Daily Dose of Sugar Mama

When my kids were younger here are some things I did on a DAILY basis:

- scrapbook

- menu plan,  spent HOURS searching through my favorite food magazines and recipe books

- cooking new recipes

- writing letters to friends & family

- reading a great book

- reading to my kids

- make a craft with my kids

- exercise (usually something with the family)

- watch a bit of TV

- organize my home…. and organize some more!

- reading my favorite blogs (this started around 2006)

- taking my husband lunch or dinner to work… every. single. day

- volunteer with PTO

- put on makeup

- lengthy Bible studies and/or devotions

And I miss these things.

Because these days I’m so exhausted. I thought the exhaustion would be at it’s worst when there were babies in the home. Boy was I wrong. I never imagined that I would feel more frazzled as they got older. Friends of mine with older children would tell me their stories of feeling unorganized and rushed. I didn’t understand this at the time. I couldn’t understand how they had NO time to work on a scrapbook. Or NO time for the girl’s nights out. Or NO time to fix their family dinner every night.

That simply would NOT be me.

I was so wrong.

Last night my kids had pizza from the grocery store for dinner. The night before they had frozen burritos. And before that they had salad (from the bag) with sandwiches as we all rushed out the door.  Because of this we are spending entirely too much money on food. Too many trips through the fast food joints. And too many quick runs to the nearest (and more expensive) grocery store.

I’m sharing this with you NOT to have you dreading when your kids are older, but to help you embrace each phase of your family. Maybe your kids won’t be involved in activities so you’re evenings will be at home. My kids right now are ONLY in soccer. Just wait until guitar, voice lessons, and volleyball are added to the mix. It’s not just the running around for activities though. It’s the extra homework that the boys need to spend time doing. And the extra events. And the friends coming over.  And what really bothers me is the morning time. I have one kid leaving at 6:30 am, one leaving at 7:20 am, and the other leaving at 7:45 am. I miss our time together at the kitchen table before the day starts.

This used to be an issue I stressed about. And even though I still get stressed about the money side of it, I’ve let go of stressing about the schedules. I now embrace the soccer tournaments out of town. Although expensive, it’s fun for our family and for the most part we are all together. I embrace the practices they have to be at every single night of the week, because while I wait in my car I get some reading and writing done (or napping). Sugar Daddy and I have not had a date night in months. I think the last one was for my birthday. My birthday is in November. But we try to talk at night after the kids go to bed, or on the drive to games. It’s just that phase of our marriage. We literally high five and head separate ways with kids in tow. Thank goodness the foundation of our marriage was strong before this phase started, otherwise the lack of time together would create some major issues.

There are parents that do not feel ragged. They don’t drive around to a bunch of practices, games, events, etc. The mothers fix a good healthy meal every single night and the family is always together. And that’s great! Not all families are the same. My kids enjoy the things they’re involved in. The key is to make sure they are ALWAYS having a good time with it and not feeling exhausted. Sugar Daddy and I chose this life for our family… it was not forced on us. And I think that’s how I was able to finally embrace it.

Things I do on a daily basis now:

- work

- maybe clean something (this is usually reserved for weekends)

- maybe cook dinner (these days this happens about 2-3 times per week) (and truth be told, I would have NEVER foreseen this… I always believed in a good dinner every night)

- short nap

- maybe eat lunch with the daycare kids

- sign papers

- carpool for practice

- load up car for game or practice

- remember to breathe

- check school work

- e-mail teacher or coach about whatever

- send Sugar Daddy texts about schedule, things coming up, expenses coming up, etc

- read a few of my favorite blogs

- check Pinterest for recipes that I will probably never cook or bake

- take Tylenol for headache

- drink coffee… lots

- and a short devotion

Life From the Phone