reading goal this year...the other things are in place. How am I managing it? One day at a freaking time.

I wish I could say that I'm so super organized that Tuesdays are countertop/ surfaces days and Wednesdays I do floors, and Thursdays I do shopping errands. I'm not super organized but I have found myself doing some things on the regular that have helped me:

I dedicate time every day to just play with Patch. No distractions. Just toys/games/ a book/ exploring outside together. When I've gotten in that concentrated play time, I feel more at ease to pursue other tasks.

I do my makeup in the car most days and I've started timing myself. Not while I'm driving people. I just do it real quick in the parking lot or maybe at some red lights. I don't allow myself to take any longer than 10 minutes.

I take my phone in the shower with me to check in on our finances and bills while my shower warms up/ while I wake up. Patrick has come to accept the time I'm away from him in the shower and I try to not be on the phone in front of him so, these 3-5 minutes allow me to send off a quick bill or two/ check into my bank account.

I shop for groceries once a week. I'm toying around with using the Walmart app to have my groceries picked up for me so that I can just drive by and get on my way. Patrick does seem to enjoy sitting in the cart and people watching though. He especially loves Costco because we often get extra samples. Since we shop at about the same time every Friday, some of the sample ladies are starting to recognize him.

If I use the restroom at work, I look up recipes for dinner on my phone and don't allow myself to piddle around on Facebook. This forces me to spend some time planning for meals and thinking about what groceries to buy later in the week/ what foods to make with what we have on hand.

I get out in the garden with Patch at least 3 times a week to pull weeds. We're trying to stay on top of that as much as possible.

I put EVERYTHING in my calendar on my iPhone as soon as the appointment is set. I look at my calendar twice a day to make sure I'm not forgetting things. While I'm not perfect at this either, I'm improving and doing a much better job of not over scheduling myself.

I never leave a room empty handed. This is critical to keeping the house picked up for our Airbnb guests. Patrick has even started to learn about cleaning up messes. We've got a long way to go with him. hehe.

The fact of the matter is that I also got me an awesome husband. He works so hard to help balance our life and is the perfect man for the job. He's an amazing and involved dad. He's super handy around the house. He is an excellent chef. He's always engaging me in current events and conversations about politics. He's just absolutely wonderful.

I guess these are my tricks/ tips. We're making it happen and this is the life I've always imagined. It's every bit as crazy and fun as I'd hoped it would be.