by Little girls tend to have big dreams, and my big dreams
always involved meeting my very own Prince Charming, being a stay at home Cinderella mom, and staring blissfully off into the sunset from the turret outside our castle bedroom after tucking our three princesses in bed for the night.
My homemaking skills at the time of these daydreams were pretty limited to baking cookies and rearranging my room every weekend. I couldn’t wait to grow up, thinking that having my own place would be the ultimate test of my “talents” at interior decorating. *Smile*
I had so much fun that first “marriage-slash-homemaking” year: sewing curtains, wearing out cookbooks, keeping our home spotless and inviting, planning exotic dates…
Three children later, what happened?
The inside of my kitchen cupboards are a mess of chipped and peeling white paint, the only weed-eater our yard recognizes is small, white and furry (i.e. a goat). I have so many ideas to make our property beautiful, but instead of acting on many of them, I’m back to dreaming. If only we had the income and servants of Prince Charming’s household. Oh yeah, and a fairy godmother would be nice.
If only I had the time, energy and fervor I did as a newlywed 18 year old!
So what do I do when the “homemaking doldrums” visit my life? When I look around and see so many things needing me, and don’t know where to start?
- I enlist my “princesses” and we each draw “chores” from a bowl. Simple chores, such as: cleaning the bathroom sink, sweeping, mopping, dusting the living room, brushing the cinders from the fireplace…
- We turn on the music. (This is a must, it keeps the mice happy)
- We rearrange the living room, cleaning as we go.
And somewhere in the middle of deciding where the couch should go and Alan Jackson’s version of “I’ll Fly Away”, I
catch the vision again.
Just try to keep me out of the kitchen now! I light my Yankee housewarmer and scoot a chair next to the counter for 3 year old. Now, which issue of Taste of Home had that yummy spiced donut recipe, hmm…
And I’m off. Try it sometime. I truly love being at home, but sometimes it takes a special wave of the wand to slough off the feeling that midnight is fast approaching…
Here’s to happily ever after!
I find nothing seems to get me motivated to clean as when you are “nesting”. I will never forget the first time we went to the hospital with Olivia. Only to be sent home. Certain she was coming in the next few days. I was deep cleaning everything at 2 o’clock in the morning to excited to sleep. She finally showed up two weeks later.
I feel your pain, my day dream is to have a cleaning lady that comes in three afternoons a week to clean and cook supper. So I can sew, knit, make jewelry, and other fun hobbies. After all how can you become a real Proverbs 31 woman until you maid girls so assign tasks too.
Ahh, the amazing nesting instinct! I always did my biggest home renovating projects while pregnant, it’s the best motivator! Drove my husband crazy. 😉
My daydream isn’t so much having a hired cook/housekeeper as it is someone to share the homeschooling! I’d love a college-aged tutor to drop in 3 afternoons a week with fresh and creative ideas! As my girls get older, their education takes more and more time. I love certain areas of teaching, but others…yawn… I’m constantly trying to bring boring subjects to life–as much for me, as for my kids! And that is exhausting!
I use to be like you growing up, I wanted to be a happy perfect homemaker, oh what an eye opener it was when I finally was married with 3 children. I think my biggest motivator has been watching some of those tv shows about grime and filth, my kids and I help each other around the house to make sure it’s clean, tidy but not spotless, its got to have that “lived in” look I think.
It is to bad we live so far apart now. I could teach your girls a few lessons and you could help clean my house. I have dreams of when we move back to the area doing fun homeschool things. Olivia will just be ready to start Kindergarten. One thing I know I want to do is give sewing lessons. I wish I would have thought of it last fall. I think it is something Soni and Becca would have enjoyed also.
Amy, I love the lived-in look as well. My dh has family members that are absolutely uncomfortable if they’re visiting a home that is too pristine. My fil won’t even cross the threshold if my house is too clean, it always made me sad. Don’t have to worry about it so much these days…there’s always something on the floor minutes after a mop-job!
Andrea, why is it we always think of these things when it’s too late. I guess we realize all we took for granted, huh. I’d love to have you teach me the fine points of sewing…so if you ever hold that class I’ll be peering over my daughter’s shoulder! 😉 I’d love to clean while you teach…what a great idea… 🙂
How funny this is! I don’t have children of my own, I have 2 stepdaughters but I do have a 3 year old puppy. The month or so before I knew she was coming to live with us, I did the same stuff, worked my fanny off making curtains, organizing things and making sure everything was perfect so I could concentrate on her. Now of course in a new house that is really pretty but not nearly done. Cleaning? It gets done about 1 time per month.
The only way I can get anything done between the dog, the house, the projects that need done, running my business and the puppy is to create lists and make sure the house is picked up every day. If I can keep it picked up and put things away when I use them, it doesn’t seem to be too messy or too out of control. It ends up taking 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes before bed but that way I feel better about the house. Every so often I run around the house and swish stuff in the bathrooms and I do run the vacuum on trash night. It’s the only way. 🙁
I hear you, Rhonda…I’m learning to expect more from my kids as well. My oldest is about ten, and she’s quite capable, thankfully. I love it when the house is perfectly clean, but settle quite often for just daily keeping up with bed making, bathroom and dishes. Homeschooling has taken “clutter” to a whole new level. At least it’s not filth, it’s just “stuff”…but it still gets to me!
I enjoyed your comment, isn’t checking off lists the best of feelings?
Hope to see you back here,
Mary
I love the way you can put into words the simple day to day life and feelings of us stay at home moms! Reading your writtings really enrich my life. Hugs. Juli
Thank you, Juli! It makes my life much richer to have this way station here bringing wonderful friends like you into my life!