I’ve noticed lately that all my children seem to hear from me is “Hold on”, “Just a minute”, “In a second”, and “I will as soon as I {fill in the blank}”. I seem to be so busy with cooking, cleaning, chores, diaper changes, blogging – let’s be honest – and other time consuming tasks to handle all of their requests the minute they are made.
Wait – hold on – Sarah is up and I need to get her out of her Pull Up.
I am well aware that my “other stuff” gets in the way of spending more time with my children. I do alter when it gets too bad – I can auto draft blog posts from late night, I can always clean later, and no one is going to go naked if I don’t do the laundry today. But truth be told, I have to keep up with all that I have to do if I don’t want my life to be a complete, disorganized mess.
Shoot – one sec – Katie needs some milk.
So what am I to do? As we all know, I wear many hats – as do all mother’s. How do I make my kids a priority without letting everything else go? Because if I let everything else go, I may not be able to find the children in the mess. And nobody wants that… very often.
Wait a minute- a fight is breaking out…
I guess the trick is to balance. Maybe schedule time where they have my undivided attention. Ignore the phone, the broom, the dishes, and the mayhem and just play. I mean, what would happen if I stopped and took an hour to roll on the floor, read, build, and put children in time out for not sharing? The other aspects of my job would still be there, right?
Ugh – I’ll be back. Time to get Megan from her crib, change her diaper, dress her and feed her.
Where was I? Oh yes…
Shoot, where is that blogging hat? I know it is on here somewhere.
OK – here it is.
As I was typing – I suppose balance and a plan is the answer. If I could just make and follow a detailed schedule and never be derailed from it, my life would run more smoothly. I could find time to do all I need to do and still take ample breaks to play with my girls. I’ll have to get to work on that schedule as soon as I can. Because I feel so guilty for always telling them to wait on me.
I’ll get to it as soon as I clean up the applesauce that Sarah dropped on the floor, change the brand new diaper that Megan just soiled, and dry the water that spilled from Katie’s cup when she tripped.
A mother’s work is never done.
Oh my gosh – I wasn't sure if I was going to laugh or cry reading this. I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. I LOVE this post! I feel that if I'm a good mom then I'm not good at anything else – I don't get anything done while drenching my little babes with attention. And if I try to get something else accomplished (cleaning, working, going to the bathroom) then I'm a horrible mother for ignoring them. Isn't it nice how we always have to feel guilty about something? LOL
~ Ashley from The Motherboard
Ah I feel like I'm constantly saying the same things to my children! & Now Gavin has started telling me to 'hold on' when I ask him to do something. I really do need to schedule some time JUST for the kids. I think I'll do that… right after I finish my blog post.
Kidding. A little.
LOL CIERA!!! Where have you been!!! I have on my list to hunt you down today!!!
And YES – Katie and Sarah tell me to hold on now too! Grrr!!!!
Thank you Ashley! I did try to put a humorous spin on it but really, it saddens me that they always seem to come after other stuff!
Thank you guys for reading! You are 2 of my favorite peeps!
So true…I have a 3 yr old and 7 month old twins. Everyday I feel bad because my three year old hears those phrases constantly. Just this morning, I told her to go get clothes on and she said, "in a minute" and went back to watching TV. How can I argue?
LOL!! God Bless you!! I have a friend who has a 6 year old son and 3 year old twin girls. Back when they were younger like yours, she felt so bad because she thought she pushed her son aside too! Now, they are thick as thieves, she and him! Due time!! ;D
I am always in awe of any mother who has a schedule and is actually able to follow it.
I find that if I attempt to have a schedule – my children magically thwart it at every turn.
Put Lil Diva down for nap at 1? She falls asleep at 11. Or not at all.
Go to the park in the afternoon?
Lil Diva sleeps for 3 hours instead of 2, is starving when she wakes up, and then it's dark out.
A fun night out as a family?
Neither child naps and the tackling 3.5 year spent the day in full Toddler Testing Mode, a record amount of Time Outs, and a few brilliantly performed meltdowns. We can't reward that behavior so it's stay at home and early bedtime.
It's like they know when anything is planned, I'm telling you.
Sort of like you sit down to blog, and all hell breaks loose.
Or you get as far as one leg into bed for the night, and Lil Diva wakes up screaming.
Hmm.. I did a What the frak post on the Telepathic Powers of Progeny on this very thing.
Balance is impossible for me – I suck at it. My house is bursting at the seams, a constant mess, even when I clean the same spot 3 times a day.
I'm hiring a maid – because I can't take it anymore and I still want to spend time with my kids.
And poof, my little Diva is awake. From her second power nap.
Off to mother..
Great post!
I literally just told my son to hang on cause I was busy reading this. :) I like your idea of scheduling some uninterrupted time with the kids….then I wouldn't feel so bad for the times I'm not giving it 100%!
I could not agree more girl Seems the more i have on my "to do" list, the less gets done! It's like they have some sort of radar! LOL ((HUGS))
For this blog i love you, brilliant!
My last post
Wait a second… ok, Yes! Excellent post! I feel exactly the same. DO schedule time for your kids with no other distractions. My oldest and I have monthly lunch dates now. It should be weekly, but who has the time? She loves it and so do I. I've blogged about it… This great parenting site – Positive Parenting Solutions (or something like that! If you really want a link email me at adgmommy@att.net) says to give each child ten minutes of undivided time twice a day. That's a whole hour with three, which doesn't come easily, but I do try to do it once a day at bedtime. That's when they get their special mommy time. And a few minutes here and there. They really do love it when we roll around on the floor with them or chase them around the house. And it's fun. And we can consider it exercise. :) You're my new best bloggy friend. We have mirror lives, I swear! At least when it comes to the babes!
Sometimes it seems like a miracle we ever get to complete a thought..much less a task, doesn't it?
I like to think telling them to wait teaches them patience. Sh…don't correct me.
ROFL!! Your secret is safe with me, Heather!
DGM – I do try to do that – private time for each. I just feel they need more of it, you know?
I *only* have two kids, and I can totally relate~!
I only have one child and I can relate. I am pregnant with #2, who will arrive a month after #1 turns 2. I am terrified to think of how insane I will be after a month. I suspect I can guarantee my blog will collect cobwebs and I will be a walking zombie for the next 2 years.
Lean on us and we'll help you through Mommy This and That!