Lessons I'm Learning

In the past few weeks as I've been getting my mindset focused on this coming school year and how going back to work gives me less time to "get it all done", I've been reflecting on things I've learned thus far as a mom.

Just because he's cute ;)

What comes to mind first is that my value for sleep has changed. I used to love sleeping (don't get me wrong, I still really do) but here I am up on a day off at 6:45 typing a blog post. Harrison slept through the night until 6:00 this morning (wahoo!). In my pre-parenthood days I would most definitely be back in bed until about 8:00.  I'm pretty spoiled because if I let him, Harry will probably sleep until between 7:30 and 8:00 (I know other moms are probably shaking their heads at me because they've been up since an ungodly hour with their baby, I'm sorry!).  But this morning, instead of going to back sleep after he did I got dressed and headed downstairs hoping to get a few things done before he officially wakes up for the day. Drinking a cup of coffee, while I eat breakfast (in peace) and update my blog gives me more energy than another hour of sleep would.

Which brings me to the issue of time. There is NEVER enough of it. Ever.

I am known by many as being an "organized" person, and I think that's true in many ways. In my personal life however I haven't always been the most organized. I never "meal planned" or set up a "chore schedule" to make sure the house really gets clean. I have piles of mail on the counter almost every day and I usually don't make the bed (although I love crawling in at night after it's been made).  As with everything else in my life, things are changing when it comes to my use of time. Now that Harry's around, I want to spend my free time wisely (aka: cuddling, making him laugh, reading books, going for walks...you the the gist). Being a working mom means I have even less time at home than other moms do (I could write a whole post on the working vs. staying home thing...but I'll save that for another day) so I want my time with my son to count.

Hence the EARLY MORNING blog post, or late night laundry folding. I'd rather lose sleep to get things done when Harry's sleeping so that his awake time isn't wasted on my to-do list.

How can you resist this bundle of cuteness?! I sure can't!!!

Now obviously I don't live in a perfect world, so there are times when he plays while I unload the dishwasher, or "helps" me fold the laundry...and those moments are special too (plus I want to train him young to help us out with things around the house. I'd like to help out his future wife by teaching him how to be a helpful husband someday). Of course, in a perfect world, neither Josh or I would have to work and we could play all day with our sweet little guy. Not to mention that the cleaning fairy would keep our house clean (free of charge) and the dinner fairy would provide us with nutritional and delicious meals every night.

Since that's not going to happen I've been really thinking about being intentional about making our household run smoothly once the school year begins (TOMORROW already?!?! Where has the time gone?).  The two main organizational changes I've made so far are a meal planning system and a household binder to organize everything from our calendar, to birthdays/special events, coupons, and yes, a cleaning schedule. I've already written far too much this morning, so I'll save the details for another post (or two).

I guess what I'm trying to say about time and priorities is that they have certainly shifted now that I'm a mom. I understand why my mom never slept in when we were kids, and I appreciate all the hard work she put into keeping our home clean and making sure we ate healthy meals at dinnertime (let's face it, mac and cheese is a way easier option sometimes, and Harry doesn't even eat "real" food yet, just the mashed up stuff).

I know that having a plan to keep things organized is important now that school is starting, but I also know that with limited time I'm just going to have to let things go sometimes. Especially as Harrison gets older, I know that the memories he will treasure will probably have less to do with my productivity and more to do with my love for him and our relationship.

So HAPPY LABOR DAY! I wish I could say that my day will be free from labor, but I have a few (too many) things to get done before I welcome twenty-some first graders into my classroom tomorrow morning.

Have I mentioned that Harry has THE BEST time while Josh and I are working with my friend Hilary and her little guy Landon! That's another post too (clearly I have quite a few posts in the works...if only I had the time to actually sit down and write them ;) lol).  But seriously, he is napping and sleeping better than ever and is all smiles in between. Watching a 15-month-old toddle around is pretty exciting for our little okay, big 7-month-old guy.

As a family we are truly blessed by our family and friends who love Harry so SO much!

I may not feel as though I have enough time in the day to "get it all done" but the more I think about it, the more it doesn't really bother me. I am SO THANKFUL for this time in my life. Time to be a mama to Harry, a wife to Josh, a teacher to many young kiddos, and a ________ to many other people. This season is very FULL and I honestly couldn't ask for more, or less.

Here's to taking this life just one day at a time.