Finding Our Groove

As we approach five months as a family, we are finally starting to find our groove. It was been a lot of transition for each of us - moving to a new house/neighbourhood/school, new schedules, new routines, new personalities to accommodate. And, of course, this is all happening while we deal with mountains of paperwork. Paperwork to change my name, change our address, merge our banking, etc. And don't forget the boxes to unpack! We merged two houses into one and the boxes seem to be endless. Although, it finally feels like we are making progress. Yay.

The first while was pretty challenging. As anyone that has moved will know - it's tough to live in a house when nothing is organized or settled. It took time to wade through things and get the kitchen functional and clear enough boxes that we could walk through the living room without it feeling like a maze. And it was tough to get ahead of things when each night we would arrive home at 5:30pm, make dinner, eat and clean up, complete the daily Kumon assignment (more on that later). After getting Cody to bed, we would make lunches and get something prepped for dinner the next day and it would be after 10pm. Neither of us could keep up with that!

Our first step was to get a dishwasher as I previously posted. That has been a life saver. It definitely helps with the time spent in the kitchen. But, we were still finding it difficult to get everything done that needed to be done and be left with no down time for our family. Devin & I discussed the idea of me working less hours to allow some "breathing room". We liked the idea and when I proposed it to my boss, he liked it too.

I'm so blessed to work for such a wonderful husband/wife team. They treat me like family and have been very supportive and accommodating as life's circumstances come up. Marc agreed that I can start a half hour earlier and leave 90 minutes earlier - meaning I'm working one hour less per day. However, this means I can pick Cody up from school (no aftercare) and have time to get dinner ready and have Kumon done when Daddy comes home. It's only week 2 but we are noticing such a difference! We don't feel rushed all the time. Cody has time to be a kid - riding his bike or doing a craft after school. We eat dinner at a decent time and I'm not in the kitchen at 11pm!!

The real blessing in this new schedule is the one-on-one time it affords me with Cody. We are settling in to our new roles and really having fun together. There's the tough stuff - like reminding him to make his bed, flush the toilet and use soap when washing his hands. But then there's the fun stuff like singing songs in the car, making crafts and cooking together. There are many tender moments from this little red head and last night he looked at me and said "Am I making your heart explode?" Ha ha ha. Indeed, Cody. Indeed.