it's a glamorous life i lead, i know...met a friend for coffee this morning at Starbucks (it's becoming a weekly ritual that i really look forward to!), went to the dollar store and spent a LOT more than i'll admit here on stuff for several classroom projects, came home and worked on a report, now it's time to shut the laptop and clean this house of ours. last night i was so tired, i didn't clean up any of the evening madness noble left behind...which means the house is a PIT today, and i've got a lady coming for a meeting at 1:30. so why, you ask, am i blogging and not cleaning? because i haven't written in what feels like forever. i miss it! i've got a lot on my mind and i keep thinking i'll sit down and purge...but seriously, no time right now between work and real life. i just finished reading
making work at home work and it was such a blessing for me to sit down and read someone who's been where i'm at, felt what i feel, etc. already i've made a lot of progress with being honest with myself about what i can-and can't-do/commit to and i've forced myself to make time to do the work i need to do, even if the house needs cleaning, etc. i can't live like a stay at home mom and make a full time salary without burning myself out, and i'm over that one. so i'm learning to balance...it's not easy, but it's satisfying. i'm in the middle of a major work thing right now which is consuming my thoughts more than i'd like, but other than that, i've really been able to focus on my kids and BE in the moment. i could totally do better...but for the first time in a long time, i'm not counting the minutes til bedtime so i can get my work done, or resenting the minutes lost when one of them wakes up early in the morning. for the most part (this past sunday excluded), i'm getting my work done during the office hours i've set (thanks to the book, again--novel concept, right, hours??). i won't lie--my house isn't kristi-clean, but it's clean enough (today excluded, of course) to have someone drop by any time and eat. don't eat off the floor if you're not noble, and you'll be okay. so, i'm making progress. oh, and i still count the minutes til bedtime...but that's just 'cause i'm ready for time with my boy, no distractions. :)
I had a revelation today. Let me back up--on Saturday, we spent quite a bit of time hunting resale shops for clothes and shoes for Kayci's class scarecrow. Kayci and I had a bit of a meltdown at the last store over shoes, and we left with both of us grumpy. After a few minutes, we were able to talk it out and come to a compromise, but I have to admit, I was pretty pissed (sorry, there's no other word) at how ungrateful she was. Well, at how ungrateful I thought she was being, I should say. I've spent quite a bit of time the past several days on said scarecrow, and today I had to work in even more scarecrow time between work and a meeting with the Girl Scout recruiter (seriously)...and I have to say, I was feeling like such a MOM. Then I realized something. Kayci doesn't care about the time I spend doing things FOR her...she cares about the time I spend WITH her. Such a little thought, really, but think about it for a second. 
