Monday, January 28, 2013

Ever Wonder What I Do All Day?

Some days I feel like super-mom- the kids play happily, take naps at the same time and eat well while I am able to do laundry, clean, iron and get dinner on the table with time to spare. Those days, I feel amazing and accomplished and I wonder why I am not able to be that productive every day.

Other days, I feel like it's a challenge just to keep the kids happy, change their diapers and feed them and I'm lucky if I have time to go to the bathroom. On days like that, I often wonder, how do other moms do it? How is it that there are other moms with more children than me and they seem to get so much done? How do they keep up on a daily blog or do art projects or work from home? Some days I am surprised if I manage to get dressed and eat, let alone do anything else that is actually worthwhile and productive.

This leads me to wonder, am I just really lazy and tired some days while on other days I feel like being more productive? Why can't I do that every day? Well the answer lies in the middle. I have failed to mention what MOST days are like. Most days, I get some things done on my list, but not all. Most days, the kids overlap their naps at least half an hour, if not more, and I am able to eat lunch in peace. Most days, the kids play happily most of the time. These are normal days. And on a normal day, when I have a list of five things to do and at the end of the day, only two of them are done, it's okay. And if anyone ever wanted to know what I did all day that I couldn't accomplish five simple tasks while I was at home with my children, one day a few weeks ago, I wrote down what I did for an entire day before Jared gets home at 18:00 (honestly, this was more for my sake to see how I spent my time, but since I took the time to write it, I decided to share it here as well).

I included my list of things to do for the day. At first glance, it seems like it would barely take any time to complete these tasks.  See how long it takes me to complete them (or not to)!  Some days, I feel like putting "eat" and "shower" on the list, but I don't.  If this seems long and very tedious, it is. That's how most days are :)

List of things to do today:
-devotion
-make grocery list/menu for the week
-one load of laundry
-respond to three emails
-iron Jared's shirt
-make dinner

6:45 Wake up, go to the bathroom, get tea kettle going, pour bowl of cornflakes, get out devotion book.
6:55  Avery wakes up. Change his diaper, put on clothes, get him milk, put Sesame Street on for him.
7:10  Cornflakes=soggy. Tea over-steeped but still hot. Sit down to do my devotion.
7:20  Avery wants more milk and breakfast.
7:25  Ophelia wakes up one hour earlier than usual. Looks like no shower today. Go upstairs to get dressed, get her, change her diaper, ger her dressed. Put her on floor with toys. Sit down to finish devotion.
7:35  Tea is cold. Reheat tea. By this time, Ophelia decides she is not happy sitting on the floor playing by herself, so I put her in my lap and she plays happily.
8:10  Sesame Street is over and Avery wants to watch more. Some days I let him (depending on my lack of sleep that morning and/or how much I need to get done still), but today I say no and try to get him interested in some toys. I finally get him to play with his Noah's Ark. Meanwhile, Ophelia is on the floor crying because I set her down to go in Avery's room and get him to play with a toy.
8:20  Pick up Ophelia to nurse her while Avery plays on the floor. I used to be able to check my email or facebook on my phone while Ophelia nursed, but now she gets super distracted and constantly turns her head to see what I'm doing, and of course she turns her head without unlatching, ouch, so I now just let her nurse and watch Avery play.
8:35  Set Ophelia down to play with Avery so I can finish my devotion. Reheat tea.
8:40  Devotion finished (two hours after starting. I should note, it's a 10-15 minute devotion). Play with kids. Try to teach Avery colors using the balls from the toy Ophelia is playing with. He's not interested.
9:30  Manage to make tuna salad for lunch quickly in the kitchen while the kids play.
10:00  Ophelia is tired. Go upstairs to put her down for a nap; she is asleep by 10:10.
10:15 Avery is hungry. Get him lunch. Try to make menu/grocery list for the week while he eats. This is interrupted by the following: Avery wants water, then milk, drops his fork, spills his bowl of food and wants seconds.
10:45  Read books with Avery, continue trying to teach Avery colors. He's not interested. He'd rather practice counting.
11:15  Ophelia wakes up. Change diaper. Kids play on the floor while I try to write some emails. Get two of the three done.
11:35  Change Avery's diaper, get him milk, and put him down for a nap; Ophelia is crying on the floor the whole time because I left the room.
11:45  Put Ophelia in the high chair with some graham crackers while I get myself some lunch.  I eat while continuously picking up crackers and helping Ophelia eat.
12:00  Put in a load of laundry; Ophelia lays on the floor on her stomach trying to crawl. I try to read while she plays but after reading only 2 pages in 15 minutes, I give up and just play with her.
12:30  Nurse Ophelia.
1:00  Switch laundry to the dryer.
1:30  Avery wakes up. I put on Jake and the Neverland Pirates for him.
1:40  Go upstairs to try to put Ophelia down for a nap.  She fights it and I finally have to nurse her down and she's asleep by 2.
2:00  Do the dishes
2:20  Lay down on the couch to take a break while Avery finishes his show and Ophelia is sleeping.
2:30  Ophelia wakes up. Grr. Super short nap. Change her diaper. Avery wants me to get out his zoo. We all play on the floor with his zoo.
3:10  Feed Ophelia food in the highchair. Avery asks for a snack. I give him some celery and carrots that he eats while he's playing. Then Avery decides he wants to help me feed Ophelia so he sits on my lap eating his snack while I try to feed Ophelia.
3:35  Avery starts bringing Ophelia toys to play with on the highchair.  This amuses her for 5 minutes while I'm cleaning her and the tray up from all the spilled food due to Avery "helping."
3:40  Watch an episode of Colbert Report while holding Ophelia on my lap on the floor and playing with Avery.
4:15  I remember that the laundry is done and sitting in the dryer. I go and get it and fold the laundry while the kids play. I have to stop several times to stop Avery from stealing toys from Ophelia and to pick Ophelia up after falling over repeatedly.
4:45  Ophelia is tired again due to her short nap. Bring her upstairs and nurse her to sleep.
5:00  Get puzzles out for Avery so I can make dinner.
5:30  Dinner is cooking. Ophelia wakes up. Avery wants me to do his puzzles with him.
5:50  Set the table and do last minute dinner preparations.
6:00  Jared arrives home to a table set and dinner hot and ready!  Success!

I finished everything on the list except one email and ironing the shirt. It was a good day.

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