A Little Breathing Room

Last night, BB and I had a fabulous discussion. It started out as an argument, and we were able to both step back, let go of some of our emotions, and actually have a real, honest discussion. I'm not sure how BB feels about it all, but I felt really good last night, when we turned in, after having a discussion wherein we actually solved some issues.

That being said, I have knocked several things off my to-do list for today. I have much to do today, so this will be a short post today.

I'm trying to limit my time with technology, because one of BB's concerns that he brought up was that it appears that I'm overwhelmed with 3 children and "all the other things" I have to do.

I admit, there are days when I'd just rather sit on my rear end and watch TV, or play with the kids, or surf the fabulous Interwebs. There are days when I'm just flat-out exhausted and yes, frankly, some days, it is overwhelming. There are those days when I'm being pulled, literally, in multiple directions at one time. You know those days - we all have them. The phone doesn't stop ringing, something that you need to have working isn't, something that is supposed to be happening doesn't, someone who is supposed to assist, can't. And whether or not you're sitting in an office building somewhere that you can leave at the end of your shift, or you're at home with your family members, those days are tough.

Over the last 4 weeks, I've had a lot of things come across my desk. Granted, my desk is sort of a virtual, hypothetical desk, but still...we've had camping trips, back to school, a neighborhood picnic, Church activities, family commitments, potty training, and all the "normal" things like laundry, groceries, meal planning, meal preparation, and all the housework. Oh, and the gardens...there's the weeding, the harvesting, and the preserving of produce. It sort of all boiled to a mess over the last 2 weeks, and I was pretty wiped out. I was tired. Really, really tired.

And so, I let some things slide, telling myself I'd do it tomorrow. I'm famous for taking on the Scarlett O'Hara attitude of "after all, tomorrow is another day..."

I procrastinated a couple of things that didn't honestly matter in the grand scheme of it all, like reorganizing the basement storage room, and my office space. I put off cleaning out my closet of clothes that no longer fit. I also, however, procrastinated things like cleaning a bathroom completely (I wiped the surfaces and cleaned the toilet, but didn't scrub the sinks or the tub or wash the floors). I procrastinated doing some laundry, or finishing the laundry all the way. I didn't plan meals, and as a result, we ate lousy last week.

SO, this week, I enter into with a pledge to myself that while I will still make time for ME, be it reading, working out, watching an episode of a show I enjoy, or even napping when the kids do, I'll make sure I'm getting refilled...AND I'll be getting things done.

So far today I've:

• emptied and defrosted the deep freeze
• cleaned and organized the little freezer and refrigerator
• made and put up a batch of tomato sauce
• made and put up a batch of applesauce from home grown apples
• washed, dried, folded and put away 3 loads of laundry

Still on my list while the kid nap:

• finish washing, drying and folding all the dirty clothes
• change the master bedding
• wash, dry, fold and put away the sheets
• clean the kitchen (the floors are sticky with remnants of tomatoes and apples)

I know it appears that I run myself ragged, but really, when I stop to think about it, there are a lot of things that I do concurrently.

While the laundry is washing or drying, I can be tidying a room, or preparing fruits/veggies for the preserving process of choice. I can sweep and mop my kitchen floor. I can vacuum the carpets in the main floor. I can dust all the furniture, including the doo-dads decorating all my shelves, and under said doo-dads. I can read stories to the kids, or color with them, help Captain with his handwriting, get DG to the potty, feed Littlest One, get dinner completely prepped and ready to be cooked...and when I'm folding the clean laundry, I'm sitting down on my couch, or the master bed, actually relaxing while I'm watching that rerun of NCIS, or a DVR'd episode of Jerseylicious for some mindless, non-children's programming.

I make sure that I'm drinking lots of water, I eat full meals at mealtime, and I do take breaks.

SO...now that I've taken WAY too long to write this post, I'm off to change the laundry and see if I can get my deep freeze turned back on, and load it up.

Toodles!