Today I crossed over and temporarily became one of those moms.
You know the kind of mom I mean. The one whose home you glimpsed during your younger, childless days and inwardly shuddered because each room was messier than the last, with toys strewn from one end of the house to the other interrupted only by a pile of dishes in the sink and a basket of laundry waiting for a turn in the machine.
It's the kind of house I swore I'd never keep. The kind of mom I swore I'd never be.
Today though, that promise crumbled like a cracker in my daughter's excited hands.
Don't worry, I have several things to blame.
* I've been working days and evenings so far this week in order to stay home an extra day to deal with a childcare crisis today.
* The city turned my water off for "about an hour" while they fixed some problem on my street. It ended up taking hours.
* I've been playing single mom for a few days while Derek works a side job out of town.
* I have a 1-year-old. That alone should be explanation enough.
But despite the legitimacy of my arguments above and the fact that my enthusiasm for a good house cleaning wanes every time I pick up one room only to turn around and find Lydia has undone the better portion of my progress, I am still committed to not becoming one of those moms. If you have any tips on how to keep that from happening, let me know. So far my only answer is a recently completed late night cleaning session that will be undone the moment Lydia wakes up tomorrow.
Good thing I love that girl!
Baku's Boulevard
9 years ago
5 comments:
You make your house sound far worse than I know it has ever been. Remember, I saw it twice this week (and contributed to some of the untidiness as I watched Lydia pull things out in every room) but there wasn't anything that a few moments of toy pick-up wouldn't solve and it wasn't dirty.
Sorry about the water issue. I thought it was so kind of them to warn you of "about an hour". Guess they weren't so kind after all.
Enjoy tomorrow!
Welcome to the club!
Here is my advice, since I'm all worthy of giving such advice, eh?
Relax. This is your life right now, a full time mom & wife and a part time job. It won't always be like this so remember to enjoy it despite the crazy days like this because the crazy days are always going to be there!!
My solution is to wait till they go to bed and clean like crazy until it's done. If you leave it for morning you will never get it done and you'll spend your whole day cleaning and trying to keep up with Lydia. Here I sit painting my toes well after midnight which is totally crazy..
Good luck. You'll find something that works for you as you get used to having a little mess maker around. For me, staying up late works so I can wake up to a clean house which makes such a big difference on the mood in my home for everyone!
That is something I promised myself as well! I did good with one kiddo but now with two it is SO hard. I don't have any advice but I wanted you to know you aren't the only one in that boat.
Thanks for sharing. And I love your crumbled cracker comment. SO funny!
I briefly looked over the other comments and here's my two cents: I clean while they nap. By cleaning, I mean laundary, bathrooms ... all the deep down chemically things that I don't want their little paws in our their sweet intentions to "help" with. I do the dishes in the morning and at nap and the rest: I let it come as it will. You know I'm neurotic, especially about house cleaning, but I let those monkeys do their damage during the day and I don't touch their playing mess, not even when they nap. Once they go to bed for the night, I pick up all the toys and let the house breath. You can't beat yourself up over it. Trying to clean up while your baby is playing is just, well, impossible. Don't beat yourself up. Give into it and enjoy it with her.
You are doing a great job I'm sure!! Don't worry about it. If people catch a glimpse of your untidiness they will either understand because they are or have been in the same boat or if they judge you, then someday it will come back to bite them when they have kids!
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