I used to hate nights where I had nothing going on. Just being at home with the TV or a good book was a fate worse than death. (Ok, maybe a little dramatic, but you get the picture.) I would do anything to be going somewhere, doing something or having someone over. My 20-something self got absolutely no pleasure from “alone time”.
Fast forward to today – my 20-something self would be thrilled. Here’s what our evenings looks like this week:
Sunday – Superbowl party at my brothers (PACKERS WIN!!!! YAHOO!!!)
Monday – Basketball for Jacob
Tuesday – Ballet for Delaney
Wednesday – Bible study for Travis and I (just started Dave Ramsey’s study…very excited!)
Thursday – Basketball for Jacob, business dinner for me
Friday – Date night, dinner out with friends
Saturday – Business dinner for me
Whew! That’s a lot of activity. It’s not usually that bad, but for the most part, Wednesday nights are usually our only weeknight of nothingness. My 30-something self LOVES a weeknight of nothingness. After dinner, homework, and baths, the kids are tucked in bed by 8pm and Travis and I get 2-3 hours of nothing-to-do-togetherness….bliss.
About a year ago I spent the best $6.99 of my life. I invested in a whiteboard calendar for our refrigerator. I keep everything on there that pertains to our family. It’s in a central place where everyone can see it. The kids read it, visitors check it out and most importantly, Travis pays attention to it. It’s really made it easier for everyone to know what to expect and when we have to be somewhere. And yes, that picture is of my actual calendar for February, 2011. 🙂
I use a computerized calendar on my laptop and my blackberry to keep track the rest of my life. Everything from the refrigerator calendar goes digital as well as all of my work appointments, conference calls and tasks. The digital calendar is also great for what’s coming up next month and in the future as my refrigerator calendar is just one month at a time.
This has worked FANTASTIC for our family…what works for you? How do you keep track of your family’s crazy busy life?