Working Mom Accomplishments & Time Savers

Last night something wonderful happened--I finished my book!  I wish I meant a book I was writing, as that would truly be a sense of accomplishment.  Sadly, it was just a silly murder mystery that I have been reading for so long I've renewed it at least twice.  My husband teases me that I read 3 pages and pass out, and it's not far from the truth.

My job is tiring.  At the end of the day I feel weary.  I've long ago used up my patience and when I crawl into bed at, let's pretend it's at least 9 pm, I am ready to succumb to the day.

So, yes finding out after all these weeks who killed Joy Something-or-Other (I've already forgotten most of the plot) did feel really, really good for about three seconds until I conked out.

In honor of those precious three seconds at the end of every day I've made a list of all the ways I try to save time each week.

Make ahead lunches.  This week: wraps!

Make a menu at the beginning of the week.  Probably everyone does this, but it's not something I did until I met my husband, it's genius.

My job allows me the flexibility to work late one night a week.  I usually leave work at 3 pm, but one night a week I will stay later and plan and organize for the following week.  I never, ever leave work Friday until everything is all ready for the following week.  Then I don't give my job a thought over the weekend.

Work through lunch.  I started doing this out of necessity as all my friends that share my lunch hour were out on maternity leave, and I was sitting in the creepy teacher's lounge with only the giant rat trap for company.  So off to my classroom I went, where I can eat and work on an IEP at the same time.  Trying very carefully to not leave any crumbs, of course.  No giant rat traps for me please!

10 minute speed clean.  I read this in a magazine once and it is brilliant.  When I get home from work I spend 10 minutes tidying up.  Sometimes I just have time to wash dishes, but other times I'll wipe the bathroom counters off and swiffer.  My house is usually not filthy as a result.

Since I have the luxury of not working for three months at a time, I know that mom's who stay at home fill up their days just as much as those of us who slog off to work every day.  So I'd love to hear more time saving tips from mom's everywhere!

My Blog's New Focus- the Imperfect Life

 You may have noticed my blog has a new tag line, "Perfectly Imperfect."  The other day as I was stumbleupon-ing my way through the Internet I came across a website that detailed, across pages and pages of text, how to clean your house each week.  My first thought as I read it was, "ooooh I should do this."  My second thought was, "what the hell?"  I relish my role as wife, mother and keeper of the home above all other things in my life, but come on! Weekly toothbrush scrubbing between tiles in the bathroom?  I'm not doing that.  Probably ever, most certainly not weekly.

It's a common theme across the web; blog after blog of home baked goodies, intricate meals, hand knit sweaters, decoupaged end tables and mobiles made out of paint samples (5 of them, yo).  And I'm not knocking them, I admire these people whole-heartily, I just can't do it.

My hope for this blog is a place where you can find meal plans, parenting and working mom stories, something to think about or if nothing else a sense of superiority to my woeful attempts to knit Callah a sweater or make dinner every night.

Eventually I'd like to have horizontal tabs organized by cooking posts or mommy posts, but true to the nature of my blog, I'm not there yet.  In the meantime, stick with me as I embark on a blogging adventure fraught with mistakes and imperfections!