CREATE TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULE TO CREATE A SCHEDULE:

I’m the first one to admit my brain can get easily distracted. I decided to the doctor and found myself with a scary diagnoses of A.W.M.A.D.D., =A Wife & Mother Attention Deficit Disorder. You should all know the symptoms, so you can get help before it’s too late. 

Here is an example of how I have been affected by A.W.M.A.D.D. (or as I like to call it AWWW now I’m MADDD!@!). (Rule #4 Yes, this is a made up diagnoses but this next story is entirely true!) I walked into the kitchen and turned on the water to start doing dishes. Beckham asked for a glass of chocolate milk so I left the water running (because I’ll be right back) and got the milk and chocolate out of the fridge.  I then saw a bill that needed to be paid! Crap its due tomorrow!  So I set the milk on the counter to get out a pen and the check book from the junk drawer. Uggh the drawer is stuck on something!? I open the cupboard underneath the drawer to find the serving bowls a mess. I’ll have to get all these out and organize them so I can open the drawer!! “MOMMA! MY MILK!” Oh yeah! I leave the bowls out on the ground (because I’ll be right back to finish!) and open the drawer where the kids’ cups and bottles are. When I realize, Brody doesn’t even use these 4 oz bottles anymore!? I need to put them in storage and get out the bigger bottles! I start walking toward the stairs to go get the bigger bottles. On my way to the stairs I walk by the laundry room. I think I really should get laundry going while I’m doing all this “cleaning.” I turned the washer on and started putting clothes it. I’m sure this isn’t all the laundry that needs to be washed? I head to the bathroom to pick up the rest of dirty clothes. While in the bathroom, I see the potty chair that Beckham doesn’t even use anymore. This needs to go downstairs when I go to get the bottles. I grab the clothes and the potty chair and leave the bathroom. “MOM!!?? THE MILK!!” (Did my son really just yell at me like Will Farrell in Wedding Crashers?? ‘THE MEATLOAF!’) “Ok ok!!!” I leave the bathroom but on my way back to the kitchen I see 3 cups sitting on the side table and decide I need to pick them up, (since I’m doing dishes and all). I put the dirty clothes and potty chair on the dining room table so I can grab all 3 (I put the clothes on top of my car keys) I think, when I come back to get the clothes I need to remember these keys are under here so I can put them in there place. I get the cups and started walking back toward the kitchen. Until I almost trip over Beckham’s puzzle pieces/box. “Beckham, you need to pick these up.” “I not done mommy hey wanna play with me?” Ahh how sweet! I need to cherish this moment because there will come a time he doesn’t want me around!! “Ok buddy! Hey we should build a fort too!!” So I set the cups on the T.V. stand and we get blankets out for the fort. By the end of the morning, the dishes aren’t done (the water is still running), Becks didn’t get his chocolate milk, (the milk is still on the counter and now probably bad), the bill is not paid, for some reason there are serving bowls scattered all over the floor, the laundry is not done (the cycle never even ran because the lid was up so now I just have wet stinky clothes), I can’t find my keys, I randomly have a potty chair and a pile of dirty clothes in my dining room, I have an AWESOME fort but a BIG mess. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done (and how it actually got even messier), I’m really confused because I know I was busy ALL morning!! And yep you guessed it… AWW now I’m MADD!! Why is everything a mess!?

Though some of you may not have a stage 4 diagnoses like myself, if you have ANY symptoms AT ALL you need to listen up. If AWMADD goes untreated it can and will get worse, I lost a kid from this ruthless disease… I put him down and for the life of me I can’t remember where I put him! (Refer to Rule #3…before you call CPS that was a JOKE, I finally found Beck just a few short hours later playing with matches and knives.) So how do you treat it? Well, you need a prescription…I know what you are thinking… “But I don’t have health insurance, and this damn Obama care is so confusing. How will I afford the Dr. appointment and medication?” Well today is your lucky day!! I’m leaking the prescription to the public! (Muhaha take that medical field) I was prescribed a good planner, a calendar, a notepad, and most importantly taking a little extra time to create a schedule. *(I’m sure this kind of diagnoses could be concerning for those of you who trust and rely on Schelert Campbell & Company for your accounting and tax needs. Please do not fear, I am heavily medicated at work!! You know, like with post-its, labels and calendars…)

Here are some of the things I do to help my weeks go more smoothly. I call it the 3P’s! (Which I may have just made up right now but I think it makes sense..? If you try the 3P’s let me know how it works!)

PLAN for the next week—Sunday mornings I set aside time to sit down and make next week’s schedule. I plan out dinners so I can make a grocery list. I plan out what I am going to wear for the week. I make a game plan on how I’m going to clean the house. Look at the calendar and account for any events that are happening that week. Write everything down!!

PREDICT things that may come up—I  predict that pukey-mc-pukes-a-lot might decide to projectile all over my outfit on the way out the door. So it is best to have an extra outfit ready to go. I predict Becks won’t like the fajita’s so I need to make sure I have a back-up meal that he’ll eat. I predict I may be too tired to want to cook one night so to be sure I have a frozen dinner option ready in case of a “I’m too tired” emergency!

And PREPARE!!! After planning the week, get ready for it!!—I go to the grocery store or at least have a good list ready so I just have to stop quickly on my way home from work. Cut up any fruits or salads so they are easy to pack for lunches/snacks. Iron all my work clothes and hang them up nicely so they are ready to go. I follow my step by step plan to clean the house, (get all dirty clothes in the laundry first, clean the bedrooms, then kitchen, then living room, bathroom, and fold laundry! and write myself reminders of the events for the week.

Ok so I’m sounding like I’m really on top of it, but the truth is I don’t always get all the groceries in time and just end up settling with frozen or box dinners, the laundry isn’t always done, the dishes get behind, and sometimes my clothes are a little wrinkly, BUT if you at least try to have a schedule and be prepared it will greatly benefit you, your mental and physical health, and your family all around in the long run! Not to mention help provide some relief from AWMADD. So at least TRY!! GOOD LUCK!!

Tune in next week for “When I grow up I wanna be…” or maybe “The secret to a happy marriage is a comfy couch!”