End of the week...

Its Friday, and a long week is coming to a close. The upcoming weekend won't be too crazy, which is a good thing. We have our pictures for the church directory tomorrow and church on Sunday. Have to mail a birthday present too, clean, do laundry and go grocery shopping. Plan meals for the next week. Actually next week is going to be INSANE again-something going on every night basically. Monday I have a PTO Silent Auction meeting. Tuesday we have our license renewal for foster parenting. Wednesday is church. Thursday I have some friends coming over to work on the Silent Auction for church. Friday I have to bake brownies for Saturday (and the bake sale the following Tuesday) and Saturday is our March of Dimes Open House and the little man and I are going to learn how to cross country ski after it.
In order to survive the breakneck pace that I am going to be living next week, I need to take care of me the best way possible. That involves eating healthy and drinking my water. Exercising makes such a huge difference too. I am amazed at how much more stamina I have since I've been hitting the treadmill again. Getting enough sleep helps too, although last night was the exception-the little man & I were both off our game and bedtime came much later than we needed it to. Having spiritual time helps too, because it helps clear my head. I've been much more organized & disciplined when it comes to taking care of the house too. I've been keeping up with stuff on a daily basis so I won't have to spend hours cleaning this weekend. The laundry is pretty caught up too, so I'm in good shape overall. Plus I've been taking care of ME too-I've been taking care of my skin with lots of moisturizer and making the time to do my hair every morning (its amazing the difference 5 minutes makes!). The other thing that has made a big difference is planning out my work wardrobe in advance (down to the accessories) so all I have to do in the morning is grab and go.
I've been practicing spelling words with the little man every night and he's ready for his test. He's been reading for the read a thon at school and has collected a lot of pledges from our family, so that's great. He's so happy for the most part all the time and it makes me happy too.
One of the biggest changes I made this week was making a concerted effort to eat breakfast before I left the house. I've been eating a bowl of cereal with a banana and some toast. And lo and behold, I am not starving all morning at work. What a concept! I do have a container of yogurt around 11, and then lunch at 12:30. I am still working on the PM snacking urges, but that will come in time. I've also spent part of my lunch hour scrapbooking. I don't get a lot done in 15 minutes, but its 15 minutes more of scrapping than I've been doing. So far, I've been working on the title page of my 2010 album (its a little more complicated than I had planned on it being). But at least I'm doing it! Its more than I've been doing for the longest time.
In addition to working on my workday munchies, having an idea about what to eat for dinner helps too. I know what to look forward to when I get home, so I don't pig out totally. Monday is going to be pasta, garlic bread, salad and cake. Tuesday will be sesame ginger chicken, rice, stir fry veggies and orange fluff. Wednesday is the soup supper at church. Thursday will be ginger pear waffles and fruit salad. Friday will be tuna noodle casserole, salad and cake. I can even plan for leftovers to take for lunch-Tuesday will pasta primavera, Wednesday will be chicken stir fry, Thursday will be a loaded baked potato, Friday will be leftover waffles and fruit. Monday I think will be a tuna melt. Its a good place to be being organized. I like having this framework to work around. It gives me comfort and peace.
Its just like doing my daily cleaning in the morning. Its great knowing that I swifter my tile floors, clean the bathrooms and tidy up before I leave. I don't have all that stress weighing me down before I even walk out the door. I hated leaving things undone before I left because I didnt have the time. I get up at the same time every morning, and have for years. I have a few options-I could sit and veg out every day or I could be productive. I've been choosing the productive options. I get up, do my daily dozen yoga while the computer boots up. Drink my coffee, write. Swap around the laundry and get on the treadmill. Read a magazine (actually I've been hiding the display and its really helped me not focus on numbers). Three times a week I do my little weight lifting routine, twice a week I try pilates (I really need to find my pilates DVD that would definately help me). Take my shower and then clean up the house while I'm letting my hair dry. Breakfast for me and the little man. Prep dinner too, so its a no brainer for the big man. The best part is my mornings are relatively stress free, so I am not screaming and yelling. I'm not running around like a banshee trying to get things done because I didn't plan ahead the night before (like packing a lunch for the little man and me). We have fun before we leave the house. It sets up the whole day for the both of us. Add to it not having to waste my weekends cleaning and being able to have fun with my son, life is much better for both of us-and I am sure for the big man too. The only thing I would love to add to it is an occassional date night for the big man and myself. And I am not talking about anything fancy but even going for a cup of coffee-just the two of us-would be fun. The chance to reconnect would be good, or at least I think so!
Time to make the morning productive!