On adapting to our new schedule

Remember a month back when I shared the exciting news on the job & home fronts? Do you remember how it that post I definitely stated that when my husband's shifts change around it takes me about a month to get used to it, and that what with his schedule for the first couple of months, it would likely be a sort of crazy next 4 months? Yeah. I guess I remember saying that... But I've got to admit that based on how frazzled and frustrated I've been with how things have gone this week, I clearly didn't take my past-learned lessons of slowing down for the first month (or these four), to heart. Oh Mama...
So how about I do a little re-set here, okay? :) Perfect. Ahhh. Ok, there, that little bit of extra grace that the first while on a new schedule allows is exactly what I needed this week! This week of longer than normal, but going to become the new normal, hours at my job due to taking one day a week off to stay home with Little M, so that she only has to go to daycare 3 days a week. This week of having not had the forethought to menu plan yet (normally we menu plan for the entire month in the first couple days of the month, or if we have our acts together, before the month starts... is this really the 13th?). Yeah. Combine those two things with the mister last minute needing to stay a bit later than planned at work, so not being able to be home a bit before Little M and I, to start supper, let the dogs out, etc.... Yeah... :P

At least this is my Friday though! And really, the week went great: we all got fed (even if it was by deciding last minute to make perogies from scratch. For the first time ever. Yeah, don't ask me where the going-easy-the-first-while was on that one!), and the dogs all behaved themselves (both in their kennels and out in the yard, which is a small miracle even on the best of weeks!), Little M seems to be having a great week both at daycare & at home (should I mention a naked episode in the garden which involved a little surprise package deposited in the middle of the raspberry path and eagerly pointed out?? ahem...), and to top it all off we all made it to work, daycare, jeep appointment, first aid training, and etc, roughly on time!

So really, I just need to take a deep breath, think back over what has gone well (thanks for bearing with me on that one ;) ), and realize that life with this new schedule only gets easier from here on in! The other thing I need to do is dive back into using my household notebook a lot more seriously. I've still been keeping things up to date in it, like the daily egg count, the menu plan (when its been made!), and the yearly goal progress. But I haven't been as diligent at keeping my to-do list written down in it, which forces me to keep it to 10 items and anything else gets bumped to the next day. I think with this new schedule, a reminder to keep it simple and a record of what is important is exactly what I need to help me stay positive and content with where we are in our lives right now!

What about you? Do you use a daily to do list? Does it help when you only let yourself put 10 items on your daily list? Do you find it takes a couple weeks (or a month!) to adapt to a change in your significant other's work schedule? Whatever changes & challenges you are dealing with in your lives right now, I wish you good luck with them and remember to just keep on keeping on! :)