Posted in Confessions of an Imperfect Momma

We were planning to move to another state this year because of my husband's committment to the Army. Instead, we are staying "home" while he temporarily moves without us. This will leave a lot more responsibilities on my shoulders. The only way it's all going to get done is if I can delegate some things. I decided my 2 eldest children are plenty old enough to handle a few more responsibilities around the house and my 4yo can pick up a few minor chores as well. I also put out a call for help with our family and church friends. Then I sat down this past weekend with my Managers of Their Homes book and CD and set about revamping our schedule in order to make it all happen. Wow, do I have a pretty schedule on my wall !!!! I scheduled each day of the week since the weekend days are so different from Mon - Thu. I typed it out in a spreadsheet, color-coded even, and posted it in our hallway. If implemented as it stands, I would have absolutely no problem keeping up with it all. But there is a reality that no schedule can incorporate. That reality is called "life."

The night before I implemented the new schedule, two of my children took turns waking up through the night and couldn't settle down. This is rare. So Monday morning came and I slept in. No biggy, we could just jump in right where we were and do our best to keep going. The rest of the morning went fairly well. I sat down with Luke and Lucy and briefly explained the new schedule, why things were changing, and what their new responsibilities were. One of the big changes was cutting back on tv time because its a big waste of time. They didn't even complain. In fact, Luke said, "Good, because I was going to suggest that." I was thinking, "Awesome kids!"

I made lunch only 1/2-hour off-schedule. I got hubby out the door for work while Luke and Lucy were washing lunch dishes. I went in to make my bed since I didn't get that done in the morning and Liam came back in the house because he forgot something (incidentally, this happens almost every day). I kissed him goodbye again, lifted my blanket off the floor to spread over my bed and called out, "Who pooped?" (This also happens every day because we have 3 in diapers. ) Then I realized that wasn't human doo-doo I was smelling. I knew instantly what had happened. I quickly followed the trail from my blanket to the bedroom carpeting, to the hallway, on out to the front door. And just to confirm it, Liam opened the door again and said, "Honey, I'm sorry. I stepped in something outside --"  "-- and you tracked it in." I finished for him. "I know. I already figured it out. It's all right. I'm on it." Of course, this is when the little ones start having problems as well, so I say, "Hey, let's put on a movie while Mommy cleans the floor." And Lucy yells out from the kitchen, "You said we weren't going to watch lunch movies anymore." And the point is: There was no poo-poo accident on my schedule! That's life for ya.

Then I discovered that my pretty schedule was making a HUGE assumption. That haughty little thing actually expects my children to complete a task within a designated amount of time. Yeah, no kidding. And guess what else? If they run over time, it throws off the whole rest of the day. Ha! Like when I asked Lucy to wipe off the table. Ten minutes later, my little perfectionist is still wiping away. "But honey," I gently explained, "I've only scheduled 30 minutes for wiping the table and washing the dishes. If you spend half of that time wiping the table, you'll never get the dishes done in time." "Why not?" she asked genuinely. *sigh*

Oh well, we'll keep trucking along. Some of the things on our schedule will eventually become habit, some of them will get tweaked out. And we'll continue to bounce in and out of the schedule, loving life and all of its unexpected changes.

~Layla

P.S. Just for the record, this post is in no way intended to knock Teri Maxwell or her book Managers of Their Homes. In fact, I highly recommend it. She even speaks about "blessed interruptions." Just want to clarify that since I sited her title. *grin*