Pulling My Hair Out
<-Me in Reality ** Me after a bit of surgery ;)->
Please tell me that I am not the only mom in the world who feels like pulling my hair out! I can not possibly be the only person in the world who is completely overwhelmed with EVERYTHING!!! What is wrong with me? I know there must be people out there who are even MORE involved and MORE busy than I am... HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT ALL???
I am just having a hard time realizing this is my life.
Monday: 6:15 am - kids wake up.
- Get Joe packed (yes, I pick out his outfits for the week and put them in his suitcase) and on his way to "work" for the week. 7am
- Feed kids, have them practice piano, pack lunch, get them dressed and get Aaron off to school. 8am
- Head to the gym w/the 2 little ones, run whatever errands. come home by lunch - it's naptime for Nate.
- Pick up Aaron from school. 3pm
- Teach 3 piano lessons. 3:30-5pm
- Shove dinner in my kids faces.
- Rush to Aaron's Football practice. 6:00-7:30pm
- Come home, put kids to bed. (later than i want)
- Do Mommy chores (talk to hubby on phone, clean, work on my ind. study course, blog, fantasy football upkeep, do stuff for PTA, never ending TO DO list...)
- Get kids fed (maybe they are lucky and get a bath?) and dressed. Force child #1 (pouting/yelling/crying) to practice piano, listen to child #2 cry cause SHE wants to practice NEXT (and she does and she loves it). Check to make sure I didnt forget any homework or things to sign...Pack lunches for Aaron and Charity.
- Take Aaron to school. 8am
- Drive Charity's preschool carpool. 8:30am
- WOW toddler bondage time with mommy! hmmm off to the gym! home for lunch and nap time. (cleaning/reading/bloging time for me!) Wait for Charity to come home. 2pm
- Head out to get Aaron from school. 3pm
- Feed kids snacks then head to gymnastics for Aaron and Charity. 4-5pm
- Come home, eat dinner, put kids to bed 7pm
- do mommy chores. Leave at least 1 light on cause without Joe home, I'm scared of the boogie man. 12am
- Get kids fed, practice piano, get dressed, pack lunches, Aaron to school, Charity screaming cause she doesnt get to go today. 8am
- run errands, go to the gym, home for lunch and naps.
- Start the piano swap (I teach my girlfriends' 2 kids, she teaches mine) 2pm
- Aaron comes home from school and we finish the piano lesson swap. 3-4pm
- Every other Wed, do Activity days (its either AT MY house, or i am doing the carpooling to the other 'activity days' house). On the off weeks, I pay minimal attention to my own children for an hour. 5-6pm
- Feed kids dinner, put them to bed. 7pm
- do mommy chores. Climb into lonely bed. 12am
- Do the whole Breakfast/piano/packing lunch/getting dressed thing for Aaron and Charity... feeling like I AM SO DONE WITH THE KIDS ALL BY MYSELF!!! Get Aaron to school. 8am
- Charity off to school 8:30am
- AHHHH 1 kid left. Head to the gym(maybe)?
- volunteer at Aaron's school (gotta at least TRY/PRETEND to be a good mom?) touch base w/PTA people? did i do everything i said i would?... Nate gets a nap somewhere???
- Charity comes home 2pm
- get Aaron from school... 3pm
- Start the marathon of 5 back to back piano lessons, 3:15-5:45
- rush out the door to football practice, 6-7:30pm
- come home SHOVE the kids in bed
- teach more piano lessons... 7:45-8:45
- clean house cause it is a DISASTER and Joe is coming home!!!
- He is home by 10... ;)
Ok, well, after reading this again, perhaps i am not as busy as i feel. i do have the time while my kids are in school to get whatever i need done. i think i am just feeling like those hours from 3-bedtime are just too full? i mean, where is the time for playdates or anything like that? how do you other moms fit stuff in? if you wouldnt mind sharing your wisdom? i would LOVE it! MOM? HOW DID YOU DO IT??? how do you do things and still have time/energy to actually COOK a good meal and give children adequate attention?
