Monday

Today is Monday. Today marks the first day back into the swing of things as a mother of three. Unfortunately, it is also marred by the end of an icky cold that got to everyone in the family - including Benjamin. So right after getting Benjamin used to sleeping in a bed by himself, he's sick again and all over the place with sleeping and eating. Plus he's so stuffy he needs to be upright again, which means even less sleep for me and my cold.

On the upside, however, I had a fairly good morning. Day one of working out at home, which I've never done before. I bought a workout kit that came with 5 DVDs: including yoga, tai chi, fitness, pilates and personal training. A different workout for each morning, to keep things interesting. This morning I thought I'd keep things low key with a short yoga workout (I'm still feeling the end of this illness). Caleb thought it was great and did all the moves along with me! If you're toddler hasn't done a workout with you before, you've got to try it. So cute, so hilarious!

After the workout Benjamin needed a feed, which coincided nicely with a radio broadcast I like to listen to (Focus on the Family). So by 9:30 I had worked out both my body and my spirit. Next on the agenda: cleaning.

I instituted Monday as cleaning day last year when Colin started preschool and it was just Caleb home with me. Caleb likes to watch/help me clean, so it's a relationship that works out well. While Benjamin was awake, he sat in his bouncy chair and watched Caleb and I dart around the main floor. I got through the cleaning the windows, dusting, vacuuming and half the sweeping before Benjamin had had enough. (And to be honest - I was tired by that time, too!) So I still have to mop, clean the kitchen counters, vacuum upstairs and do the bathroom, but I'm thinking I'll leave that for another day this week. Oh - I've also been loading up the laundry in between everything else. So all in all, I figure I can check off cleaning for today.

Things that didn't work out so well:

1) Nap timing. Caleb has been down for half an hour and Benjamin is due to wake up. Once Benjamin is feeling better I hope to coincide afternoon naps a little better.

2) Dinner plans. Because much of what we eat is frozen, it takes a little advance planning, which didn't happen. This isn't such a big deal, because we always have stuff for stir-fry. Not James' and the boys' favourite meal, but it is mine. Maybe I should make Monday stir-fry day, so that I don't have to worry about thinking ahead into the week on Sundays. I like having Sundays off.

Last week I organized for my friend's son to walk Colin home from school, at least for the month of February. We will pay him a small amount (it's only a 10 minute walk, twice a week), and it saves me from having to wake up the boys from nap and bundle them up to pick up Colin from school. Plus it's REALLY cold (-15C with the wind chill lately!) and I don't want to take Benjamin out for that long if I can avoid it. Today is the first day this will happen, so I'm anxious to see how it goes.

This entry feels more diary like than journal, but it's good to take stock of where you are, once in a while. I like a little order among the chaos in my life, and this helps me see the accomplishments and analyze the things which could be better. All in all, it has been a very fruitful exercise!