ToT: Super Women!

I am fully aware I missed last week . . . it happens. But instead of being perpetually behind, I am just going to jump right in to this week and add last week's topic to the interminable list of 

posts I've written only my mind. One day I will actually write it on this blog. Maybe.

 That's the goal.

This week, in honor of International Women's Day, I had a few ideas . . . writing about women who inspire us, women's issues dear to our hearts, looking back at the women who came before us . . . a few others, too. But instead, we're going practical and light-hearted. Since I find each of our Together on Tuesday bloggers to be Super Women in their own rights, I wanted some of their secrets! And since we're all human, I wanted the shortcuts, too. I'm really looking forward to hearing what these ladies have to say!

As for me . . . some days I certainly feel more super than others. Juggling being a wife, mom, daughter, friend, family member, social worker, singer, all-around decent human being is enough to make my head spin. And while it's a different kind of balancing act, I readily admit that is is in many ways nothing in comparison with challenges many women face around the corner and around the world. (And I just have the one kid!) For me, one of my secrets to keeping it together (for the most part) and leaving space to be and think and care for others is to keep things as simple as possible. If you know me, you know that's kind of a joke . . . most of the time, my brain is anything but simple. But since my brain is all over the place,  the rest of me really can't be. Around here, the key to keeping things simple is our weekly schedule.

Super Woman Secret: The Weekly Schedule

It took some doing, but now we have a rhythm with this thing. Sundays, Ben and I sit down for a few minutes. We go over our schedules for the week, and I fill out the color-coded dry-erase calendar. These 5 minutes of planning are so helpful, as our schedules vary from day to day and week to week. We like to be able to look ahead and see something fun planned, or when we have some free time to just relax. And it's nice to erase it when the day is done!

Built in to this, we have little things like family movie nights (which is currently about 20 minutes on Fridays), a little date night, bills, etc. It's hard to be consistent with these, as I often find myself working in the evening or there's always one more thing to do, but it feels good to have it on our radar.

After we plan our schedule for the week, we plan our meals and finish the grocery list. There was a time when this was fun, but after J was born it just became one more daunting task on the to-do list, and it kept coming back every week . . . until we adapted a weekly dinner rotation from Simplicity Parenting (I highly recommend this book!). This has saved so much time and stress! We have a loose plan of what to eat every week, and we just fill in our menu based on what we have, what's in season, what's on sale. Of course, nothing is rigid--we get to cook whatever we want--but the framework takes the stress out of planning and shopping. So, for example, our rotating menu: Mondays-Mexican; Tuesdays-Soup/Salad; Weds-Smoothies (yep!); Thurs-Sandwich or Pasta; Friday-Take Out or leftover; Saturday-Wildcard; Sunday-Pizza. So Monday could be tacos or huevos rancheros or black bean soup or nachos or enchiladas . . . . you get the idea. 

The dinner rotation especially has illustrated one of the points of Simplicity Parenting: when choices are limited and focused, creativity thrives. This has been true for us--we are eating more variety now than in previous months, with far less stress. I even squeeze in making dessert about once a week, which is fun for everyone! 

So there you have it.

Of course, no one can be Super Woman ALL the time . . .

Super Woman Shortcut: Television

You heard it here, folks. The Clarks never did get rid of the TV. I am still torn about this. I see lots of value in ditching it, I do. But my husband LOVES sitcoms and OSU football. I love snuggling in and listening to him laugh. And both of us work from home--me most of the time, Ben at least once a week. So my kid (who wasn't going to watch any TV before he was 2 back when he was a hypothetical kid) watches a couple of shows a day. On days like today when he naps 30 minutes and spends the rest of the day fussing because he doesn't feel well (poor peanut!), TV is my only hope of getting anything done. We keep it simple--it's usually either Little Bill (it's as close as I can get to new Cosby Show episodes!), Sesame Street, or Baby Signing Time (he is OBSESSED). Curious George gets a nod now and again, and Pooh Bear and Snoopy make appearances on special occasions (see family movie night, above). He can get pretty into his 'SHOW', so we have to keep the options limited. Thankfully, he's usually happy to find something to play with when it's time for 'ba-bye, show,' and he's playing independently more and more. It's fun to snuggle him while he laughs at Pooh Bear spitting bees out of his mouth, too, but I want to be so careful that TV remains just a small part of his life . . . I'm thinking of starting a TV token system like my lovely friend Cara uses, where he gets so many tokens per week, and tokens = TV time, and once they are gone, they are gone. Obviously, that's for when he's a little older, but I sometimes wonder if Ben and I could use it too. I like watching our handful of sitcoms together, and I like my food competition shows (why???), but I can get a little silly sometimes. In my defense . . . I've read articles stating that people in abstract, open-ended fields (like social work or any kind of human service) need experiences that are concrete and tidy and have an end--you know, like 30 minute television shows or silly food competitions--especially when the work is heavy. I definitely increased my TV watching and decreased my guilt after I heard that, but still . . . I am really up for ditching the TV when we move and going straight to Netflix, and I think we can still access most of the good stuff this way. But until then, yep, we watch a little too much TV. 

NOW . . . to check out the Super Woman Secrets and Shortcuts of my blogging friends!

What about you?