I forgot to set the alarm on Sunday night and woke up at 7:30 Monday morning. Oops.
I took the trash to the curb, hauled wood for the fire, made coffee, and woke up the boys.
I made a goal chart for Thing1's week because I forgot to do it yesterday. Oops again.
Thing2 and I did his lessons (phonics, math, and handwriting) while I ate breakfast and drank coffee. He felt like a rebel since he didn't have to eat, dress, and brush teeth first. I should have taken a picture. He was wearing underwear and my fuzzy blue robe with the sleeves rolled up.
I woke up Thing1 again.
The boys ate, dressed, and brushed teeth. I put off my shower because I didn't wake up early enough. I dressed and put my hair in a ponytail. Mercifully, I am not including pictures at this point.
I did some long-procrastinated, due-today computer jobs while the boys bundled up and played in the snow one last time before it melted.
When I realized I had not written a blog post in a month, I decided to document an actual sample day for two reasons. First, I am feeling frustrated with never getting my chores done. Second, I want to be able to look at it in a few years and remember. Maybe one day in the future, when I look back at this post and remember the simplicity of our life "back then," I will laugh at how anxious and scatterbrained I was and smile in contentment about how serene and organized I have become. Or I will compare what used to be hectic with what is hectic now and sigh in resignation as I realize that I am what I am. Either way, I will thank God for the blessings that keep me busy.
At 10:20, I finally got started on some chores.
11:07 and the boys were still outside. I checked on them again. (I banged a pan with a wooden spoon. They waved and hollered, "We're okay.") They have been busy building a fort in the brush. Snow just makes it more fun.
I fixed lunch - leftover spaghetti and salad - and started eating. While I was eating, at 11:30, the boys came in and piled up an entire load of dirty, wet laundry. It took awhile to undress, warm up, and make hot chocolate.
I resumed my lunch while we did memory work. The memory work prize was dessert - one bite for every correct answer. Sometimes it's hard to get started:
At 12:45, we started rest time. Thing1 took his work to his room (getting a late start on his goal chart). Thing2 played Lincoln Logs in the den. I took my Bible to my room and read like I should have done this morning. There's another penalty for waking up late. What else does Mom do during rest time? It is a mystery.
At 1:45 the rest time timer ended, and I did hair and makeup. After this point, unexpected company or Facetime calls were welcome.
I stoked the fire and vacuumed the kitchen and mud room. Not on my afternoon routine list, but necessary.
I discovered that Thing1 finished all his independent work except for math during rest time. That is highly unusual. I corrected his work.
At 2:30, I worked on this post and printed out Thing1's writing worksheets...Something else I was supposed to have done yesterday. Oops again.
I read a few pages of Castle Diary to Thing2.
Thing1 took a play break, then I helped him with writing, spelling, and history for an hour and a half.
Every day around 5:00 I have to make the daily decision of whether to get supper on the table or do some afternoon chores that, once again, have not been accomplished. Today, as usual, I chose supper. Therefore, the clean laundry pile grew even higher, and I did not get any gold stars on my afternoon chore list.
We ate and wasted some time until about 6:00.
Thing2 got ready for his basketball game and practiced dribbling and passing in the kitchen for a few minutes before we left for his 7:00 game. No dishes were broken. By the way, 7:00 is too late to start a 4 and 5-year-old basketball game.
Thing2 hustled during his game, so we skated (almost literally-the parking lot was slick) to Starbucks to celebrate.
When we got home, we read. The Husband read The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, Thing1 read a library book about Vikings, and Thing2 read Berenstein Bears to me.
The Husband put the boys to bed at 9:00, I finished addressing Christmas cards at 10:00, and then I finished this post. Throw in a few mess cleanups, phone calls, washer to dryer switches, etc., and that pretty much sums up the day.
Most days, I feel frustrated about never getting all of my daily chores done, much less weekly or monthly chores. However, after reading this post, I feel satisfied that we get some important things done every day even if the house looks like barbarians live here and even if I never get gold stars on my routine app.
1 comment:
This is a great post! All Momma's with children at home struggle with the decisions f housework vs. other things. I usually choose other things based on the words of wisdom I have received from EVERY SINGLE mother-of -grown-children that I admire. ALL of them have told me to let the house go and clean the children instead, to play now and worry about the folded clothes later, and to teach during the teachable moments. They are now living in clean, quiet houses, and if they had chore charts would all get gold stars. And on any given day, they would go back to those years of chaos if they could. It seems to me that you are making good choices. And congratulations on your shower! I know how much of an accomplishment that can be!!
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