Sunday, June 12, 2011

How to efficiently run a household and your life on a 4-hour workday...

I'm sitting on the floor drinking my second cup of coffee- I love Sunday mornings when I get up early enough to enjoy them- and Abigail is alternating between playing with the clean laundry and trying to use her face to crawl ( not working out so well for her).


my child

Mornings like this I feel calm, not behind on my list of 'to-dos' and excited about caring for my daughter.
Days like Friday though I wonder how we could ever have more children.
It's not that Friday was a bad day; on the contrary: we had a slow morning, walked, ate lunch with a friend, lots of circumstantial joys....but by the time 6 o'clock rolled around I was ready for a break from any and all responsibility.
 As best as I can figure, there are, in general, two reasons for this:

1.) I have a child and a home to care for, both of those ( mostly the child ) are a lot of work (and fun). You just can't get as much done when you spend upwards of 3-4 hours every day just feeding and changing diapers. Logistically it can't happen. Having a baby makes me very, very glad to be married. Knowing that I can hand her to John when I need a break is huge. My empathy ( is it empathy or sympathy? I think empathy) for single parents has broadened considerably since having one of my own. Being that sole need-meeter is a lot and wears a body out. And I've got an awfully even-tempered little girl, it's hard to imagine how tiring a collicky baby could be.

my even-tempered child

2.) I like to try to rest in my accomplished to-do list instead of resting in the Lord or simply resting, period. I want to be able to tell John "Today was a good day because we accomplished 10 things". Which is hogwash. It means I get really busy around 2 and rush to get all the things done I didn't do in the morning. When I speak those thoughts out loud I realize how silly that mindset is, but if I'm not being purposeful about guarding against the "perfect housekeeper syndrome" I fall into it naturally.  Being a perfect mother is unattainable, so I try to be the perfect "doer of the to-do list" equally as unattainable but  it appears much closer and boosts my ego when I get close. Sigh.

So, back to Friday night; when John got home he was awfully sweet and played with her (she's getting a tooth so fussiness has ramped up a bit) while I got dinner ready. Then he helped with the dishes ( I love this man, and when he does dishes it warms my heart :o).
The man I love; who also happens to be the father of my child

By bedtime I was feeling a lot better. Then I took off for a couple of hours Saturday morning to garage sale and left my better halves at home. The break was fantastic (and I found some great stuff).

My goal this week so I can actually enjoy the joys of each day:
1.) Rest in the Lord during the day and not find my worth in my accomplishments....easy, right?
2.) Actually stop the busyness and put up my feet for a bit around 4 to recharge for the evening.

With a sweet girl like this the hard work is worth it.



Anyone else have the same issues? 

        

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Really??

Part of me cannot believe that I am doing this; joining the world of blogging seems fraught with time-wasting, ego-boosting (or crushing) and good intentions gone bad. But, since none of you (meaning family) are close enough to see the punkin each day, I thought it might be the most loving thing to do :o)

In other words: this is for the grandparents.

Just For The Grandparents...

Went in for the 6 month check-up today. When the nurse heard we were due for shots she tried to back out: afraid that Abigail would link her with the needles and stop handing out smiles.

Then, when the doctor came in to check stats she actually laughed while plotting Abigail's weight and height on the chart:

How To Move At 6 Months

Like this....crying being optional


abigail on the move from Katy Kirkwood on Vimeo.