Monday, March 27, 2006

I'm now a WAHM

I've been a SAHM since I became pregnant with Caleb, my first. I worked as a veterinary technician and in a small town, working in a small vet clinic, I would've been pretty useless (no x-rays, cat kennel duty, etc.) and I didn't think anyone would want to hire me for the short-term, so I used my pregnancy to unpack from our recent move. I'm not the worst housekeeper, but I'm definately not the best. The house is usually ready for drop in visitors, thanks to Flylady, but some of the little things weren't getting done. In January, I made out my resolution list and a daily checklist of things I wanted to do each day to make those goals. It worked for about a month, then I noticed that the small things were slipping through the cracks again. I was never like this when I was working. The details were my pride and joy. My hair bows matched my scrubs, I labeled everything at the clinic, I colour-coded our surgery packs. Where was this person now? I needed her now more than ever!! Today is the first day back on the job. I'm not as work now, play later as I once was. I think that was my downfall earlier. I'm also paying myself. When Perry saw the payment plan I had on my to do list, he was upset, as he felt that I should know that I can buy whatever I want, no explanation or accountability to him. I explained that I knew that, but I need a little inspiration. I'm paying myself $1/day when I finish my daily chores. Losing weight is tied into that, too. At my weekly weigh-in, each pound lost or gained is worth a dollar, be it added or subtracted to my total (I felt it was necessary to tie in some negative reinforcement). I let myself have a soda a day, and any extra soda is worth $.50. If I go to Wendy's and buy my son's meal, that comes out of my balance. I know $1/day is pretty low for all I do in the day, but I figure that most of what I make will be spent out on my Saturday grocery shopping lunch, or a stop by Wendy's in the middle of a hectic day out. If I make more, I'll go out more, which is not good for either the waistline or the bank account. I'm going to throw in little incentive extras along the way, such as making a weight loss goal, or doing extra work in a different zone. I hope this system will let me stay on top of the kids' daily destruction, as well as regain control of the house, little by little.

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