No, I do not have it all together, and yes parts of my house are super messy--just close the door. But I have narrowed down these Ninja Mom hacks that help me stay sane...
1) Sundays are your best friend
No sorry, sitting around Sunday morning lounging is NOT on my agenda. I am up early and I am at the grocery store (like 7:30am Walmart- no one else is there!) I grab my Starbucks, my Sunday paper, and into Walmart I go... happy because there are no lines and I am ALONE! Once home I put on the football game and start making dinners/lunch! The Crockpot is my Best Friend- load up a meal in that, and another one on the stove. I do not cook during the week... those meals on Sunday we reheat, dinner is DONE is my weekly motto!
I make sure all laundry is done and everyone has 5 outfits for the week (even me). During nap time I watch some football, have a beer.. relax some. By Sunday night I am ready for the week doing as much as I can to prep and make the week easier. The more you do Sunday, the less you need to think/act on during the week.
2) Meal planning
I use Plantoeat.com--- it's easy and importing recipes is literally 1 click. Load up the recipes, then click the "shop" tab- boom--there is your shopping list.
3) Get up early...
Sorry, but yes... YOU MUST be up 1 hour before your kids. I am up at 5:20am everyday and should be up at 5am. This is YOUR time. The house is quiet- coffee is brewed, enjoy the peace. Do some laundry, unload the dishwasher, hell...read a book, journal, do some Yoga.
4) Your kids MUST do chores. My 6 year old puts away the clothing for him and brother (no i don't expect him to fold. He just lays it in the huge drawers). We don't worry about wrinkles. The more your kids do- the less stress on you. Just don't be a perfectionist about it..they are still kids.
5) All mail goes with me to work. It does not come in my house. Paper=clutter. I take the mail to work, sort it on my lunch. Trash, shred, act on, and file piles are made. And I deal with them there at work. Everything I act on stays at work, I act on it- then put in my file pile. My file pile comes home straight to the file folder.
6) Bullet Journal- Look at my other organization blogs. The info is there.
7) Consistent bedtime for the kids.
My kids go to bed at the same time every night because I want an evening... with wine.
8) A husband who helps. Need I say more?
9) Date nights with my hubby. We pay sitters.. we have grandma over, we kid swap with friends (see my newest blog). We go out at least 2x a month (yes a coffee date at Starbucks working counts). For Christmas my husband and I exchange dates. 12 dates each for the 12 months. A total of 24 dates... we saw a play last year, ran a 5k, did a beer crawl, and went wine tasting. I can't wait to plan my 12 dates for 2017.
10) Say no... with little kids at home- keep your life as simple as possible. Don't take on another project, only let your kid do 1 sport at a time, and it's OK to say NO. To encourage the "no" word- simply look at the monthly calendar- if you see it pretty full- agree with your spouse that NOTHING else gets added.
Hope you take something away from this... Happy Ninja'ing!
-Auggie
1) Sundays are your best friend
No sorry, sitting around Sunday morning lounging is NOT on my agenda. I am up early and I am at the grocery store (like 7:30am Walmart- no one else is there!) I grab my Starbucks, my Sunday paper, and into Walmart I go... happy because there are no lines and I am ALONE! Once home I put on the football game and start making dinners/lunch! The Crockpot is my Best Friend- load up a meal in that, and another one on the stove. I do not cook during the week... those meals on Sunday we reheat, dinner is DONE is my weekly motto!
I make sure all laundry is done and everyone has 5 outfits for the week (even me). During nap time I watch some football, have a beer.. relax some. By Sunday night I am ready for the week doing as much as I can to prep and make the week easier. The more you do Sunday, the less you need to think/act on during the week.
2) Meal planning
I use Plantoeat.com--- it's easy and importing recipes is literally 1 click. Load up the recipes, then click the "shop" tab- boom--there is your shopping list.
3) Get up early...
Sorry, but yes... YOU MUST be up 1 hour before your kids. I am up at 5:20am everyday and should be up at 5am. This is YOUR time. The house is quiet- coffee is brewed, enjoy the peace. Do some laundry, unload the dishwasher, hell...read a book, journal, do some Yoga.
4) Your kids MUST do chores. My 6 year old puts away the clothing for him and brother (no i don't expect him to fold. He just lays it in the huge drawers). We don't worry about wrinkles. The more your kids do- the less stress on you. Just don't be a perfectionist about it..they are still kids.
5) All mail goes with me to work. It does not come in my house. Paper=clutter. I take the mail to work, sort it on my lunch. Trash, shred, act on, and file piles are made. And I deal with them there at work. Everything I act on stays at work, I act on it- then put in my file pile. My file pile comes home straight to the file folder.
6) Bullet Journal- Look at my other organization blogs. The info is there.
7) Consistent bedtime for the kids.
My kids go to bed at the same time every night because I want an evening... with wine.
8) A husband who helps. Need I say more?
9) Date nights with my hubby. We pay sitters.. we have grandma over, we kid swap with friends (see my newest blog). We go out at least 2x a month (yes a coffee date at Starbucks working counts). For Christmas my husband and I exchange dates. 12 dates each for the 12 months. A total of 24 dates... we saw a play last year, ran a 5k, did a beer crawl, and went wine tasting. I can't wait to plan my 12 dates for 2017.
10) Say no... with little kids at home- keep your life as simple as possible. Don't take on another project, only let your kid do 1 sport at a time, and it's OK to say NO. To encourage the "no" word- simply look at the monthly calendar- if you see it pretty full- agree with your spouse that NOTHING else gets added.
Hope you take something away from this... Happy Ninja'ing!
-Auggie
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