My HOLIDAY SCHEDULE… #MomPreneur Diaries 15

I am such a Planner.

Even though e dey my body before, two of my Chick Mentors helped pull it out especially in the context of being CoachE’ and that would be DDK and Pastor M. One of the soundest counsels I received when I started CoachE’Squad was

CREATE A STRUCTURE AND AS YOU EXPAND YOU CAN CONTINUE TO ADJUST IT TO FIT YOUR NEW LEVEL…

Both of them, told me the same thing at different times.

I can’t imagine living life casually. I won’t even be quarter productive. So I am always planning and putting things in structures if I am going to be productive.

This is even more important because I have a job I do from home. If I am not careful, everything will just be jagajaga and there will be no boundaries. I can decide today to sleep at 9 and wake at 10am , after all there is no Oga to report to, or Office to go to. So I am always structuring things and adjusting them as need be.

This morning, I found myself structuring my life for the next 2 to 4 weeks, through the holiday. To a large extent, I can PREDICT my timings and work so I can PUT it all into a structure that guarantees a PRODUCTIVE and FUN holiday.

Then I heard the Holy Spirit ask me to share on my blog TODAY… Dunno who this is for but YOU ARE WELCOME haha. Was gonna not blog today but hey, God loves you baby.

Oh I have another blog instruction which will come tomorrow, but only those on my App will be able to enjoy that one, so download already…

 

Ok on to the plan. Of course, this is not set in stone as stuff can make me adjust (like if hubby decides he would rather we go to Dubai this Christmas, HEYYYYY…)

So my son closes school tomorrow and KingDaveed being around takes the hours between 7am and 3pm from basically 10 to 10million watts and decibels.

NO KIDDIN’.

It then means that I have to find ways to ensure that I don’t spend the whole day chasing after him…

Now, my AMAZING HELP who I thought was travelling for Christmas is NOT TRAVELLING and this changes the game incredibly. Infact, I had it all planned out. She is from Taraba and even though she is entitled to just about a week, I was going to give her 2weeks off cos I know how expensive the journey can get so I wanted her to maximize it. When I thought she was going, I got out my calendar and checked out how many days hubby would have to work and I would have to stay home alone. It came to SIX DAYS. I can’t handle it WELL with these two boys so I got THREE of my mentees to pick TWO DAYS EACH and come help me out. Then if for some reason, hubs was gonna travel during this break, we would have packed up and gone to my sister’s home. No way I was going to TRY to handle it on my own if i could help it.

So with that done, I called my help and that’s how she said she didn’t plan to go.

Mehn, I had chills.

Not to Taraba and not to her relative in Lagos here. She planned to be here ALL THROUGH. Look at God.

After all my homehelp drama which I shared here and here ( I should update that story cos the one I ended with later turned up with her own drama too ooo), LOOK AT GOD!!!

Now that TOTALLY CHANGES THE ENTIRE GAME, a Help that stays through December.

Phew, Hallelujah and AMEN!!!

OK so with my son on holiday and my help staying, I also considered other parameters I can help

Like NEPA!!!

You see, I work from home and I have three light sources… NEPA, Gen and Inverter. These days even though NEPA gives us light about 6hours a day, I’m grateful that for the first time, they have a timetable. I LOVE the predictability of that so I can plan better, unlike the random giving.

As a prudent wife, I like to maximize NEPA times and then whatever power it gives the inverter by charging it, without having to run the gen. That way, I get to save some of my housekeeping money. I’ve done the FUEL daily thing and I don’t wanna do it again if I can help it.

2 of those NEPA hours are 4 to 6am. What this means is that I gotta be up and alert then.

I REALLY wanna start sleeping a bit more and no longer for 4 or 5hours. I want 6hours at least so it means I have to sleep early. My bestie Vee actually warned me against these short sleep hours and then I started to have headaches once I woke. So wisdom demands I make amends.

Breaking down will be the WORST thing to happen to me right now.

So it means I have to sleep at 10pm, which incidentally is when NEPA goes out at night (8 to 10pm for the Night shift)

So I wake at 4, pray and do my Bible study, work a bit, workout from about 5.40 to 6.40am. I do a 5am feed for my baby every morning which guarantees another 3 to 4hours of sleep to 9am or 10am on REALLY GOOD DAYS. Once he sleeps then I go workout.

Ok so these days, I’m doing workout videos that are between 10 and 15mins short and then a short challenge (push ups and mountain climbers) right in my living room, both for  20mins before 6am when NEPA strikes and then I wait a couple minutes to get bright, then go down to skip 2000.

By 7am, I’ve showered and am ready for the day.

On school days, KingDaveed wakes at 6.15am but with the holiday, he has to wake later, and to ensure that, it means he has to sleep later. And to ensure that, siesta which I normally don’t allow for him (cos he sleeps at 7/7.30pm at night) will now become a MUST through the holiday. It will also ensure some downtime at home.

