 |
| Cute sleepy morning face. |
Ayden has become a very busy little guy which is awesome because the more little ones actually get their hands on, the faster they learn. The thing is, unless I have Ayden strapped to my back while I clean, cleaning is nearly impossible. As I am cleaning one area, he is
trashing "exploring" another and frankly it can be frustrating if I don't keep my perspective in check. For instance, I'll have all of his cloth wipes folded in half and neatly stacked; then I'll turn away for a second to start stuffing diapers only to turn back and find all of the wipes scattered all over the place. So much for efficiency... My choices are to pull my hair out and get grumpy about it or laugh and joke about having déjà vu as I complete whatever task all over again.
Another scenario would be that he keeps himself busy by emptying out the cabinets under our bathroom sink while I get ready. As if getting ready didn't take too long already. Now I have to reorganize under our bathroom sinks daily. Well... either that or just toss everything back in as quickly as I can, shut the doors and whisk him away before he can do it all over again. He also does this in the kitchen while we cook which doubles kitchen clean up time and is totally awesome.
 |
| Me? Make a mess?? No... |
I am sharing this because in some shape or form it is the reality of every stay-at-home mom. Many outsiders think, "Oh, she doesn't work, she must have so much time to keep her house so clean!" But in real life we have another little being in our home who makes all kinds of his own messes and "hides" one of David's slippers or the chapstick from my night stand that he got up on his tippy toes to reach. We spend time in the evenings finding his hidden treasures.
Daily, I push any frustration aside and remind myself that hands-on is the best form of learning and I just remind myself that my "job," if you even want to think of it that way, is to enrich Ayden's life during these early years. Luckily the only time I find this to be a challenge is when I'm on some sort of cleaning timeline (house showing, company, etc.) but I know it can be an ongoing challenge for some moms. Besides shaping and teaching Ayden, anything else accomplished (a clean house for example) is just an added bonus. When I look at it that way, him
trashing "exploring" the house marks a job well done for me! The glass half full approach always puts my mind at ease.
Anyone else feel like I have been writing about your life?? I know I'm not alone!
~Sarah
you just described my days to a tea sarah! i liken it to trying to run up hill, you just can never get there! some days i just give up and sit down with him and wait till his has his afternoon sleep and whiz around then. it truly is exhausting! my son found the same fascination with opening our cupboards under the sink and in the bathroom till i was SO DONE putting everything back a million times a day i went on ebay and bought those safety door latches that just stick on! they were only a few dollars, took 2 secs to put on and have literally saved me hrs a day just there! he now jiggles the door abit but when it doesnt open he gives up and moves on to something else. should of done it ages ago. hang in there! laura x
ReplyDeleteYou described my life as well. I'm a working mom so time with my son is precious. I found myself getting really flustered trying to clean around him. I finally decided to join him in his exploration and clean after bedtime. It's the only way I can manage it. Things will be much more chaotic when number 2 arrives. I have a few months left to figure out how I'll manage.
ReplyDelete