Ok, fellow mommies, HOW do you do it? Where do you find the energy? How do you schedule your time?/ What do you do? I am talking about LIFE, raising your children, takeing care of hubby and your home? HOW do you do it? What do you do in a day? How do you figure it all out, how do you find enough time and energy? I keep being told even by Jeremiah's Therapist I need to take care of me. WHAT does that mean? I am not trying to be funny or sarcastic I am serious. I am really wanting an interactive post today. HOW DO YOU DO IT? Please share about your days, what do you do with your kids, your hubby, what kind of snacks do you serve, what time do you serve them, do you have a cleaning schedule, what do you do to take care of you, what kind of suppers and lunches and breakfasts do you serve, and what time do you serve those, is there a breakup of things you do and hubby does or is everything at home your job. Please share...I am feeling very overwhelemed with life at this point and I need to hear form other moms. I see such clean homes in alot of the pictures. HOW do you do that? What do you do daily, weekly, regulary on your home. I literally want to hear all about you! PLEASE SHARE :)
Also I thought I would share with you my friend is doing a giveaway and with Christmas coming I thought yall might want a shot at it too :) I am PRAYING I win but if I dont I would love if a friend did :)
Go check it out at her blog HERE
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The FIRST Picture we EVER saw!
Noah WesLee 5 months old
The First Picture we ever saw of:
Jeremiah Harold Sisemore ~1 year
13 comments:
Well in my case, it's pretty simple and easy. Sam, is now 10 in school leaves at 7:50 - gets off the bus at 2:50 - Todd works and gets home around 4pm, sometimes an hour earlier. Right now I can't do much being I had surgery and i'm in recovery for 6 weeks, with 4 more to go. But I usually pick up during the week, but nothing much. I clean real good once a week, do laundry during the week as well, as I spend time with the family on the weekends. I love cooking in my crock pot, makes great meals, makes the house smell good and dinner is done by the time my husband gets home. We have schedules - Sam, has a snack when he comes home from school, and it's dinner right at 5p, no later then that unless my meal isn't all the way done. But being i'm home, I have all the time in the world to do that. I pull weeds in my yard, I normally do the grass as again my husband works outside the home and I don't want him doing all this on the weekend, we love our family time together. So, I basically have 6 hrs to myself before my guys get home. My house right now is a mess because I can't do anything, but the moment I can...boom....i'm cleaning. I a lot of the time would stay up a few hours later then my guys and do stuff that doesn't make noise at night so it's done...like clean on the other side of the house while the guys are in bed, then vacuum in the morning when i'm done cleaning. The nice thing right now there isn't any little ones in the house for me to take care of. Once Emma gets here i'm sure that's going to be a completely different story. But I have my guys pretty well trained to pick up after themselves and we're all happy. I just like a dirty house and believe in my saying this...I hate not being able to do anything right now, but I can't take any chances on hurting myself to keep me down another month of two. I even find time to walk 3 miles a day, and I would do that at 6:15am it's takes an hour, so therefore I would get Sam up at 6, feed him breakfast and make sure he gets dressed, by the time I get back, he's dressed, teeth brushed clothes on, hair done and he's watching TV. It really is easy for me. I was much harder when Sam was younger. Little ones require a lot of attention, I know I've been there, but the older they get the less they want you. Am i'm so looking forward to being a Mommy to a little girl one day, and I will spend all my time with her and put house work aside until she's napping. It all works out, it really does. Gosh, I feel like I just wrote a book.
well around here the big girls help.
kati cleans the kitchen and makes breakfast for everyone.
Kori cleans the living room and makes lunch for everyone.
they split evenings helping me cook. I cook, they do the grunt work including clearing off and setting the table.
I pay for anyone who wants to help with laundry and extra cleaning.
The way I see it, you are or should be still in SURVIVAL MODE. You haven't been home with Jeremiah very long and you've had alot to adjust to during that time. Not to mention the trauma of a long hospital stay.
I could tell you all about my daily schedule, but it wouldn't really be fair if you expect yourself to follow someone else's life prints. I am soooooo far from where we were this time last year.
You are really accomplishing so much by getting the boys out to therapies and even trying to do playgroup. Survival mode for me is to wear pajamas often and keep to the home base. Even now, the less we have on our calendar, the calmer and happier we all are.
Taking care of me means computer time. It also means having time to shower and eat. Mark is good about helping me when he comes home.