Ok, so 7am I’m ready for the day, and with both boys still asleep, I can start getting the day’s work done. KingDaveed should be up at about 8am, then we pray and he has a bath, breakfast and the likes.

By 10am, ElJohn too should have had his bath and then I intend to steal away for 2hours to my driving school before 11.

The last time I drove was in Uni so I signed up for a 2week refresher course.

My baby has some kinda predictable  routine a couple of hours after he wakes. He is usually non-fussy for the first half of the day, so long as he is full so once I ensure there is food for him, I can be out and back before 1pm. My help can handle them both as she really knows how to sing, play and dance to keep both occupied.

I make sure that she is done with her housework for the day before i leave so that she concentrates on only them kids…

Now with the holiday, I also have slowed down on work so once I’m home, I’ll spend some good time with KingDaveed.

I especially want him to master colors well this holiday. He still mixes up purple, pink, orange and co.

Plus we will just play too and watch Barney. I actually really like Barney.

He should catch some 1.5 to 2hours of siesta at about 3.30/4pm and I get back to work. Most of my work these days is planning and structuring per 2018. So much is unfolding then and so I gotta spend some good time planning and being intentional.

Planning is actually a lot of work cos you have to THINK!!! Like, really THINK!!!

As my KingDaveed waketh from his siesta, I’m also shutting down for the day, or at least for that time.  I can just relax, read a book (Currently reading 5M’s of Ministry by Pastor Segun Obadje, a gift from my mentee Ewa, after which I will read DDK’s FIRE BRAND), maybe even sleep for an hour or so.

By 6.30, we start our night routine of bathing both boys plus dinner, and by 7 to 8, I’m watching HUSTLE and Hotel Majestic, I work out at 8 while Tinsel shows or I let hubby have his own TV time.

8.30, we all watch The Johnsons (LOVE IT) to 9.30pm after which KingDaveed goes to sleep if he hasn’t slept off before then.

Sometimes, I leave some online prayer meetings or just regular meetings with anyone at that time, like tonight I have a meeting with the Chick helping me set up Coachesquad website. She needs to walk me through some things, after which I get in bed and sleep at 10.30 max. I’m trying to leave my phone away from the bed cos I tend to spend time catching up on stuff I missed during the day and it can take me one hour which I can’t afford right now.

So this is my PROPOSED structure for the rest of the year. I’m thankful for a lighter coaching schedule in this season and I purposely made it so. By the time I am ready to go LIVE again towards middle of January, I would be so refreshed and revived. I just have private squaddies and they are relatively easier. Oh and my Preggos too.

One other thing I have planned this holiday is to visit at least two of our friends as a family.

We are favoring friends with kids around KingDaveed’s age as we want to afford him the opportunity to play with them. We have penciled down TWO families to visit, then I have a friend coming over for 2 days with her two kids. That way KingDaveed has playmates at home. I’m being very intentional about having him play cos the boy LOVES to play and I don’t think he plays enough at home or in school. I don’t let him visit neighbors to play, so on the rare occasion we have guests as kids, his play is ANOTHER LEVEL. He even cries to follow them home. When my nephew came to church for my baby dedication, KingDaveed WAILED that he wanted to go home with them. I’m talking WAILING.

My Help was now consoling him that he shouldn’t worry, soon ElJohn will grow and play with him.

Lol.

This just told me that I was not letting him play enough and PLAY is part of his development, especially as a BOY. Boys need to be involved in physical, even relatively rough play, not just video games and cartoons. They have excess energy which they have to burn off. Lisa Bevere cucuma taught me that in her MOMS OF MEN DVD series, I don’t know how I forgot it. Priscilla Shirer too. Even when we came home for reception after Church dedication, some of my guests came with their kids and you needed to see KingDaveed. He was SOOOOO HAPPY playing, screaming, running and more.

Abeg, this holiday I will make sure he plays WELL!!! Not every time educational toys lol.

It will also give me some time to hang out with my friends. Hopefully I can even sneak out a visit or two to other friends alone just to chill. Ive worked so hard all year and the new year will be a working one too so let me relax this holiday.

Ok so there you have it

My plans as a MomPreneur for the rest of the year….

Like i always say, i hope this leads you to PLAN your own holiday especially as a mom, in a way that is BALANCED. Your help may be leaving, or you don’t have any, or you are in a Long Distance marriage, or you have your MIL and SIL living in your home, etx… I don’t know your own life story but based on mine, i planned. Go ahead and plan your own ok… No competition and your own way is BEST for you and your family

May God grant us all wisdom in JESUS name, AMEN!!!

See you in TWO DAYS!!!

Kisses

 

PS

Read my CS Birth story?  It is a POSITIVE and super exciting one. 14pages long baby haha. Feel free to share especially to encourage any mom who may be considering or being offered a Section.

 

PPS

I am sorry i had to quit daily blogging on this series. I simply cannot keep up