Bells will be Ringin

Summer is Over, where did it go?

School Officially started for us the week of Aug 15.  It has been a real adventure getting back into the grove of waking up early in the morning.  With my new job I am only able to run them to school in the morning and Daddy handles the rest of the running around while I am in my office hard at work.  The little girls are working on their 1st full week of school and since they are returning to the same school they attended last year they are all good.  My oldest has had a few issue here and there but mostly with scheduling or should I say over scheduling herself.  She decided to join the Volleyball team  this year on top of being on the Knowledge bowl team, house captain, and oh yes there is her academic schedule to deal with on top of looking for colleges.  Its been a really storm of paperwork and last minute supply runs but all in all so far so good.  My husband and I decided to keep the 4 year old home one last year and skip preschool, she has enough social skills already.  We have registered her and our 2 year old son for ABCMouse.com and they both love it.  I feel like we could save the money for her tuition this year and apply it to her tuition next year.  It also gives my husband some time to spend with her before she heads off to school next year.

This years biggest challenge is with my husband being home full time and me working full time.  He is going to have to deal with the wacky schedules and the never ending phone calls from teachers, coaches, and school nurses.  He will also be handing the doctors appointments for our ADHD child and its a little nerve racking but I am trying to let him handle things in his own way.  Working from home does allow me to assist in the housework every morning before i hit the phones and it also allows me to have lunch and dinner with them.  It has also allowed me to load and unload the washer/dryer while on break.  Also starting in September on top of working I will also be retuning to school full time to finally finish my BA, with my husband home I should not have any excuse as to why I can not finish.  So with another school year ahead of us we are prepared to handle what ever comes our way and hopefully this year things will run a little smother now that I finally have some help.

Time is my enemy

Things in my house are always a little on the crazy side and time always seem to be short.  I have all but given up hope of putting my family on a schedule.  I have tried and failed so many times that I am exhausted.  Currently I am training at home for a WAH position from 8 pm -midnight for the last few weeks.  I still have several weeks to go and my 3 1/2 hours of sleep is starting to show.  My husband works 12 hours 5 days a week and has 2 days but it only feels like one.

With all this going on I had to make a hard decision to not continue with my schooling.  Believe me when I say it was not an easy decision but in the long run I was just burned out of school and needed the break. I look forward to going back soon but for now I am pleased with my choice.  

So as I type this blog, my class has ended and everyone in my house is asleep.  My husband is at work and its just me and the two dogs up right now.  Its hard work juggling all the balls I have in the air but I believe that I will make life better for my family once I have started contributing to our family income.  

I look forward to the day when I have some free time and I can enjoy all those things in life like TV, reading, and sleeping.  Is it worth it to drive myself in the ground or am I going to drive my entire family crazy in the process and fall flat on my face.  Only TIME will tell

Jayde

Where's Jayde?

Looking in the mirror today was strange, who the heck was that chick? Sadly, it was me. Two quick questions, when did I get that old and why didn't someone say my gut was that big? Or months now I have been trying to figure out who i am on the inside and neglecting my outside. Today it starts anew, no this is not a new years resolution; this is my awakening. My plan is to start of with small changes and see how it goes. I am a lover of sweets, pasta, bread and soda. My plan is to add exercise and make small adjustments to my diet. Week one 15 min daily workout Water intake daily Keep a log of food Fingers crossed and first workout done. Now it's off to grab a glass of water and then off to bed.

Looking for Balance

To help start the new year off I will be working on finding a balance between work and home life.  For the last few months I have been working from home and I have to say its not as easy as I thought it would be.  The line between work and home can get very blurry.  I never feel as those I am doing enough on either side. 
For the next few weeks I hope to find that balance and be able to achieve some sort of order in all this chaos.  The main concern is having enough time for the following

1. Myself
2. Family
3. My marriage
4. School
5. Work
6. House

At this point each area has suffered to some degree and its getting crazy.  Did you notice that I put myself at the top of the list (first).  I hope to really be able to keep myself at the top of the list.  I am looking forward to the new year as I will have yet another 12 months to reach my goals of balance and harmony in my life.  So far this holiday season has had a few moments but for the most part I have kept to my promise of remembering the reason for the season and its really made a difference in my mood about the holiday.  Well off to finish some homework and housework before I get caught up in the computer again.

Any suggestions on how you other WAHM balance work and home life would be greatly appreciated

Jayde

Yes, its that magical time of year again when my kids ask me everyday if today is Christmas. I know that there are people who love this time of year but it really is exhausting for me. No matter how much I shop, I always feel like I have forgotten someone. With every day that goes by I lose a little bit of my soul and my Christmas cheer. I use to look forward to this time with excitement and glee. Now I dread the fact that the holiday season is just around the corner. I have 2 birthdays to celebrate and then of course the birth of our savior. Its not easy to include birthdays into the holiday festivities. This year I hope to hold on to my cheer a little longer and I also hope to recapture some of my soul. Its not the holiday or the kids that kills but the commercialism and the fact that once Halloween is here they are cramming Christmas down my throat. I really use to get annoyed with the "Celebrate the Reason for the Season" commercial, but now I get it. Its not the gifts, the tree, the 2nd Turkey dinner in 30 days but its the celebration of the birth of the lord and the celebration of family and friends.




