Getting Organized. Seriously.

Life is feeling a little hectic. I mean, there's really quite a lot on my plate, and I often feel completely overwhelmed. As soon as I wake up, I am running. I get the dogs outside for quick walks, clean the chicken coop and feed/ water the chickens, get the kids awake and fed, start our homeschooling day while cleaning up from breakfast, errands, lunch, cleaning up some more, more dog walking, send the boys outside to play and let the chickens run around, dinner, make sure my daughter's homework is getting done, dinner clean up, bath time, story time, bed time, more dog walking, litter box scooping and cat care, and then I get some me time. Maybe. 

The two days a week that I work, I kind of have to squeeze a lot of stuff into my 5:30PM-1:00AM time slot. And housecleaning days? It's ridiculous. Mr. Parker helps as much as he can, but really it is almost like I am a single parent through the day because he's sleeping since he works overnights, so two days a week he can help out. That is when stuff gets done that I can't/ didn't get done. The kids help some too, but I've realized that I have been so busy just DOING STUFF and feeling like I am the only one that CAN do stuff, I forgot that I have three capable children who can do chores other than the most basic of chores. I'm not doing them any favors by not letting them help out a little more around the house. 

I have been driving myself crazy for years not being as organized as I should be, not being able to find contact info for people/places, remembering doctor's appointments at the last minute (which is really bad when you don't drive and only use public transit and causes a lot of rescheduling and making of excuses), procrastinating because I am so busy doing other things. Also, the whole WHAT'S FOR DINNER? Thing. Almost every day I dread dinner because I don't know what to make, I have to run to the store for something, it is just unpleasant. 

I used to have it DOWN. I used to plan menus by the month, and we never had the same meal twice in a month. I had my shopping list down, I never had to go to the store because I had forgotten something. I had breakfast stuff ready to go before bed, so when I woke it was easy to get started. I cooked extra at dinner so I could freeze some for lunch another day. I scheduled field trips, play dates, and library days for story time and I NEVER had overdue library books. I had baking days so there were always homemade muffins/ cookies/ breads in the house. I planned EVERYTHING. It was a lot of work, but my days were relatively stress free. I knew how much time it took me to do something, got it done, and moved on to the next thing. Geez, I was even THIN then, because I SCHEDULED MY EXERCISE TIME. 

It might sound a little crazy to some people. But when you're home schooling, things need to be planned. And now? I have even more people, because I have another kid now, and more animals to care for and clean up after. I miss having that discipline. I miss having that order. 

So in comes my massive overstock of office supplies I bought with the intention of getting super organized. A giant binder, some dividers, lots of paper, sheet protectors, etc. I am getting to work. I have two weeks to get it done, because I want to start the new year borderline psychotically organized. 

Unwanted Things, Complaints

I had to take my daughter to a doctor's appointment today. It was surprisingly un-traumatic. One bus, and when we got there the wait was not really long at all. *Maybe* 15 minutes past our appointment time. (It is a little sad when someone is happy about only having to wait 15 minutes past the appointment time, but there it is). I was annoyed by someone in the waiting room, because I was not at all in the mood to be friendly and chatty. I was knitting furiously and trying not to worry about what was going on with my kid. A large number of people don't seem to understand that not everyone likes to engage in chitchat with complete strangers while they are counting stitches and rows and focusing on the task at hand. There was a lot of questions about what I was knitting, what I had knit in the past, what I planned on knitting in the future, and then some discussion about the merits of the music of Boy George. How that came up I can't quite recall. All of my attempts at politely not talking were in vain, because the chatter kept coming. I nodded and smiled, and came very close to just saying "I am in a fit of panic and also a little despair, I would like to NOT talk" but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Lesson learned: ear buds should be worn in situations such as that. I was already stressing, and the fact that he would not pick up on the fact that I didn't want to talk made my anxiety way worse. I couldn't leave! I had to stay there and wait for DD's name to be called, and he just would not shut up.

Normally I am a friendly person, but I have been feeling out of sorts, and I was extra stressed due to DD's issue. A doctor's office is one of those places people should not have to engage in idle chatter. Because sometimes people are there because they are going through some serious shit.

Unwanted Advice I Have Been Unceremoniously Given

1. Said abruptly, upon meeting my extremely shy 5 year old for the second time: "Um, YEAH. You need to get him checked out. Something is WRONG with him. I'm not saying bad wrong, but I know shy kids, and that isn't shyness."

2. "You can't handle those dogs, I mean, PITBULLS. You're such a small woman!"

3. "Take the kitten to the shelter to be euthanized."

4. "Really, you should not be a vegetarian. It's UNHEALTHY. We evolved to eat MEAT. Have a steak."