Monday 8 April 2013

While the Masters Away .....

My husband is one of those guys that loves golf. He plays, reads and dreams about it more than he would like to admit. He fulfilled one of his childhood dreams a couple of years ago when he and his buddies made the trip to California and played Pebble Beach.


In a few days another golf dream will be checked off his bucket list ..... He is going to the Masters! Not as a player (wink, wink) but as a giddy, grown man in the viewers gallery.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am very jealous happy for him. But with five little ones at home, his travels leave me the sole 'doer' of everything around here! Ugh! I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

We have had plenty of time to prepare, but we are one of those 'fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants' type families ..... everything last minute, rushed, grab and dash ..... but man, we make a great team and always pull through. Notorious for saying, "someday we'll get it together", or "next time we'll prepare ahead of time ".....

However, here we are again, down to the wire and scrambling to get things done. This time is a little different as I personally have a lot more on my plate. My blog and my Etsy shop are starting to take off (YEAH!!!) but it eats up a huge portion of my time. So to make room for everything in my schedule, the boy's schedules and taking on my husband's portion of household chores and errands for the week, I needed a plan.
 

  • Started with a quick clean up of the house. Everything in it's place makes stressful times and tight schedules run so much smoother. 

  • Got out my dry erase markers and headed to the family calendar. Added in the tasks that were usually my husband's but now on my plate. For example: taking boys to swimming lessons, Taekwondo, and parent/teacher meetings. 

  • Headed to the grocer to stock the fridge so I didn't have to run out through the week ..... huge time crusher!  I also like to wash most produce, chop and store in Ziploc bags so they are ready to use when needed.

  • I prepared multiple meals in advance so that we can eat healthy on the go, without much effort. Some of these include roast chicken, turkey meatballs, root veggies, and a crock-pot soup.

  • Switched lunch box prep to an evening chore to save time in the morning. The boys like to help with food prep, so after grocery shopping they pre-packaged all the dry snacks for me. :-)

  • Finished all laundry and put away in closets. A system that really works for us is picking outfits for the entire week of school. We bought large clothes pins at the Dollarama to attach the bottoms and top to the hanger so there is no confusion. There have been many chaotic mornings where someone is running around looking for socks. So this system came from necessity. It also helps to keep me on top of the laundry and starts each week on an organized note.

  • My husband always packs his own luggage. I just make sure his laundry is done and pick up some new travel-sized products. I must say, my eyes were more green than usual when he packed shorts and sunscreen! We are still hovering around freezing here in Nova Scotia, so shorts season is still another month or more away.

After this hefty weekend of preparation, we are more ready than we have ever been. There is still a lot to do, but I feel more confident that I can handle it all on my own. Just some tightening up of schedules and trying to add in some fun here and there will be key.

I also got away this afternoon for a few hours just to have some time to myself. With the hectic schedule ahead, it was something my husband and I felt was important. Most of you won't be surprised to hear that I strolled the aisles of Michael's, gathered some wreath materials and spent a couple of hours in my workshop. That's my kind of Mommy time!

Does anyone else have a golf addict living amongst them? Do you prepare ahead for everything or mostly wing it like myself? Who is cheering for Mike Weir this year at the Masters? Yes, he is Canadian and we love him! 


Cheers!

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