pumpkins and progress

We visited Rombach Pumpkin Patch and had sooo much fun. I'm pretty sure Graham thought the pumpkins were balls, which explains why he wanted to touch and play with EVERY SINGLE PUMPKIN (he was clearly too busy focusing on the pumpkins to look up at the camera).

One of the wonderful things about fall is that pumpkins make it so easy to decorate your home, which allows you to appear as a festive, put-together mom (when in reality you're an over-worked, over-tired, and forgetful mess, buy hey--pumpkins!). 

I love following other women on IG that are going through the same daily grind as me: women who are balancing work (often times multiple jobs, like myself), special time with kiddos, special time with hubby, and trying desperately to maintain friendships (and the thousand other requirements of daily life). 

It's really, really hard, isn't it?

I'm naturally not a very organized person, so it's really tough for me to set a schedule and stick to it. I'm easily distracted, and like to think I can do 10 things at once ("I can do laundry, respond to an email, blow-dry my hair, and eat breakfast at the same time, right?"). I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how I can better prioritize my time, so that I'm getting the most out of every hour of the day, but it's hard when I don't keep normal hours. Does anyone else face this dilemma?

I'm not sure if I'll ever truly figure out how to delegate my time efficiently, but I think baby steps are enough progress for now. Chris is amazing for many reasons, but one of the greatest things about him is how considerate he is of others. 

One of the things that have been on my back burner is exercise. When there are so many obligations in life, I tend to put the things that solely serve me at the bottom of the list. However, something Chris said to me this morning really stuck with me: "You have to treat things that are important to you like you would an appointment. Set a time to do them, and make that the priority at that time."

He made me realize that if I feel better about myself, then that equips me to be a better mom and a better wife. So, while I don't have every hour of the next week beautifully penciled into my planner, I do have a couple nights a week reserved for my own physical rejuvenation. And that's progress.