The Aliens Stole The Real Me

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a terrible housekeeper.  If you walk into my house unannounced on a random Tuesday you're likely to find the remnants of a toy tornado scattered around, dishes rotting in the sink, enough dog hair on the carpets to knit a second beagle, and laundry (both clean and dirty) piling up.  That's just inside the house.  The yard is even worse.  I never seem to be able to manage to climb up on top of the mountain and stay there.

A week and a half ago, on a Monday morning, I got up and had my usual morning with the kids.  But, something seemed to have infected me with the need to clean.  (And before you jump to conclusions, I am NOT pregnant, nor will I ever be again.)  I sat down and made a list of all the things I wanted to do that day.  I didn't overwhelm myself with everything I needed to accomplish, just the things that I could reasonably tackle that day.  Then I got to work and started crossing items off my list.

Would you believe that I finished the to-do list for that day?

It's true.  I did.  Even more shocking was the fact that I finished my to-do lists for the next four days running.  I kept wondering who replaced the real me with one who cleans.  Not only that, I did all this while taking care of the kids.  What, what, what?!

I really admire Moms out there that can get it all done - work, take care of the kids, make it to activities, clean the house, cook dinner, etc, etc, etc.  I have never been able to strike that balance in the long term and I don't even work outside the home.  Who wants to rake leaves when you could be inside watching a movie with the kids?  NOT. ME.  But the truth of the matter is that I can't do it that way anymore.  I have to get our lives, our house, and our yard organized or I'm going to drown as the kids get older and they have more activities to attend.

What's amazing to me is that a single 5 day period of concentrated work each day has led to me to a point where I can now start tackling all the little jobs that have accumulated around the house.  Those pesky little tasks that needed to be done but weren't imperative so I always said "Oh, I'll get to that later."

Well, Later has finally arrived.  I never thought I'd get here.

These days if you stop by the house unannounced on a random Tuesday you'll probably find clean dishes in the dishwasher and clean pots in the drainboard, clean laundry IN THE DRAWERS, the carpets vacuumed, and the toys in some semblance of order instead of strewn all over the house.  I hope I can keep the momentum going.  It was awfully nice to wake up to a clean house and the coffee already in the pot this morning.

It's A Thanksgiving Miracle

Let me be frank. (Hi, Frank!)

People think that stay-at-home-parents have all the time in the world to take care of stuff because they don't work outside the home. Well, I beg to differ. I've lived the single, no children/married, no children lifestyle, too. Trust me, it was easier. It is beyond hard to keep a house clean and neat whilst having small children. Admittedly it is easier for some people because they are, by nature, better at keeping a clean house. I know that I am not one of those people and that the war against squalor is an uphill battle for me.

There are any number of reasons I find it hard. The principal ones go by the names of Liam and Jamie. They generally go behind me and undo everything I've done in about 3.2 nanoseconds. Jamie is also reaching the stage wherein I must watch him with eagle eyes every second that he is awake lest he try to swallow a Lego. So, accomplishing even small tasks can be quite difficult for me because I'm still working my way into multi-tasking with two kids. I have this sneaking suspicion that I'm as competent at it as I will ever become because it just doesn't get better than this no matter who you are.*

I say all this so that you can appreciate what an accomplishment it is for me that I completed ALL my weekly chores last week. I still didn't get them done in the Mon-Fri window I had them scheduled for and had to spend a large part of the day yesterday doing things I hadn't gotten around to. But, even so this is no small feat for me.

Don't get me wrong, the house is by no means spotless. And I still can't find the remote to the TV. (ARGH!) But the bathrooms are clean, the carpets are vacuumed, the kitchen is clean, the surfaces are dusted, we have groceries, and the laundry is done. I managed to cook dinner almost every night, too. (Also, a HUGE accomplishment.)

I still have a long way to go to become a Domestic Diva and I'm still working on all these things becoming habits so that it seems like less of a chore all the time. But when I look at the list of all the things I do around here OTHER than childcare, I feel like Superwoman.

I honestly don't know how women who work get it all done. They are the true Superwomen.

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*unless you have live in help.