My to do list is never ending and I'm lucky if I get one item done these days. I laugh hysterically at the laundry monster who haunts and stares at me everyday. "You shall never get me done. bwahahaha!" Yes laundry monster, you win everyday. Sigh. With a new baby, writing my first book and juggling the everyday things, life has gotten a little crazy.
My days normally go like this. Please note that this is a short and sweet version of my day:
8:00 am - breakfast
*in between five diaper changes, spilled milk, must get kids out of the house before I lose my mind, and screaming baby *
10:00 am- still trying to clean up from breakfast. Got half the dishes in the dishwasher when I realize I haven't even unloaded the clean dishes. *slaps forehead*
11:00 am - kids start begging for a snack. "But I just cleaned breakfast and you're hungry again!!"
12:00 pm - I decide I need to feed these kids before their sugar level drops any further and the crying goes from a whine to a full blown temper tantrum which leads to throwing ourselves on the ground and biting.
Side note - I envy all you parents whose kids still nap. No nappers here besides the baby, who bless his heart, tries to nap but normally gets a car on his stomach, a sloppy ketchup kiss or "let it go let it go" sung to him.
1:00 pm - I receive a text from husband "are you ok? kids ok? is the house ok?" It's his way of asking me if I am still standing or am I waving a white flag. Trust me there are days I want to text him "COME HOME NOW OR IM GETTING A ONE WAY TICKET TO SOMEWHERE WARM AND TROPICAL WITHOUT ANY OF YOU!" yes those caps are intentional and I am screaming.
3:00 pm- I'm done. I have reached exhaustion and have not done anything on my to do list besides feed the kids and get them partially dressed. At this point I have caved and I decide the best thing for all of us is to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime and/or Hulu Plus. God bless internet service and streaming.
6:30 - husband walks in the door and I disappear
So the question I get asked frequently is "how do you balance everything?" The answer is I DONT! I try and I've read countless blog posts from establishing a routine to living a simpler life. But in all honesty, right now I live moment by moment and I am very forgiving to myself and everything I said I was not going to do when I became a mom, I have now done. If I take away all things "I have to get done" my days go smoother. I do what I can, write when I can and do laundry when I can. Instead of focusing on what I didn't get done, I focus on what I have gotten done. I gave my kids lots of love, I fed them, we eventually got outside and we are all still alive. There is more positive in my day when I look at it from this perspective.
So if you ever come over and you step on a lego or there is no clean cups or a kid is running around naked, welcome to my happy home. This is how we are balancing life, for now.