No More Stressful Mondays!

For the past 3 1/2 years, Mondays have incredibly stressed me out.  I guess because I have used Mondays to do everything!  I tried to clean, buy groceries, plan my week, and do the laundry.  So, on Monday mornings, we always had no food, a dirty house, no clean clothes, and no plan.  It got so bad that I started feeling stressed on Sundays. I would usually end up cleaning or buying groceries on that day, so it made for a very tiring Sabbath.

Then, it hit me!  I should do it on Saturday!  Seriously people, it took 3 1/2 years to figure out that little nugget of wisdom.  Although I dislike going to the grocery store on Saturday,  it is honestly better than towing two ticking time bombs every Monday morning and coming home to a dirty house and nothing prepared!

The past two weeks we have used Saturday to do these things.  We get it done in half the time, and I also don't feel too bad about sticking my kids in front of the TV since it is Saturday.  Then, I go to the grocery store. Alone!  We are done by lunch!  I have been using Saturday naps to prepare some of our food for the week...salsa, muffins, granola bars, fudge babies, and pancakes.

Today, I woke up to finished laundry, food in our fridge and pantry, a clean house, and prepared food.  I am even blogging because Hudson is not awake yet.  Magical!

I know some Saturdays will be busy, but I am going to attempt to make Sundays more restful and Mondays less stressful.  That is my plan!

Other than that, our weeks are staying close to the same. Clara still naps in the morning, so that keeps us home.  I am attempting to do a book a week with Hudson along with some type of daily organized activity. Some days he is not interested in it at all, so my expectations are very low.  I a not trying to force him to do any type of "learning" activity.  He is just 3, and I don't want to cause him to have a bad feeling about books and learning.

The best time for me to read with him is during his breakfast.  This is when I usually read his Bible story, discuss his verse, and read his weekly book.  After that, he and Clara have room time.  During her nap, I try to do an activity with him.  Very simple.

I have been using the afternoon to help him find interest in nature.  I hope to keep him outside as often as possible as soon as the weather permits.

We are still doing storytime at the library on Wednesday mornings and our playgroup every other week.  Other than that, we have a pretty open schedule.  I hope to spend afternoons on the soccer field very soon!

Happy Monday!