Thursday, June 19, 2008

What Did I Do All Day?


At the end of the day I look around my house and think "what did I accomplish today?" There are random child size articles of clothing strewn about (and occasionally husband size, but that is another matter), there are toys in every corner and under every piece of furniture, there are dirty dishes in the sink, clothes washed, but still sitting wet in the washing machine, bills sitting out waiting to be paid, and oh my...is that a dirty diaper just sitting on the living room floor?
How is it that my house looks like this when I feel like I spent the whole day picking up, washing, drying, folding, and cleaning. So what exactly did I do all day?

I remember opening the washing machine door to put the clothes in the dryer only to open the dryer and see unfolded clothes. So I start to neatly fold towels as my son walks up and pushes the pile onto the dirty floor. Should I dust them off and use them anyway? The answer is always yes. But wait...I have to stop and explain we don’t push towels mommy is folding onto the floor. I then went back to folding only for my son to push them onto the floor again. So we stop again, dust them off again and I grab my son by the hand, lead him to timeout and explain again we don’t push towels mommy is folding onto the floor.

Fast forward a couple of minutes. Towel folding is interrupted again when I have to go get my son out of timeout. I tell him "say sorry mama" He replies with "dee dee mama" and a hug. Um...what? Oh well...back to folding. Last towel folded and set on top of the dryer so toddler hands cant reach. Now...we’re getting somewhere. On to the dishes! Wait, is that the baby crying?

So now it’s time to feed the baby. I pick up the baby just as my son runs at me with a book. Ok...I can do this. Holding and feeding a baby while holding and reading a book to a toddler who likes to scream "Doggy" the entire time I’m trying to read to him. I have the baby and the book and the toddler screaming "doggy!"

"No honey...that’s a cow"

"Doggy!"

"No...cow"

"Doggy"

"No...this is a doggy and this is a cow"

Task complete. Baby is fed, toddler’s book done, toddler now knows difference between dog and cow....wait who smells? Everyone under 2 smells....

Diaper change time. I wont go into details. Back to the dishes....after I figure out why the baby is crying and why the toddler is so quiet. Oh..I see. My son is "sharing" his blocks a little too rough for a 3 month old who has no hand coordination. I have to figure out how to explain sharing is nice, but stop it. There has to be an easier way....I got it!

"Do you want lunch?"

Ok....lunch. What to give for lunch..... We need...chicken? No he had that yesterday. PBJ? No...he wont eat that lately. Finally...turkey dog, left over peas and apple sauce. Everything warmed (while holding a baby in one arm mind you), toddler in chair, buckled in with a bib. I get his nicely organized, thought over plate set in front of him.

"Eee ha"

"It’s hot? It’s not hot"

"Eee ha"

"No just try it...it’s not hot"

"Eee ha"...as he throws a few pieces of turkey dog that are too hot to eat, but not touch with his hand to the dog.

Distracting with plane sounds and crazy abnormal arm movements gets him to take a few bites of turkey dog. The rest he eats on his own....with fingers instead of a spoon.

After getting my son cleaned up from head to toe I get him ready for a nap. Around here nap time is like happy hour minus drunks. Well at least it use to be, but now I have another baby and getting them both to nap would be like winning a small lottery. If they napped regularly at the same time everyday for at least 2 hours…that would be like power ball.

The rest of my day looks much like the start of my day. Starting one task only to be interrupted by crying, pleading, demanding, interfering and needing.

How did I get to this point in my life? I use to spend my day in my car listening to music that was not about humpty dumpty and the ABC’s. I use to go to class with other people my age. I use to play poker on Friday nights with good friends and yes…went to real happy hours. I use to buy trendy clothes for myself instead of a pair of kids jeans and extra pack of onsies to avoid little hands in big diapers. I use to see a toddler throw a huge fit and think "I would control my child" only to now hope that the fit happens in my home instead of while we’re out.

Now my days are filled with dirty diapers, wiping away tears, reading about Sam the dog, Ralph the rabbit, feeding babies, picking up toys over and over. I actually find myself bouncing when I’m not even holding the baby and I find myself singing along to Sesame Street without realizing it.

So at the end of the day when I look around at my house with clothes, diapers, toys, sippy cups everywhere and wet clothes in the washer, dirty dishes in the sink and try to remember why I feel so tired…I remember it’s because my new job is the important one. This job I will have for the rest of my life. The duties may vary, but the goal is the same as is the sense of accomplishment. My children will grow into successful, productive, confident adults. At least that is all I can hope for. I will change as many dirty diapers, wipe as many tears, implement as many timeouts, endure embarrassing fits from toddlers with no impulse control and feed as much healthy food to picky eaters as possible if it means my children will know I love them and they will learn to love.

My job may not seem to glamorous. I don’t get breaks, paychecks, vacation time or employee of the month, but I’m rewarded with hugs, smiles, healthy, happy children. When someone sees my house they may think I don’t do anything all day, but that is just because they can’t see it….yet.

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