Reverse lists

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Im a list maker. Very much so. I feel more organized when I unload my brain onto paper and I seriously love the feeling of crossing things off a daily to-do list.


The issue I would always run into though is putting too many 'to-dos' on my list each day and then feeling like I've accomplished NOTHING because I only crossed off 25.


Im a little dramatic.

So recently I've discovered a new kind of list. Or rather, a backwards list.

Instead of starting my day with a long list of things I hope to accomplish, I instead write things down AS I accomplish them. When I finish scrubbing the kids' bathroom (...), I write it down. When I get home from picking up groceries, I write that down.

This method may seem a little pointless, but it satisfies my need to feel like Im accomplishing something without feeling like I wasted the day.

I still shoot for 32 items on my sheet by the end of the day, but if I don't reach that (and I rarely do) I can now look at a page full of things I DID accomplish and not feel guilty for those items I had hoped to.

Why 32?

I have exactly 8 hours from the time I get home after the morning school run to the time Jason walks through the door after work. If I allow 15 minutes per item, I should be able to accomplish 32 each day. I understand that grocery shopping is going to take many more minutes, but making all the beds will take less.

I also enjoy the feeling that comes with serving a hot dinner to my family each evening and for Jason to walk into the house during those final moments before I do. I can then relax and enjoy my family. My job is done. No folding laundry all evening or trying to organize my pantry.

Those are the things Ill leave for tomorrow.

Reverse lists work for me!

Snow Day

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I heard yesterday that we were expecting 10cm of snow in our area today. This isn't much for us, but it registered in my mind. The school district has been leaning towards closing schools as opposed to keeping them open so far this year when it comes to weather, so I was sure to check their website before waking the kids today.







Even after dropping them off at school and coming home over slightly snow-covered roads, I was a little surprised that classes were going ahead. We've brought them to school in conditions so much worse than today. But I guess I just had a bit of intuition because I just saw on facebook that the schools are closing for the afternoon.







What gets me about these situations is that parents are now going to have to leave work and drive over busy, snowy roads to pick up their kids when they could have dealt with the situation this morning. For us, that would have meant staying home and digging out the driveway this evening when the snow stopped. Instead, we now have to risk snowy roads (albeit well-kept, snowy roads) to pick up kids after 2.5 hours of class.







Either way, I should be happy







It's a snow day!

My new obsession

No, not Jason...

So something I haven't mentioned on here yet is that Jason and I are getting married. He proposed on December 9th and we quickly followed that up with ring shopping. He was able to pick up my engagement ring later in the month and we made it official on Christmas morning.

So now, ever since, I've been obsessed with wedding planning. We're getting married in the fall so there really isn't much time to put everything together. I know that many people have smaller engagements but some have much longer ones too!

Many of the vendors we've contacted were already booked for our date and we lost out on our chosen venue by two days. It's been tough. We've safely navigated through those problems and tomorrow will secure our reception venue. Until then, I'll leave you with some of my inspiration pics that I've been happily pinning!

Three year old love

On Saturday, Owen was watching me get ready for his cousin's birthday party. Everyone else was ready and I was just finishing up my mascara when he starts in with "...go Mommy go! Go Mommy Go! Good job, Mommy."

Nothing like a little encouragement from a three year old.

So apparently I still have work to do

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I thought that once I decided to come back to blogging and actually posted such on here that I would keep up with it. Daily. Uh? That was two days ago!

I started a post, got one paragraph in and then haven't been back since.


So, let's try this again. For at least this week and next, I have my mornings free to blog while the two littles are busy with their toys and things. I'll be sure to use this time to get back into the groove of writing blog posts.


As any blogger knows, writing for a blog is different than writing for another medium. Thinking in posts is something that happened to me when this little corner was being visited hundreds more times each day than it is now. Obviously, there's a correlation there somewhere! :)


My goal while I re-build is to post more often then once each day but for now, Ill settle for a regular morning post. Sound good?

Back

It has obviously been awhile since I blogged regularly. Working full time outside the home proved to be more difficult than I had experienced before, especially without a partner.

Things are very different now in ways I can't begin to explain in a single post. So for now, I will say that I am back. I now have a large amount of time that I can work with to fit blogging into and I am excited to see what that means for this little old blog. My other blog decidedly domestic will also see some new activity as I pour a little more energy into preserving my family history and connecting with the online community that I cherish so much.

It's good to be back!

TEN?

Where to even begin? There really is so much going on that I never really get around to writing about it, though I really WANT to!

I've actually resorted to typing this at work! It's a Friday afternoon and no other staff are here for the rest of the day, so I might as well. I'll have my work all finished by the time I go home, barring any unforeseen circumstances, so why not? :)

Micah's 10th birthday was this past Monday. Having a summer birthday has never been all that easy for him as he usually ends up not having a party at all or having it in a different month. This year we had planned to do a party in early July, right after school got out for the summer. Because of finances and our terrible weather this year (seriously) he agreed to postpone it. Fast forward to his actual birthday and he had other plans. No longer was he content with a party, now he wanted the MONEY that I would have paid for a party!!

Didn't happen.

Instead, I took a couple hours off Monday morning so we could be lazy. I made bacon and eggs at his request for breakfast and then took the kids to daycare. Early in the afternoon his Grandma (The Ex's mom) picked him up and spent the day shopping. He had spent the previous day with his dad's family where he received his gifts, so Grandma wasn't spending any more. Micah used all of his own money. He came home around 6 that evening and we headed out again with his friend Lucas to see a movie (Captain America, which sucked by the way). Then there was cake back at home but by that point I think we were all spent. I sent the littles to bed and Micah and I set up his new mini (I mean the 10.1") netbook. He skyped with Nanny (My mom who's currently living in the US) for awhile and then went to bed. All in all, I think he had an OK birthday. He was super excited about his gifts and had fun with everyone.

Now mama needs a glass of wine and maybe a pep-talk for getting through these next few pre-teen years.