Moving News

The Amazing Husband left yesterday. He is in Corona, already hard at work at South Hills Church, and believe me, he was ready to get back to work. He'd had about 10 days off between jobs, and while he got a lot done around the house, I was starting to think his head would explode if he didn't go back to work soon.

Things are going pretty well so far, but with me being so outnumbered, there is sure to be some kind of carnage. Don't worry, I'll take pictures.

So along with moving preparations, Christmas preparations, schoolwork, a Christmas play that 3 of the kids are in, doctors appointments for the little boys, and two birthday parties to plan, I get to play single parent for the next 3 weeks.

Should be fun!

How am I going to manage all this? I'm really not sure. But I have a few tips and tricks, and in an effort to be helpful, I'll share them.

1. Meal planning is a huge help. I have pre-printed meal planning sheets that I slide into plastic page protectors and hang on the fridge. I was going to link up the template, but really it's just a 2 column graph with the days of the week in the first column and a blank second column. Not very exciting. Anyway, I plan out breakfasts, lunches and dinners and write them down. The kids like it because they know what's coming up. Then on Sundays I'll take a look at the coming week and do as much prep work as I can. I make all my baked goods, brown meat, prepare casseroles and stick them in the fridge, etc. Whatever I have time for.

2. Stick with a schedule. In times of high stress and chaos, it seems easier sometimes to throw the schedule out the window and be more flexible. This might work for some families, but not mine! When we are used to a pattern, it's best for us to stick with it. We still get up, do school, do chores, etc. just like any other day.

3. Let things go. This year, we're skipping Christmas cards. I feel pretty guilty about this, but when the list of things to do got too long, we had to skip something. We're also not decorating outside, and I hired a cleaning service to come in at the end of the month. Normally I wouldn't be able to justify the expense, but I'm not Superwoman.

4. Be joyful! So what if the laundry isn't done? So what if you can't see the floors in the kid's bedrooms? Who cares if the bathroom smells like a linebacker? It's Christmas. Drink some hot cocoa, watch a movie and snuggle with your kids. Enjoy today!