Home-Work
I have designated a 'work at home' day. How would that be any different from any other day you may ask. Well the specific 'work' that I'm about to do is some of those tasks I've been avoiding. The kitchen ceiling fan has about an inch of dust/grease/gunk on it which I am bravely going to tackle. Also our computer armoire is harboring some pretty enormous dust bunnies and dust bunny offspring. Not to mention I am doing laundry and have a new curried chicken recipe on the go.
Although I have yet to complete these daunting cleaning tasks I know that once I have I will feel an over whelming sense of accomplishment. This only makes me slightly sad. I don't think I realized how much having a baby would hinder my ability to keep up with the most basic housekeeping. (And those of you out there with more than one child, I am humbly awestruck that you ever get anything done at all.)
It seems that I spend all day running around from room to room picking up messes like this. 
Which isn't so bad, I know but it really is a constant job all day long. And if I ever want to get any cleaning done I must do it while Miss A is sleeping otherwise she'd be right in the middle “helping”.
I think it would be slightly easier if I ever had any significant amount of time when Peter and I were both at home. That way he could distract A and I could accomplish something. As it is when I'm home he's working and when he's home I'm working. With the exception of Monday (yoga), Tuesday (volleyball), Friday (tired) and Saturday (exhausted) evenings. Sunday is our only full day together but we have church, lunch with family, nap time for A and down time for us then small group in the evening. It's ridiculous I know. I could adjust our schedule I know but honestly I don't know how. And I'm mostly okay with it really. I'd love to have more time for cleaning but more importantly to spend time as a family. We are doing what we have to to pay the bills. And it won't be this way forever. (I keep telling myself this.)
And as I complain about my lack of time I sit here during perfectly good nap time NOT getting my tasks done. So off I go.
6 comments:
When it all comes down to it...we ALL avoid this kind of work. Once you get it done tho, boy, does it feel good! :)
Good luck cleaning with Miss A around. You could always put her in her room with a bunch of toys.
That would work if she would stay there. She won't. She must be in the middle of whatever we are doing. She doesn't fall for distractions.
That baby nap time sure is precious. If it makes you feel any better, I've never noticed your gunk covered kitchen fan.
But it is amazing how much one can accomplish when you put your mind to it! I wish you much efficiency with your 'work at home' day.
Sometimes you just have to let the cleaning go. Celebrate the small victories of getting one task done even if you could do far more before kids. I always joke that I believe in the hygiene hypothesis (living in too clean of an environment skews a child's immune system towards more allergies and asthma). A little dirt is healthy :)
I think it's myth that having more children means less time. One child sometimes takes more time because she doesn't have siblings to interact with and is always needing mom's attention.
Also, blogging is very important you-time. Mom's need times like these to recharge their batteries.
Good luck on your work day!
My kid LOVES to dust. Get one of those small feather dusters and have her dust the walls and baseboards and places you would have to bend over to do, while you do the top stuff. it makes her feel really helpful, and sometimes it actually is. :)
Lowering my expectations and standards, that's what seems to work for me. No joke.
I try to ignore those (like in the picture, non-stinky and/or wet) kinds of messes but for once or twice a day... and then we have a massive clean-up festival. This is usually right before Dadguy gets home and/or right before bedtime. Sometimes it's AFTER bedtime if it's been particularly chaotic.
Some days I just collapse at bedtime and I leave the mess to face another day.
As for the gunky fan? I clean that sucker once a year around February as it is birthday party time in the House of Chaos.
"Huh?" you may say, and I would reply, "helium balloons."
They float along until they bap onto the spinning fan, sending down a shower of cobwebby gunk. It's good that we now have Pearl's birthday in November... I have started washing it twice a year.
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