JUST A MOM AND HER "DAY OFF!"

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.”