To clean or not to clean... That is definitely the question right now. Or maybe it's, When and where do I fit in time to clean AND be the best Mom I can be??
Finding the balance between being a great hands on, fully involved parent and having a clean house is H-A-R-D! I know some folks whose homes are spotless, who are also crazy because they can't find the middle road between cleaning and spending time with their kiddos. I also know a few folks whose homes have gone to you know where in a hand basket, BUT spend every waking moment with their children.
So, who do I agree with? Well, both. I think they are both somewhat insanely right and wrong. Am I judging either of them? Absolutely not. If you haven't already noticed, I am too trying to find this balance!
A single girlfriend, with no children, and I were talking the other day about this very topic. She, as I do, agreed, that being a Mom is much more important than having a perfectly clean home. BUT, being a good mom does also involve some cleanliness around the house, for reasons of which are very obvious.
My new motto is, "A couple of chores a day, then spend the rest of the time with your kids to play"!
Wherever you can squeeze them (the chores, not the kiddos) whatever works for you, is what you should do.
At the end of the day, OR, as a matter of fact, looking back at the end of your life... Are you really going to say to yourself, "Should I have cleaned my house more"? I don't think so! If anything, it will be, "I should have spent more time with my kiddos".
For now, I think I'll leave the playroom the way it is :-)
Tata,
Mama
Great motto!! And I am loving your new blog!
ReplyDeleteLove the background design..
ReplyDeletegirl this is my LIFE!! My house always looks like that. Now that J is a little older he can actually help me clean up in the evenings which is wonderful! We do it in preparation for Daddy coming home =)
Love the post and the new blog background! I can totally relate to what you said. I love a clean house but definitely not at the expense of not spending enough time with family. Since I got pregnant again and have been feeling so tired and nauseous, I've kind of given up on cleaning all together and just focus on Laila (haha...luckily Nate likes things pretty clean and pitches in a lot), but before that I started doing this thing where I'd maybe pick one thing or one room to clean a day. It kind of makes house cleaning seem less overwhelming. If it doesn't get done then oh well! I like what Danielle said too about having the kids help clean up at the end of the day. That's definitely a good lesson to teach them on teamwork, taking care of their things, etc. On a different note, I looked down at your Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe again, and it looks so amazing...definitely need to try that soon!
ReplyDeleteWow, I just wrote a lot :)
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