There’s Not enough time…REally!

So, for the last…week or maybe two…that crazy, anxiety-filled feeling has been creeping over me. (And I do really become another person when these feelings overwhelm me….so sorry to my family, especially to my loving, put up with the-stressed-out-me, husband)

That feeling like, “I have stuff to do, and I’m getting to it when I can get to it, but the list is building…”

It’s building and building and building and, pretty soon, in the back of my head, I don’t have just this small list of things to do, “when I get time” but, I have a million lists of a million things to do, and REALLY there IS NO EXTRA TIME!

This is how I lived my live for the first 5 years of our business….then I decided to let go a bit of the “I’m a SAHM, and I have to SAH and get EVERYTHING done, including everything it takes to running a home, keeping a husband happy, and taking care of two toddlers (at the time)”.

Yep…I let go and I “went to work”.

And it was the BEST THING EVER!!!!

Now, especially during our busy season. I have “work days” where I have a sitter (90% of the time my MIL – who we do have to pay) come two – three days a week, so I can go do “work”. That is, anything that has to do with the business. So, I go….to Panera usually, and don’t check email, don’t get on chat, don’t get on twitter, or facebook, or blogs….I just GET IT DONE when it comes to the business.

Because I do this, I am able to come home, and BE at home with my kids and hubby. I’ve had my work time, I know there is another time coming for that plate that is already filling up. But I can leave that plate alone and only take care of it when I am “working.”

Here’s the crux…I am suppose to be on my “downtime’ right now….meaning, the business should be slow, and I really shouldn’t need “work time” right now. So, I’ve only been getting about 2-4 hours a week, and really it hasn’t been enough. Half of my work time, I’ve been using for errands, doctor’s appts, GROCERY shopping, etc..so my actual “work” time has only been about 2 hours a week…so I’m not getting things done…

And this stresses me, because I have/had personal projects I wanted to work on this winter for MYSELF (ie…our own wedding photos and album, photo albums of MY kids…etc…) But I can’t even start on that stuff until I; finish taxes, finish client books, client photo orders, vender photos, vendor books, etc, etc, etc)

SO…my mind is not ALL here with my kids, and ALL here with my husband…my mind is thinking about all the things that need done….and it’s not all business stuff….it’s just all life stuff. (I know you know what I mean!)

One MAJOR thing we’ve (well, really I) have been stressing about is Kindergarten.

I mean, that one little word really doesn’t seem that scary right?

Well….there are lots to consider. I am not homeschooling….I just cannot do it on top of all my other mom/wife and business owner duties…so if you homeschool and it’s the best for you and your family – GREAT! But it’s REALLY not the best for ours…and I’m just going to stop feeling guilty about it.

Secondly, we live in the City of Dayton. There is no way we’re sending our child to a COD Public school….I can give you lots of reasons, but you can probably guess.

So….we’re leaning towards Dayton Christian…which is great except that it COSTS a lot…how much? I didn’t know until today.

Then there’s also the decision of whether we choose the Xenia campus because it’s on the same property where David works, or do we choose the Miamisburg campus because we know lots of other families who go there? (We live right between the two)

SO, I have ben dragging my feet on starting the process, b/c it’s unknown and scary and I don’t know what I am doing. But TODAY …. in the light of NEEDING to get things DONE and off the LIST…I decided I would call!

The Bad News is it costs: $5830 for the year! (GASP!)

The Good news is, David works in ministry and we’re eligible for a 10% discount! YAY! 

The SUPER Good news is, because we live in Dayton, (a failing school district) we can apply for this OH State Voucher that will pay….wait for it….

$4250 towards our school tuition if we get accepted for it! (Guess how you can pray for us now!?!? – that we would be accepted for the voucher!)

I was so relieved to hear it might be possible, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! and got all the steps I needed to get the ball moving both to enroll in Kindergarten and to apply for the voucher…just some more stuff to add TO the TO DO LIST. 

So, back to the not enough time thing….

This was my day just Today…

Get up

Take Ezra to Pre-K

Take Araya with me to:

The Bank

The Post Office

Starbucks (to check on our photo display there)

Our HC Leader’s House to drop off a form I need signed

Back to pick up Ezra to take him along with his class on a field trip to the Pet Store.

Brought the kids home and gave them a bath – You would NOT believe this Pet Store….all the things they touched and they were on the floor!!!

Made lunch for the kids

MIL – Showed up…I left for Panera

Called Dayton Christian

Called OHIO Board of Education

Edited 30 photos for a company shoot I did last week

Ordered prints for an Engagement Session

Ate Lunch somewhere in there

Responded to several ‘business’ emails.

Updated our FB pages with Business News…needs to be done…marketing

Got kicked out of my spot at Panera for a reserved meeting

Visited some close friends who just had their first baby last night at 3AM!

Came home

Made Dinner

Uploaded previously edited photos online for client to view

Uploaded Print order

Ate Dinner – Made the kids eat dinner

Talked on the phone with my SIL

Helped Araya create a pet for herself in Ezra’s new Leapster (that I promised I would do today)

Got the kids Jammies on

Put the kids to bed with the help of David

Came downstairs

A Friend Called

Got a To Do list ready for David to help with

Waiting for several folders to copy from my HD to the server

Writing this post

So, that’s a lot right?

….but evidentially not enough….cause there’s so much more to do and not enough time…

How’s your TO DO list coming?