I feel like one common theme among my blogs and thoughts lately has been fitting it all in. This is a hotly gossiped topic among moms and athletes and athlete-moms. How in the world do you fit it in? Sometimes it can all seem so tricky to just fit everything in and I suppose that is where priorities come into play. Many nights post-kids bedtime I find myself sticky, exhausted and complaining to Alan, "I didn't even have 2 minutes to shower today." I could not find anytime to pick up those overdue shirts at the dry cleaner or buy that shaving cream that has been at the top of my Target list for over two weeks now. And that stack of bills on the counter that are all ready to go out minus the stamps, yeah they require me to go to the postoffice or a major Supermarket (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods don't carry stamps, darn it). So I never got my 2 minute shower, but I did manage to run for 90 minutes and cook dinner for another 120 minutes (in shifts - prep some here, chop some there, saute some later, put it all together in the oven even later).
It is all about priorities. I have come to realize that my kids are priority #1. Making sure they are well fed and well rested are the main goal. When those two items are reached, everything else seems to fall in place. Many days, just assuring those two things mean we don't leave the house much. Isaac tends to nap about 9-noon, we eat lunch together, then Cesia is ready to nap 1-3 and just as she wakes Isaac is ready for nap #2 from 3-4. He wakes hungry, the girls are starving and cranky and dinner commences by 5pm and then straight to bath and bedtime routine. Somehow the days just fly by. How do I find time to run? We squeeze it in. More often than not I am dressed in running clothes the entire day, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to load up the stroller and hit the streets with our triple-wide jogger.
Lately those runs have been "Nap Runs." These are my favorite -- double check marks off the to-do list type runs. Kid needs an afternoon nap, might as well run! Girls are cranky and need some quiet time, let's go run! Isaac is sick (yet again, thanks to preschool germs brought home by big sisters) and Mama needs a break from holding a 20-lb lethargic miserable baby, load up the stroller and run run run!
We spent yesterday afternoon in sunny Santa Monica visiting some of our first "parent" friends whom I met during prenatal yoga classes while pregnant with Adara 5 years ago now. Five years later and many birthday celebrations and playdates enjoyed over the years with our 5 total kids (3 of ours, 2 of theirs), we had our final westside visit before they move north to Seattle for new jobs and new adventures in just a few short weeks. I always take advantage of the "flats" in Santa Monica while visiting them. As much as I love living just minutes from the mountains and have become a total trail runner, I am amazed by my speed and ease every time I take the kids for a run on the westside boardwalks. It's so flat and fast! 90 minutes with Isaac felt like 20 yesterday, as I zipped in and out of rollerbladers, cyclists and skaters along the Pacific Ocean the whole time watching my little 1 year old peacefully dream. It was one of those picture-perfect, couldn't have planned it better days, where we were able to fit it all in. Isaac got his 3 hour morning nap while the rest of us did house chores, Alan got in a 2 hr mountain bike ride, I ran 90 minutes, they saw Alice in Wonderland at the Santa Monica playhouse, we all caught up over a healthy delicious dinner at Blue Plate on Montana Ave and the kids fell asleep on the drive back over the hill. It was a good Saturday and everyone is happy, well rested and well fed. That is priorities.
How do you fit it all in? Any special tips or tricks? What sits at the top of your priority list? Mine looks like this:
#1 Family
#2 Running
#3 Cooking
#4 Nursery School Board Duties
#5 Blogging
#6 Cleaning/Errands/Chores
#7 A big long MIS-CELL-AN-E-OUS (which, these days, includes showering) : )
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