Little by little it is sinking in that I will have a second baby in just a few months. The taking care of the baby part doesn't intimidate me, it's the taking care of the baby plus taking care of a toddler part that scares me. To add on, I'm terrible about housework. I'm not being humble, and I'm not one of those people who just can't be satisfied so I just think I'm not good at it. . . I'm just really not good at it! If I were the blaming type I'd blame my mom because she never gave us chores, or if she did it was totally random and she never made us stick to it. She cooked and cleaned and was a stay at home mom, she did everything for us. While I am indeed the most functional of my siblings I am still pretty lame at some things.
When some people say "the house is a mess", what they really mean is that there are some toys on the floor, or they haven't vacuumed that day and there's a few dishes in the sink. When I say it, it means it is really a mess, hasn't been dusted or vacuumed in weeks, all the dishes are in the sink, cobwebs in the corners, kitchen table in unusable, kitchen counter is covered in mail and other various crap and basically that it is an actual MESS!
I love being a stay at home mom, and although I do work kind of part time (for now) I still consider myself a stay at home mom. The mom part I'm good at (although I know I could be better), but the housekeeping part I suck at completely. I want to be better. I'm worried though. I'm having such a hard time cleaning the room that will be the baby's. I have so much I need to do before he gets here. I'm starting to get overwhelmed, which really really scares me! If I'm overwhelmed now, how in the hell am I going to feel once he's here.
Hi Steph!
ReplyDeleteExcited to read your new blog! Keep the posts coming :)
I know what you mean about the house being a "real" mess. I AM one of those people who call disorder a mess, but I honestly differentiate in my mind. Untidiness - toys on the floors, dishes in the sink, etc. - is just par for the course when you have kids. I can still function with that. But actual dirt! I hate it in my house. But even more, I hate big time cleaning :) What worked really well for me is that I don't let the cleaning chores pile up. If it's just a few dishes to do, I'll do them. But if I've let them grow to a million, I freak out (and make Josh do them :) ). I suppose it's obvious, but I do a few basic cleaning chores a day. By the end of the week, the house has been cleaned. So one day I'll vacuum, another I'll do laundry, then I'll wash sheets, another day I'll do a special project, like cleaning windows, and then I take a day or two off before starting all over again. It never gets overwhelming (albeit a bit repetitive!) this way. But the trick for me is not to let things pile up because then I get stressed out. Certain chores I just have to discipline myself to do throughout the day. I do dishes after each meal, clean the kitchen (and try not to mess it up too much when I'm in it), pick up toys during nap times, take out the diaper trash.
Getting the baby's room ready is a big project, so get the rest of your normal house chores in order before you tackle that! :)
I do need to make a chore list and do certain things certain days, then have the every day stuff. At this point it is such a wreck I don't know where to start, I guess just little by little.
ReplyDeleteI also make Jason do the dishes if it gets too out of control. A sink full of dishes is my very very least favorite thing.
I need to just suck it up and do it. There are much worse things in life than cleaning (I guess).
How will you feel once he's here? overjoyed and fightened! My baby came earlier than was expected and we had one onesie i bought months before. you got a head start over me! My house? a Mess? NEVER!! Under all those crumbs and wrappers that missed the garbage can is a beautiful sparling floor! I also own a comfy whisked couch beneath the enormous mountain of clothes and linen to someday be folded.
ReplyDeleteMultiple children can become fightening and extremely intimidating. Having....well how many kids i have doesn't matter, i have a few lol you will learn what matters and what doesn't.
I have a scrap of fabric that i was cross stitching a picture for my second son when i was pregnant with him. He just turned 11. And it's nowhere near done. But i still have it. And when i cheered him on at his baseball game, i didn't feel bad that i haven't finished it.
Multiple children is when all your OCD's gets crushed with ABC's. You're a good mom, all of us moms who worry at 2 in the morning about if I have time to finish that halloween costume are good moms. We're just too busy to realize it ;)