Morning Routines

There are baby steps everywhere. Part of the Fly Lady's baby steps involves creating morning routines, in addition to the before bed routines I wrote about a couple weeks ago.

This is what is written in window crayon on our bathroom mirror (the ideal), but it's not what happens:

• Up @ 5
• Meds/Teeth
• Shower
• Dress to shoes (meaning, put your shoes on as a part of getting dressed)
• Make bed
• Swish&Swipe (Fly Lady terminology for wipe the countertops and quick scrub the toilet.)
• Reboot Laundry (Move it over, move it out, start a new load.)
• Dishwasher (Empty, fill, whatever needs to be done)
• Drink H2O/Breakfast
• Check calendar
• What's for dinner?
• Get kids up at 6:15

I'm still working on my morning routine. Right now, it is basically an automated response to my before bed routine. So, this is what actually happens:

My alarm goes off at 5. I snooze. My watch alarm goes off at 5:15. I snooze. I snooze. I snooze. It's dark outside. It's hard to wake up when it's dark outside. Finally, at six, or a smidge before, I jump out of bed (pull up the covers to "make the bed"), go shower/take meds/brush teeth, and throw on whatever clothes I set out the night before. By this time one or both of the children is awake, so I have to ignore them while I run downstairs and put Goldilock's oatmeal in the microwave, fill her milk cup, and set out some fresh fruit for her; I quickly check the calendar on the fridge to remind myself of what's going on today. Then I run back upstairs and change diapers/dress the kiddos with the clothes I set out for them. Then we come downstairs and Goldilocks and Baby Bear both eat. After Baby Bear is finished eating, he goes right into his carseat carrier with a toy to keep him busy. I get a cup of ice water and put it, along with any refrigerated items, into the car. While Goldilocks is captive in the high chair, I put shoes on her and I comb her hair. Depending on her tolerance level, I sometimes put it up in pigtails; other times I use a barrette to keep the hair out of her eyes. She goes straight from the high chair into the car, along with her milk cup. Baby Bear gets put in the car. We go. Any variation from this (i.e. letting Goldilocks down from her chair without putting her in the car) causes delay. About halfway to school I realize that I didn't eat breakfast and/or pack my lunch. Again. Crud.

Ta-da! Yeah, it's a routine, but it does not encompass everything I want it to. It's a little hectic sometimes, and, again, it only works because of what I do before bed to get ready for the morning. I somehow found a blog article by a Fly Lady follower entitled, "Your Morning Routine Should Make You Happy," and that got me to thinking about how I'm not unhappy with what's going on, but I'm not entirely happy with it either.

I'm pretty sure going to bed on time will make waking up earlier a little bit easier. Now that we have Sprung Forward, will it be even easier to get up earlier? I don't know yet because I've been in Spring Break mode, not doing any routines.

I'm going to revisit my morning routine and try to get up earlier (and go to bed on time--goal is by 9pm). I'd like to get a lawn watering schedule in place, and water the peach tree daily as a part of the morning routine, too. I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, you should check out Fly Lady and her baby steps.

Debt Considerations

As I understand it, my weekend warrior set out to join the military in some form or fashion for several reasons, the main one being this noble desire to serve his country. I'm proud of him.

Another reason was so that when/if he went into a law practice for himself, he would have a steady flow of income, however small, to offset the unknown income of being self-employed. Once all was settled, instead of being self-employed he found himself with two jobs on one day: he was hired at a local law firm on the same day he was sworn in to the Alabama National Guard, on August 19, 2010.

We've been working (on and off, if I'm truly honest) on getting out of debt. In spring of 2008, during his last semester of law school, MWW and I attended Financial Peace Unviersity by Dave Ramsey at our church in Tuscaloosa, and ever since then we've been working the Baby Steps to pay off automobiles, credit cards, and students loans. (Since then, we've taken on a mortgage as well.) We've had a working cash flow plan (i.e. budget) and sinking funds to pay for predictable expenses. We're not out of debt, but we are experiencing more peace when would-be emergencies arise because they're not emergencies anymore.

We paid off the Subaru in the fall of 2008--six months early--and have been driving two paid-for cars ever since. This last October my student loans for undergrad and grad school were paid off. Now somehow, since he's been away at training, we've had more cash flow to put toward our "debt snowball." Last week, we paid off MWW's credit card, and this next week, after our tax refund is credited, my credit card will be paid off. All we have left are MWW's students loans from undergrad and law school and a mortgage.

The website, My Total Money Makeover, has a neat debt snowball tool (there are other free ones out there if you look, since this one is free for a limited time). So, I went in and plugged in our minimum payments on each of these debts, and if we pay only the minimum on each one, the loans will be paid off by June 2019. This last year, our mortgage payment went down, but I'm maintaining the orginal higher payment since it's in our budget, and if we keep on keeping on, using student loans payments after those are knocked out, our mortgage will be paid off in November 2026, which is 14 years early. The power of the snowball.

