type A wannabe

most of you who know me well enough, may also know that to everyone else i may appear to be a type A person when in reality i am only a type A wannabe.

its true.
i’m passive.
i’m a hoarder.
i’m non-confrontational.
i’m really bad at maintaining schtuff.
i’m late to just about E V E R Y T H I N G.
i’m a super good starter but horrible finisher.

thankfully, God matched me with my polar opposite who is maybe just a wee bit overboard on the type A spectrum. did you know? it’s funny when people meet him after reading this blog, they are so confused. friends tell me i portray him here as the laid back, go with the flow, whatever’s clever kind of guy.

nope! that would be me (at least in comparison to him)

needless to say we fuss and fight about really stupid things, such as.. the organizational needs of a junk drawer (who does that?), or the complaint that every room in our 3500 sq ft. home is comprised of preschool crap! -including his garage. then there’s me who “can’t bring myself” to clear out the kids' dressers overstuffed with out-grown clothes, or when the 6 o’clock hour rolls around and i’m piddling about the house, “oh you wanted dinner again tonight? hmmm… bagel bites?"

of course in the end we compromise, we learn, we sacrifice, and we are all the better for it together- balancing each others’ flaws and amplifying each others’ strengths. we become more… one. and the tension, well, it just keeps us real.

i finally came to grips with it one day: in his world organization and order are crucial because they have to be… or people die. his type A makes for an amazing nurse, and in the same sense i feel cut out for whatever i may be attempting -- as the woman with endless interests hats. (ha! ADD at it’s best.)

except some days it seems those hats are pressing in, pressing down really, and i feel overwhelmed, like i’m drowning beneath a sea of willful hats. i won’t go into my pity party rant – in fact, i just deleted half of this paragraph- about how much i actually manage. that's not the point (and besides, i signed up for every single one of them). the point is i suck at prioritizing and i fail to follow through mainly because i get sucked away into other more interesting tasks (i.e. distractions), and i never stick to the plan, much less make a plan.

so in all my discontent i decided to give myself a little shove in the type A direction... something to get me out of lala-land, to summon my most pertinent priorities and life goals at any given moment. things i should probably REMEMBER – like dinner and doctor appts. perspective preschool interviews and playdates. i’m very distractible -as we all are- but on top of that, i tend to forget quickly and don’t go back. that’s why text messaging is a cursed thing in my opinion.

something as simple as having a set day to do laundry and meal plan for the week with expected shopping trip for said meals on specific days could maybe change my mediocre attempt at staying afloat to possibly swimming laps with time left over to serve others more intentionally.

i made myself one of those nifty household management binders along with a family schedule. (one for summer and one for fall and probably winter, etc.)  let me say first off, im no slave to thirty minute increments or a rigid neatly typed schedule such as this. for me, it’s solely a guide to keep me focused on my true priorities.

and after creating this i realized just how much time i do have.. time i kill fidgeting, time i squander fiddling on my phone or watching mindless episodes of phineas and ferb - granted, there is always time for Phineas and Ferb, but i must first evaluate my necessary priorities. to do that, i look to this.

here's the summer version... it needs some tweaking on a daily basis since it doesn't really include Adam's unpredictable work schedule, Alli's feedings..(or the time i spend just oogling her)..


the binder is my favorite. it's small,  5 x 8 and even fits in my purse. i divided it up into sections important to our clan. you can find all the printables FREE here!

 it includes these dividers:

MONTHLY CALENDAR- master family calendar includes adam's days off, kids practices, alli's therapy, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
PERSONAL - adam's work schedule, to do lists, daily page, goals, long term and short
SCHOOL- school calendar, events, kids' school goals, reminders
MENU/SHOP- weekly menu plan, grocery guide, take-out directory, recipes to try
LETTERS- birthday organizer, gift lists, cards, stamps, thank you cards lists
CHORES- weekly chore chart, cleaning schedule, kids chore cards and stickers
OUTINGS- summer bucket list, family traditions, date night ideas, family day locations
HEALTH- doc appt reminders, exercise log
BUSINESS- photography clients phone numbers and release forms, preschool to-dos, marketing brochures, spending lists and receipts
BLOG- post ideas, calendar of posts, the blogger's prayer, blogging goals
T.A.G. (time alone with God)- Bible study worksheet, small group contacts, prayer cards


so there you have it, my type A wannabe-ness in full affect. here's to hoping it helps keep some peace... or perhaps someone out there a little like me... or, OR makes someone laugh out loud at how utterly absurd this is.