Mornings at the house are hectic.
From not wanting to get out of bed, to getting showers and food, to getting everyone dressed and out the door in a good mood. It can be trying at time.
Up until recently our morning schedule was supposed to look like this:
6:00am - everyone up
6:15am - dad and baby eat, mom showers
6:15-6:30am - unnecessary slow drinking of hot cup of coffee
6:30am - baby goes up with mom while she gets ready. Dad uses the bathroom and showers. This step varied in amount of time taken.
6:45-7:00am - dad showers
7:00-7:25am - rush rush rush to get dad and baby out the door. Mom commuted separately despite the fact that we work at the same place.
The rule used to be that if we weren't out the door by 7:25am, it didn't pay to leave until 7:35am. The daycare we send the kid to has a girl with Cerebral Palsey who uses a wheelchair and has very limited use of her limbs. A bus come to pick her up right around the time that we would be getting to daycare if we were even a little late. And the bus takes forever to get her loaded up, strapped in, and on the go. This isn't me complaining about a girl who needs help. Not even a little bit. I don't begrudge her or the bus driver, I just hate idling in the car. Added bonus: traffic around here is terrible at that time.
I found myself getting ANGRY in the car one particularly stressful day. I hit every red light, there were lines at all the stop signs, bad drivers, and the bus. Our daycare is on a single lane county road right next to a main highway. Cars line up behind the bus and once they bus moves they aren't very accommodating to cars wanting to turn left into the parking lot. I checked, that aren't any sensible other ways to get there. I decided while sitting in the care on what turned out to be a 40-45 minute commute (This is important to know because I live a mile from work and daycare if 5 miles from home. This is a 10 mile round trip.) that things needed to change. We we stressed and late daily.
7:25 didn't work and neither did 7:35 or 7:45. It just wasn't happening. I shifted my work day and I now leave at 8:00am every morning with the baby and her mother in the car. This simple change is fantastic. The commute dropped from 35 minutes to 20-25 minutes. Traffic is low, green lights, no lines, no bus. Well, there is another bus that picks up kindergartners on occasions, but it doesn't take near as much time.
We starting sleeping in because the baby sleeps in (this is probably a mistake) but here's the new schedule:
6:00am - alarm goes off and gets turned off (this should stop)
6:10am - alarm b gets snoozed up to 2 times
6:30am - mom and dad get out of bed, mom showers, dad eats (sometimes)
6:30-7:00am - baby gets up whenever she gets up
7:00am - change baby and feed her
7:15am - dad showers sometimes (more on this later)
7:30am - change baby clothes
7:55am - load up
8:00am - leave garage, drop mom at work, swing by daycare, get to work around 8:25 - 8:30.
This simple change in schedule has reduced the amount of daily stress in the house and on the road. The baby spends 50 fewer minutes in daycare daily which means more time at home with us. She's also spending less time in the car with a stressed daddy. We get to spend more time together as a family because of this change and it's great!
I'd love to hear more about how others out there have simplified their lives in the morning, evening, or really any other time.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
The quitting coffee quest
Day One: 1 cup coffee, 2 cups green tea.
No noticeable difference. Maybe a little headachey late in the day. Having to make cups of tea was kind of a bummer and they don't satisfy quite as much as coffee does. Tea cups are also a bit more difficult to clean than coffee cups. I made a mistake and went on twitter (for work) and saw that it was national coffee day. I spent some time looking at all the pictures people tweeted. I regret this because now I want a cup of coffee. Luckily it's late in the day and the wife would kill me if I drank any. I have a tendency to kick at night if I'm to hyped up.
Day Two: 1 cup coffee, 1 cup green tea
I feel like I noticed a bit more today. Mostly in that I cut down on warm beverages. You see, drinking a cup of coffee is about more than just drinking a liquid. It's an experience. Your hands wrapped around a warm mug. That first whiff of the delicious smelling stuff before it hits your mouth. That first sip, it warms you on the way down. I think I might be convincing myself to keep drinking coffee.
