Routines are so not routine...

I must say that I will be very glad to have 2009 over and done with!  It seems like one thing after another goes wrong in my life.  Little things, big things, medium things.  My husband's boss supplies us with a portable wi-fi account that has limited bandwith - one of those Sprint accounts.  We used up the bandwith about a week before the end of the month and I've been without regular internet service at home for the last week.  During this week I should have (1) finished my grading for my classes and submitted them, (2) figured out my routine/scheduling, and (3) got my syllabi revised for next semester.  Because of my total loss of routines and maybe a little because of the loss of internet, I have done none of those things.  Today was my first day back on the schedule I set up for me and Bean, and I can say that i definitely feel much more productive when I stick with the routine, even if I am not totally productive even with the routine.

I'm not sure if the two are related, but Bean has been completely off any kind of sleep schedule for the past two weeks or so.  Its been horrible.  She doesn't really nap (although, she is taking her first nap of the day right now in her swing.  Hopefully it lasts longer than her morning nap, which was all of 20 minutes.  Last night, she did sleep for four and a half hours, which is about the longest at one time she has done in the past two weeks.  Its really killing me.  I don't really nap well during the day and I am a light sleeper, so even when my hubby gets up with her, I am still awake and often unable to go back to sleep immediately.  I am hoping that things will change if I get her on a regular schedule/routine, but I'm not holding out any promise of that.

I am ready to get myself on a regular routine/schedule for 2010.  My husband made our usual argument against routines last week - he said, "do you really think with OUR lives we can ever have a routine?" and I quickly responded with the conclusion I had come to only a few weeks back - its all about prioritization.  We have established a routine for giving Bean her medicines because we prioritize it.  Nothing is more important than her getting those medicines, no matter what else might be going on in our lives or how much we would rather be sleeping or watching TV or continuing our drive to somewhere.  We need to start prioritizing other things in our lives in an equal way.  That is what the schedule I've come up with is all about.  Without some guidance, our laptops and the TV gets priority.

So, 2010 will be Year of the Routine for me!  It will not be easy to establish those routines and really stick with them, but nothing worth doing is easy...right?  So, in honor of the Year of the Routine, I will be establishing a routine for this blog.  I will post at least five days a week in the new year (need to give myself a reality break of two days a week) - and may even post more should the motivation be there.  I have not established a type of post for each of those days, but I think it may help to have that as well.  I will be thinking about that over the next week so that I can get rolling right away on the first.

So, although routines may not be routine with me now, my hopes it that by the end of 2010 routines will be routine for me and my family!