A Schedule That Works For Me

I have been trying to make a schedule for my day since my son was born almost 3 years ago! It seems as though I've made at least 10 different schedules along the way, but I never stick to them. I work best on a schedule, but I have yet to make one that I realistically follow. I realize that as my son changes, the schedule will also have to change. That's where we are at right now. Since my son switched to a toddler bed, he no longer wants to take naps. He'll go 3 days, or so, without a nap, and then the next day he will take a 3 hour nap! It is so unpredictable! Sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to work on getting a new schedule together right now, when I'm due to have a baby in September. I'm just tired of not getting things done; and like I said, I thrive on schedules. (Schedules that work, that is).

One of my favorite blogs is "Keeper of the Home". She has several posts about developing a schedule, issues that come with making a schedule, etc. She has 2 young children at home and another on the way in August. One thing that I have realized by reading these posts on her blog, is that I have relied greatly on nap time to get all of my "time-sensitive" things done. For example, I have several administrative tasks that I take care of for my church throughout the week. I have always done these things during nap time. Now that he's not taking naps regularly, I have been having great difficulty (at times) getting these things done. Even if he doesn't take a nap, I have him stay in his room for about an hour for some "quiet time". This is not enough time for me to get these things done, though. Up until now, I have saved the bulk of the work for Wednesdays, but that's not working anymore. (This may very well be preparing me for needing to give some things up for a season after I have the baby)!

Right now I'm thinking of scheduling time in for most of my daily cleaning to be done in the morning hours. I like to leave the mornings flexible, though, because there are many times that we have play dates, last minute trips to the store, doctor's appointments, etc. in the morning. Lately I have been getting up around 7 a.m. This is not working, and I'm thinking I might start getting up earlier to get a jump on my day before everyone gets up. My prayer/study time has also been scattered lately, and it's really starting to weigh on me. This should obviously be the top priority in my life, not treated as, "When I have time...".

I've also been thinking a lot about having some more structured time with my son during part of the day. I would like to start going over some devotions with him on a regular basis and also some type of preschool activities. Also, knowing that the baby will be arriving in 5 months, I have started thinking about how I can make sure he stays entertained while I feed the baby, etc.

All of this being said, I am really excited about getting a new daily schedule together. I don't expect the days to go by like perfect clockwork. I've only been been a mother for almost 3 years, but it's been long enough now to know that each day presents it's own little (or big) surprises! I just want some sort of order back in my life, and that makes me feel so much better. I also know that it pleases God to know that I'm doing my best to use my time at home wisely.