Super Mom has Left the Building....

My Great Aunt....Super Mom dancing with the rest of the Super Mom's of the PTA!

A good friend was over for dinner the other night with her three children and shared with me her schedule for the next day.  I will share it with you now and wonder if your head will spin as much as mine did at the thought of accomplishing all of these things in one day.

Wake up at 5:30, start cleaning the first of three bathrooms (her husband gets the kids up and ready for the day on Thursday), strip the beds, get sheets into the washing machine, clean the second bathroom, switch the laundry, play with her one year old (other children are at school) while frosting her husband's birthday cake, put her daughter down for a nap, clean the 3rd bathroom, get the sheets back on the beds, straighten up her house, wake up her daughter, go to pick up her Kindergartner and his friend at school, host a lunch playdate with three children and another mother, drive the three kids to soccer practice, bring the children back to their houses, pick up her 2nd grader at school with his DI team, bring them back to her house for an emergency practice that she will have to lead, make a birthday dinner for her husband after the DI team leaves, bathe and put the kids to bed and then CRASH.

My Grandmother Noni, a wonderful and loving Super Mom

 Now you have to understand that my friend is Super Mom (if there is such a person).  She is always upbeat, rarely says "NO", has amazing patience with her kids and always has a clean house.  Well she says that this is not always the case but every time I am with her it appears to be so :)  I gave up on being Super Mom about a year ago.  That is not to say that I don't like to keep a neat house or plan fun things for my kids, I have just decided to slow our lives down.  I have learned that a frenzied mommy with too much going on is no fun for anyone in my house.

Scott's Grandmother, Super Mom to 4 girls

I remember the days when we were GO, GO, GO.  These days started back in High School (maybe before) and I always felt like if I didn't have somewhere to go or something to do...then there was something wrong with me.  I liked to be on the move, loved to have a full calendar and usually ended most nights EXHAUSTED.  My poor husband would look forward to weekends he could lounge around and there were so few on the calendar.  We were always on the go and from April to October, we were rarely home on weekends.  Instead we were traveling up and down the Northeast coast visiting anybody and everybody.

My Grandma Marie and my very own beautiful and Amazing Super Mom on her wedding day

This pattern did not stop after I had kids.  I filled our days with playgroups, classes, shopping excursions and trips to friends houses.  Our weekends were full as well and anytime that was spent at home felt like it dragged.

My Mother In-Law...A True Super Mom

Then I read Simplicity Parenting and all of this changed.  We dropped the majority of our activities, scheduled home days and home weekends and have slowed life down.  I no longer feel like my time at home is dragging, we have a happy and flexible routine and LOTS of downtime for the kids to play.  One of the huge benefits of slowing down is that my children no longer need to be constantly entertained.  Boredom is a gift that allows them to truly engage in their play and practice the dying art of childhood.  Slowing down the pace of our lives has been a great gift to everyone in my family.  Time at home is now something I crave and treasure instead of dread and avoid.

Slowing it Down

Finding our Rythmn

I have been really struggling this month to find a groove.  I've been feeling unfocused, scatterbrained and a bit restless.  The holiday season was so busy and chaotic that the quiet of January has thrown me for a a loop.  I think Z is unaffected by my spaciness but Lil'C is definitely out of sorts.  When I read this article on Allison's blog, I knew it was time to revisit our daily schedule.

During some quiet time I took our schedule that hangs in our kitchen and revamped it. What I love about her Winter Rhythm is that it is seasonal and that everything for the week is in ONE place.  Right now I have my daily kid schedule on the wall, my personal schedule in my family management book, my meal plan on the fridge and I am lucky if I have time to glance at one of these during the day.  I am so excited to now have it all in one place, where I can quickly refer to it until it becomes a part of us. 

Much of our new Daily Rhythm (click here to see my version) is the same as what Z and I had worked on last year when he was home all day.  Since he started school this year, we ended up pulling away from a lot of the things we use to do each day.  I think if we can get back into our flexible routine, then Lil'C might have an easier time on the mornings/afternoons we are not out and about.

I made a new version for Z....he is constantly referring to it

In our new Rhythm, I did put in Allison's suggestion for 20 minutes of House Keeping (love that), Simple Mom's One Bite at A Time morning and evening routines for moms, added a story time to our two snack times and decreased screen time from 90 minutes to 60 minutes (it use to be 30-60 minutes but it crept up during the Holidays).  I was also very mindful about transition times (a very difficult time in this house) and made a chart for Z that hangs in the closet to help with the steps for getting ready for school (this has been soooo helpful).

This article from Allison came at a moment when I really needed it.  Funny how that happens. She suggests that in order to find your own daily rhythm, that you do not focus too long on another persons.  I glanced at hers, took the few things that I liked (especially her format) and made the rest work for our family.   Unfortunately I am too far away to attend any of Allison's workshops for Simplicity Parenting but I do appreciate all of her insight and tips on her blog :)