Of course, that's just based on minimum payments. But we'll be making more than minimum. The extra cash MWW gets from his unused per diem will be going toward our loans. The payments from our now paid-off credit cards will also be going toward the loans. I'm excited to see how much of a difference these payments make in our debt-free date (complete Baby Step 2), which is when we are debt-free except for the house.

In the meantime, we have an emergency fund of $1000 (from Baby Step 1) which we are going to increase 200% before we go on. With two children and a big old house and a considerable amount of time before our debt-free date, I would like to have a little bit more of an emergency fund, but not a fully-funded one (that's Baby Step 3).

This next part, paying off these thousands of dollars worth of loans, will probably get old fast, so I'm looking for ideas to celebrate our success when it happens. I'm also looking for ideas to keep the "gazelle intensity" going. We can do it!

I know that Dave Ramsey has FPU classes geared toward military on/near military bases throughout the country, and I highly recommend the class. Highly.

Lawn Care

When we first moved into this house last June, MWW was really excited about getting a lawnmower. I wasn't too worried because we had friends from church a couple of doors down who would definitely lend us theirs if push came to shove. Well, MWW went online and ordered a rotary cutter mower on the Internet. You know the ones--stereotypical lawnmowers from the 1950s--no gasoline needed, just manpower.

I laughed and said, "That's because I'll never have to mow the lawn, right?" Admittedly, I do have some pretty nasty grass allergies and only ever had to mow the lawn at home a handful of times growing up before we got the riding mower and I wanted to mow the lawn. But this was no riding mower, and at the time I was seven months pregnant. MWW reassured me that he would take care of the lawn, no probs. So upon moving into the house, the outside became his domain and the inside became mine, for the most part.

Then he joined the National Guard in August. And he left (for five weeks now) for training in February for the duration of the spring and early summer.

Do you know what happens in the spring time? Yes, grass and weeds grow. And do you know what has to happen to those things? They need to be cut. And et. (As in the past tense of "weed eat" is "weed et" when using a weedeater. "Weed ate" just doesn't sound right for some reason..haha.)

And let's face it, we live in suburbia--on a corner lot, no less--so there's a little pressure about keeping the lawn looking at least moderately nice. There's a homeowner's association, anyway. Last year, since we moved in late in the season, the grass got cut regularly, but the weeds in the flower beds became too much, so we just avoided them. Not this year. This year we have to get it right. But I was still in denial a little bit when we up and left for Virginia this last weekend, with all these tall, grassy weeds and purple flowers taking over my front lawn.

Eli had told me about using a pre-emergent weedkiller/fertilizer, but I just don't have that kind of time while working full time and having two children under two. So I started looking into Spring-Green and TruGreen lawncare (local companies that are each other's competition) for weed and fertilization help. And I found a killer deal, pun intended. Spring-Green had the cheapest prices to begin with, plus they have an overall discount if you pay up front for the year. And then, after the guy came out and gave me a free estimate, he also informed me of their military discount! I always forget to ask about military discounts, so it was above and beyond for him to offer up that information. I talked it over with MWW and he agreed that we should go ahead and do it. When we came back from VA, they had already been here to do the first application, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Another fabulous surprise for us when we returned is that our neighbors (a military family themselves) had come over and mowed our lawn while the kids and I were away. He had warned me not to be surprised if I saw him in our backyard one day. What a blessing. What a relief. ("You have a big yard." -Mr. Neighbor)

In two weeks, the in-laws are coming to help with more of the lawn care, planting trees and preparing flower beds, etc. I hope the weather is good. MWW will be happy to know that his Charlie Brown-reminiscent peach tree has pretty pink flowers on it (it's only 3 feet tall...).




Ah, spring t....ah-choo. Time. :)

And...we're back!

My children are rock stars. No, really.

They were sick last week. We got in the car anyway and made the would-be 10-hour trip to go see Papa Bear (my weekend warrior) up in Charlottesville at the JAG school. I made sure I was physically prepared for the trip, snacks ready and within easy reach, and we just went, without me thinking too much about the mental side of this. We got out of the door by 6:45 EST on Saturday morning and were in Charlottesville by 5:15 p.m. Yes, that's 10.5 hours. They rocked my socks off. I decided before we left that I would take my cues from Baby Bear, who would need to eat every so often. Goldilocks was content to stay in her seat and have me hand her snacks over the seat. Baby Bear went in three-hour stretches. Miracle! One time I had to leave them in the car while I ran into a gas station to pee, and another time we stopped at a rest stop on the NC/VA border so that Goldilocks could run around and stretch her legs. I had quite a few people praying about this trip, and I am thankful for every single person, every single prayer. They helped to make this the easiest trip I've taken.

While I was driving, I got to thinking. I've only ever driven from AL to TX and back by myself the one time, right after we moved here. It was only nine hours each direction (still not enough to finish listening to The DaVinci Code audiobook--that book is long). Pretty much since then, every long trip I've had MWW with me, and honestly, I let him do most of the driving. This time I just jumped in the car with two small children and decided to drive further than I've ever driven by myself. What was I thinking?!? As I said, I didn't think. I just did. And in this instance, I think that served me well.

