The Secrets to a Sane Mommy, Part 1

Ok, to be honest, there are a LOT of secrets to being a sane mommy, most of which I am definitely not privy to yet. We all struggle with feelings of being lost, overwhelmed, frustrated, under-appreciated, tired, and the list just keeps going. All of those things can make us feel totally crazy from time to time (or, just maybe, all the time). It makes total sense; after all we are trying to juggle healthy kids, a (somewhat) clean house, a happy partner, communication with family, organization of schedules, paying bills... often all at the same time.

It's has been really easy for me to get drowned in all that it takes to be a mom and home-manager. After feeling completely at the end of my rope a while back, I decided to find out what I could do to take my life and my sanity back. Some of these things were so simple, yet difficult, so I thought I'd share them here with you.

The first secret to sanity is SCHEDULING.

I know for some mommies, this is just a given. It wasn't for me. I don't know if it's because I'm a young mama or just because I am a recovering slob. Either way, when my husband pointed out that I might benefit from scheduling my day, I was surprised to find how much it helped. What's funny is that a schedule for the kiddo was just a part of my job as a nanny but somehow when it came to my own child, it was alot more difficult.

In order to figure out how to schedule my day, I first started by listing all the things that I wanted to do during the day, both with and without Little A. My list looked something like this...

• Daily cleaning
• Learning time with Little A
• Naptime
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Snacks
• Outings
• Blogging time

At first it was little overwhelming. Where was I going to put all the things I needed to do in a days time? 

Well, in the next step I filled in a table, Mon through Fri across the top and half hour increments down the side. I put in everything that I knew would happen on certain days (ex. library story time on Wednesdays at 11am). Then I put in when Little A would wake up, eat and nap, as I knew roughly where these things would go. From there it was pretty easy to fill in the rest. 

There were some tips I had picked up along the way that really helped. 1) Try to incorporate your little one in any chores you need to do. It may take longer this way but it's worth it because you should 2) try not to do chores while your kiddo naps. Being a mommy is so stressful and takes so much energy that you need that down time to breath. Your child does not benefit from a mommy that feels overdone and stretched too thin so make sure to take care of yourself during that precious quiet time. 3) Try to be flexible with your schedule. Don't make it so loose that you are floundering, not knowing what to do but make sure to leave it open enough to take into account your child's wants and needs. If you know that your kiddo takes a half hour to leave the house on occasion, that extra wiggle room will come in extra handy and make your day alot less hectic.

I know that this post has been really wordy but the concepts are pretty simple. Let's recap:

1. Make a list of what you want to get accomplished.
2. Fill in spaces in your schedule that are a given.
3. Then fill in spaces that you know, roughly, what time they happen each day (eating, sleeping, etc)
4. Fill in the rest of the odds and ends (including time for you)
5. And don't forget the little tips above

I hope that you all find this helpful. I know that this process was so revolutionary for my day with Little A. 

Do you have any other tips or tricks to being a sane mommy? Write your tips in the comment section.

Check out Part 2 of this series!