Day Three:3 cups green tea 1 1 cup coffee, 1 cup herbal tea
I got out of bed and made a cup of coffee. This wasn't by habit or accident. I made a choice. I had a headache, we were out of quality breakfast foods, and I was cold. I woke up and said, "I know I'm not supposed to, but I'm having a cup of coffee." And here's the thing. I. Loved. It. Until I got to the end and realized I did a poor job or putting the filter in because my last mouthful was a swallow of coldish grounds. It's almost as if I was being punished. I had a cup of herbal tea at work to give myself the feeling of a warm beverage. Tomorrow was supposed to be my last cup, but I feel like today should be. I put the tin of coffee in the freezer already, but I'm finding myself trying to talk myself out of this. "What about when I have company?" "What about when my parents stay here on a visit?" "Everyone loves coffee, I can't punish them because I feel like I can't have it!" I don't know if I'm being rational or if my own brain is trying to trick me here.
Day Four:1 cup coffee 2 cups green tea 2 cups decaf
Well, I've certainly mucked things up here. I was supposed to have a regular cup today, but I did that yesterday so today got changed to green tea. I wanted the taste, the smell, the experience of drinking a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning before anyone in the house was up. So I had some decaf. Then I had more when I got to work. I know there is some caffeine in decaf, but I'm not sure how much. My head feels tight. It's not a headache, but it's not comfortable either. It's about 10:00am as I write this. I'll update if things change.
Day Five:1 cup black tea 1 cup herbal tea, 1 cup decaf
Things are looking pretty good here. I never had an issues yesterday, though I may have cheated and had some Dr. Pepper. I had hot herbal tea when I was working on a presentation this morning and a cup of decaf on a walk to my in-laws' house. I didn't know I had this much decaf sitting around the house. I guess raiding hotels when I have to stay has its benefits, finally.
Day Six:1 cup green tea 1 cup decaf
I sold a car today. My father in law wanted to get coffee to celebrate. I went for decaf and it was great! I usually don't have a high opinion of decaf, but it was a chilly day and it was a nice way to celebrate!
Day Seven:1 cup herbal tea NONE!
Monday. The worst of days. no caffeine to speak of. No coffee, no tea, no soda. Not even an herbal tea to make myself feel better. More importantly, no headache... well, not until the end of the day. I have no proof caffeine has anything to do with it.
Day Eight:NONE! 1 cup coffee
I had a job interview today and my wife thought it'd be best if I had a cup of coffee in the morning. She didn't think it would be wise to tempt the fates with this. I agreed without question and loved my cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe I don't have to give it all up...
Day Nine:NONE! half cup coffee
Still trying to wean myself off the good stuff. Went for a small cup of coffee today and it went fine. I'm making sure to hydrate as much as possible. Here's the thing: I'm not thinking about coffee at all (except to write this of course). I haven't missed it much, though I may tomorrow. Who knows. I'll go for a green tea tomorrow and nothing on Friday. By the weekend we'll be bad to zero!
Day Ten:NONE! 1 cup green tea half cup coffee, 1 cup decaf
I can't seem to help myself. I can literally come up with any excuse to drink coffee. I didn't need the small cup in the morning, I wanted it. The decaf was free and ripe for the taking. Hopefully tomorrow we're done with this.
I'm writing this nearly two weeks after I started the quest. I haven't had caffeine in three days. And you know what? I feel fine. I miss the morning cup every once in a while. Or when I see anyone holding coffee, but that's okay. My mornings have gone more smoothly because I feel like I can start moving right away. I'm sure I'll go back to coffee in time, but right now with the craziness that my days are, it'll be a once in a while thing.
