Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘Housework’

By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven, (@mommiev1)

I have always been a visual learner. In college, I could read an entire paragraph in a book and not understand it. Then I would look at the accompanying diagram or figure and presto, it made sense.

When I started teaching college science, I realized that I taught the same way. I would design a Powerpoint that was mostly images that I would then explain. I had to force myself to include some slides with words on them for the more verbal learners in the room.

The older I get, the more entrenched in that learning style I get. I use colored file folders at work, because I can remember which file something is in. The academic sanction letters from the students who cheated last semester? Are in a bright yellow folder.

I’m that way at home, too. In fact, I have come to realize that is why I hate for other people to clean my house.

If I put something away, I can remember where I put it because there’s a little picture of it in that spot in my brain. It might not be exact.  I might just remember that it’s in a pile on my desk, or that I put it in a certain drawer. But it’s the picture in my brain that helps me remember where I put it.

If someone else puts it away? Then there is no little picture in my brain. And no clue to me as to where it might be. So I have to look.  And looking? Makes me frustrated.

Here is the part where I confess to you: I am a horrible house keeper. I usually do nothing, then clean in one fell swoop in a couple of hours on a Saturday. Only, it’s hard to do that with a kid in the house. So now I normally do nothing, and don’t have the time or energy to do anything, so I continue to do nothing.

At this point my life is pretty full. I teach full-time, am taking two master’s courses online, want to write some posts, try to exercise and oh yea, raise a healthy happy human being also. Who has time to clean the house?

I am in abject fear of other people cleaning my house. Because then I can never find anything. I slam drawers and cabinets and can’t find anything. Why is this cup here, can’t she SEE that all the cups go on that shelf, this shelf is just for glasses, what’s wrong with her? I tell myself that the frustration isn’t worth it, I’m not going to pay someone to make me frustrated in my own house.

So today I tried to clean. I spent three hours and got the living room done. It was really messy. Also, I had a toddler “helping” me. At the end of the three hours, I collapsed on my neatly straightened sofa. And vowed to have someone come clean the rest of the house.

By Samantha

My Mom once told me that if Stay-at-Home Mom’s got paid in cash money
for everything that they did in a day, they would make more money than
a lot of people in America do. I remember pondering this statement,
and then being surprised at how undoubtedly true it is!

Photo Courtesy: TheStayAtHomeMother.com

On a typical day, I clean the bathrooms, vacuum the floors, do
everyone’s laundry, make up beds, straighten up bedrooms, de-clutter
the living room, and clean off the dining room table. I make
breakfast, lunch and dinner. I run errands, and I shop for groceries.
I wash windows, and take out trash. I do countless numbers of jobs
that most people get a paycheck for, and I do them completely free!
Did you know that if Stay-At-Home Mom’s got a paycheck for the jobs
they do, they would be paid 134,000 dollars a year!

Holy new car Batman!

I couldn’t imagine myself as a “working Mom”; at least, not right now.
My house would be a disaster, and my entire family would be fat off of
Chinese take-out for dinner every night. I have total respect for the
Working Moms who work a 9 to 5 job, and then come home only to work
some more. I know that a mother’s job is never, ever done; no matter
what time of the day it is. At the same time, I feel as though us
Stay-At-Home Mom’s don’t get enough credit either.

Sometimes I feel like there’s this unrealistic idea that Stay-At-Home
Mom’s lounge around in their P.J’s all day, drinking coffee, and
catching up on their soap’s. So not true. At least, not for me. From
the time I wake in the morning, to the time I lay my head on the pillow
at night, I am constantly going. Whether it be cleaning house, running
errands, or completing some other random job, I never have dull moment.
I won’t lie though, there are days when I do just throw up hands and
declare a lazy day, but that’s generally only when it’s rainy
out (I live in the South, that’s not very often). Even then I find
myself chasing my two year old around and picking up the random objects
she’s pulled from places I didn’t even know existed.

My job never really stops.

That’s when I envy the Husband’s of Stay-At-Home Moms.

But that’s another story, for another day…

Samantha is a stay at home mom of one crazy little girl. She writes out her antics almost daily on her personal blog, Apple Juice and Milk,in an attempt to help others feel better about their lives… when compared to hers.

By KLZ @ Taming Insanity

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I can no longer spend an evening with my family without ending up covered in food.

This didn’t used to be the case. Sometimes I went out and ate a whole dinner without getting a bit of it on me. That was a rarity, even before children, but occasionally it did occur.

Photo Courtesy: Baby-Log.com

Now I sometimes leave a pea-stained shirt on knowing that I’ll be feeding Wild Thing again in an hour. I strut around my house completely dirty, awaiting the next feeding. Part of me loves it. I love being so go-with-the-flow. You would be misguided to call me lazy.

The thing is, when your daily activities involve lots time on the floor, I see no point to dressing up. My clothes need to be flexible enough to move with me as we roll around not flashy enough for an interview with Seacrest. So I’m comfortable being a little bit relaxed with my wardrobe, even dirty for an hour. My standard family activities demand that I be comfortable.

