Give me a minute....
Why is it that kids can never give you a minute? So there I am, trying to go for a wee (I apologise if that’s too much information for some of you!) when they all appear at the door, one by one, Millie is actually carrying a bottle of squash and a jug into the bathroom, asking for me to make some juice, Georgia is crying and saying that I have to go upstairs and look for her pony now, Abbie wants me to wash her cup out for her, and Hannah wants me to push her on the swing. Give me a minute guys....can’t you see, I’m on the loo!!! They have no concept; they just expect it to be done – NOW! While I am a master at multi-tasking, and often find myself doing numerous tasks at any one time, there are limits!!
It's funny, but whenever Rob comes home and asks me “What have you done today?” I always immediately get defensive and feel a bit guilty; thinking that saying, “actually, just looking after your four children” isn’t enough. Although, I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, he’s just interested in my day and what we’ve all been up to. I just immediately feel the need to justify my day, and I find myself listing things, such as, “Well, I’ve done four loads of washing, dried it and put it away, I’ve made lunch, I’ve made tea (twice, once for the kids and then for us) I’ve done the clearing up, I’ve stacked the dishwasher, I’ve scrubbed Cheerios off the floor, I’ve tidied toys away, I’ve put clean sheets on everyone’s bed, I’ve changed nappies, taken Hannah for a wee, done the shopping in town.........” (You may notice that ironing never features in my list of jobs, I don’t do ironing, we prefer to go for the ‘straight out of the tumble dryer’ look!! – I can recommend it, it saves hours of time!) I can’t help it, I think because I don’t go out to work (well paid work!) that I feel that I need to make sure he knows that I do more than just drinking coffee and watching daytime T.V. (I don’t actually watch daytime T.V. – but have been known to do a bit of daytime ‘blogging’, well, a girl’s entitled to a coffee break, surely?!!)
And why is it that I get such a feeling of immense satisfaction when I manage to get the house clean and tidy (well, to a reasonable state, I think the days of really clean and tidy are long gone!) All I’ve done is manage to mop the kitchen floor, stack and empty the dishwasher a couple of times, vacuum the floors and the stairs and clean both the toilets and sinks, tidy all the girl’s bedrooms and keep the girls occupied for the day, yet I feel like it’s a major achievement! Maybe that’s what my job satisfaction boils down to these days – managing to keep the toilet clean? The trouble is, it never lasts long! As soon as they’d had their tea tonight I was down on my knees on a baked bean wiping mission! Is this what it’s come to? The highlight of my week is managing to get and keep the house in a reasonable state for half a day? Today I have come to the realisation that keeping the house clean and tidy is a never ending task, it is impossible to complete and I need to stop beating myself up about not achieving it! I need to try to accept that I just have to do as much as I can, and learn to live with it! It’s not easy, but there are definitely more important things in life to worry about, other than whether I've managed to vacuum the bedrooms today......
Why is it that kids can never give you a minute? So there I am, trying to go for a wee (I apologise if that’s too much information for some of you!) when they all appear at the door, one by one, Millie is actually carrying a bottle of squash and a jug into the bathroom, asking for me to make some juice, Georgia is crying and saying that I have to go upstairs and look for her pony now, Abbie wants me to wash her cup out for her, and Hannah wants me to push her on the swing. Give me a minute guys....can’t you see, I’m on the loo!!! They have no concept; they just expect it to be done – NOW! While I am a master at multi-tasking, and often find myself doing numerous tasks at any one time, there are limits!!
It's funny, but whenever Rob comes home and asks me “What have you done today?” I always immediately get defensive and feel a bit guilty; thinking that saying, “actually, just looking after your four children” isn’t enough. Although, I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, he’s just interested in my day and what we’ve all been up to. I just immediately feel the need to justify my day, and I find myself listing things, such as, “Well, I’ve done four loads of washing, dried it and put it away, I’ve made lunch, I’ve made tea (twice, once for the kids and then for us) I’ve done the clearing up, I’ve stacked the dishwasher, I’ve scrubbed Cheerios off the floor, I’ve tidied toys away, I’ve put clean sheets on everyone’s bed, I’ve changed nappies, taken Hannah for a wee, done the shopping in town.........” (You may notice that ironing never features in my list of jobs, I don’t do ironing, we prefer to go for the ‘straight out of the tumble dryer’ look!! – I can recommend it, it saves hours of time!) I can’t help it, I think because I don’t go out to work (well paid work!) that I feel that I need to make sure he knows that I do more than just drinking coffee and watching daytime T.V. (I don’t actually watch daytime T.V. – but have been known to do a bit of daytime ‘blogging’, well, a girl’s entitled to a coffee break, surely?!!)
And why is it that I get such a feeling of immense satisfaction when I manage to get the house clean and tidy (well, to a reasonable state, I think the days of really clean and tidy are long gone!) All I’ve done is manage to mop the kitchen floor, stack and empty the dishwasher a couple of times, vacuum the floors and the stairs and clean both the toilets and sinks, tidy all the girl’s bedrooms and keep the girls occupied for the day, yet I feel like it’s a major achievement! Maybe that’s what my job satisfaction boils down to these days – managing to keep the toilet clean? The trouble is, it never lasts long! As soon as they’d had their tea tonight I was down on my knees on a baked bean wiping mission! Is this what it’s come to? The highlight of my week is managing to get and keep the house in a reasonable state for half a day? Today I have come to the realisation that keeping the house clean and tidy is a never ending task, it is impossible to complete and I need to stop beating myself up about not achieving it! I need to try to accept that I just have to do as much as I can, and learn to live with it! It’s not easy, but there are definitely more important things in life to worry about, other than whether I've managed to vacuum the bedrooms today......
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