It's party day -whew! Time to bring on the Batman, the cake, and the three year olds. Then - a nap. (Who am I kidding - naps are a distant and beautiful memory.)
I have been wishing daily to blog and keep up with all of your blogs, but this whole working mom (with a new, much more intense job description - which I love, don't get me wrong) is way freaking harder than I thought. Every second of my waking hours seems to be full and yet I have a messy house, a stack of work I need to get to, and a husband I vaguely remember having adult dinners with.
The good side is this, I have never had to prioritize and organize so carefully in my life. I am an easily distracted person who has had the bad habit of bouncing from one project to the next instead of taking my mom's best advice - One Thing At a Time Until It's Done. I also prefer to start with something I like (like blogging, cooking, organizing the baby's clothes) instead of what is truly most important (getting food on the table - gourmet or not, packing lunches, making sure everyone has clothes for tomorrow). No more of that! Now I have to put first things first or they won't happen. It is a wake up call that I needed.
Could the house be cleaner, if I decided that sweeping, dusting, and organizing where second after basic needs? Probably. But, I have decided that those things are not my next priority.
Better Homes and Gardens will not be knocking on my door. I haven't cooked a complicated recipe in three weeks. But, last night I sat and held my baby for half an hour, rocking him and talking with him and gazing into his deep blue eyes. Today, I am going to spend two hours focusing all of my attention on making sure my three year old has the Batmaniest, best birthday party he can imagine (I even hired a babysitter for the baby so that the three year old will get all of our attention for once). As long as I am keep us fed, clothed, and relatively clean - the next most important priority is time with my kids.
So, if you happen to come to my house and you notice the mess, here is what I want. When you see the dirty dishes in the sink, notice instead the art supplies and pictures strewn around the kitchen table where we were making beautiful pictures. When you see the pile of shoes in the living room, also notice the pile of storybooks on the couch where we were curled up reading. If you happen to go into my bedroom and want to focus on the papers overflowing the "to file" box, take a peek at the stack of baseball cards Stone and Simon spend hours enthusiastically organizing.
This part of my life is not as polished on the outside as I have previously expected from myself, but it is the sweetest, best part I have ever experienced.
I have been wishing daily to blog and keep up with all of your blogs, but this whole working mom (with a new, much more intense job description - which I love, don't get me wrong) is way freaking harder than I thought. Every second of my waking hours seems to be full and yet I have a messy house, a stack of work I need to get to, and a husband I vaguely remember having adult dinners with.
The good side is this, I have never had to prioritize and organize so carefully in my life. I am an easily distracted person who has had the bad habit of bouncing from one project to the next instead of taking my mom's best advice - One Thing At a Time Until It's Done. I also prefer to start with something I like (like blogging, cooking, organizing the baby's clothes) instead of what is truly most important (getting food on the table - gourmet or not, packing lunches, making sure everyone has clothes for tomorrow). No more of that! Now I have to put first things first or they won't happen. It is a wake up call that I needed.
Could the house be cleaner, if I decided that sweeping, dusting, and organizing where second after basic needs? Probably. But, I have decided that those things are not my next priority.
Better Homes and Gardens will not be knocking on my door. I haven't cooked a complicated recipe in three weeks. But, last night I sat and held my baby for half an hour, rocking him and talking with him and gazing into his deep blue eyes. Today, I am going to spend two hours focusing all of my attention on making sure my three year old has the Batmaniest, best birthday party he can imagine (I even hired a babysitter for the baby so that the three year old will get all of our attention for once). As long as I am keep us fed, clothed, and relatively clean - the next most important priority is time with my kids.
So, if you happen to come to my house and you notice the mess, here is what I want. When you see the dirty dishes in the sink, notice instead the art supplies and pictures strewn around the kitchen table where we were making beautiful pictures. When you see the pile of shoes in the living room, also notice the pile of storybooks on the couch where we were curled up reading. If you happen to go into my bedroom and want to focus on the papers overflowing the "to file" box, take a peek at the stack of baseball cards Stone and Simon spend hours enthusiastically organizing.
This part of my life is not as polished on the outside as I have previously expected from myself, but it is the sweetest, best part I have ever experienced.
whew...looks like there has been lots of going on over there!
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