December 2010
It is so nice to sit down and relax with a little crocheting. My home is photo ready for the next decorating magazine shoot. Add a freshly brewed coffee and a little music and my life couldn’t get any nicer.
“Mom, Mom, Mom,” then I open my eyes…reality. The couch pillows are on the floor, my two-year-old has stripped his clothes off again and the light filtering in from the fingerprint covered back door illuminates the two-foot square glue spot on the floor. Toys and boxes litter the living room floor along with Cheerios and fabric scraps from my latest sewing project. Dishes overflow the sink but are generously covered in soap (thanks again to the two-year-old). School papers, library books and “recycling crafts” are adhered to the dining room table with orange juice.
“What?”
“I love you,” and that is the number one reason why I am so glad I get to be home with my children.
I’ve been at home with the kids for over 7 years now but somehow I have yet to figure out how to keep the house in order with everything else I do. Add this to the fact that my list of things I want to do is constantly growing and the days until I have to find a “real” job (as my husband says) are starting to dwindle. Every day older my little one gets is one day closer to school age, and my domestic deadline!
That was my first post.
October 2016
That two-year old is now eight. EIGHT! Kinda hard to believe. Life has changed. Life has stayed the same. Life has evolved.
I have evolved
Evolution is really what my Domestic Deadline is really about. Just shy of six years ago I started this blog. Well, I started a blog on blogspot. And I grew with it and it grew with me.
Blogging kept me on track; helped me focus on the chaos we all call parenting. Weaving in my various projects that both keep me sane and delay the dreaded household chores.
The blog grew.
The kids grew.
Taking a leap, I moved the blog over to wordpress, full of fresh ideas, projects and procrastinations.
Did I mention the kids grew? And my time shrunk.
I took a part time job. Not quite the “real job” IronFish still hints at. But a job while O-Man was in school. It started out just a few hours once or twice a week when he was in preschool. Then every morning while he was in kindergarten. My “full time” started when he got off to 1st grade, but I was home for the kids when they got home from school.
A win-win situation. Assisting with kitchen and bathroom remodels. Hands on, not office work as so many people assume when I say I work for a contractor. Nope, the real deal.
I’m home to get the kids off to school. Home if they are sick, need to be taken to an appointment or just have the day off. When the bus drops off the little guy, I’m there.
And I’ve learned. A lot. I’ve EVOLVED!
With the shrinking of my time came the shrinking of my blog. Such are the ebbs and flows of life.
But those kids? They’ve continued to grow!
We outgrew the house. Our first home we owned. The place where two of my babies came home to; took their first steps. Spoke their first words.
Twelve years after moving to New Jersey, we moved across town into our dream home.
Well, what has the POTENTIAL to become our dream home, that is!
One year later, we still have a lot of work to do, but we are getting there. I now have a high schooler, a middle schooler and an elementary schooler. Three schools, three schedules. Three lives that I hope I am molding into creative, independent, intellectually well-rounded people.
Leading by example, it’s time to get back to this blog. To express my creativity; share my knowledge and experience. Surround myself with those I can learn from, partner with, grow with.
It’s time for a new Domestic Deadline!
Don’t we all dream of our house running like clockwork? Children active and happy. Participating in their chores with a smile and showing us all the A’s they get at school. Pleasant meal times full of laughter and conversation. Oh, the smiles, the happiness, the perfection.
My cup runneth over
I mean my kitchen sink runneth over with dirty dishes that someone else was supposed to wash but now MOM has to wash them AND put away the laundry that didn’t get put away correctly the first time AND grocery shop for all the food that needs to be prepared AND plunge the toilet AND stop poking your sister AND what do you mean you lost your homework AND sure, I can drive you and 20 of your closest friends where ever you want to go RIGHT NOW.
My cup really does runneth over
It’s chaos, but it’s a house filled with love. Five active people and I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, ok, I might change it to a self-cleaning house, but my last name isn’t Jetson, so that probably isn’t going to happen.
So, there will always be a Domestic Deadline… whether it be getting food on the table, crafting something just to mentally soothes my sole or taking out a wall so the layout of the house functions better for our active family.
My hope with this re-launch is to share inspiration and solutions from both me and the friends I have asked to be contributors. Gone are the days of the black-and-white TV era of the mom running a perfectly fine tuned household (if life ever was that simple).
Nightly dinners promptly at 6, presenting to a board of directors, running the PTA (or even remembering to show up to a meeting!). Creating handmade holiday gifts, remodeling a bathroom before company arrives or just plain knowing you aren’t alone. This blog will continue to evolve; as will I.
Here’s to taking the next step!
One Comment