Routines are Vital

Getting back into a routine has been a bit difficult with the addition of a new little one. But you make it work as best you can. It eventually becomes a new routine. Being a full time working mother of two, a wife, and student has its challenges. Yes I am back to work from a shorter maternity leave than what I would have like and back to taking continnuing education classes for my administrative licensure. (Crazy some would say!) But fortunately my husband is excercising his right to paternity leave on an intermittent basis making the transition a bit easier for both my son and myself. I can't say that it will alleviate future transitions for Byron but it has been great from my perspective. It is interesting to leave home in the morning for work and leave Byron and the kids to get ready for their day and to come home and greet them after a full day of work. It has been a shift in perspective for both Byron and I. He has greater appreciation and understanding for people who stay at home with multiple kids and the chaos that sometimes ensues AND I have greater appreciation for his perspective of just going to work and coming home to a spouse and kids. Meeting each other in those different times of the day and the different parts of the routine takes a sort of finess. You must quickly gague what is going on, how to jump in and where to support when needed. You certainly don't have time to be selfish and take a moment to yourself to relax. You must address some sort of situation be it a request to play, doing the dishes, or relieving the other in order to give them a breath of fresh air. Mostly you must know which routine you are in and where to fit in. I love coming home to spend time with my kids and my husband. It is the highlight of my day though sometimes there is not enough time to share that tidbit with them. I do love it! I love seeing the fort when I come home, helping with homework and playing whatever it is that I can quickly jump in to play. When I am at work I find myself looking at photos and wondering how to get rich quickly so that I could spend even more time with them.. I have been reading my sister's blog "Good Luck with That" where this month is sweepstakes month and I am holding out that one of their blog posts will give me the secret to that wish! Not likely I am sure but I am still holding out. For me as I have now been in my second full week of work since returning it is imperritive to get back into a routine. I never knew how difficult that could be. Yes I am getting things accomplished and yes still in a timely fashion but I have had to add in other things to create a new routine such as "pumping" since I am still a nursing mother. Sometimes I find myself staring at my computer at work and then my to do list on my glass window. Staring to spark some sort of new interest in working. Other times I am staring at the clock to see what time it is. You know what they say, "a watched pot never boils!" That is the truth so I try not to stare at the clock. Overall I am caught up and just getting back into my routine. I have also added one more thing to my ever so busy life and that is continnuing education. I am yes, taking another class. I have three more after this one to complete my final license renewal for my administrative license. It is an online course with readings, blog postings and discussions. I am figureing out how to fit that into my nightly routine before going to bed, after nursing and either before, after or during my television relaxation time. I try to reserve my weekends for family fun, birthday parties, time with my husband and the ever so mundane tasks of cleaning the house and just living. What would we do without routines? I really don't have a clue! Routines are where it is at for me at this point in my life. I rely on them with an occasional surprise or hiccup but am glad to be back to normal or a new normal. I wonder how many routines we run through in a given day or week for that matter. Think about it.. How many do you have? Is your life chaotic or do you rely on routines to provide structure? I know I do!