23 comments:
No words of advice from me...but you can bet I'll be checking back to hear what all the super moms out there have to say. I've been struggling myself these days with balancing home and photography and family time and oh yeah me time... Very important! well maybe I do have one bit of advice. Ted and I go on a date EVERY friday night faithfully. That is my bread and butter it is what I look forward to and what refuels me to get through the next week. Hang in there. You are doing great and you are such an awesome mom! I love you!
Oh my goodness!! That is my life EXACTLY!!! Very weird. I'm not joking it was kind of eery! Except for the teaching piano... instead I drive clear to Mesa (approx 40 min)to take Breckyn to gymnastics. The only thing I have found that makes that time of day (3-bedtime)go a litte better is my new friend the "crockpot". I swore I would never be a "crockpot cooker" but I have found some good healthy recipes and I use it 2-3 times a week on average..sometimes more! Ya gotta do, what you gotta do!It also makes for less mess and one less thing to clean! Good luck Em, but don't worry you're not alone!
PS - Don't you hate it when husbands travel?! Yuck!!! I'm not a single mom...or so I thought!
Advice..the kids wont wake up that EARLY if you dont put them to bed SO early :)
that part made me TIRED to read!!!anything before 8 is the middle of the night to me :) I know it will change when they are in school!
meredith... after years of experimentation i have found that NO MATTER what time i put my kids to bed, they ALWAYS wake up at the same time. Might as well do it early so i have some time to myself?
Your husband must be retarded that he can't pick out his own clothes... I mean seriously, is the guy that fashion deprived? I bet you he would wear the same pants everyday if you didn't help him. He probably appreciates you helping him out.
I'd say just take credit for being a bada$$ with all the stuff you can juggle.
- a guy wearing great outfits
i make lunches at night and keep them in the fridge. it saves me a lot of stress in the morning. maybe you should drop a couple of piano students? i don't know how you do that part with 3 kids . . .
i'm not sure what to do...i do try to keep in mind that there are a lot of "good" things we can be doing, but we have to make sure we aren't putting them before the "most important" things. Sometimes cutting a few things out (i only go to the gym three days a week now) makes a huge difference. but, i'm not in that phase of life yet, so what do i know.
Wow, You are so busy! I'm amazed at how you can do all that without Joe! Good luck, I have no advice, cause my life is really simple compared to yours.
You are definitely not alone! Your schedule sounds like mine last year! This year I scaled back just a little bit to give myself a breather. I was ultra-involved in school last year and had the kids in various activities, etc. I decided I'm giving myself a "fall break" and doing none of that until spring! Truthfully, even without those things I'm still busy! I wrote a to-do list this morning and it had 33 items listed? What's up with that?????!
(p.s. I am totally with you on the "no matter when I put my kids to bed they get up early, so I might as well put them to bed early and have some time to myself!" That is my personal experience too!)
my heart is pounding just reading your schedule. I decided to learn to use the word....NO....this year and realize when people are asking if anyone can do this...they are asking the whole room and do not just expect you to do it. I can't believe how busy I am with a kid in school...I have no time either. You are the best wife for packing your husband...I understand cause I do that for Doug when he goes out of town..that way he feels special. Pack him sunday nights though:)
You're squeezing a workout in everyday & I gotta say that's what I had to cut out...taking care of myself. I get a workout in 2 days a week. So, yes, my life is simpler probably, but I'm also an overweight slob that usually doesn't mess with makeup or hair either! My rule of thumb is max one activity per child...and only when they reach a realistic age to begin activities...a lot of people throw their kids into stuff early & let's face it...kids don't give a crap and would rather just have chill time with you reading a book or playing at the park.
You are so not alone. Courtney's crockpot advice is a great one. Two other things you can do if you don't already is pick out your hubby's clothes Sunday night and make the kids lunch the night before. One less thing to do in the morning makes a HUGE difference.
btw, I wish I was as comitted to going to the gym as you are! I'm working on it though!
