I know it is weird to say, but I am proud to admit that I had breakfast dishes in the kitchen sink at bedtime. In all honesty, this is the first time this has happened. I definitely do not keep a perfect house, but I seriously can not relax if the house is a mess. Now that I have two kids, I am learning how to exist in a house that seems to have been hit by a tornado. There are certain things I do to help minimize the chaos throughout the day. For example, I usually try to do dishes at each meal, have Kayden clean up before each transition, and actually fold/hang clothes when the dryer bell dings. None of these things happen quite to my standard, but if I can do one of these things each day I feel accomplished. But why is it so important to do these things? Trying to maintain the house to my not-so-high standard has given me more stress I think than having a baby. I find myself constantly telling Kayden that I can’t play this or that because I have to clean up. Who cares if the laundry bell dings and the laundry sits? Wrinkled clothes never bothered me! Why do the dishes have to be done 5 times a day (meals + snacks)? And who is it going to kill if you can’t see my couch underneath toys, blankets, burp clothes, and sippy cups? Even though my rational brain says ‘let it go’, I just haven’t been able to do so until recently. I have come to realize that the dishwasher doesn’t need to be emptied until the sink is full of replacement dishes. The laundry can be set to ‘touch up’ to get out those hasty wrinkles (Scotty can’t go to work wearing wrinkled clothes, but the rest of us can get by!). And as long as the couch is cleared by the time the kids go to bed so that I can put my feet up for a few minutes of peace, that is just fine with me! So in order to help myself stay on track and let things go, I have taken up to reading a book – a very missed pastime since having just one child. Sure, I have started about three books and opened about a dozen magazines, but I have finished none of them! After all the hype behind this book, I have decided it was time to indulge a guilty pleasure. I have begun reading ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. I am only 100 pages in, but I have enjoyed losing myself in this new book. The girls are on the same napping schedule so I have been spending the past few days with my nose in this ibook. Every time I get a little stressed out because the dishes are piled high at the same time that the laundry needs to be folded and the toys are everywhere but where they belong, I tell myself that playing with my children is far more important (and fun!) than doing any ‘ol chores. This is a brand new philosophy, so it is taking a lot of internal dialogue to remind myself to just – let – it -go, but I am on my way! Life with a 2 year old and a 4.5 month old should be fun! I keep hearing that the time flies by and how fun this age is, so it I think I should indulge myself in my family and not some pesky dirty dishes!
