Establishing Our Family Traditions

At our home, there is nothing traditional about the holidays. We change our plans 2-3 times before each holiday to accommodate all our family's schedule. But this year, plans are changing. And this time, it's more permanent.

See, Scotty grew up in the same county his parents grew up , and his grandparents too. It's safe to say the Stafford family tree is deeply rooted in this county. 

We've been married now a little over 4 years and we've been together for nearly 10 years. As far as I can remember, Scotty's family has always upheld their solid, Stafford family traditions. For Thanksgiving, both his grandmothers will host dinner. One grandmother will serve her meal at 12:00 pm sharp and the other grandmother will serve her meal between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.  Luckily, there is only a short 10 minute drive between them so we never have to quickly eat and then run to the next house. Dress is super casual. Blue jeans and boots mostly (right up my alley), with a comfortable top. 

However, my family is the complete opposite. My father is from Michigan and my mother's family is from Massachusetts. My mother was born and raised in South Florida by her father's parents. When my mom was in her early 20s, she met my father in Ft. Lauderdale. Soon they were married and decided to set roots there. I was born in South Florida and spent a small portion of my childhood near the Atlantic Ocean, smelling the salty air. 

We followed my Aunt Sandi to Tennessee when I was 8. We didn't know anyone or anything about the area but loved the mountains and Southern hospitality. There was just something comforting about East Tennessee. 

Anywho... back on topic... shortly after we settled in the hills of East Tennessee, my cousin's family also moved on up to Tennessee and we quickly established new family traditions. Each year, we would alternate who hosted what holiday. If we did Thanksgiving, my aunt would do Christmas. The next year, the roles were swapped. 

Traditional? Sort of, in the sense that we all knew where we would dine.

In 2006, my husband (then boyfriend) invited me to his family's Thanksgiving. Right away, I became the next member of the Stafford family. I always felt thankful to join their family dinners and anticipated the invites each year until we became hitched back in 2011. 

My parents are divorced, so it has always made sense for us to host the holidays, and our house is somewhat of the mutual meeting ground. However, having the entire Stafford family and my family agree and meet on the same day and time... mission impossible! I've been hosting my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas for 3 years now and every year we have a change of plans, change of time, and change of menu. We all agree on one thing--my Cherry Coke Baked Ham!

Needless to say, each year we have to juggle our family's time so we can all enjoy each other and spend the holidays together.

This year one of Scotty's grandmothers has handed over the reigns. She said she is just "too old to keep up" with the whole family's needs and asked if we (Scotty's cousin's wife and I) could host from now on. We gladly accepted and began to prepare for the occasions. 

Once again, we're changing the tradition!

Christin is going to host Thanksgiving at her house, while I host Christmas at my house. Next year we will switch. Just like when I was growing up! We have collaborated and agreed on a fantastic holiday menu and assigned who is preparing what so we're not overwhelmed (we're expecting nearly 20 people). We are looking forward to working together in the kitchen. She is a fantastic baker!

This year will be my daughter's 3rd Thanksgiving and Christmas. I really want to introduce her to family traditions and begin making memorable moments so each year to come, she will be excited for the holidays. I enjoy doing an elaborate mantlescape (is that even a word?) over the fireplace. Or displaying new linens in the bathrooms and kitchen. Especially decorating the exterior of our home to show our cheerful spirits to all passing neighbors. These were all memories I shared with my siblings and my parents growing up, and I am thrilled to introduce these lasting moments with my daughter.

What family traditions/non-traditions do you partake? Do you host all meals at your house? How about the new craze, Elf on a Shelf? Do you have any special moments, crafts, or festivities, or recipes that your family looks forward to each year? I'm interested in adding some activities to our new tradition. Help a sista out and comment below!

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Time Management

My weakness is time management.

In my brain, I feel like I have a monster to-do list all. the. time. And I often struggle with knowing where to begin when tackling a new job. I've began many "to-do lists" for the day (or weekend, or week, or month) and still find myself falling slightly short of accomplishment. At times, I am so overwhelmed! 

How can I manage my time efficiently to get things finished? 

If I start laundry now, I can dry the load when I get home from work... while dinner is cooking. And then I can fold and put them away after dinner... while Ady Mae is taking her bath. And then while she plays, I can quick clean and possibly one more chore before she is ready for story time and then bed.

This is how my mind works every single day. I am constantly planning ahead for my next move. I've read many blog posts on mothers who have set cleaning schedules for each day of the week. Honestly, I LOVE that idea! And I've tried their schedules too with still no luck. I struggle with getting my household chores done. 

Perhaps my list is unrealistic for each day. Or maybe I'm super slow at one task which causes all my next tasks to fall behind. I often begin something and then never finish it. My basketball coach used to always tell us to "follow through with your shot." Why is it so hard to follow through with my to-do list?

Well, after thinking looooong and hard on the matter and attempts at several different online "schedules," I believe I have found my solution:

Only begin what you know you can complete

It's that simple, right? It's like setting realistic goals. My days and nights are super crazy. The only set schedule in my life is Monday through Friday working hours, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Dinner does not have to be exquisite each night, and breakfast is only served on weekends. I tackle laundry 1-2 times per week, sometimes more depending on extracurricular activities with Ady Mae. I spot clean daily. And  I vacuum every other day (because of this fury pet here and my allergies). 

Scotty and Buttons

Most at-home mothers can keep up with a daily cleaning schedule because they are, well, at home. That's also why I gave up on all the online cleaning schedules I found on Pinterest. They just didn't fall into my scope of work, or SOW for all you non-working mommies. To-do lists should not cause you to feel overwhelmed, stressed or raise your blood pressure. They are more aimed at keeping you focused on the task at hand and marking each off one by one by one.

Write down your chores

Writing your chores down will help you stay on track. They will also show you if your goals are realistic or not. I also keep track with how long I spend on each job so I can manage better for the next time I come to that same job. Assign each task a time frame, set your timer, and get to it! Only spend that much time on that job. NO MORE! It's like budgeting your time.

Remember your family needs are most important

Sometimes I am in the swing of things and I will be moving in full speed just knocking each chore out when my daughter walks up to me with her plastic Cinderella glass slippers on each foot and a tiara, and she's carrying her plastic kitchen foods served on a crayon-colored plastic plate, and she will tell me it is time for a tea party. "You know what, Ady Mae, you're right. I think I will stop and have a cup of tea with you," I tell her, "but after, Mommy's got to finish her chores."

There will be a day when she does not want to have "tea" with me, but until then, no matter how many chores or how behind I am on my list, I always say "yes" to tea time. Her spontaneous tea parties may not be a necessity, but my attention to her needs are most definitely important.

Ady Mae and her bunny family

I'm curious to know how other working mommies handle the household chores? Do you have helping hands? Or a schedule? Do you hire help? I've thought about that... until I called around and was quoted for the size of my house. 

Comment below how you keep up with the daily crazies of being a mommy!

On a side note, it's my goal to post at least 2 times per week. Stay tuned! 

So Because...

This is my first blog post. Ever. So naturally, I don't really know where to begin. I question why I even started a blog and wonder who would ever want to hear what I have to say anyway. I am not a fancy lady, I don't have a fancy house, or fancy cars, so I can't really convince you that I am any one more than extraordinary. 

But I what I do. And I do it well.

I am a full-time employee at a major wireless communications corporation, a full-time wife (who happens to also work, full-time, along side me), and a full-time mommy.

You could say I am hardly never busy... No, no, actually you can't. I am ALWAYS busy. Balancing life, managing and maintaining my job (and sanity), and focusing on my family are the single most hardest things I have ever done! It's exhausting. 

But good things in life don't come free!

Being a wife, a mother, and a hard worker are both very challenging yet very rewarding too. Feeling pressure at the office and coming home to de-stress to my husband (who is also my very best friend) makes a hard day pass by quickly. Cuddling close with my daughter while reading fairy tale stories and princesses help with unwinding from the mess of work-filled clutter in my brain after hours. 

These two are my rock.

Kyker Farms, Sevierville, TN

Many of the bloggers I follow are full-time mommies or DIYers, some are both. How they maintain all that and managing a blog are beyond me, but I admire them for it, and I aspire to have the motivation and drive they must have!

Which leads me to why I created this blog.

Do you know any working mommies/wives/full-time employees anywhere? Are they running a blog? Can you give me some insight on how they do it?!?! My goal is to connect with others like me out there and exchange ideas, traditions, advice, etc. I just want to build friendships and relationships. To inspire and be inspired. You know, the kind of relations with others that make you wonder am I the only one who thinks this way or acts this way? 

It's quite simple. I just want to learn about others and myself as well. Socialization. With all I have going on, I get lost in what I want, what I need, what makes Jamie happy. I've always had a passion to write. Not anything specific or for any specific reason, but just to express my creativity. 

If you can relate with me, comment below. Let's get to know one another!