There isn't enough time. No really.....there isn't.

Two weeks ago when our world had pretty much crashed down on top of us..... well, maybe just the piled up laundry, dishes, toys and crumbs on the floor, Jake and I decided we had had enough. Things not getting done made us fight constantly, stressed us out, and made us feel like we were drowning. I used to not care about a messy room when I was growing up. Ask my friend Emily. When she would come over to stay at my place we would have to move laundry off of my bed and kick dirty clothes around to be able to walk. It was bad, but I didn't care. Now....I care. I don't like living in a mess. It literally gives me heart palpitations. So Jake and I decided in order for us to be mentally healthy, we needed to step it up and figure it out.

Our first step was a cleaning schedule. We wrote down a list of our daily chores, weekly chores and monthly chores. We then divided them between the two of us (I would pick up his daily chores while he is at work every other day) and put them on a calendar. I have to say, so far, it has helped SO MUCH. Neither Jake or I are leaders. I never have been, I don't know about Jake, but I need direction. Which I think is what has made being a stay-at-home mom so hard for me. You don't have a boss. Essentially, you're in charge of what needs to get done and your kids count on you. Which is maybe why I've wandered around like a chicken with its head cut off for the past three years squawking  "For goodness sake somebody tell me what to do!!!!"

I always felt like I was playing catch up. Oh wait, that's because I have three toddlers and until they are in school I will ALWAYS be playing catch up! Now that I've realized that, the stress has eased some. My day consists of cleaning, more cleaning, and then some more cleaning. Why? Because as I'm cleaning in one room, the kids are either in that room messing up what I just did, or they are in the other room being sure to make it unrecognizable when I walk back in. I've realized I have to get over having a perfectly organized and clean house if I want to enjoy my kids. I HAVE TO. But the cleaning calendar has made me feel so much better because I know that the things that are disgusting and need to be done to keep the house sanitary are getting done at least daily or weekly, but I don't feel overwhelmed because we've broken them up.

Although, we ran into a problem. There isn't enough time in the day. No seriously, as we were coming up with a daily schedule, we really ran out of time in the day to get everything done in one day. It's so funny how time is all in perspective. For instance, what in the heck did I do with my free time when I was single and had no kids? I think about how boring my life must have been. Or now that I've stopped doing the crocheting business as much, it's amazing how I feel like I have so much more time each day when I used to think I had little to none before I did the crocheting thing!

It's nice now that the kids are out of the infant stage to actually be able to do stuff together as a family. Such as yesterday. We all went for a bike ride to the school down the street and let the kids play around for an hour or so. And you know what? Jake and I actually got to talk while they played! Arielle is able to climb and play now and we don't have to be on her constantly! It was nice. It was refreshing. I'll always miss having a baby but I must say, it really is getting easier. One simple thing at a time, but it's getting easier and I feel like I might be able to breathe again someday soon :)

I'll leave you with some pics from our fun family day yesterday. Enjoy!