Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Work-Life balance Rule #1: Have a Plan

Tomorrow is Bebe's first day of 3rd grade. With a new school year comes a new schedule, and new commitments to fill into our already-busy lives. When I look at the "to-do" list, I admit, I freak out, and say, "How are we going to get it all done??" but I know that the best thing to do is to have a plan, and so that's exactly what I'm doing.

One of my biggest fears with having a larger age gap between my children was that the younger one would be dragged to and fro to keep up with the older one's obligations. Last year, that didn't seem to be much of an issue. This year, it's a totally different story.

On Mondays, Bebe will have Children's Choir rehearsal from 5:00-6:00pm.
Every-other Wednesday, Bebe will attend Religious Education classes from 6:30-8:00pm.
On Thursdays, Bebe will be going to gymnastics class from 6:15-7:15pm.
On Saturdays, Bebe will be taking 1/2 hour swim classes.


Notice how I didn't mention Tuesdays? That's "Daddy night", which means that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (when she has various activities) it will be ME who is doing the shuttling to-and-fro. I'm trying to come up with ideas for how to "fill in the spaces" with Dois while Bebe is wherever. There will be pockets of 30-minute to 60-minute "extra time" where he and I will be hanging around in a parking lot, or somewhere nearby. I don't want him to feel like he's just being dragged around. Thankfully, he's at a great age where we can go "exploring" or just walking/running/jumping/skipping nearby and he'll be content. (Oh, and did I mention that Dois' bedtime is 7:30... take note of Wednesday's and Thursday's times...)

The plan for this year, though, all comes down to this: Keep calm, be prepared, and PRAY.

2 comments:

  1. Is it possible to carpool for the nights where Dois' bedtime is in the midst of things?

    What about a HS'er (or even a mature jr high kid) who could come over after you put him to bed and just "be there" while you run out to get Bebe? Ask a confirmation kid and sign off as volunteer service? ;) That way, you'd be getting help for free, ha.

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    Replies
    1. Thursday will be doable, as we've done make-up classes in that slot and it works perfectly. Wednesdays might be a challenge, but it's only every-other-week.

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