In about a month (can it be true?!) I will rejoin the ranks of the full-time employed. In addition to my full-time job, I am also a wife and the mom of a five year old and a 9 month old. I have two side passions at home--my eBay store and this blog. Put it all together and it is alot to juggle.
Here are the ways I am preparing myself (and family) so the transition is a smooth one:
--Put myself on my work schedule beginning in August. I plan to exercise before work, so starting in about 2 weeks, I will begin getting up around 5:30 or 6 a.m., the time I will need to get up when I am back to work. (It also means I have to start going to bed earlier.)
--Finish decluttering and deep cleaning the house. A clean, clutter free house is easier to maintain when time is at a minimum, so some of my effort next month will go to finishing the job I started in May.
--Finish my monthly goals I set several months ago.
--Create new monthly goals when I return to work. My husband and I need to manage our time and money wisely during this next period of life so he can graduate with his Ph.D and I can become a stay-at-home mom.
--Learn to become more organized. I am currently reading Organize Your Life by Ronni Eisenberg. I plan to implement many of the strategies to best utilize my time daily.
--Continue to make freezer meals and find new slow cooker recipes. I have been busy making freezer meals and plan to continue that for the next few weeks. It will be such a blessing to have meals I can just pull from the freezer when I am busy and/or stressed. In addition, these last two weeks I have been relying heavily on my slow cooker and have loved it! Having a meal in the slow cooker means I can avoid the 4:30-5 p.m. craziness that always seems to surround the time right before dinner. I plan to use my slow cooker A LOT this fall.
So, those are my activities so far to try to make the return to work smoother. With any luck, by next May, I will be able to be a stay-at-home mom.
9 comments:
It sounds like you are on the right track. Make sure to have downtime so you don't overload. Keep us informed on how it goes when you return to work many of us can learn from your organizational skills.
I love your blog. Why did you take a leave of absence? Your blog is very inspiring. I just love it!
I have a crockpot recipe for you. I made this last night. I found it on this 30 day meal site that Nannygoat has. It was so easy and turned out so good with leftovers for lunches. Good luck!
http://littlenannygoat.blogspot.com/2009/04/30-meals-step-2.html
Mommyto3andahusky--I took a leave of absence beginning in October when I had my daughter. I was lucky enough to get an unpaid leave through the end of August. I went to the link, but I didn't see a recipe? Thanks for your comments.
I just found your blog recently. Do you ever offer tips about starting an ebay store? I would love to learn more about that.
Jennifer--Thanks for the idea. I will try to run a couple of post about starting an eBay store in a few weeks.
I must say that I'm so happy that I found your blog. I too, am on a quest to be a SAHM. It will be great following your posts. Good luck on your return to work.
I love your blog. I'm trying to save money and learn to streach our dollar too in hope of being a SAHM one day. It will be great to get some tip and ideas from your blog. Good luck on your return to work!
Hi, just found your blog through a CVS deals post--may I make a suggestion about making room for some things in your budget when you return to work? If you can possibly swing it, get someone to come in and clean twice a month or so--you'l automatically pick the house up when you know they're coming, and the time it frees uo for you is time you could better spend with your family. Yes, we want a clean house for our families, but it's not written in stone that we must be the ones to do the cleaning. Our time is important always, but especially if we work fulltime outside the home!
Melissa, the recipe is on a green recipe card on the link.
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