Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Balancing Act - How Do YOU Do It????


(Yes, they are in our dog's kennel.....what fun!)


This is a question I am constantly asking myself. In my efforts to be a great wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, budding entrepreneur, house keeper, cook, vet, book keeper, church goer, activities coordinator, gardener, neighbor, need I go on???? I wonder..............,

How do other people do it? How do you do it? Or, what do you let go? (such as pet hair floating throughout the house, grimy windows, etc)

Since starting this blog, my goal was to convey the trials and tribulations of combining all of the above with trying to get my business off the ground, or at the very least, keeping it up in order to give myself a creative outlet.

What I struggle with, is how to fit in what I need, with what my family needs (quality time with me, . Now, don't get me wrong, I know full and well there will come a time in my life when I will greatly miss being needed so much. I try not to think about the days when my little ones are all grown up (or think they are) and don't need their mommy quite so much.

I have found little tricks here and there to fit in what needs to get done, as I'm sure all mothers have.
One example is enlisting the "help" of my little munchkins when it comes time to clean. My boy loves to push around his little vacuum cleaner while I run mine. (That a boy! He won't be relying on a woman to clean his house when he's all grown up! At least I hope not.)


I also keep the pack-n-play close by. Even though my boy is 21 mo. old, he can't climb out of it yet. So, when I need a shower - I just plop him in there for 5 minutes (with different toys and Sesame Street). He cries 50% of the time, but hey, I smell better! And that's makes the whole family happier!

I also have found ways to actually sew while my kids are under my feet - I just let them get into it all - I have bins and boxes and more bins and boxes full of fabric scraps, yarn, ribbon, buttons, etc. that they just dump out and have a hey day with. It allows me to get some sewing in, even though the clean up at the end of the day can be a nightmare, but hey, it works for the moment.

I also participate in a neighborhood Supper Club. Four of us get together once a month and swap dinners. We each go home with 4 dinners, freezer ready. That way, one night a week, I don't have to think about dinner. Just grab it from the freezer, defrost, bake and serve.

I know my house is not all that clean and spiffy. My drawers and closets do not stay organized. Some (well, most) days I have to let one or two rooms (or ends of the house) just "go" in order to tackle the other areas.

The thing is, I like to be clean and organized. But I just don't know how to do it right now with kids, dog, etc, etc, etc.

So,....let's all share.

What are your tricks of the trade????

How do you keep your kids from smearing lotion all over the windows, from dumping out the dog's water, from scattering little bitty teensy weensy pieces of paper all over the floor? Clearing the bookshelf of books in one clear swoop? Dropping various objects into the toilet?

Get my picture?

How do you fit it all in????

For some inspiration on what you would do with 5 hours to yourself read my friend Forever Flamingo . Thanks Lacie for allowing me to dream a little dream!





4 comments:

Christie said...

This was a great post for me to read because sometimes I feel like I am totally failing to do it all. In fact, I totally fail to do anything some days. (I am 8 months pregnant right now, so that's my excuse for the moment.) I also do a dinner swap and leave the kids caged in their rooms for an extra 10 minutes in the morning so I can shower. They cry for me the whole time, but you are right...I am cleaner and happier that way. I think the way I maintain my sanity is to quit at 8:00pm. Other employees have a starting time and quitting time...why shouldn't we. So once the kids are fed, bathed, read to, prayed for and tucked in bed I put everything else aside (like dishes if they weren't done or other cleaning) and do what I want once it hits 8:00. Sometimes I read, sometimes I sleep, sometimes I sew, sometimes I veg in front of the TV (always with ice cream). The point is, after putting in a 14-15 hour day, I figure I'm done at 8:00 and that's that.

That is, until one of the kids cries out in the middle of the night. Luckily I have a hubby who stays up until 2:00 in the morning, so he usually takes care of them.

RetroLeeTX said...

Being 8 mo. pregnant is a pretty good excuse! In fact, I'd say once that baby arrives, you'll have a lot more excuses. Knocking off at 8pm sounds great to me. I think I'll try it. I did manage to get mine in bed aroudn 7:45pm tonight, so that made my evening a bit more relaxing. Good luck to you!

Lavender Lemonade said...

I stumbled onto your blog from MommyFest and I'll be back. I'm always wondering "how does she do it?" too! I know so many great moms who do amazing things. Sometimes it just makes me feel inept...but then there are those "other" (tongue-in-cheek) moms...that help me to feel like I'm doing OK. :)

RetroLeeTX said...

lavendar -
thanks for stopping in. I really do wonder how other moms do it - and what they obviously have to "let go" - you can't do it all? right??! Or am I missing something? hope to hear from you again.

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