Yet More Drivel.

After nearly 2 months of being sick, I think I am done with being sick.  Done. It has been a little over a week now of feeling normal.

I hope I did not jinx myself just now.

Anyway - I am shooting for easy, trite posts this week and could not think of a better topic than some silly tripe called Things That Currently Make My Life Easy.

Here a few things have made my life easier lately - all of them were paid for by me at some point in time.  Some of them I have mentioned before, some I have not.  But the past 3 months have been really, really, really, really, really hectic and out of control.  This was a good moment for me to sit back and appreciate those silly things that help a bit.

What has been making your life easier lately???

My Thermos water bottle.

I rarely leave the house without a water bottle - it severely cuts down on my grabbing unhealthy drinks and food when I am running around (since thirst is often mistaken for hunger!) I hunted everywhere for a water bottle that fit all of my needs.  This one is easy to carry (I love the attached ring that folds down), easy to fit into my car's cup holder, easy to drink from the wide-mouth opening, easy for my kids to use and it is easy to clean (few parts are involved in this bottle.)  I will be purchasing a 2nd one for us as the weather grows warmer.

My weekly Pocket-Docket.

In January, I began using the Simple Mom's Daily Docket Concept and it has been life-changing for me.  Life-changing. There are two versions of the docket, I opted for the smaller one, the Pocket-Docket, that prints 2 per page. I print it on card stock for the work week Monday-Friday, cut the pages in half and staple 5 days together.  I put together a stack of several weeks worth (it took all of 5 minutes!)  Each Sunday, I spend 10 minutes thinking of what I would like to accomplish for the week.  And now? I put everything on this.  Even tasks that I would not forget.  Why? Because I need to give "credit" to myself.  If I take out the trash or clean the litter box, I want that activity to be noted since the "rule of thumb" is to keep scheduled tasks at around 6 per day (which keeps room for adding in the things that inevitably come up at the last minute!) What I love most about this system is the ease of mind it has brought me - I see something that needs to be done and instead of letting it nag at my brain, I can now tell myself "Put it on my Docket" or "No worries, it is on my Docket and will soon be done."  Things are not piling up in my brain now.  Overall, I like it because it is a little more than just a To-Do list.  And I really like writing my tasks down by hand - it is nice to get ink on my fingers for a change of pace.

My Greenroom notebook.

I usually carry a notebook around with me.  I use it to jot all sorts of things - voice mail messages, random thoughts, blog post ideas, business ideas that Manoj and I discuss, random quotes from the kids that I would otherwise forget.  I try to keep ALL note taking in my notebook, which makes it handy to track down information later (as opposed to trying to find errant slips of paper or post-it notes.)

Currently, this thing makes my life SO easy - on school days, I flip open their boxes, fill the compartments and am DONE packing lunches.  There is no scrambling for containers. Cleanup is equally easy and everything stores nicely.  The plastic is of excellent quality that I have tested to the brink of destruction (Christmas Break 2008: 3 solid weeks of rotting pomegranate seeds!) I dread the day that Arun figures out this lunchbox is not cool.

Until Arun was about 18 months old, Manoj traveled weekly back to the DC/Virginia area. This meant that I was alone throughout the week and one of my greatest fears was getting locked out of my car. This stupid, ugly keyring has been one of the things that has given me the greatest peace of mind over the years. No, I don't wear it everywhere, but it is great for those quick little errands where you and are in and out of your car.  For longer excursions, I tend to put the keys out of my handbag, then pull them out just as we leave stores, etc. When I am juggling kids, shopping bags, strollers, handbags, whatever, it is nice to have my car keys handy. Yes, I look like a janitor. Whatever.

We belong to Prairie Life Fitness.  And no, this is not some sort of ad for our gym, this could be any gym, really.  However, this place truly makes our lives easier. It is easy to get in and out, it is close to our home.   It is a spot we go to as a family.  We hang out there, we have snacks, we can swim there, I can exercise there and the kids can play there.  It truly, has made our lives easier.  If I were to give anyone a suggestion for establishing a workout routine?  Make it easy on yourself.  If you do not look forward to an exercise routine, making it difficult will not induce to do something you already are dreading.  And if you have kids?  Include them and you will find it easier to get in your workouts.   It took a LONG time for me to get back in the saddle with an exercise routine.  One of the things that helped was re-thinking how I viewed the gym.  We added the kids as members and now it is something that we ALL do together.

Yes sirree, we paid a pretty penny for this pair.  After all, the Olathe Medical Center does not do birthin' for free.  I felt they deserved inclusion or at least some sort of credit, because lately, they have made our lives easier.  Oh sure, they bicker like siblings normally do, but overall, they get along so well and are each other's best playmates.  They have been very patient with Manoj and me as we have been working so hard getting our business running.  They are patient with us when often, we cannot run immediately to wherever it is they desire at that particular moment (they are learning the true meaning of "after dinner", "5 minutes" and "tomorrow".)  They hang out with me in the dining room and do "their thing" - providing me with hugs and a smile or two as I plow through some fairly boring tasks.  Last night, they decorated a "cake" (dog frisbee) with "candles" (colored paper clips.)  Then, they sang Happy Birthday to me and I blew out the candles.

All of my wishes had already come true.