The End is Near

I have been in school for 17 years of my life, college for 5, and I am about to be done forever. I will graduate with my bachelor’s degree in June and it is hard to wrap my head around. After being in school for so long, and thinking about that end date, it’s hard to believe it’ll be complete in less than 4 months, just in time to enjoy my first summer off school in years. I don’t even know what I’m going to do with myself; laugh, cry, jump, scream, sleep, or just enjoy my free time! Whatever I do, it won’t be school work! 

Check out this link to read graduation statistics from the Census. I am so happy to join the 33% of the population holding a Bachelor's degree! http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf  

Balancing school, work, and life was going pretty well for the most part, then my beautiful baby girl came along and made it so much more difficult to focus and work. Previously, I set time aside to study and I was able focus on my schoolwork and accomplish what needed to be done. But being a wife and a mother caused me to make some big changes in order to be successful in school. Here are a few of the things I have done to help encourage success in my time management:

-          Set a designated time to do schoolwork every day. For me, this is any time Brooklyn is asleep. Nap time = school time. 

-         Organize your week ahead of time and do your best to stick to that schedule. Mapping out the week before it starts helps get a visual of what your week will be like plus it makes you accountable to stay on track.

-          Keep your end goals in mind. When I’m feeling especially drained or discouraged, I just  think about graduation and the happiness that comes with achieving that goal. It’s a great motivator.

-          Give yourself breaks. If your schedule allows, give yourself at least one night a week to yourself; no schoolwork or readings, just relaxation. This is the best day of the week 😊

If you have any other tips or tricks to share, please share them in the comments! 

💗

Ashley

Wifey

In honor of Valentine’s Day next week, let’s talk about love.💗 I met Zack my junior year of high school. We were classmates in the most romantic class (just kidding); advanced algebra and trigonometry. I would go home and talk about him with my friends, even referring to him as my “husband”. Then one day we started talking through a mutual friend and years later, that mutual friend became a pastor and ended up marrying us. It was awesome.

Even though we’ve been married for years, it still seems a bit strange to hear Zack refer to me as his wife. After talking about it for so long, it still seems surreal that we’re actually at this point in our lives. We used to talk about where we would want to buy a house, how many kids we wanted, if we wanted any pets, and now we’re living it. It’s been great to see our dreams and goals come to fruition.

When we were dating, we used to go out on dates a few times a week. We’d go out to dinner, see movies, or just enjoy each other’s company. Now that we’re married with a house of our own and a toddler, we go on about one date a year. Not that going on official “dates” is that important, but it signifies time together that we don’t usually get. Living a busy life certainly makes the seemingly simple things more difficult!

This video by Talya Rose has some great tips about keeping a happy marriage during child rearing years!

Not that I’m trying to make excuses, but when you work full time, go to school, and take care of a toddler, it’s pretty easy to let spousal relationships fall to the back burner. We make sure to spend time together every day and do our best to make the other feel important and remembered. Even though those are just little things, they are important. I’ll have significantly more free time after I graduate in June, and that means I am going to spend some quality time with Zack. Even if it’s just quiet time together on the deck or watching a movie on the couch, anything as long as it is quality time spent together!

Ashley

You can find me at the kids table

I have always looked forward to being a mom. I think a good majority of people can say that, but I reallyyy mean it. I looked at moms with young children who spoke in their broken, still being learned English, and was amazed how moms would know exactly what their little ones needed. I couldn’t wait for that part of my life. I felt I would be ready when the time came, as I have always been the one to follow the rules, be organized, and act responsibly. For example, friends in high school gave me the nickname “mom” because I always acted mom-like in these ways. I couldn’t wait for that stage, because I knew it would be some of the best times of my life.

Now that I am mommy to my beautiful baby girl Brooklyn, I couldn’t be happier. We have so much fun together and there is absolutely nothing like it. It’s hard to say which age has been our favorite so far, since it seems like we say that at every new stage of her growth and development. Right now, 2 ½ is a pretty awesome age. We sing and dance, read, play, and snuggle together to relax after a fun day. In one light, I don’t want these days to ever end, but in another, I can’t wait to see what she will be like at 5, 10, or 20 years old.

Check out this video by Marie Forleo about balancing life as a working mom. Like her, nap time is my school time! 

Finding balance between trying to be the best mom possible while trying to work and do well in school is not an easy feat. It is so challenging to make everything work in harmony but I try my very best to be a fun mom at home, family gettogethers, anywhere. I am always the one running around with the kids on my back, playing hide-and-go-seek, and playing puzzles on the floor. We dance and sing, act silly, and play princesses together. It is fun for Brooklyn (and at gettogethers, her cousin too) but it is so important to me. This bonding time is precious time that goes by too fast, so I spend it with the kids. I know I’m just starting my child-bearing years, and I have many years ahead of me, but I know too, just how fast these years will go, and I know I want to spend them at the kids table.

💗

 Ashley

It's a Dynamic Life

It was last week. About 12:30 am and I was working away at my management homework, thinking to myself “There’s gotta be a better way…”. But sometimes, time constraints mean the only logical solution is to stay up until 1:00 am every night in order to do what needs to be done. Between working full time, having a 2 ½ year old, and going to college, sometimes the thing that has to give, is yourself.

Time management is one of those things that you can think you are doing great at until something happens that makes you realize you have no idea what you’re actually doing. I was like this before I had my daughter. I still worked and went to college, but I had time to do whatever in the meantime. Now, bed time = homework time. Not that I’m complaining, because honestly, being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me. But it really makes you think about how you spend your time and how to get the most from it.

I mean, look at this face. That's my Brooklyn. 2 1/2 years of cuteness right there.

 

Do I go out with friends? Go to the movies? Go shopping? You bet I don’t. No time for friends or movies, and shopping is done online. Sometimes opportunities will come up, and time management makes you say no. Making trade-offs can be tough, and definitely something no one wants to do. But the thing with that is, it makes you enjoy the fun times so much more.

Check out this video from Marissa Roberts for some great tips. I use time-batching and it really helps increase productivity.

Christmas was just a few weeks ago, and it signaled the break from some of the busiest months I’ve had (dare I say, ever). I squeezed everything I could into that Christmas break. We baked cookies, saw Santa, went to about 7 Christmas parties, watched movies, played in the snow, made crafts, made a gingerbread house, just about every Christmas-themed thing you can think of. And you know what? It was awesome. It was so fun. Nearly constant time constraints really make you appreciate the fun times.

So, what was my reaction when the cat wanted to destroy the Christmas tree? Or when my father in-law’s Christmas gift was delivered late (back to that online shopping thing)? I learned to deal with it in a reasonable way. I didn’t sweat the small stuff. After months of being hyper-pressed for time, I didn’t want to spend my free time as an angry elf. I didn’t sweat the small stuff.

It’s all a balancing act. Seeing what works and what doesn’t work. But I’ll tell you what, learning time management has taught me just how much I am capable of, and it’s awesome.

Look for me on Facebook or Twitter too, just search for Dupre Dynamic!

💗

Ashley