One thing I have done that I highly recommend is having a schedule. Especially for bedtime. I worked hard on it, but now my girls go to sleep at 7pm and usually sleep 12 hours. I feed them together, bathe them together and keep them on the same sleeping schedule. Do you use Melatonin?
I find that if we are home most days I can clean up the house a little each day. It's not a big deal. I'm always cleaning something and trying to keep my surroundings neat because I feel better that way.
Good Luck. Hope you find your comfort zone. You have been adjusting to alot. Please don't look around and compare yourselves to others. No one's life is how it appears. Scale back and give yourself a break. Make sure your boys feel loved and that is the only requirement in a day! Use the crockpot or plan cook ahead recipes. Make soups and things that will last for more than one meal.
Hope something here is helpful.
Love, sherri
Well we have routines, but it is still hard. I'm working full time and I feel that I hardly get time with Isaac. I know I went to counseling after he came home and was told that I wasn't taking care of myself. Now with only one Craig and I take turns putting him to bed so every other night I can have extra time to relax or read or whatever. I don't know how that will work when Aryn comes home. The crockpot is a great thing I try to do meals in the crockpot, but lately I haven't been doing so good at it. I do like the crockpot because everything is in one dish and it makes cleanup so much easier. As far as cleaning, my house is still passable by most standards, but there are toys everywhere and the carpet is getting furry I just don't vaccume as much as I should because it's hard to find the time. I try to do a load of laundry a day so I don't have so much of it to do, but that's hard to do when the kids are smaller and still going through so much laundry. I'm praying for you. I know God can help you with your scheduling. Don't feel guilty taking time for yourself is easier said than done, I know. Sending you prayers and hugs from Orlando.
Tami,
I really can't talk for other people but I think a lot of moms (including me) kind of wing it. lol! I'm sure there are some moms out there that TOTALLY have it together with a schedule and things like that but I really think thats the minority. Also, keep in mind that you have 2 little boys who still REALLY need you. As your boys get older, they'll need less of your attention and it will get easier. My house isn't clean most of the time BUT I really try to keep my kitchen somewhat clean. Thats like my staging area. A place where I can go and have a clear counter or area that I can fold laundry, make food etc. Most of the food I make takes less than 30 minutes. That's when we don't eat out which unfortunately happens a lot. Justus helps out every night. Unofficially, he is assigned the family room to keep clean. That's where a lot of the toys are. I don't let him touch the wash because I'm weird like that. A lot of dinners are made on the grill which makes dinners 50/50. He is constantly telling me that it doesn't matter how clean the house is. He says my job during the day is to keep the kids fed and alive. lol! At night we team up with the house, dinner and baths. Don't be afraid to lean on your hubby! It's HARD being home all day with kids. It can drive you to the looney bin. Don't be so hard on yourself. You have your hands full. The house can come later. Take a deep breath. You're doing a great job!!
Love and Hugs,
Holli
Tami, I agree--you need time for you to keep your emotional and physical well-being up. I know it's really hard to do, but I'd focus on eating at least one healthy dish a day--more if you can, because good nutrition helps us function better. When we are overwhelmed, it's easy to grab junk--and then pay for it later with de-creased energy and health problems. (Ask me how I know--OUCH!) A have a "loose" schedule which basically means we have a routine of how we do things, but not an exact time on the clock for doing them. And keeping my house clean is a always an on-going WAR in this house!! So don't feel bad! We homeschool so the kids are always around to be helping make the house dirty . . . which is what you have too. Flylady would say to make sure you have your kitchen sink clean every night before you go to bed, even if you can't do any thing else. I'm not so picky about the kitchen sink, but for me, getting my bed made each morning is a biggie that helps me feel motivated to try to find a minute here or there to do more. Hugs . . and be patient with yourself!!
If it makes you feel better... you are not the only one! I definitely do not have things together - our house is a mess and my husband and I are constantly frazzled, but we love each other... and we love our kids - and they know they are loved... thats really all that matters.
Im also with you on taking some time out for yourself.... there just isnt time to do that - if you do, you will just have to work double time later to make up for it. Hope you can find at least a few minutes a day just to sit and be quiet by yourself... even if I can only have a few minutes of quiet, Ill take it!
