The Kids Are Not the Distraction

On Parenting:

I have talked to a number of women lately with either one baby or with several kids all quite small still.  The thing I keep hearing over and over is that they can't keep up with all the work that needs to be done around the house because the little ones need so much of their time.

If there is one thing I would like to impart, now that I've not only "been there, done that", and am almost through it (though still have an 8 year old who really needs me) is that the children are the job and the other things are the distraction.  I know it feels like it is the other way around because before kids the housework, shopping and cooking were the jobs.

The children have to, need to, must, come first.  If they are cared for; fed, dressed, read to, played with, kept safe and most of all, loved, your duty for the day is done.  Yes, they need clean clothes and dishes so those jobs must be done.  The garbage needs to go out, the towels folded and the beds made (although I'm not so sure about that last one all the time.)

The point is to not make the children feel as though they are in your way, and taking time away from the "important" things that need to be done.  They need to know that they are the important ones.

I know a lot of young moms can't afford a mother's helper or a cleaning lady. I sure know I couldn't.  So I offer some suggestions:  On Sunday evening when everyone is safely tucked in bed, make a list of things that absolutely must get done in the coming week.

-Don't make it so long that you'll never accomplish it and then feel guilty.  Make it manageable.

-Start you day by getting dressed, including shoes.  It makes you feel ready.  Staying in pjs just makes you want to go back to bed.

-Let the kids help!   No, everything will not be done to mom specifications, but they will learn the value of working together and having fun getting the job done.  (Remember Mary Poppins!)

-Make life easier.  With our kitchen re-do still in progress, I have all of the silverware in a plastic storage container.  I have found that it is so easy to empty the dishwasher silverware rack these days because I just grab and dump--no sorting.  Not one person has complained that it is not all lined up neatly in a drawer.

And, finally:

-Never, ever apologize for the mess when someone comes to visit.  They are there to see you, not critique your home.  If you bring it up and then belabor it, the visit is wasted.  Instead, clear off a spot on the table, give your guest a glass of water and enjoy their company. If you feel you must say something, make it light. Perhaps: careful walking through our obstacle course.

Trust me, the day will come when the house is clean all the time. (I'm so not there yet!!)  But, it will also be a lot emptier.  Enjoy your littles, and the rest will fall into place in its proper time.



www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Flour Power

Today was a creative day for us which, of course, involves messes!

Our tenacious one always has a book at the ready for me to read to her at the breakfast table.  This morning it was a Nancy Drew Clue Crew mystery that we were trying to finish.  Since she was done eating before the book was done, she decided she would try the volcano experiment the Rad Scientists were doing in the story.

She got out her plastic containers (many more than she needed for this simple experiment-she tends to love to be surrounded when she plays), her vinegar and baking soda, and a couple of spoons.

When the experiment went off without a hitch, she decided to add some more variables (she did not call them this but one day she will know the terminology).  She added green Kool-aid and sugar and still the chemical reaction for her volcano worked just fine.

By then I had finished the book and needed to get some work done.  So, I left her to her own devices with permission to add a few more ingredients to her concoctions.

She came upstairs about 40 minutes later and told me she had cleaned up her mess and she was ready to move on to another activity.  I checked on her clean up job.  Whoa.  Flour was one of her main ingredients and it was EVERYWHERE!!!  Not a lot, mind you, but a very thin layer over every inch of the floor in the dining room and some of the kitchen, on the seats of every chair, and all over the table. The only thing I can figure is that she shook out the towel she had used to contain the mess.

 
(The little lump is her creation, and if you look closely you can see the pile of flour on the rung of the chair and the dusting on the floor.)

  Thankfully, she stacked her used dishes and put them on the counter and did not rinse everything down the drain for I am sure it would have turned to the consistency of plaster of paris in our garbage disposal.

I called her into the kitchen and told her I needed a little more help cleaning up.  When I asked her to sweep, she said, "I just did!"  Oops.  I did it the second time around.

The afternoon brought on a flurry of pie baking.  A friend of Michael's brought over two pies last week and, since the pie plates couldn't be sent back empty, our second youngest daughter decided to make pumpkin and apple pies.  (Yes, more flour!)

I had purchased pie pumpkins which still needed to be baked, and we had no apples so, while the pumpkins baked we hit the road to the fruit market (and squeezed several other errands in as well.)

I made the crusts and our little baker peeled, sliced and seasoned the apples.  This pie is going to work with Liz on Monday so we don't know yet how it tastes.

The pumpkin pies turned out beautifully.  My dear one went to Kroger for whipped cream because everyone knows you can't eat pumpkin pie without whipped cream.  He also helped clean up the mess that ensued during the baking process.  (Did I mention flour?)

Our tenacious one used the left over crust to create .  .  .  I'm not sure what.   Apparently it has apples and cinnamon.  I had to taste the pie first, so I'll find out tomorrow what this little creation tastes like. 

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com