Our three days with MWW were wonderful and weird. He still had his really weird military sleeping schedule (8 p.m.-4 a.m.), PT schedule (5 a.m.-7 a.m.), and class (8 a.m-4 p.m.), so we spent quite a bit of time entertaining ourselves. He's also gotten used to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep (I'm jealous) and was a little cranky about crying children (suck it up). But he loved having us there. He just beamed at the kids, smiling an hugging and laughing. Man, we miss him. Goldilocks was confused by all the people in digital camouflage, and walked around saying, "Daddy? Daddy?" to every single one of them once MWW left for class and the last of the people in the hotel dining room were scarfing down their breakfasts so they could be to class on time.

There were other families there with their small children, and it made me wish that at this season of life we could have traveled up there with him to stay for the duration. But, alas, someone has to win the regular bread that pays for the house.

Wednesday morning, we dragged our feet, but eventually got into the car and headed home. I knew that this direction the trip wasn't going to be so easy--both physically and emotionally. The kids were cranky and crying. Goldilocks didn't want to sing to her CD or watch a DVD on the player we had borrowed from friends. Baby Bear was feeling much better, which meant that he would want to eat every two hours or so. What I didn't plan for was sitting still, moving only about 2 miles, for an hour of construction traffic just miles from the NC/SC border (and when the car stopped, two sleeping kids woke up and started crying/screaming...yay). What I did plan for was driving back through Atlanta, on a weekday, during rush hour traffic. What I didn't originally plan for, but was pumped about after the trip up there, was the HOV lanes through Atlanta, which helped keep the trip from being completely unbearable. This time, we also stopped at a Chick-Fil-A in Anderson, SC, so that Goldilocks could get out and stretch her legs and play in the play place. She was so hyper, it was entertaining. And it added another hour onto our trip. All in all, it took us 12.5 hours to get home. We left Charlottesville at approximately 7:30 a.m. EST, and rolled into our driveway at 7 p.m. CST.

One sweet thing was that a good friend of mine was here waiting for us, and she got the kids out of the car while I came inside and cleaned up cat poo and vomit (which are both inevitable if we leave the cats for any length of time), and she brought dinner, so she fed Goldilocks while I took a relaxing shower. Then, she helped me unload the car, start a load of travel laundry, do the travel dishes and bathe the little girl. And once Goldilocks was in bed, we even got some girl chat time that I've sorely missed.

We are blessed.

Sick...with children

I don't get sick.

Not very often, anyway. And since we've had children these past two years, the one or two times I was feeling under the weather, MWW was around to take care of the little one(s) while I took care of me. I'm now realizing what a luxury that is, and wonder what do single mothers do??

My mother-in-law just happened to be in town this last weekend to visit with the grandchildren when my insides decided to revolt (and believe me, they were revolting). I had had plans to get so much done while she distracted the kiddos, but the weather was terrible and I was just blah, blah, blah, sitting on the couch or on the floor in the bathroom. I'm sure I was a lot of fun to be around. If she hadn't been visiting, there would have been far more tears that there were.

While she was here, Baby Bear started wheezing pretty badly, and I wanted to take him to the doctor (we don't play with breathing issues in my family), but I couldn't get very far from a commode. I had to wait until Sunday to take him, and he was diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection. Yay.

The start of the week didn't go well. I was still feeling icky, and the kids were pretty pathetic and miserable at daycare, so I took half days on Monday and Tuesday to be home with my sick kids (Goldilocks ended up with an ear infection, too). We thankfully have a wonderful church family that was willing to help out with keeping them.

My students were a little put off that I wasn't there to teach them. I have sick kids, I told them. I need to be home with them. "Why can't your husband do it?" Because he's not here.

Thankfully, the sickness is running its course and we're all on the mend. I didn't need to take any more leave than I had, and it looks like we'll be able to go visit Papa Bear this weekend!

Evidence of FLYing

When my weekend warrior left, some sweet ladies at church signed up to come by once or twice a week to give me a hand with whatever I need, from bringing dinner, to babysitting while I run errands, to bathing the kids and putting them to bed. Yes, we are blessed with a wonderful church family. This separation would be very different without them.

Not once, but TWICE, I've had friends from church come over to help who are astonished at how clean the house is. To be fair, they all visited at some point when I wasn't quite done unpacking the boxes in the dining room, but the downstairs has never been a pigsty, you know? (Now, our bedroom upstairs is another story, another project, but the place where everything that doesn't have a place gets dumped..) These friends quickly recover their surprise to reassure that they are not commenting on a previously perceived lack of housekeeping skills, but that they are just surprised at how clean and de-cluttered it is with me doing it all by myself, and with two small children to boot.

Routines, ladies. I'm FLYing. :)

I've decided that I'm going to take their comments as compliments.