This is truly funny! I am always trying to figure out why everyone told me not to have too many kids and, well this right here is the reason why. I feel like this plus nursing a new little bundle as well, HA! Life is crazy and for some reason I have decided that the reason why is because I crave chaos, think if it weren't so crazy you would miss it!
Yeah and crock pot is awesome for crazy days too!
i don't think i will be at the reunion. first, i never got info about it, and second...we live pretty far away and don't have a lot of spare moolah lyin' around. there are a few people i would like to see, but i only went for one year....not my best year...so, i probably won't be going. i bet it will be fun for those who do go though.
emo... You are funny... I would have never thought to type up my schedule. I LOVE'd Stephanelb's suggestion of having the kids EARN tickets. I made some dumb "Howey Reward Tickets" in word... I think they are lame.. but the kids LOVE THEM.. I have a schedule of things they are EXPECTED to do each day of the week (which they earn tickets for) and I have a list of things they can do to earn a ticket, pack their own lunch, make beds, put away clothes, vaccume (sp?), dust, clean bathrooms, empty garbage, windex windows, unload dishwasher, etc.... I can get them to do anything.... including "acts of service" like puting away someone elses toys, or clothes etc.. So.. these tickets earn them things and i have a list of those too... TV and computer time, stay up late nights (only able to use on Friday night since we have 8 am church on sunday), going out to dinner, stuff from the "mommy store" (ok again stupid little toys or things i'd be buying anyways... but i throw in a big bag in my closet and they know if they earn "X" number or tkts they can pick something.
OK so what i am saying is... If you have your kids help you with all the things you are doing from 7pm to midnight each night.. (that is if you are really doing chores and not just getting stuck on the darn blog like I ususally do) maybe you'll have more time for yourself...
Dont give yourself a hard time.. You are a single mom all week long. I am always impressed with all the things you do.
You are always such a good friend to those in need, jump in to help whenever you can and are so willing to either watch kids, or take on yet another paino student.
Teach Joe how to pack himself, and schedule yourself a pedicure in there sometime during the week.
RELAX and enjoy life.
Oh and DONT put aaron and charity in to many things. Football, gymnastics, paino... your starting young to be invloving them in so many things. I like the suggestion of only 1 thing per kids.
WOW EMILY! That is a super crazy schedule. I guess all I can say is yes, it's crazy all the time but think about when your kiddos are older and all of the great memories you will have. Just take a deep breath! YOU OWN IT GIRL!!!
I also back you up on the putting-the-kids-to-bed-early-thing. I have had the same experience, and since my kiddo hasn't napped for a while now, he goes to bed early so I can have some time for myself.
I find if I have too much on my plate, something usually has to give...and most of the time it ends up being housecleaning. But if it interferes in things like taking care of my family or myself, something else has to give. Remember, you have to take care of yourself first...and in the end you will be a better wife and mother.
Also, don't be afraid to ask for help...I'm sure there is at least one person who would be willing to give service in exchange for blessings from heaven :)
The surgery picture may be your waist - but, those are not your boobs! As far as your schedule goes - I wish I could help you, but since I am such a slug, I just can't. We do homework after school, eat dinner, then out the door to someones football practice, then home to bed. I don't make lunches - I pay the school to feed them and Joe can certainly pack himself, but since I am married to his brother I know why you are doing it for him. I personally cannot have all of my days in a week scheduled - I have to have at least one day that is my day to not shower or just do whatever I want. Good Luck!
Richelle
I was tired after reading the first two days! You aren't alone, there are times I want to go into a closet and scream! I think that being a mom should be a "get into heaven free" card. -Laura
Hey Emily! WOW...that made me tired just reading it. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance things with just one kid, I don't know how you do it with more!! You are amazing!!
btw emo... thanks for agreeing with JOES smack talk on his blog about phanelb and I... Glad to know our family LOVE is so strong..
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