I need time to be on MY side!

Something that has made it to the list of things that are now SUPER important to me is...TIME!! With being back to work, I must be very mindful of how I spend my time once I leave. I'm unable to spend as much time with Joshua as I used to, which I'm not happy about, so when I get off work I want to make sure that I do what I can so I can be with him before it's bedtime. Let me tell ya...that is hard to do! I get off work at 4:30p and the earliest I can make it home is 5p. That's granted if I don't have to pick him up from his grandmothers, or if I have to stop at the store, or anywhere else. Once I get home it's time to make dinner...eat...bath...pj's...bottle...bed! :( It just isn't fair! Making dinner takes up a lot of time that could be spend with Joshua, but I've recently started making dinner every night to save money, and to get into the habit of making dinner so Joshua can have a home cooked meal every night. No more eating out! If we eat out it will be a rare privilege. This will be a change for us because we used to eat out all of the time. Anyway, I've been trying to figure out a better way to manage my time. I thought about preparing the meals in the morning before work, but that will be difficult because I already wake up at 4:30a on the days I work out. However, this morning I was able to get up at 4:30a, pump, do the dishes (I know should have been done the night before) defrost chicken, and boil pasta for tonight dinner. I was hoping to also cut what needed to be cut, but time totally ran out and I was late to the gym. However, every little bit helps. I was thinking about asking my manager if I could start work at 7a instead of 8a so I can get off earlier, but then that would cut into my workout time which is desperately needed. I have no idea how I'm going to work all of this out, but I know God has already done so!

I actually posted this question with some other women that are mothers, and they gave the advice to prepare all of my meals for the week on Sunday. I've heard that before, but never really tried it. Some even suggested that I prepare the meals for the entire month. How great would it be to do something like that! However, preparing for the month is overwhelming for me right now, but I think I'm going to try and start with the week suggestion for now. I'm sure that will help out tremendously! I'll begin that task this Sunday! :)