I have developed this ridiculous habit in the evening of "just checking my email" and then it turns into this click-a-thon back and forth between my various email accounts and Facebook. Sure, I read up on birth news and do a little research, but mostly I'm just zoning and wasting ridiculous amounts of time and going to bed too late. Why do I do this? Why do I get sucked in? Blech.
So here are 5 things I should do instead with my time:
1. Update my blog. Have you noticed that I don't update barely anything anymore? And I have an absolutely ADORABLE 4 month old baby? Don't you know that I have some beautifully cute scrumptious pictures in my camera that need to be loaded? Mmm hmmm...I need to update.
2. Input new Bradley students into the AAHCC website. Every time I have a new student they have to fill out this little yellow registration card and I'm supposed to input some info into the AAHCC database. I also record info about their birth. I have, let's see...(counting) 17 cards to input. I have PLENTY of time to do this. I just need to do a few a day and I'll be done really quickly. So stop zoning Jamie and input the dumb cards!
3. Read. I don't read anything anymore. Well, except for news articles related to birth stuff and most recently the flu. I click around and read other people's blogs. Occasionally I'll follow a link to an interesting article. But I haven't read an actual book with a plot-line in a really long time. Wasn't I an English major? What happened to that? I sometimes think my attention span has been reduced to naught.
4. Crochet. I am currently working on a blanket for my niece Catie. I was a very enthusiastic crocheter in the the beginning but I since haven't touched the thing in about two months. I know that if I just worked on it in the evening even for just a half hour I would get a lot accomplished. I'd like to give the blanket to her for her 5th birthday, but that means I must CROCHET THE BLANKET.
5. Pantry plan. One of my most important jobs in this household is to make sure we eat. I take a bit of pride in being a household where there is warm dinner every evening cooked by m'oi. I actually only cook three times a week typically because I always make enough for a second day, but the point is is that there is food and I want it to be nutritious and have some variety. Well, lately, I've been really slacking in the dinner department and I don't like it. Part of the problem is that it has become such a chore to grocery shop with the kids and I have three different grocery stores that I like. Trader Joes has the milk, eggs, juice and cereal. Sprouts has the bulk goods like oatmeal, beans, rice, and they sell very tasty sausage and have good sourdough bread. They also have good prices on produce. Stater Bros. has a good meat department and deli, and everything else that I need like sandwich bags, paper towels, and really anything else. However, I only have the energy for one major grocery store trip a week. This means that I'm either compromising and paying too much for something that is lesser quality at one of the stores or I need to plan ahead better and stock up on certain goods while I'm at a particular store. Or do what I have been doing lately which is not plan well at all and not have the right ingredients for stuff so then come dinnertime it is a big shrug because I don't have much to work with. So, I need to use my time in the evening to take stock so that when I do go to the store I'm not forgetting so much.
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In writing this all out I hope that I can keep better focus of what I can be doing in the evening.
4 comments:
Uh. I know how you feel.
I sacrificed a grocery store. Now I just go to one. I miss TJs and Sprouts, but I don't miss shopping them with three kids, nosirree.
Ahhh, such a timely post! I've also recently been convincted of how much time I waste "zoning" on the computer that I could be using to bless my family in various ways.
I won't swear it off (I do enjoy FB and reading blogs), but I DO need to use a touch of discipline and balance my time better.
#5 on your list made me LOL, though, b/c one of the things I've been working on this week is getting my act together in the kitchen. In fact, just tonight before I read this, I spent about an hour typing up recipes that I have on little papers and post-its all over the place. I also went through my recipe binder and took out a bunch of old recipes that I've either never tried (so they're obviously not that appealing b/c I've had them for years), or things I've tried and wasn't thrilled with. I want to only have recipes in there that we use and love.
I know that being more disciplined and organized in this area will bless my family tremendously b/c I'll be able to save us a LOT of $ and be better prepared to serve healthy meals at home. (I, like you, enjoy knowing that I'm serving my family home-cooked, healthy meals ... it's a great feeling!)
Also, like you, I DREAD the grocery shopping with 3 kids thing! Ugh. To really save, I need to head out to a discount grocery store ... but it's less than convenient (takes 25-30 mins to get there!). I save a lot when I do go, but it doesn't have everything, so I end up having to go to the regular store as well. Doing all that w/ 3 kids is NOT my idea of a good time. Blech. Out of "convenience," I often end up going late at night to the regular store and spending more than I should. :/
Today, however, I took the 2 boys out to the discount grocer while B was in preschool. Baby slept, and C was well behaved (woohoo!)so it wasn't too bad! I have 10 meals planned and only need about 10 things from the "regular" grocery store tomorrow!
Anyway ... rambling on and on. I should probably be posting the "5 Things" list on MY blog! Haha. :)
Thanks for the reminder to stop zoning! ;)
Woops! Guess what I am doing now LOL :)
Dido! I totally feel like sometimes I can just be taken away by the computer. How does that happen?? By the way I just realized I still have Natalie's gift that I made for her and you. Opps! I don't even think it will fit her anymore so once I get around to sending it, you are going to to have to have another baby so it can wear an ipood and ipeed onesie.:) Sorry about that! Hope all is well. Your family is so cute!
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