- Today our plans are "up in the air." Brian and I have made plans to have some time away (about 24 hours :D ). We thought that our children were getting better...however, last night Megan developed a fever, which has continued today. So at this point, we are waiting to see if she is going to be well enough tomorrow for us to make our trip to Gatlinburg. We are kind of frustrated at this point that our plans might be disrupted, but hopefully it will work out.
It's funny how life seems to interupt our plans. Brian and I (obviously) don't get time away that often, so it's a huge treat. We have wonderful friends who are willing to watch both of our girls...and we are looking forward to time together.
So, it may just be that our plans will be postponed!
- On another note...
I was going to write a post about something I found on the website "Girl Talk" that I found helpful.
For some background... By the time Megan was about 5 months old, I had it "together" as a mom. I really was a very organized, effecient person who achieved alot in a day. Yes, there were times that were hard, but I kept a pretty organized, clean house and was able to do alot of other things as well.
Enter 2nd child...
Things have not been as organized, and I am not able to accomplish as much as I would like to. I'm not complaining...just stating a fact. (And, if any of you veteran mothers have any suggestions...please leave a comment). It could be partly because our girls are 20 months apart, but they keep me very busy. ~ I wake up every day thinking about the many things I want to get done that day, and by the end of the day, I'm lucky if I've finished half of the tasks.
So, when I found this advice on the "Girl Talk" blog, it was helpful to me.
Did I follow it's advice? Yes, for one day....then I got out my scrapbook supplies and made a huge mess on our dining room table. Lost my focus...but hey, it needs to be done!
Focus on food and laundry (and not much else!). And keep it basic. No gourmet meals or new recipes! Go paper plates. Freeze meals ahead of time. Buy already prepared food. Do cereal if you have to! And simplify laundry by sending dress shirts to the dry cleaners or getting the kids to help sort.
(This one I don't completely agree with....I love trying new recipes!)
My mom always said: "If you make your bed and do the dishes in the sink the house will feel a whole lot cleaner!" Don’t worry about the toys on the floor or the baseboards that need scrubbing. Just set simple, achievable goals like getting the bed made every day.
Take naps and go to bed early.
We told you these were simple ideas. Although they may seem elementary, we often ignore them in favor of more complicated strategies designed to stuff our lives as full as possible. Instead, during these seasons, we should look to make extra space to meet with God and serve our families. And if we’re more peaceful in the process, then we’ll be a blessing to all around us.
- I just thought that I would share....it helped me realize that I need to focus less on ALL the things I WANT to get done. Instead, I need to focus on the MOST IMPORTANT things, and then see what else I can accomplish!
- Like I said, if anyone has any advice for simplifying my life...please share. I'm just 6 months into this "2 children" adventure. I need all the advice I can get.
By the way, I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom...I promise :D
Here are some shots from this past week...
Anybody want to pick up this little hobo? :)
Megan took a wooden spoon to this plant last night while I was talking on the phone (to you Kristen! :D) What a mess!!
As I mentioned, I have started scrapbooking again. I'm working on Katie's scrapbook, among others! This is just one of the 5 pages that I got finished...
4 comments:
As a mom of a 4 year old, 3 year old and as of next week, a 1 year old...I would like to share what I have been learning. I don't have all the answer, and maybe none...like I said I am learning. I used to have a picture perfect home before children too. Three kids later...sometimes scary. I am learning and am in the process of becoming more organized. What a HUGE help. We now have a file cabinet (well we have had one for a couple years. It's only been in the last few months that I actually use it effectively! So much better than stacks of bills and important papers, junk mail, etc. everywhere. Now we can actuall find things, quickly! And that much of the clutter is gone! same idea in our attic. Storage boxes all labled on the outside for easy reference as to the contents. I still have a long way to go, but these things are helping de-clutter.
I intend to do better at meal planing. I often make a big batch, sometimes even a HUGE batch of whatever I'm making and then freeze it or can it for a quick meal later. In the last 2 weeks I have put 12-14 quarts of each of the following into our freezer: potato soup, new england clam chowder, ministrone soup, spicy chicken soup and sausage gravy. The reason I chose to freeze most of those is because you can't can milk (it will spoil) so freezing was a great option. I also do this with casseroles and lasagna, meat loaf, etc.
