Before I had Avery, I wasn't much of a planner, and I did things as they came up, and 'spur of the moment.' I thought that system would work for me when I had a child, because it had always worked in the past. For the first year I had Avery, I really struggled because I had no plan, and felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants to keep up! I read a lot about parenting, but still felt very reactive. It took me about a year to realize that even though I was home, our day needed a plan and structure. I used to think that a schedule would be restricting, but it was actually the opposite! It actually gave me a sense of purpose and fulfillment for what I was doing staying home with Avery. Honestly, I feel like this has been my biggest accomplishment for the year.
The benefits for Avery are:
- She is BY FAR happier when she is on a schedule and has a sense of what's happening next.
- She's a great sleeper - sleeps 8pm-8am, and has a 2 hour afternoon nap.
- She's a good eater (unless she's sick) and she drinks close to 2 cups of milk/day.
- When we are off schedule for a day or two, she can easily get back on schedule without too much trouble.
The benefits for me are:
- I have a happier child most of the time.
- I know what my day is going to look like and can plan activities for me and Avery more easily.
- I know that I will have time for a run, shower, bath, etc. (if you aren't a parent, this might seem weird, but sometimes in the beginning, I used to stand in the shower extra long, because I wasn't sure when my next one would be!)
- I have been able to keep my house cleaner, by doing "weekly rotations" of cleaning chores.
- I have an easier time cooking and planning meals.
Speaking of cooking, this is another one of my accomplishments for the year. I'm not sure that I would have said that I enjoyed cooking when I worked. Most nights Travis would make dinner, because he would get home before me, and he was hungry! I could make a few things, and sometimes cooked on weekends, but normally Travis still helped or gave me ideas. When I first stayed home, I used to really stress about mealtimes, and the grocery store! Honestly, Travis and I used to always go together before Avery was born. I rarely went by myself, let alone decided the meals we'd have.
This took me awhile to figure out too, but I think I can finally say that I'm a decent cook, and I also enjoy it! I've made enough recipes to easily come up with weekly menus, and I also don't have any problem coming up with foods Avery will enjoy too. For instance, after we got home late from being out of town Christmas Eve, I was able to 'whip up' great meals for us to enjoy Christmas Day-with very little planning. I made us chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and chicken Marsala for dinner. I have even made great meals using venison (although the invention Pinterest has greatly helped my cooking skills too.) I'm pleased with my current cooking skills and looking forward to new recipes in 2014.
I've also accomplished a lot physically. In the spring and early summer, I ran a half marathon, and did my first two sprint triathlons. I ran some races with the stroller, and ran in a racing series in the fall where I place 3rd in my age group. I also made it back to my pre-baby weight. It only took 20 months hahaha. It's not like I was a lot over but my weigh had fluctuated about 5-10 pounds over my baby weight, and I finally had enough. I thought it would fall off on its own, but turns out I had to be diligent about counting calories for about 2 months (September and October mostly.) When I went to my annual doctor appoint in November, I was down 11 pounds from the previous year, which was a huge accomplishment for me. I feel like I know what I need to do to lose weight in the future, and running is great for weight maintenance.
Overall, I had a great year in 2013, and I'm proud of the things I've accomplished.
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