No noticeable difference. Maybe a little headachey late in the day. Having to make cups of tea was kind of a bummer and they don't satisfy quite as much as coffee does. Tea cups are also a bit more difficult to clean than coffee cups. I made a mistake and went on twitter (for work) and saw that it was national coffee day. I spent some time looking at all the pictures people tweeted. I regret this because now I want a cup of coffee. Luckily it's late in the day and the wife would kill me if I drank any. I have a tendency to kick at night if I'm to hyped up.
Day Two: 1 cup coffee, 1 cup green tea
I feel like I noticed a bit more today. Mostly in that I cut down on warm beverages. You see, drinking a cup of coffee is about more than just drinking a liquid. It's an experience. Your hands wrapped around a warm mug. That first whiff of the delicious smelling stuff before it hits your mouth. That first sip, it warms you on the way down. I think I might be convincing myself to keep drinking coffee.
Day Three:
I got out of bed and made a cup of coffee. This wasn't by habit or accident. I made a choice. I had a headache, we were out of quality breakfast foods, and I was cold. I woke up and said, "I know I'm not supposed to, but I'm having a cup of coffee." And here's the thing. I. Loved. It. Until I got to the end and realized I did a poor job or putting the filter in because my last mouthful was a swallow of coldish grounds. It's almost as if I was being punished. I had a cup of herbal tea at work to give myself the feeling of a warm beverage. Tomorrow was supposed to be my last cup, but I feel like today should be. I put the tin of coffee in the freezer already, but I'm finding myself trying to talk myself out of this. "What about when I have company?" "What about when my parents stay here on a visit?" "Everyone loves coffee, I can't punish them because I feel like I can't have it!" I don't know if I'm being rational or if my own brain is trying to trick me here.
Day Four:
Well, I've certainly mucked things up here. I was supposed to have a regular cup today, but I did that yesterday so today got changed to green tea. I wanted the taste, the smell, the experience of drinking a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning before anyone in the house was up. So I had some decaf. Then I had more when I got to work. I know there is some caffeine in decaf, but I'm not sure how much. My head feels tight. It's not a headache, but it's not comfortable either. It's about 10:00am as I write this. I'll update if things change.
Day Five:
Things are looking pretty good here. I never had an issues yesterday, though I may have cheated and had some Dr. Pepper. I had hot herbal tea when I was working on a presentation this morning and a cup of decaf on a walk to my in-laws' house. I didn't know I had this much decaf sitting around the house. I guess raiding hotels when I have to stay has its benefits, finally.
Day Six:
I sold a car today. My father in law wanted to get coffee to celebrate. I went for decaf and it was great! I usually don't have a high opinion of decaf, but it was a chilly day and it was a nice way to celebrate!
Day Seven:
Monday. The worst of days. no caffeine to speak of. No coffee, no tea, no soda. Not even an herbal tea to make myself feel better. More importantly, no headache... well, not until the end of the day. I have no proof caffeine has anything to do with it.
Day Eight:
I had a job interview today and my wife thought it'd be best if I had a cup of coffee in the morning. She didn't think it would be wise to tempt the fates with this. I agreed without question and loved my cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe I don't have to give it all up...
Day Nine:
Still trying to wean myself off the good stuff. Went for a small cup of coffee today and it went fine. I'm making sure to hydrate as much as possible. Here's the thing: I'm not thinking about coffee at all (except to write this of course). I haven't missed it much, though I may tomorrow. Who knows. I'll go for a green tea tomorrow and nothing on Friday. By the weekend we'll be bad to zero!
Day Ten:
I can't seem to help myself. I can literally come up with any excuse to drink coffee. I didn't need the small cup in the morning, I wanted it. The decaf was free and ripe for the taking. Hopefully tomorrow we're done with this.
I'm writing this nearly two weeks after I started the quest. I haven't had caffeine in three days. And you know what? I feel fine. I miss the morning cup every once in a while. Or when I see anyone holding coffee, but that's okay. My mornings have gone more smoothly because I feel like I can start moving right away. I'm sure I'll go back to coffee in time, but right now with the craziness that my days are, it'll be a once in a while thing.
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