The Week That Was September 19

When I look at my iCal page for the week it is bristling with appointments and things scheduled but I certainly didn't get to all of it. I did get to the medical appointments but not to the gym or Weight Watchers. I did make a big effort though to get things done here at home so that I can enjoys the two week school holidays with the boys and so that I am on the way to being organised for life as a relief teacher which begins in two weeks.
I've also been enjoying some individual time with Eric as we plowed through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I was reading him a chapter a night but he's now finished on his own and I have to finish it myself tonight before we start tomorrow on HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. We also did some craft together this afternoon. I suppose it isn't the most manly thing to be doing - ripping up floral rice paper and gluing it to a ceramic jug and bowl set but it is good for his fine motor skills!
I'm having sleep issues which are making my mornings extremely difficult but I'll be working on getting a good routine going during the holidays.

The Week That Was

I seem to have done a lot of "tail chasing" this week. My motivation levels are really up and down so I seem to have tackled small parts of many tasks without getting a whole lot done. So I've done part of the washing. I've been to the gym only once and I planned and cooked meals for part of the week. I feel a bit guilty about this because I certainly don't have work to get in the way of me getting things done at home but everyone keeps telling me that it will take time to establish a routine.
On Wednesday I went to a social Knitters group at Threads and More. It seems to be a very social group and I got a lot of knitting done. I also got a lot of knitting done last night while I watcher Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with Eric (who has read the book!). I went to a Trivia Night at school on Friday night where I sat at the Prep parents table. We didn't do particularly well at the trivia but we certainly had a good time.
The biggest task was probably the Little Athletics Sign-On day yesterday where we signed up 77 athletes which is a bit down on last year's numbers but still promising. I was much less stressed this year as I know the registrar job now and I had spent a lot of time getting prepared. Eric came and helped as a "model" for the uniform and to hand out the extra water bottles and ticket books for families with more than one child. He was very useful to have around so I'm hoping to persuade him to do it all again next week when we are likely to be even busier.
We packed about 100 goodie bags to give out at the sign on yesterday and today I went back for a Little A's working bee where I packed about 100 more. It is good to have all of that "stuff" out of my house after only a week. 300 water bottles take up a LOT of room.
My goals for the coming week involve exercise - there's no reason why I can't go to the gym 6 days a week as it is only a 30 minute session and cooking - I've planned meals, something to bake and a salad that I can make and eat over a few days. I hope to be reporting in with some more progress next week!

When Working Isn't Working

On Friday I made a heart wrenching but necessary decision to resign from my position at school. I've come to a time in my life when I know I need to spend some time looking after myself and my family. I've been having issues from migraines, stress and being overweight and I need to do something about it because it is affecting my quality of life too much. And when my quality of life suffers so does that of my family. So I've changed from teacher to "stay at home Mum" for a time and I'm planning to do a year or so of relief teaching before looking for another full time position.

I'm feeling very fragile about making this move because I'm leaving behind a wonderful school community and being out on the big wide world on my own (aside from when I am at school in my "mum" role). I've been very anxious and my GP thinks I am actually grieving for what I've left behind.

Being a full time homemaker is actually a daunting prospect as I haven't done it for any great length of time before. Somehow I managed to get through a huge amount of work at school every day but I get very little done at home. Part of that is the distractions lurking around at home - it is very tempting to while away too many hours on the computer or to flop in front of TV. The routines at school are what help me keep going at school and the minimal distractions so I'm going to try to implement some routines at home as advocated by FlyLady. I've got a lot to get done to get our home and family running smoothly so I'm making lots of lists and hopefully I'll have a lot of positives to report on here.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the nurse that I see to discuss my anxiety issues and I'm planning to get stuck into Little Athletics Preparations as well as doing some housework. Organising the food is another high priority. I need to have a good look at what we've got in the cupboards and fridge and start doing proper meal planning again.

Back to Routine

School begins for me tomorrow with a Pupil Free Day and it may as well be beginning for the boys because they have to be out the door with me at the same time to be minded by my parents. A and I have had big discussions tonight and one of the topics was the need for a regular routine rather than taking each day as it comes. So I went back to a routine I planned the the start of the year, tweaked it and we'll give it another go. It means I only get one longer afternoon at school which is difficult but I need to get the boys home to do homework regularly - even D is going to have home readers this term so the trade off may have to be some weekend work and sticking rigidly to the early mornings especially when the boys have before school care.
The other big ticket items on my agenda are a regular sleep routine and getting to the gym regularly so we've got gym times in the routine. I'll report back here so people can cheer me on when I get to the gym, and cheer me on even more when I lose weight!
So here's the plan for school weeks in the McNamara household:

Mondays - Before School Care, Drop boys to Grandma and go to gym
Tuesdays - Afternoon tea at the shopping centre and library visit/small grocery shop
Wednesdays - After School Care/Staff Meeting, Gym
Thursdays - A picks up boys, Weight Watchers, Hockey Training (for the boys)
Fridays - Leave school at 3:30pm - good day for play dates!
Saturdays - Hockey at 8:30am (for the boys), Gym

Wish me luck for getting up early in the morning!