When I planned my NaBloPoMo this year, I thought I would do Money Monday posts.
But! There are people who suddenly do not have food stamps to feed themselves and their kids, and there are tens of thousands of workers who are newly laid off in time for the holiday season, and my own university is making budget adjustments in the face of fewer federal dollars coming in-- and me complaining about money is just THE WRONG VIBE right now.
Sooooo I think I will just do some sort of alliterative something that's on my mind to start the weeks this month.
And right now? It is Wednesday. Wednesday is the day when the wheels fall off my mental health bus and I turn into someone I wouldn't want to be around.
I gotta figure out how to make Wednesdays easier and more fun.
I think the trouble starts in the early morning hours when I decide not to get up and exercise because I hate getting up in the dark and think I will be in a better mood on Wednesday night if I sleep later and exercise when the kids go to school. I think this might be a false story since I am tired AF at night anyway, and not having those extra 90 or so minutes in the morning makes me feel like I am scrambling to keep up all day.
After school is when the shit really hits the fan, though, because it is our second of three days to do the dance and dive run, and Minnie is sort of over it, which I understand. I am going to try leaving the house earlier to get the big kids so Minnie can play at the park across from their school for 10 or so minutes. See! I am a fun mom! I think she and I also need to listen to audio books in the car again. We listened to the entire Ramona series last year, and I think we will dive into Roald Dahl this year. Books FOR SURE make the car ride more fun, and we should have started listening again before now-- not sure how I forgot about that.
We usually do breakfast for dinner on Wednesday nights, and I see no reason to change this. Last week, I made these and these, and they were such a hit, I think I will do them again. Bonus! We had leftovers for breakfasts for a couple of days.
I also think I need to take a shower earlier in the evening-- maybe before I go pick up Dorothy and her friend at dance. That way I could actually have time to hang out with Jack for a bit?
Wednesday is really hard because when I am exhausted and ready to check out for the night, Cooper comes home from diving and makes (a big, messy) dinner. Then I go get Dorothy, and she eats dinner and also has homework, and it's already 9pm! But! Dorothy and Cooper are both gone for about 12 hours on Wednesdays, so I want them to be able to enjoy themselves for he tiny sliver of time they're home and actually awake, which means I need to not be a shrew, at the very least.
Maybe Jack and I need to watch a fun show every Wednesday night, and maybe I could find a tea I like or something like that to look forward to as a little closing Wednesday night ritual as we veg on the couch.
Another random thing: Ben is taking over lunches for Mondays and Fridays, and we usually do Tuesday lunches together. This is great because I used to do all the lunches (and activity dinners which we pack with lunches, and now we are looking at a more even split, which should help with general overwhelm.
Other thoughts for me? How can I make a long busy day more fun?
Costumes for school
And ToTing
Okay, your Wednesday does sound hard. But- you are definitely a fun mom (pumpkin pancakes for dinner!!!) I think all your ideas are good (audiobooks in the car, fun show at night.) Could you throw a Starbucks run in there somewhere for a festive drink? That's the only other thing I can think of. You'll have to report back and let us know how it goes this week!
ReplyDeleteyes to Starbucks!!
DeleteHmm, I think I am just not as much of a Fun Mom. I think my solution would be to just sort of say that there are 7 days in the week and not every single day in every season has to necessarily be fun and that's okay and everyone will be fine and maybe Wednesdays are just a hectic busy day where people are all doing their things. I mean, presumably the kids are having fun at their activities?! (and hanging with friends at school, etc.) Asher has some days where he literally goes from school -> work -> swim practice and gets home at 9:15 pm and then he just showers and chills in his room for a bit to unwind and goes to bed. I guess we chat in the car on the way home and I figure that's good enough those days. (Or, maybe I'm the one who should rethink this and should try to insert more connection or fun! lol. I honestly hadn't given it much thought.)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the fun-- they are definitely having it
DeleteI agree with Kae! (Us WI girls think alike!). But I also recommend the audio book series Wayside School for a really fun listen for the whole family. It makes car rides a bit easier.
DeleteWow, your Wednesdays sound nuts. FWIW, I find for me that it's always better to get up and do things for myself in the morning, as opposed to sleeping in (bear with me, I know I have nothing going on these days, but when the kids were younger and I was teaching I DID have things going on, and I still thought it was better to get up). I find having 90 minutes (or whatever) to myself was far better than the 90 minutes of extra sleep. YMMV but I think having that time makes you better equipped for the remainder of the day (and WOW your day sounds insane!)
ReplyDeleteyou're right, I think-- I need to just get up
DeleteYour days continue to exhaust me...JUST READING ABOUT THEM, SARAH. I cannot imagine living them!!!! You have more energy in your little finger than exists in my whole body.
