I'm starting to get into a routine now since Auds started school, which is nice. I still find it so quiet and haven't quite gotten used to that yet. But, on the plus side, I can actually hear the Bible playing now that there's not a little worship leader during the day.
B gets up at 5 to shower and wakes me up at 530 so I can get ready. I wake the kids between 615 and 630 to have breakfast and get ready for school and the day. At 720 we hold hands in a circle for family prayer and then it's loading the van up.
I take the crew to school, B goes to work. After I drop off Auds, the boys and I go for a walk. It's amazing how a 10 minute walk can turn into a 45 minute one with a curious toddler. We look at ants, collect leaves and rocks, look for airplanes and listen for birds. It's really nice. Except for the fact that one of our neighbors went fishing last weekend and had a bucket of fish heads and guts out at the road. That baking in the southern heat for days produced the foulest odor. Gotta love the Cajuns. They either shoot it, gut it, or marry it.
After our walk we come back for a snack. I'm so swamped right now I've been letting Tony watch more DVDs than I'd like, but once school portraits are done that'll change. I run back and forth from the studio to the playroom stopping to do laundry in between. We're still without a dryer, so I get creative as to where I hang clothes.
We do lunch and then I put tony down for quiet time -he doesn't have to nap, just stay in his room. I relax for a couple of minutes in between work and house work. Then we go pick up Auds.
Snack time follows as I unpack her lunch box and check her school work. I then pack her and B's lunch while she tells me about her day. As the two big kids catch up and play I wash dishes and get dinner done.
Then it's bath for whoever needs it most and off to whatever we have that evening. Monday it's prayer meeting, Tuesday it's church service, Wednesday it's youth music practice, Thursday it's teaching Bible studies, Friday it's youth service.
Weekends are reserved for groceries, errands, chores, processing and paperwork in the studio, church, and all the family time we can sneak in.
I have an assistant who comes during the week when I have a client, and a mother in law who comes on Wednesdays so I can hold consultations and ordering sessions.
I think I've decided that being a work- from-home mom is the hardest job in my opinion. Not knocking those that purely stay home or work outside of the home at all. At. All. Each mom has to do what is right for her family. But I not only have the responsibilities of running a business and maintaining a home, but I do them at the same time. My kids are still in the house when I'm invoicing, not at a day care, so they're still making mess that I have to clean up. And my clients are still calling when I'm playing with my kids. I love what I do, don't get me wrong. I've got the best of both worlds. But I've also got the worst. I'm never 100% here nor there with all of the responsibilities of both. But my kids think it's so cool that I'm a photographer, so at least they don't resent me for having to take breaks from play time to schedule a session.
All in all, we're adjusting to school and the nee routine it provides. I miss my little girl like crazy, but love hearing all of the new things she's learning and the new activities she's doing.
It's not just the Cajuns. There are plenty of the shoot 'em, gut 'em, or marry 'em types up here too! We're just called rednecks ;)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on the WAH thing. I only work two days a week outside of the home and am expected to answer emails, phone calls, and do writing from home on the other days. It's so hard to feel like you never give 100% to anything and are always distracted - if you're working you're distracted by the kids and if you're at home you're distracted by the work. I feel for you. My job isn't nearly as home-based as yours and I do get two days alone to get stuff done, so I don't know how you do it!
I'm glad you're finding a routine. We're still working on one here!! A new baby always throws everything off.