I am still struggling with keeping up myself.Jaxson has been home 7 months next week.I start everymorning with making my bed the minute i get out of it.I start a load of wash..Get the kids up dress Landen for school.Feed Jax after kids are on the bus.As far as the house..I dont think i will ever get it totally declutterd or organized the way its suppose to be.When i brush my teeth i clean the sinks and toilet while i am in there.The girls clean the other bathroom as one of their chores.I always have dishes in the sink.I do not have a dishwasher so they are never ending.I clean when i can.It may be 15 minutes here or there but it helps.Deep cleaning...I mop when Jax is napping.Meals...I do alot of crockpot meals or things that dont take as long.I do at least 2 loads of wash a day.My house is nowhere near it should be.My Motto is...MY HOUSE IS MESSY BUT MY KIDS ARE MAKING MEMORIES lol.
Me time..hubby is nice enough to watch the babies while i lock the door and take a bath in peace.Sometimes he will keep the babies while i go grocery shopping!To me shopping alone is a treat.Dont worry about it Tami.You are a great mom!My kids need me worse then my house does.I keep up the best i can..Its not spotless but its livable.
What a great topic for a post!!
I will have to come back and peek at everyone's comments for their good advice when time allows!!
But I did want to say to remember that you are still knee deep in the transition of bringing home baby #2, plus a whole lot of other stuff....if your laundry piles up a bit or the dishes go undone....I think it pretty understandable!!! :)
As for me, one thing that has always helped is to break down the cleaning into days. I clean bathrooms on Friday ( wiping in between as needed), dusting on Mondays, mope on Wed. (spot mop in between) etc....makes it seem less overwhelming. Of course when out of town company is coming I do most of it on Fridays then!
Plus it allows me to do most of it while Ty naps and L is at school, leaving me plenty of play time in between!!
But the truth is sometimes even all that goes out the window if we are extra busy, sick or what have you.....then I just try to make sure only the really necessary stuff gets my attention!!
I'm still figuring it all out too!!!
P.S. Thanks for the recent comment....I was SO tickled to see it and see you back in bloggyland again!!!
LOL I meant "mop" on Wed. not "mope"...Freudian slip maybe??? LOL
I think it is really a matter of priorities and making lists. I also think each family is different because the dynamic is always different. You have your plate full already without adding housework, food prep or anything for that matter.
I do what Lisa does, I have differnt days for cleaning things. Most weeks it works great, but sometimes something will throw a wrench in the week and stuff doesn't get done....the good news is the sun still rises even if I don't mop and if dinner doesn't get made I am lucky that my little family LOVES cereal!!!
I really think that keeping a sched and list is helpful for everyone. Hayden pretty much knows the routine at this point. She knows what she can have for a snack after breakfast and that she will get to watch Sesame street(and that is it)she also knows we will have some playtime in her playroom, then we have lunch, she knows I will rock her for one song and then it is down for a nap. I then run around like crazy trying to get that day's list done and dinner started(crockpot a lot of days)then she is up can have a snack and then we usually go outside to play and I try and get some stuff done out there, whether it is pulling weeds, cleaning our pool, pooper scooping....H loves helping with these things, so she thinks it is fun(me not so much) then we finish dinner, go up have a bath, read and then it is time to rock and get in bed. After she is down I usually finish up any laundry I have left and my husband and I watch a show or two, get into bed and read a little and then we are out!! That is a typical day. Wednesdays for us nothing happens in our house, it is our day out of the house, we have gymnastics, I try and run errands like the dry cleaners, post office etc, we have lunch and play with a particular friend after gymnastics, we get home late so it is a short nap day, and it is always leftovers or breakfast for dinner on that night.
It get's mundane to have the same sched every day, week in and week out. But I think with little ones it is easier for them to anticipate transition and sched when you keep it the same. I think it helps Hayden and I both to be in the same routine....we know how to do it. She gets in a pretty big funk when our sched changes.
But again lists, sched(whatever works for you) and a little planning ahead can really make each day go smoother...at least at our house. I also don't beat myself up anymore if housework doesn't get done. Before Hayden I was pretty OCD about our house. Everything was organized, put away, everything got dusted on a reg basis. VERY CLEAN.....now some of those things just are not that important anymore. I would much rather have a tea party than dust my house or clean baseboards!!
Good luck, and remember your most important job is your boys right now. You and your husband have a lot going on and need to just remind one another that you really love each other and maybe a cup of coffee together in the morning before everyone is up is what you have to do to connect right now. There will be time again for the two of you:)
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