I am learning that instead of doing a little bit of everything, that it is better to do ALL of a few things. Then at the end of the day I have actually FINISHED some things, rather than working all day at everything and finding at the end of the day that I have actually "finished" nothing. This way I don't feel like such a failure at the end of the day. I feel good about what I did finish.
It's true about choosing some tasks over others. Truth be told, my toilets only get scrubbed when I start to notice stuff growing in the bowl, the floor gets moped all too infrequently, and you could often draw pictures in my dust. I know that make sme sound aweful and disgusting. But, I don't have time to clean religiously like I used to. Remember ladies, this is a season in our lives. Tomorrow our children will be grown! I think a strong relationship is a lot more rewarding and important than a spotless toilet and floor.
It is amazing how much help children can actually be. And at this age they are usually very eager to help. Some of the things that my kids do to help are put dishes away, fill laundry baskets, make a bottle, they love to help vaccum! It's not perfect, but good enough, and certainly better than it was before! They love to take a baby wipe or wet wash cloth and help dust, etc. It may not sound like much, but it really is. While they load a laundry basket or put dishes away I can get lunch ready! And they help put their clothes away and make their own beds. Again it's not perfect, but good enough. Be sure to brag on them and really make a big deal about all their "big helper" jobs they do. A special prize now and then is a great encouragement. They need to know that their part in the family is special and they have very important jobs to do.
The bed, and dishes thing is sooo true! I read once that your bed takes up about 80% of your bedroom! So in 3 minutes or less you can have your bed made and 80% of your room will be in order! So true. I actually tried this concept for the first time when our room was packed with extra boxes, stuff, laundry, junk, etc. It was a huge mess! Some of it could go, some of could not. I started making the bed first thing every morning, and even though the rest of the room looked like a train wreck, it actually looked tidy. And it honestly started my day with a whole different attitude and perspective. I was amazed! Same idea for the dishes. When your counters are free from the mountians of dishes, it just feels so much cleaner, organized and inviting. One thing that really helped me was installing a dish washer! I used to spend a couple hours every day (NOT KIDDING) doing dishes with all my caning, baking, regular cooking, etc. Now I can be "done" with dishes in the 15-20 minutes it takes to put clean ones away and put durty ones in to be washed. I love it! Won't be without one again.
So, now that I have written an epistle on some of the things that are working well for me, I hope to get some great tips and ideas from some other faithful readers of Taylors blog! I sure could use them! Like I said...I'm still learning, and could use all the advice I can get.
That picture of the Hobo is too cute.
Hope it works out for you and Brian to get away.
Don't worry Jamie, everything will fall into place eventually. You will have good days full of accomplishments and other days where you won't get that much done, but it'll all work out in the end. You are doing a great job! Don't sweat the small stuff. Just enjoy your two sweet and healthy (most of the time anyway;) kids!
I am right beside you in this boat!!!!! I am a completer and how frustrating it is to feel like I am only spinning my wheeles. Like I told Chad last night, Chase makes messes much faster than I could EVER clean them up!!!!! I keep telling myself that if I had a house with more space (instead of a condo) it wouldn't be so bad!!! I know I am only dreaming! There would be a lot less clutter though!! Know anyone who would like to buy a nice condo in HObe Sound??? :-D
I guess we will just have to pray for each other! We will appreciate our sparkeling houses later in life. But then the kids will be gone so how sad will that be?? Oh, well!! I guess just enjoy every day for what it is! Mess or no mess!!!!!!
Thanks for being so real!!!
I got so tickled seeing the picture of your plant. Why is it that whenever mommy gets on the phone our children break every rule in the book!? Here I thought that it was my end of the convers ation that was a zoo!
I too am struggling with either "having a life" and doing things or having everything organized; it doesn't seem to go both ways these days. Like you said though, these things will pass... someday everything will be perfectly organized and clean again and we will wish instead we had our little ones back again.
Kristen
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