First Trimester Coping: Surviving

      The end of this season is almost here. Little by little I am able to do more. Only a couple of things set off the nausea. I look forward to feeling better and really overcoming the monster of a house with little children, but in the mean time here is my survival guide.


     I seem to have the most energy right when I wake up and I catch a second wind right after the kids are in bed at night. I am pretty much useless all the rest of the day. So in order to keep clean clothes in the house I start a load of laundry first thing in the morning. Our clothes closet has become the love seat this pregnancy so far, but clean clothes folded at least is better than dirty clothes. At this time I also make breakfast, eat, and clean up the kitchen, by this time the washer is finished and I switch loads. Now I run upstairs and do my Morning Chores. It really only takes me 20-30 mins to tidy the entire upstairs( 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, I also keep all other rooms locked I do not want the kids in).  Laundry is ready to switch. Now I have a couple loads done and ready to fold.  Once I fold a couple loads, taking maybe 10 mins, I sit.... lay... whatever, because I am now ready for a nap.


     After I have regained a little stamina I double check my Morning Chores chores... Once that's done I lock the doors so they stay tidy.   After my double check I make snack for everyone. After snack it is time to start work on the Daily Focus Area... I have assinged days of the week to rooms in the house. Monday is Kitchen/Dinning room day. This is the day where I clean cabinets off, clean out fridge. make sure the sink is clean, sweep and mop the floor(needs to be done here twice a week), etc until the whole area is cleaned. Tuesday is Living/Laundry room day. Again same idea, this time I attempt to put the clothes away... By doing a couple quick tidy ups and focus cleaning on one specific room no one room is a disaster( unless its the playroom, I have all but given up on that right now). Rest often, like every 10 mins! Wednesdays are generally floor days. Mopping is very straining for me so dont be surprised if I just spot mopped. Thursdays are laundry days. Beds stripped and washed. Catch up on any laundry hanging around. Fridays are free days as of right now. This day I just try to look around as see what hasnt been done and work on that... Maybe a closet needs to be cleaned out or switching summer and winter clothes, etc. Saturday is bathroom day. I have three full baths that get dirty in a hurry even with general cleaning everyday. Sunday is the Lord's day. No hard labor on this day.


     As of right now I am still taking a nap with the kids and doing my Afternoon Chores when nap time is over. This is the down stairs tidy. I start in the kitchen where I just made the kids snack. Then I work my way around just tidying and getting ready to welcome daddy home. I try very hard to have it all done before he gets home but sometimes our nap time isnt over until 4pm or so and he usually gets home at 5pm. The downstairs is way messier than the upstairs and it takes me a lot more time to get it tidy. Generally 15 mins a room.


So that was the long version :). Here is the shorter version...


Wake and start a load of laundry
make BK and eat and tidy up BK mess
Upstairs Tidy or Morning Chores
Rest
Focus Area( time to complete varries, if I finish fast then I work on blog stuff or work on school stuff)
Rest 
Make Lunch, eat, tidy up lunch
NAP TIME( my favorite time of day!)
wake, make snack, tidy snack
Downstairs chores or Afternoon chores
Daddy Home!
Dinner Time( I try to pick easy meals that require as little prep as possible. I love cooking on the grill for this reason.) 


This is my summer schedule and it will be changing this week to allow for school time. 


School Schedule will look something like this:


Wake and make, eat, and tidy BK
Get Hayden ready for speech therapy... He will be going on a little bus to a "preschool" designed for children with delays. ( I see this as a blessing in disguise this year seeing as I will be having a baby in the winter.)
Quickly do my morning chores
Lessons with Skylar
Lunch and Hayden home
Then the rest of the afternoon will be the same as the Summer Schedule. 


     Some may be wondering where my personal time is in all this. During my rest times I will read my bible or other book, listen to worship songs, and cuddle time with the children. I try very hard to get my heart and my head in the right place for the day, of course some days are more difficult than others. I know this looks ridged, but its really not. There is plenty of room for flexibility especially if I keep things tidy... the next day is always easier. This is just my survival guide, yours may look completely different. I took a lot of these ideas from a great book called Large Family Logistics. I love this book! I am writing a review on it and it will be up sometime this fall :) I hope you can take some of these ideas and use them if you are in this season of life as well. Until the next time. God Bless.