Serenity

The house is totally quiet this morning as I sit here, working through some emails. All I can hear is the hum of my laptop and KT's humidifier over the baby monitor.

For me, this is the most productive, and relaxing time of day. I can sit here with a cup of coffee (or two) and actually get some work done. There are no interruptions as my phone rarely rings before 11am and the dogs are still nestled in our bed. I can fully concentrate on the tasks that I need to accomplish instead of simultaneously trying to write an email and keep my toddler from banging on the TV screen in the living room.

It used to be that 80% of my day was like this. By 6pm I could close the cover on my laptop and be done with work most evenings. Now, 5 out of 7 nights a week, I'm working at 11pm.

Is it bad to say that this quietness is one of the things I miss the most from my pre-baby life?

Taking Care of Business

I knew that if I was going to find myself again -- and subsequently get back to being "Mandy" -- that I needed to make some changes. I needed to put myself in a better place and figure out how to more effectively juggle everything that I have going on. There are 3 things that I've done that have helped significantly.

#1 -- Put my life on a schedule. This includes a daily chore chart. It may sound crazy but it ensures that my housework is done and it spreads it out over the week. The thought is that my house is always in a decent state and I'm not trying to cram everything into a single morning or afternoon. So far it's been working well, although I will admit that the chore chart has been partially ignored lately. Oops. One of the benefits is that my house is usually tidy enough that I'm not embarrassed to have people stop by unannounced.

#2 -- Signed up for a gym membership and have committed to going 3-4 times a week. I even went so far as to sign up for 12 weeks with a personal trainer. Although my results leave a lot to be desired; working out has helped to decrease my stress considerably. It's amazing how much better I feel after pounding out an hour on the treadmill. Part of the benefit too is getting some time to myself. I forgot how nice it is to focus entirely on me for 2 hours.

#3 -- I found a local Moms group. We try to schedule a playdate once a week for our kids. It's forces me to get out of the house with Katie one day a week to do something fun. Most of the time we just go to another mom's house, but sometimes we try to do something more fun. And it's been wonderful to meet some local moms with kids similar in age. These new friendships have helped to fill a void (somewhat) in my inadequate, local circle of friends.

Although all 3 things seem to be small, they have helped tremendously. There is still plenty that I want/need to work on but all in good time.

365 Days

We've all heard over and over again that time goes by so much quicker, the older you get. Even though I'm experiencing this firsthand it's just so hard to believe. This time warp seems to increase exponentially once you have children. I'm not sure if the sleepless nights quickly blur the distinction between days or if the smiles and laughter fill in the space that might have laid idle.

Whatever the case, I've come to learn that you really do need to cherish this time. As my friends prepare for the arrival of babies I tell them to enjoy it while they can. As hokey as it sounds (and as much as I scoffed at it when people tried to tell me the same) -- they really do grow up so fast.

19 November, 2006

19 November, 2007

75 Days...

...have passed since my last post. Although not 100%, I am in a MUCH better place than I was 75 days ago.

It's time to come back.