Thursday, June 28, 2012

adventures in motherhood: something's gotta give.

So here's how you know being a stay-at-home parent is hard: all of your teacher friends with little kids (who tell you how much they envy you for being able to stay home) continue to bring their children to daycare in the summer so they can "get stuff done and have a vacation, too." After 8 years of teaching full time, I'm certainly not judging: the daily grind of the school year is killer.  But I'm just sayin'...this gig is not for the weak.

this is the clean part of my living room

Case in point: my blog has totally gone by the wayside this week. It turns out that we can't have it all -- and for me, that means choosing between a lot of equally-pressing items on my "to do" list. It's so hard to decide what to skip or ignore or put off -- and it's especially hard to put off the fun stuff, but I've been trying to hold myself to that.

Someone once wisely told me that, no matter what stage in life we're in, we always feel like we're at our breaking point with being too busy; in other words, whatever time we have, we manage to fill it up. I'm sure you're feeling the same way. What helps you decide what to take off your plate?

Anyway, I'll be back next week with more regular posts -- some long-overdue book reviews, a review of a brand new e-book (and a giveaway!), and a new semi-regular series I'm hoping will get my creative juices flowing. Stay tuned...

9 comments:

  1. What makes me decide varies: needs of others tend to dominate - but I also have learned to feel when I have to step back and either regain strength or take a longer look so I stop solving the wrong problems and focus on the correct ones

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  2. Oh goodness, my blog seems to have gone by the wayside for a couple of months now. It really is amazing how time fills up, and how much energy it takes to be a "stay at home" parent. It's usually weighing the consequences of not doing something against the energy required to do it that helps me decide whether it ought to stay on my plate or not.

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  3. Ahhh, the to do list. Mine for the week is sitting mostly unchecked. And, I could have taken that picture in my own living room today (right now actually).

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  4. I think the first thing I sacrifice is sleep, though I wouldn't recommend it...

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  5. This is how our room looks 24/7 it feels like! I'm pretty good about not putting to much on my plate, I know I get overwhelmed easily at times (but that's about to change soon with me going back to work).

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  6. I hear ya! I try to stay up later at night to "get it all done" but that catches up to me eventually....ugh!
    ♥ Kyna

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  7. I was just having this conversation yesterday about having too many obligations. Essentially, I've had to give up much of my OCD ways and accept less than perfect as my new clean standard. Also, I think mine and Jacob's time together is suffering because we both try to fit so much in to our schedules. I'm trying to make a concerted effort to plan dates for the two of us. It's just so hard to balance.

    And, yeah, Jacob is off for the summer and Eleanor is still in day care. He says it's his time off from a super stressful year with high school kids. I don't argue so long as stuff gets done around the house.

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  8. I love how many books are scattered amongst the mix. They were always my favorite "toys!" :)

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  9. I wish I had some advice, but I'm kind of wondering the same thing lately. I think I just need a vacation. : )

    Can't wait to see your new posts next week!

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