What’s Working and What’s Not—From Sun Up to Sun Down

What’s Working and What’s Not—From Sun Up to Sun Down

The last two years have been a whirlwind for me and I’ve experienced things as a stay at home mom that I never thought I would; for example it’s HARD—REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (not enough reallies) HARD!  I’ve gleaned from some very beautiful Titus women and put together my list of what’s working.  NOTHING IS ORIGINAL! Really—hijacked it all from The Greats!

1.       Dress for your day BEFORE you leave your bedroom.  EVERY MORNING.  And I mean from bra to shoes!

Dress to be prepared to run out of the door any minute or welcome an unexpected visitor.  I’ve also noticed my children take me more seriously if I’m dressed for my day.  And, if I’m honest, I take myself more serious too.  Not business nice, but not yoga pants and dew rag. (No condemnations here; there have been lots of those days and plenty still to come.)  But generally speaking this is a big help.

2.       Immediately start your first load of laundry!  This means before you even have your first cup of coffee.

 Oh my, I can hear ya now!  I know, I know!  But for me, it’s been a life saver!  One of The Greats has a love affair with her washer and dryer and swears that the sound of these babies purring sets her day.  I’m not quite that in love—but this does make a huge difference in the tone of your morning!  And it’s all about momentum.  An object in motion stays in motion!

3.       Stay in The Word—even if only by small passages or verses!

Back in the day I woke up in the 5 o’clock hour and read my Bible for 45 minutes before I even got dressed (while sipping coffee—oh nostalgia).  But this is just not reasonable during this season of my life.  And Jesus knows we stay at home mamas are weary—especially us with the smaller ones that are still waking up for those nighttime nursings.  Sleep is precious!  Let me say that again—SLEEP IS PRECIOUS! So, how do we keep our swords sharp against the evil one’s schemes?  Meditate on smaller passages or verses.  Write the verses that the spirit sends you in places you are the most, like the laundry room, your school room, your hands (done this), the bathroom mirror etc. 

4.       Meal Plan

Plan meals and stick to it (best you can).  Based on our family’s budget I can shop for two week’s worth of food.  I sit down, make a list of enough meals for two weeks, make a list for all the ingredients we need, and shop for them.  There may be better methods, but this works for us so I’m sharing.  I keep a list of the MEAL OPTIONS taped to the outside of the pantry door.  It is simply a list of meals that we have the ability to make because all of the ingredients are readily available.  So if I decide that tomorrow is a great taco night I set out hamburger meat to thaw.  By not saying M-Tacos, Tues-Beans it gives me flexibility to roll with the day’s punches!

5.       Start Your School Day with Family Devotion

Even if it is a quick one—it puts you all in the word together and starts your day as a family united.  (This is also where you can get more Chunk Word J)

6.       Chores for Kids

We call these ZC’s and PC’s for Zone Checks and Personal Checks.  We have a few times a day that everyone does a PC and makes sure their personal disasters are tidied up and then each of the kids have Zones that they are in charge of.  It helps.  When you’ve got lots of folks in the same quarters all day long it takes work to keep it in check.  Personally I don’t function in clutter—I mean total shut down, can’t do anything; and that’s no good for anyone when the mama is non-functioning. 

7.       Shower at Night

Otherwise you might not get one!  I enjoy, and prefer, to start a day with a shower but that’s not happening these days.  So in order to not be a total skank I must shower at night when my husband is home.  But, coming to bed clean has its advantages—just saying!

8.       Don’t Go to Bed with a Dirty Front of the House

This might be the hardest one because by this time of day you are tired.  I mean leg-numb tired.  So you could always ask your husband for help on this one.  Mine is awesome and most of the time makes sure the kitchen is clean after dinner.  Thank you Lord, because cooking and cleaning 3 times a day, 7 days a week is heavy.  At any rate, it helps tidy up your living areas before bed.  I call our living area the “Front of our Home” because it’s in the front, haha.  And every night (well almost every because, well you get it) but most nights I make sure the front of our home is picked up because tomorrow morning when I walk into the front of our home it sucks to be greeted by a pile of toddler toys and dishes in the sink.  On the contrary it is awesome to walk into your kitchen greeted by a shiny sink!

This is what is currently working for our family.  But the major life lesson I’ve learned since my journey from bread winner to bread maker began is that NOTHING STAYS THE SAME and it’s ALWAYS CHANGING!