Guest Guru: Jennifer of Three Pugs and a Baby – Planning is Great; Chasing Bubbles is Better

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“Planning is great; chasing bubbles is better”

By: Jennifer of three pugs & a baby

I’m 100% Type A. Anal, precise, detail-oriented. It brings me a sense of comfort to have my days planned and my to-do lists in order. I would sleep with my MomAgenda under my pillow, if I thought my husband wouldn’t give me the side-eye forever after.

The thing is, when you become a parent, it’s not so easy anymore.

The best-laid plans get tossed out the window in the blink of an eye, and leave people like me reeling because we never learned to roll with the punches.

I knew it was going to happen, but I never really “got it.”

I was clued in, when our son chose to make his appearance three weeks early, on the very morning I was scheduled for maternity pictures. I should have known, right then, that my penchant for careful planning was already a thing of the past.

For me, it was sink or swim.

And I quickly learned to adapt. I had no choice.

The word “routine” replaced the word “schedule” in my vocabulary. I learned to plan things based on windows of time rather than the hands of the clock.

And I learned that spending time with this amazing little boy trumped cleaning, crafting, and organizing, any day of the week.

That’s not to say I still don’t retain my need for order. I may have adapted, but I’m still me.

How do I handle it?

Well, I plan by week, rather than by day. I break things down by things I need to do, things I really want to do, and things that would be cool but aren’t necessary.

For example, things I regularly need to do:
• Work out (daily during the week)
• Shower (daily)
• Cook meals (daily)
• Grocery shop (once a week)
• Laundry (2-3 times a week)
• Clean the house (broken down by activity, 1-2 times a week)
• Blog and do blog-related activities (daily)

Things I really want to do:
• Run errands
• Educational crafts with our son
• Playdates
• “Field trips” (to the park or zoo)
• Get Mommy time

Things that would be cool:
• Try some new baking techniques
• Catch up on scrapbooking
• Write my screenplay
• Edit photos
• Work on building my personal interests

You get the idea. There are variations on the themes, but for the sake of this post, I’m keeping it simple.

Then I use naptime and after bedtime to complete tasks, in order of priority. Some days, I get to cross off lots of things on those lists. Some days, I’m lucky to squeeze in the shower and grab a bite to eat. Some days, I have a little time left over.

We just make it work however we can.

In two years, I’ve learned that I can be more flexible and let go of my need for strict scheduling. After all, it’s great getting stuff done.

But it’s even better to toss the to-do list out the window and spend a lazy afternoon chasing bubbles with one of the loves of your life.

Jennifer, of three pugs & a baby, is a 30-something stay-at-home mom to one toddler and three pugs. She has been married to a wonderful guy for almost four years and enjoys cooking, baking, blogging and making detailed to-do lists in her sleep. For more info on Jennifer and her life, please visit her blog at www.threepugsandababy.com.

Posted by Anne Marie on Apr 23, 2010 print article e-mail to a friend

http://www.accustomedchaos.com Devan @ Accustomed Chaos

Oh you have a wonderful outlook on getting things done! in the 4 years i have been a Mama i am still trying to get into a good groove of getting stuff done. It seems every time i do – something switches everything up! I LOVE the week plan instead of the daily plan!

♥
http://nifermusings.blogspot.com Jen

I think this is great advice for anyone! Mom or not! Thanks for sharing, Jennifer. I’m going to start practicing organizing my tasks this way.
http://therealpoopsie.blogspot.com The Drama Mama

Getting the right balance is hard. Thanks for sharing your tips on helping to maintain that balance. This is an awesome post!!
http://taminginsanity.blogspot.com KLZ

Great post! Would love to hear more about how you manage meals – I’m really struggling to cook and play with the boy at night.
http://www.themillermix.com Kelly

This is a great reminder to focus on what really matters. It’ll be the lazy days we remember when we’re old, not how many sit ups we did or errands we ran.
http://www.threepugsandababy.com Jennifer @ And Baby Makes 6

Thanks for all the great feedback!

KLZ, I’m going to be honest. We are lucky with dinner. Turtle still goes to bed at 6. I fix him dinner at 5 (usually leftovers from the night before), and then MacGyver and I eat our dinner closer to 8. As Turtle gets older and starts going to bed later, we hope to average a family dinner time at 6/6:30.

That being said, it’s pretty easy for me to prep and cook after he goes down for the night. If I’m not feeling it, I throw something in the crockpot in the morning (but I try not to do that more once every 10 days or so).

It also helps that I love to cook. Hope that helps!
http://www.hungryjaney.blogspot.com Janey

I can totally identify with this post. How I schedule my time since I became a mom is so different than how I scheduled my time before, but I have never really thought about it before. This post made total sense to me!
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