Some Random thoughts on time management

I love being a stay-at-home mom, but the job involves a lot of drudgery: changing diapers, endless loads of blueberry stained laundry, scraping dried banana bits off the floor, etc. The drudgery was starting to drag me down. It felt like I spent the entire day racing through domestic tasks during any odd free moment, but nothing got done. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and feeling bitter about the endless chores. And worst of all, since the domestic tasks were always on my mind, it was tough to fully enjoy my time playing with Pippa. 

Something had to change.

So I made a huge change: I stopped worrying about chores during the day. Now I just perform the bare minimum to keep the house safe and hygienic. I clean the highchair after every meal, but the dirty dishes spend all day in the sink. I might start a load of laundry, but nothing gets folded until after the baby goes to bed. 

At the end of the day, after Pippa is asleep, I cue up a podcast and tackle the chores. I no longer feel like Cinderella! Instead, I enjoy this new evening ritual, and even find myself doing extra chores in order to finish a podcast. My to do list is dwindling; the house is tidier than usual; and I still have energy when Nathan gets home. 

Best of all, playtime with Pippa feels more joyful than ever. I'm not fretting about dishes or dirty sinks. And when she is happily playing by herself, I sit back and read a book or do a little writing. My chores are no longer chores. They are an excuse to listen to a podcast!

Monday Omnibus Post

The baby is obsessed with blueberries, so the edges of my fingernails are stained  purple. Note to self: paint fingernails to conceal blueberry stains. 

Nathan and I completed our first 3d puzzle this weekend:

When we started, we thought it would take weeks to finish the puzzle (assuming we could finish it at all!). But it only took two evenings. It was soooo much fun and I can't wait to do another. That might not happen until after the Winter Olympics. 

Before we start our next puzzle, I am painting the kitchen tabletop green. I've been meaning to do this for years but was intimidated by the idea of painting our table. What if I ruined it? Then I ruined the table recently while crafting (don't ask). Now that the table is covered with green chicken pox, the table MUST be painted. (My interim solution - a tablecloth - does not work. The baby wants to yank it and pull everything on top of herself.) I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought supplies for this painting project. Wish me luck!

the baby just woke up from her nap. Time to go to the zoo! Happy Monday!