Recently though, I’ve become suspicious that what I think of as standard family activities are interpreted by Wild Thing somewhat differently. He seems to see our activities like baseball signals giving him clues as to how to behave. Except instead of rounding third he gets instructions on what bodily functions to perform. Which is leading to me being more than just a little dirty.

We have yet to fully crack the boy’s code but through careful observation I think I’ve begun to determine some of his plays. While we spend time with Wild Thing playing developmental and bonding games he is getting cues to burp. When we play peek-a-boo, Wild Thing sees us pop out from behind a blanket and giggles with glee. “Thank God!” he thinks to himself, “they’ve finally given me the signal to let this horrendous fart loose. The stink will nearly blind them!”

Similarly, toweling off after bath time is a cue to pee all over your freshly washed self. Playing tickle monster? That’s the coach telling you to poop yourself. Watching TV – a mommy sin I would never commit – is really waving you in to puke on mommy.

We are not reading from the same playbook it seems.

These differing perspectives are hard on us. For instance, it is not helpful that I think the changing table is a place for diaper changes while the boy thinks it is a great place to practice rolling. I see our nightly reading as time to learn and cuddle; Wild Thing sees it as a time to teethe and drool. It is much harder to turn pages that are covered in spittle.

At the end of the day, we spend each day trying to enjoy each other’s company regardless of whether or not our playbooks match up. Or if we’re even rooting for the same team. We’re so lucky to rush home and spend time miscommunicating with our child. There’s nothing better than hearing those tiny giggles even if they are being caused by blindness inducing farts. It is worth every gross moment to spend a night in the family room rolling on the floor with a happy baby while you’re both covered in peas.

I secretly wouldn’t mind making it through a night with a clean shirt though. Just in case Seacrest stops by.

KLZ is an admitted procrastinator who started her blog at the request of her husband. You can find her at Taming Insanity.

 

 By Shell

Have you noticed how, instead of being supportive of one another, some women act like they are in constant competition to be nominated woman/mom/wife of the year?

Photo Courtesy: Kaboose

Everything you have done, they have done bigger and better.

Their kids are better than your kids.

Their house, car, husband, diet, blah, blah, blah.

And they will never, ever admit that everything in their life isn’t completely perfect. Looking down their noses at those of us who admit to having a not perfect life. There’s a word for them. 

Come on… Say it with me.

Wait a minute…I can’t talk like that on this blog. You’ll have to come visit my blog if you are not in the know.

My boys are adorable, clever, and sweet… but not perfect. Because I did give birth to baby humans, you know. So, when I hear moms bragging about their perfect children, I admit– I roll my eyes. Not that you have to lay it all out there and confess everything to everyone you know.

But, it’s part of what makes us real: our struggles. And to pretend like they aren’t happening and to keep telling everyone that everything is completely perfect….

Well, it just doesn’t sit well with me.

Try this: admit to a struggle that you are having. Whether it’s that you have a laundry mountain big enough to hide several children in or you can’t remember the last time you had enough time to wash your hair and shave your legs on the same day or that you have no idea how to take the pacifier away from your preschool child. Just admit it.

You’ll be surprised at how many “ME, TOO” responses you will get.

Here, I’ll go first:

My name is Shell and my boys ate chocolate chip cookies for breakfast this morning while I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. I couldn’t button my favorite jeans yesterday, so it’s probably a good thing the boys ate the cookies. Oh yes, and that laundry mountain I was talking about? It’s in my laundry room.

 YOUR TURN.

Shell is a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom of three boys. Sometimes, she has to bite her tongue irl. But, at Things I Can’t Say, she spills it all on her blog, giving you the straight story on motherhood, marriage, and life in general.

By Shandal
Surely everyone is familiar with the ever so famous show called “Friends.”
I recently noticed that sometimes I compare myself with some of the characters of the show. For the most part, I can usually relate more to Monica (played by Courtney Cox). Monica is known for her amazing cooking skills, her OCD, and her eagerness to be a hostess in her tidy little apartment.

I, on the other hand can not stand being a hostess.

I do obsess about it like Monica does, though.

I want my house to be spotless; I want things to go as smoothly as possible. All that equals mass amounts of stress and anxiety for me. .. so I avoid hostessing at all costs. I’m not a big fan of “sporadic” visits by family, either. For the most part I keep our house clean. However, in my eyes, it’s not always presentable. I have two kiddos running around, who like to decorate our house with their toys. I feel like I’m constantly picking up toys, only to have my kids bring them get them right back out. It’s a lost cause, but I can’t stand messes!

I digress.

As I was saying, when it comes to hostessing, I’m no Monica… but her OCD issues are a whole other topic for a whole other post. I’m not as extreme as her, but when it comes to cleaning and organizing, I want it done my way: the right way!

What about you?

What character from TV do you most relate to?

Shandal is a stay at home mother of two. You can follow her journey of being a mom and wife, all while living a healthy lifestyle on her personal blog, My Life In 3D.