Summer when you’re a kid is the best. Summer when you have kids is slightly more complicated. Great, yes, but also busy, tiresome and definitely not a break. Does anyone else with school age kids feel like summer is one of the most hectic times of the year? Coming in a close second to the holidays. Not so coincidentally another time when kids are all out of school.
I thrive on routine. I like to assume my kids do as well, although I’m pretty sure that lately they’re thriving on popsicles, coercing the babysitter into taking them to target and buying as many movies as possible through our cable subscription.
Someone recently asked me what my favorite time of the day is. My answer was 8 am. That’s when my routine starts at work – the time when it’s quiet, no emails are coming through yet and you can sit down, make a to-do list and get ready to conquer the day. But during the summer, 8 am is my least favorite time of day. It’s the time when I’m trying to get Blake and Reese to decide between watching Muppet Babies or Peppa Pig, get their indecisive little minds to settle on a breakfast option while also attempting to look presentable for the day ahead. In short, it’s chaos.
You always read how people set their intentions for the day first thing in the morning. That your morning sets the tone for your day. Well my intention is set by hoping I don’t lose my cool on one of my kids until after they’ve put their shoes on. Seriously, why does putting shoes on have to be such a THING every, single morning? Between that and brushing my kids hair, you’d think I was sending them to a torture chamber all before 9 am. No wonder the rest of the day is such a frazzled mess.
It’s not to say that I don’t love the chance to hang out with them more (you know, when they’re not screaming or fighting or insulting one another), it’s just the totally lack of routine gets me entirely out of my element.
Here’s a quick peek at my OCD but I can’t even write a to-do list if I don’t have the right pen. And without the list, I start floundering from one task to another with no real guide so at the end of the day I’ve wondered if I’ve accomplished anything at all. So getting started on the wrong foot is something that throws me off my game quickly. Not a great thing when you’re trying to run a business.
That being said, it’s nice to be able to work from anywhere these days. A couple weeks ago, I attempted to work at the pool. It was much more productive than I anticipated – knocking tasks off the list in between a barrage of snack bar requests, lost towels and Reese’s incessant need to switch between her bathing suit and clothes every 20 minutes.
But that whole work/life balance – I’m not sure if it’s ever balanced. Someone is always on the short side of the stick, the pendulum doesn’t stay right in the middle for more than a couple minutes. As a type A people pleaser, that gives me anxiety to no end. But I guess that’s just one of the things by kids are teaching me in their own way. That you can try to have it all, as long as having it all includes finding their goggles and letting them get one more popsicle at the snack bar.
Stevie Button Up Twist Blouse – Dress & Dwell
Old Navy Buttoned Skirt (old, almost identical here)
Talbots Mini Suede Block Heel c/o
Target Tote Bag (comes in brown too and is less than $40!)
On a somewhat related note, I’ve been looking for a work bag that could hold all my crap without looking junky or like a work-out bag. When I stumbled upon this one at Target, it was like the clouds opened and a little ray of sunshine poured down on it. I get SO many compliments on it an it looks way more expensive than it is, which is under $40. Inspired by this find, I’ve pulled a few other solid Target finds below.
Favorite Target Finds Under $40
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