On Motherhood

Motherhood is a great many things, and as all mamas know, sometimes it's just plain hard.

These last few days haven't been easy - my older kids have been overtired and crabby, and the baby has been going through a wonder week, making her more fussy than usual as well. Some days are just about survival - leaving all the housework and other type of 'work' for just making sure that you don't lose your cool and make sure you just meet the kids' needs. So, all week I've been in survival mode (not to mention eating many chocolate chip cookies) :-).

A few things to share today.

Speaking of survival mode... Today, the baby screamed all morning long. She'd fall asleep, I'd put her down, she'd wake up and scream again...etc. It was a long morning. Finally, she fell asleep for good and I fed the two older kids lunch and got them upstairs, in "bed." (I say in "bed" because my older son doesn't actually sleep these days but instead wreaks havoc in his room. It's better this way than for him to stay downstairs though, because then, I'd lose my sanity...just need that quiet few minutes to have a cup of tea in peace). So I got the kids in bed, and looked around at my messy kitchen wondering what the heck I'm going to eat for lunch. Just then, I saw someone come to the door. It was a fellow mom from church and she brought me a HUGE pot of Russian kasha with fried onions and mushrooms, just the way I love to eat it. I was so happy I could cry. I shoved 3 bowls into my mouth followed by a cup of tea and 2 chocolate chip cookies.
The point is...if you know a Mama who you know has a newborn and probably a crazy day every day, bring her a meal and she will really, really appreciate it and love you forever!!! I can't wait to repay her in some way or just do this for another Mama when I feel up to it.

Next. I have found an incredible Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for Lent. It is so good. I can't stop eating these (which probably means I shouldn't make another batch, haha!) For all you chocolate lovers... Here's the link.

Next...Someone posted this on Facebook today and it is SO appropriate for the morning I had today, but it's also great for all moms to read....For every mom who feels envious of another mom's "season in life" right now. Don't be envious, and here's why!

Lastly...I've been struggling to come up with a daily routine for a while now, since the 3rd baby was born. I'm always too tired at the end of the day to work on my routine and I realized the other day that I'm probably just trying too hard. By the time I ever get to write down a perfect routine in a perfect spreadsheet format, my kids will probably all be in college.

So, I've started doing something a bit different and less complicated. I happen to have a great planner (an Erin Condren planner - check her out if you need one!) and I have not used it since the start of the year. Finally I have picked it up again and wrote down all the important appointments and dates we have going on for the next few weeks. Now, I also started sitting down with my nightly cup of tea and planning out my next day (kind of like what I did when I was teaching). It's really important for kids to have structure to their day, and I have been feeling guilty that I am not giving them any activities to do and am always just telling them to "play." My older son is 3 now and I have read and also have noticed that at 3, kids really need help coming up with what to do instead of just throwing them in their playroom telling them to 'play.' He's a  really smart kid  and if he isn't given a task to do, he starts acting rambunctious (climbing on furniture and jumping down, spilling water into drawers, trying to fix things in the house...). But I can't blame him, because he's just being a boy and he needs to feel occupied at all times. So in my planner, I've started jotting down activities for the next day. If I need help coming up with an activity, I look through several books on toddler activities, or on Pinterest. Some things are really simple though, like writing a birthday card for an aunt or uncle, playing hide-and-seek, things like that. It's hard in the moment sometimes to come up with a plan of what to do, and writing things down the night in advance has really helped me a lot this week. It's one simple way to make an already crazy day just a bit less chaotic.

In addition to writing down what I want to do with the kids, I've written down a few things I would like to accomplish that day, too. In between each activity with the kids, I try (if the baby allows) to get in 15 minutes here and there to work on one of my tasks. This makes things a bit less crazy, again. By the way - the timer can really be your best friend. I love to set my timer and pick a chore to do and work on it for just the time I've set on my timer. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish in just 15 or 20 minutes! I started doing this for almost everything - for reading my books, for cleaning, for hobbies, etc, because otherwise, it just feels like there's just not enough time for anything during the day.

Today's quote: "If you want to bring someone onto the right path, to teach and advise him, then you must humble yourself first and talk to the person with a lot of love. He will accept your advice, for he will feel that it is given with love. But when you want to have your way at all costs, then you will achieve nothing. That is how resistance builds up in the child." -Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica