By George, I think she's got it!

Well, it's only taken me 4 years, but I think I have finally mastered the whole SAHM (stat at home mom) thing. It has not been an easy road for me . I had visions of this going a lot smoother, but I don't think I actually realized how stinkin' hard this job really is. I am the cook, the housekeeper, the driver, the errand runner, the mommy, the wife, AND I have two actual jobs. I am very blessed to be able to work at home. I can contribute to our income and be here for my family and that is HUGE for me. My husband and I started a tutoring business in June of 2007. In a nutshell, Brian had been tutoring privately since summer of 2005 and was bringing in some fabulous extra cash to pay the bills and buy diapers. He did this for a few years but then, it actually got to where he was tutoring too much and couldn't take on anymore clients. At that point we decided instead of turning clients away, let's hire some tutors and make this official. So thus was born Beacon Tutoring...we got a business license, hired a few tutors and here we are! Our tutors worked 102 hours this month! Owning a business has been great for us since I can do the work from home when Carter is at school. In addition to Beacon, I also work part-time for our FABULOUS church The Warehouse (thewarehouseoc.com). I am the secretary which involves a lot of little things. I really enjoy it :) Because I have so many things on my plate, I really have to be good at time management. I am not a morning person. I am not a night person either. Catch me between 8am and 8pm and we're good! About a week ago, I was super stressed because I was behind in my work for both jobs and I hated feeling like people are counting on me and I couldn't get my act together get the job done. I really wanted to believe that there just weren't enough hours in my day, but as much as I hate to admit it, I was being REALLY lazy. I was taking my sweet time getting ready in the morning, drinking my coffee in bed until like 9am while my super rad husband took care of Carter. Then I would do my house chores and shower and get Carter off to preschool, run a couple of errands, eat lunch, and then it was time to go pick Carter up. When we get home it's homework time then I need to start dinner and by the time that's done, Brian's home, and we eat...I don't want to do anything else. I am off the clock and just want to spend time with my family. So needless to say, when I was keeping that schedule there was no time in my day to go into my office and get any work done. Something had to give. I am a crazy list maker so I set out in search of the perfect time management tool for mom's. I wanted to find some type of realistic schedule that mom's who work at home can actually follow and I didn't want to have to get all creative and do it myself...that's the lazy talking again. And you know what happened during my google search??? I actually found EXACTLY what I was looking for. Shocking, I know! I came across a blog called SimpleMom.net and on there is a Daily Docket that she designed to help her manage her day as she works from home and cares for her two small kids. Here is the link http://simplemom.net/downloads/ It's changed my life. I prayed that the Lord would show me how to make this all work and he brought me SimpleMom. I've painfully realized that I have to get my butt out of bed by 6:30 and shower first thing. I grab my coffee and go into the office to have my Bible time and seek the Lord's plan for my day. Then I print out my fabulous new list and fill in all the little boxes, it's SO fun! Then I check my email (and my facebook of course!). It's usually about 8:30 by then so I finish getting ready, eat some bfast, then start my chores...dishes, laundry, picking up the house. I am in the office by 9:30 and I can work until 11 until I have to get Carter off to school. I get so much done in that hour and a half, it's shocking! It's totally Jesus multiplying my minutes, I just know it! The rest of my day is errands, homework, dinner, and family time. I am tired of course, but I think that comes with the mommy territory. I am just so thrilled to know that with the right tools, I totally ROCK at being a SAHM :) Some other things I've found over the years that I can't live without are my Queen of the Castle book. It's a yearly devotional geared towards teaching you how to be a fabulous SAHM while keeping your focus on the Lord. Here is the link for Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Castle-Encouragement-Uninspired-Domestically/dp/1591454743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226202978&sr=1-1Another thing that has saved my sanity is orgjunkie.com. She does this thing called Menu Plan Monday where you plan your menu for the week and do all the shopping and your done! No guessing about what's for dinner, you already know! I am going to start posting my menu on here for your viewing pleasure. One last thing I can not live without is my crock pot. I live and die by that thing. I can put dinner in at 10am when I still have some energy and don't have to stress at 5:30 about what to throw together or what kind of take out we want. The best crock pot recipe book I have found is Fix it and Forget it: 5 Ingredients or less http://www.amazon.com/Forget-5-ingredient-Favorites-Phyllis-Pellman/dp/1561485292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226203332&sr=1-1 The Lord has been gracious in revealing to me how to make my life a little easier. I hope some of these things will work for you too! Have a blessed day and check back Monday for my first Menu Plan!