ReplyDeleteI'm also exhausted just thinking about Wednesday
DeleteThe wheels come off for me on Mondays when we have to leave the house after coming home from work. If I had to do that more than once a week, I would lose my mind. Give yourself grace. You're doing more than I every would if I had kids.
ReplyDeleteit does suck to leave again, especially in the dark
DeleteYou are such a fun mom, Sarah! And your kids are good at making spots of fun for themselves and with each other too, I bet (the upside to having more siblings)!
ReplyDeleteSomeday you'll wonder how you got everything done... I wonder that about your schedule now.
thanks :)
DeleteAdded those egg muffins to try for a future breakfast for dinner! These are another favorite NYT cooking breakfast for dinner in our house https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019362-whole-grain-pancakes?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
ReplyDeletethose pancakes sound great!
Deletethat is a hard weekday to handle by yourself!!! maybe the answer is to get up early WEDS, but make THURS a sleep in/recovery day?
ReplyDeleteooooh I like that...
DeleteWe LOVED the Ramona series in the car. So fun. The other one all 3 of my daughters (4, 7, 9) all really love listening to is Dragon Masters. The Fudge series is super fun and probably their all time favorite that we read together, but I read that aloud to them because one book has santa spoilers and another has tooth fairy spoilers (!!) - I just changed the story quickly as I read lol. They also like listening to Babysitters Club. Juni B Jones is a hit with the older two but my 4.5 year old does not like it (maybe hits too close to home for her?).. happy listening!
ReplyDeletethanks for these ideas!
DeleteI've been reading your blog long enough to know that you ARE a fun mom. For sure. The book in the car will be a plus. I think you've got some really great ideas about how to make Wednesdays more manageable. Delightful even. Breakfast for dinner sounds like a lot of fun. I remember when Curly was so little, but was in the latest irish dance class. She'd need a whole other meal when she got home. Plus she had to shower. I'd let her sleep as long as possible the next morning and I still remember how I set her morning up like an assembly line so she wouldn't miss the bus. She'd be spitting toothpaste on the driveway as she was jogging to the bus.
ReplyDeleteOh lord, Sarah, that is SO MUCH. Just getting through (with the fun parts you're already doing) is probably good enough? Also PUMPKIN PANCAKES, AM INTRIGUED.
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds overwhelming but it sounds to me like you are managing it all very well! One of my favorites is having breakfast for dinner, yum!
ReplyDeleteI like what Kae said. Accept that Wednesdays are hard right now. Books in the car, breakfast for dinner, a little tea in the evening…those are all great ideas. I wouldn’t try to push it any further than that.
ReplyDeleteMonday ideas (I love that you are thoughtful about the current situation and not wanting to be tone deaf, btw.) - Music Monday (a favorite song from now or way back when); Meme Monday (a funny meme you saw on Facebook or wherever, and whatever it brings up for you, or just a meme with no thoughts); Minnie Monday (Save up your Minnie stories and put them there. Or do a greatest hits from years past. But the other kids might say, HEY, where’s MY blog day? - change it to Munchkin Monday and write something about one kid); Movie Monday; Monday Miscellany (just whatever)
That’s it, I’m out. And I may have done several of these in the past (Not Minnie or Munchkin)
Your Wednesday sounds insane. Not sure I have a specific tip, but I recently realized that my evenings were kind of a drag because I would do all the cleanup after kid bedtime and but that point I'm so tired I procrastinate forever. I started doing it a little during the day/before bedtime and it's a game changer. So I guess yes to anything that will move hard this earlier in the day.
ReplyDeleteOof, your Wednesdays do sound stressful and like days that you just have to "get through", but I absolutely support the idea of making them more fun if you can. I said this before, but I don't even know how you find time to blog (and read!) on a regular day!
ReplyDeleteI was looking forward to money mondays. I don't think it's more tonedeaf than wondering how to make a regular Wednesday more fun and include a Starbucks run in the ideas, among other things that cost (a lot of) money. To me it reads the same, not insensitive, just like this is your life. Just sayin'. Have a good day and good luck for tomorrow
ReplyDeleteI love how you are trying to make Wednesdays more fun for your kids, and your ideas are great. But since it is so challenging for YOU, I might also lean into the ways it can be fun for you. The special tea and watching a show with Jack sounds perfect. Are there other special things -- a favorite smoothie, or overnight oats, or breakfast bar or SOME kind of nourishing treat -- that you could save just for Wednesdays? Especially if you can enjoy them IN THE CAR?
ReplyDelete