Sometimes the line gets a little gray because it's not always things that I want to do, necessarily. There is a lot of running the kids around to their different activities. For example, last night 3 of our kids had practices (Emma-Cheer, Abby-Cheer, Ethan-Soccer) They were all scheduled at the same time. I have been warned that this time would be coming. Where I went wrong was deciding earlier that morning that the kids and I would drive up to Noblesville (45 min drive) to go pick raspberries and then go to Conner Prairie (It's kind of a learning center for kids. It's both indoor and outdoor) ALL day long. We had such a great time and the weather was awesome. We hit traffic on the way home and ended up having to grab a bite to eat and arrive to all our practices LATE. I should have opted for maybe one of these activities and maybe done it for half the time.
When given the opportunity to stay home and get things done around the house I often choose to go, go, go. Go to the zoo, go pick raspberries. go to Conner Prairie, go to the water park, go to the library, go to the museum, go to the park, go to the pool or where ever else I can think of.
Why do I do it?
1.) I enjoy watching my kids play around and have fun. They seem to be happier when we are out.
2.) I love being out. I love seeing everything that's going on. No home-body here.
3.) Being at home with the kids can be extremely frustrating and disappointing. I clean up they mess up.
4.) When I am home there are usually 4-6 extra kids/neighbors there too. (Please don't get me wrong, I love my neighbor kids it can be a little intense at times).
5.) I am reminded how much needs to be done and get overwhelmed with it all.
Seems like plenty of good reason to me except:
1.) When I do come home things are all the more crazy and unorganized since I have been gone all day.
2.) The kids and I are exhausted. Too tired to do all our chores and cook dinner.
3.) I sometimes get grouchy.
4.) My husband has to deal with the chaos "back lash" as well which he does not love!
5.) Some of the more important things don't get done well. (reading,snuggling,visiting...)
I struggle finding the balance often. I feel like an addict. I can always come up with many great reason I need to do_________(fill in the blank). My excuses: the weather is perfect, this activity will make great memories, I want to hang out with my friend that is going, and the summer is almost over.
I do however see the need for more calmness. I know getting back to school will help me slow down a little bit. Not that life will be any less crazy. Just crazy in a different way.
Well, now that I have acknowledged that I have a problem I can work on it, right? Now I can look for opportunities to slow down when possible. One day at a time.
I think I am going to go take a nap.
P.S. I found out today that I can get Gavin and Kate in the same preschool this year. That means for 3 hours, twice a week I will have alone time. 6 HOURS a week ALONE.
I guess I will have plenty of time to get all my housework done so I can go, go, go on the other days :)
By the way: I am having a "mid-year blog design" crisis. Bear with me while I figure out what I want. The zebra print is only temporary.
i'm a home body, but that doesn't mean everything gets done here or that we are always calm and peaceful. that takes planning even if you don't go anywhere. i've learned to appreciate being out of the house for many of the reasons you cited. (i wish i'd done it more when we lived in vegas, but our sleep schedule was so wacky. most of the time y'all called about going to the park, we still weren't awake yet!) it's definitely a balance thing. maybe next summer make sure you have really good routines built in for the first few hours of the morning to get all the necessary stuff done, then get on outta there! and maybe one day a week, or every other, besides Sunday you designate as "at home day." don't be afraid to send friends away for "special family time." they get it. sometimes we even put a sign on the door. on the other hand, you ARE making tons of fun family memories and getting your children to experience so much. like you said, it's all about balance. =) good luck! to you and the rest of us, too.
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