Day Eight:

Scripture:
  Be still and know that I am God
                          ~Psalm 46:10

Quote:
   Until we can manage our time, we can manage nothing else

Song:
    Hangin' Around :) Counting Crows



   Ah, man! Today was exhausting. Up very early, getting ready, bags packed, breakfast, girls ready, Ally here, Maddie there, and of course I'm late. First day of the last semester of classes for me and I've already done more work than most other students. I remember last year having the same hectic routine. Have to be here, have to be there, Ally needs this, school needs this, Maddie is sick...etc. I could barely get us out the door in one piece! Now we are functioning (most days) on a very productive level. I look back on some of the hardest times and I remember seeing myself stretched too thin. I have always been an on the go person and always had to have excitement. It wasn't until around August I started seeing that I was taking on too much. The girls were always fussy, tired, sassy, and sleeping terribly. I too was starting to become more vulnerable to bad moods and no sleep. The business was just too much.

  In the past year, I have really learned how to manage and balance my time. I still have days where I have too much going on but who doesn't? (Single mother of two, school, photography, work, family, bills....)
I started spending A LOT more time at home. I started making sure we ate dinner as family. Ally and I would both do homework once Maddie was settling down or playing on her own in the family room or kitchen. I started telling people no more often. This was a huge challenge for me! I was turning away clients because I just didn't have time to invest the work they deserved. I started telling friends "No thank you" when we would get invited to events. Although all of this was really rough in the beginning, I am so thankful I took this opportunity to tell me and the girls "Yes" and everyone else "No."

   I think everyone needs to take a look at their priorities and their time management. If you or your children are too exhausted by the end of the day, maybe it's time to start telling the people in your lives "No" as well. I can honestly say I have loved all the extra time I get with the girls and all the time at home I have had in the last year.