Thank Goodness! A day off from work! I really need
it!!! I have big plans for you Mr. Day Off.. Can I call you Day? I’m going to sleep
in, relax and spend some much needed time with my boys! But first I need to get
the laundry and dishes done, exercise, pay bills, organize a menu for the week,
grocery shop, prep food, unwind with some trashy T.V., pick out my work
clothes, iron, organize the boy’s clothes, go buy them new socks and shorts,
clean out the fridge, clean the bathroom, clean up outside, and THEN enjoy the
outdoors with my boys and most definitely relax with a nice Zen bubble bath. EEEE I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Tomorrow:
“Well good
morning wide awake toddler!” ALL week getting him up and dressed results in
screams that would suggest child abuse.. BUT No.. NOT TODAY! Today it’s a race
with the sun! YOU WIN! You are up first.. Your prize…? Here is a pillow PUT
YOUR HEAD ON IT AND GO BACK TO SLEEP!! “I wanna watch Mickey Mouse!” “You
would!! Ok Ok I’m getting up!!” I guess if I’m up at 5:00 I can start getting
things done. Because like my dad once said, “You do what you HAVE to do so you can do what you WANT to do!” (Actually I think I got
that from Denzel Washington but my dad always pulls out cheesy motivational
crap like that too. You’ll call him when things are crappy and he’ll throw out
“Morale and attitude are the fundamentals to success” …Well morale and attitude
won’t pay my water bill… I need 500 bucks!) ANYWHO… I’m now up and I am feeling
very motivated to conquer each item on my to-do list. To help achieve all my
very important to-do list items, (because laundry and picking out a cute outfit
is much more important than the formation and foundation of my child’s brain
development) I sit my toddler in front of the T.V. and put on Mickey Mouse. As I’m beginning chores
I’m interrupted with. “Momma. Mom. Mommy! Mom. Mom-A!!” “What?” “I want mickey
nuggets.” “No, there is a banana on the kitchen counter, you can have that.” I
get back in the zone of cleaning when I see my little man walk out of the
kitchen with a hand full of melted stuck together marsh mellows and a candy
cane. He asks if I will open the candy
cane and I say… well I say yes (push-over) but only AFTER he eats his
breakfast. I instruct him to go back in the kitchen, put the marsh mellows down
and get the banana. I, trusting that my three year old will promptly follow my
directions, continue cleaning the bathroom. A few minutes later I walk out of
the bathroom expecting to see my son quietly eating a banana, yet I’m
confronted with a very cheerful question “I ate all my marsh mellows!!!! J
Will you open the candy cane now!?” DANG YOU!! When I said eat your breakfast I
wasn’t referring to the handful of marsh mellows!! I shake my head in disbelief..
I can’t believe my toddler didn’t follow my directions AND would rather eat
marsh mellows for breakfast then a healthy choice banana (JK...). Note to self: Add to
to-do list: ‘hide marsh mellows and candy from kids,’ and ‘practice listening
exercises with kids.’
As the day goes on, I end up adding many more items
to the to-do list than I am actually getting done. I just get into one task
then I am interrupted due to ‘hide-and-go-seek’ time, ‘story’ time, ‘putting
the kids down for a nap’ time, ‘lunch’ time, ‘clean up lunch’ time, ‘Mommy
coloring the best Spiderman picture EVER until someone (whose name shall not be
mentioned cough Daddy) decided that
they needed that particular page to practice the letter ‘B’’ time. There was no
feeling of relaxation throughout the day! I did not get a chance to sit and
watch my trashy shows… My clothes for the week are poorly ironed because I had
busy little boys around and wanted to put the iron away ASAP. I feel more
exhausted from this one “day off” then I’ve felt after a long 6 day work week.
BUT I’ve decided morale and attitude are the fundamentals to success (Damn you
Dad!). I could complain about how I deserve
my “me time,” that my kids were acting too much like… well kids (wanting my
attention, needing my help, creating messes, having meltdowns, watching and
learning my every move) and I couldn’t get all my chores done! OR I could take
control over my attitude and decide that I did have many small successes today. Though
I did not finish my to-do list I did feel a sense of accomplishment as I drew
big fat lines through a couple of items. I addressed a few more items to strive
to complete, AND most importantly, I got to spend time with my family. Because I
believe with all my heart, my boys will NEVER look back and say “I wish my
mom would have spent more time cooking, cleaning and ironing
rather than spending time with us.”
