In Order To Keep My Sanity

Then~

When Josh and Caleb were little I stayed at home. I enjoyed being home with them but my days were long and I often found myself bored with little to do... didn't have the Internet back then... In order to keep my sanity I came up with different things to keep us busy and even scheduled a chore for each day so I would always have something on the agenda.

The boys and I played in the back yard, took walks daily, went to the park, read, colored, made things with play dough. I even taught Josh his alphabet in sign language. To get a break from kid play, I painted every room in the house using different techniques, sewed curtains and put up borders. I organized and reorganized every inch of my house. It was nice, neat and clutter free. I joined a gym that provided babysitting... but that only killed two hours of my day, including drive time and shower.

The toys were always picked up after they were done playing with them and before they got out a new toy. I actually counted Leg0s, cars and blocks to make sure they were all there. If we were one short, I would go in search of the missing piece or toy. ....I had a friend that told me she did the same thing and we both got a laugh out of our little compulsive behavior. She took it a step further and knew how many blocks were blue, red or green..

We had our routine of lunch followed by a nap. After nap time the boys played while I fixed dinner, which was usually early because I would start cooking to soon in an attempt to occupy myself. 7:30 brought bath time and story time. ...so many hours in the day, so little to do...

*****
Now~

Now, I am at the complete other end of the spectrum. I work 40 hours a week outside the home plus a husband and 4 kids to care for. I do love my job, but I am nonstop til my head hits the pillow. In order to keep my sanity, I have had to chill out about some issues.... like counting leg0s, because that was just so darn fun...

My day begins at 4:30. Shower, dress and out the door. After work I stop at home to do my Firm express workouts before I pick up the girls (it is still nap time at the sitters). I take another quick shower, do a quick chore (throw in a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher) then out the door to pick up the girls.

Back at home I start making dinner and the girls get their toys out. I notice the time and take a break in dinner prep to pick up the boys from practice (Cross country, basket ball, baseball). Back at home again, the girls lost interest in the toys they were playing with and get out new toys. I am too occupied with getting dinner on the table that I don't have time to stop sing the Barney clean up song or do the 10 second tidy. By the time dinner is ready, baby dolls, blankets and strollers have taken over the living room, spilling into the kitchen and under the table. *sigh*

I feel like a tennis ball during a match.... Get Suzie a drink, Gracie needs help in the potty, Josh has a question with home work, Caleb wants me to come look at something, Suzie can't find her passy, Graice hid it from her, Caleb still wants me to come look at something, Josh is hooten over the outcome of some sporting event on Tv, Suzie needs a diaper change, oh, I forgot the laundry, stop and fold some clothes, stepping on toys as I walk down the hall, Caleb still wants me to come look at something... You get my point.... What? It's time to give the girls a bath already??!... so many things to do, so few hours in the day...

The other day as I gazed over the toy factory that exploded in my living room I told myself, "This too, shall pass." I know that in a few short years... what will seem like a blink of an eye... the kids will be grown and more interested in hanging out with friends than with playing with toys. The toys will be gone, the house will remain clean longer than 5 minutes and silence will ring in my ear.... and I probably wont be quick enough to grab the phone in the few seconds between one of the girls hanging up and the other one calling her friend... humm, I do have my dispatching experience on my side though. I am a quick draw on the phone... heh heh heh...