So my chirstmas wish for this year is that we all remember why we celebrate and take a few things off of our busy list and enjoy some silent nights and some peace on earth

This week has been full of sadness and happiness all rolled into one.  Almost a week ago my maternal grandmother passed away after suffering a stroke several months ago.  She was the last grandmother I had living and its been a difficult time.  I am dealing with the fact that when I was born all of my grandparents and all of my great grandparents where alive.  In fact when I graduated high school they were still here.  I hate that my children can not say the same.  My oldest son was the last one born with all his great grandparents alive and that was in 1991.  As you get older its not so much your mortality that you have to deal with but the people around you.  I remember my aunts and uncles still being in high school and now they are getting up there in age.  Its scary thinking one day they might not be here.  I have a large family and with it comes loads of love but also loads of people to lose.  I look forward to this weekend when we will put my grandmother in her final resting place as I know once again my family will gather together go give love and support to each other.  I also look forward because I want to make sure to take as many pictures for my children so that no matter what happens there will be pictures of family to remind them of who and where we come from.

****To Madear****

I love you and miss you. I was proud to come from such a strong stock of women.  You gave me hope that my life could continue on as I watched you go to work up until you were hospitalized.  I owe you a great thanks for raising such a wonderful women who would later become my mother.  You will always be remembered and loved for all of you strenght and wisdom.

Love

                                                       Jayde

I almost forgot the happy new, my son Shonn is coming to visit and although its for a sad reason any reason for him to come makes me Smile.

So what, who cares?

Its been so long since I have written a blog I almost forgot I had one.  I have been unbelievable busy the last month or so and it shows on my face. 

Its been an exciting time here in our house as my daughter has become interested in many colleges and we have so far taken two very interesting trips.  We embarked on colleges in our city and she decided to look into two colleges that are complete opposites.  First we went to open house at Rhodes College, I have to say it was beautiful.  Not sure if its the correct fit for her she is a bit of a free spirit but the level of excitement from the current students was refreshing.  Next we went for a visit of Memphis College of Art, I loved the fact that the students were all so free and easy going.  It is two different ends of the spectrum but I believe that she will keep her eye out and find the correct fit for her.

I decided to jump on an opportunity and will be working from home full time starting October 20th.  It has been a long road of hoop jumping but it has been worth it.  I had traing for 4 weeks and it was very intense and very informative but mostly very ehausting.  I look forward to this new opportunity and have every intention of given it my full effort.

Our house has gone through some major changes, we have spent the last few weeks training our kids to be a little more independent and a lot more quiet.  I will have to work in a quiet environment and the children have to learn how to depend on each other while I am working.  Its going to take at least a few weeks to get it perfected but I have faith that it will all work out. 

More importantly I have given up my effort for a perfectly clean house.  It has been told to me in no uncertain terms that this perfection takes a group effort and since our group is mostly made up of little kids and sleeping husband its just not a reality.  I have decided that our children will be responsible for their rooms and will help with other rooms so they learn how to clean.  I had to take over the play room since they never could keep it clean and I was in need of an office.  I have my office in the den closet and they are allowed to pay in the den when I am not working but they are required to pick up their mess or they lose play time in that room.  My husband is now helping out alot more when he is home since he realized that an angry, grumpy, sleep deprived wife is no fun.  My teen is a work in progress, but I ask a lot of her in the way of babysitting so I give her a small break on the cleaning, but she does have a list of things for her to handle on a weekly basis. 

Without the added pressure of trying to be perfect I am starting to feel a lot better and actually sitting down and having a serious conversation with my hubby about how we can help each other was much needed and will continue to be a weekly thing.  We are using as much technology to help us keep in touch with each other and be able to discuss issues as they come up. 

For me the last and most important issue was time management.  I have evernote, dropbox, cozi, and Jing to help us keep in touch as a family.  With evernote and dropbox no matter where I am I am able to work on school work and pass budgets and important web pages to my hubby.  Cozi helps keep us all on a calendar that I can set up at one central spot and send out to all that are participating including my mother.  Jing is my favorite since it helped me keep notes in school without actually writing or typing.  I just click and save the images on my computer and its done.  Best of all I save it all on my dropbox which leaves space on my computer and lets me access it from my phone, ipad, laptop, and desktop.  So I hope to go back to blogging on a regular basis but with so much on my plate I guess I will have to see how things go.

Looking forward to bigger and better things.

Jayde