My Housewifely Duties

When the babies were brand new, and had no semblance of a predictable routine, I used to daydream about when they were on an actual schedule, with naptimes and bedtimes that went off without a hitch every time. I thought about all the things I could get done during their multiple daily naps - why, that would be hours and hours of free time...right?

Fast forward to today. A week away from 9 months, and little miss Avery Cays still only naps for 30 minutes at a time on most occasions. Oh sure, I can get lucky with a 2 hour nap every once in a while - but those are few and far between, and there's no way to predict when and where they'll strike. So I've come to terms with the fact that I have to squeeze all of my chores into 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. It's made me very aware of the priority of chores - bottles first, floors second, dishes third, laundry fourth. Everything else is on a "when it gets to the point I can no longer ignore it" basis :-) No matter how tempted I am to fold laundry on the couch while Regis & Kelly keep me company, if the top 3 choices are not done, it cannot be so.

I do sometimes try to get my chores done while the girlies are awake. It just means that I have little helpers... or little leg-clingers, whatever you want to call them. The dishes are a particularly fun chore to attempt. Unloading is usually fine, as long as I remove the silverware basket as soon as I open the door. Loading, well, that's another game altogether. The gist of it is me, removing babies from their station at the dishwasher door, putting them back in the center of the playmat, running back to the dishwasher, and loading as much as I can before they're back on top of me. It's super fun. Laundry is another fave - I fold, they unfold...it's a riot! I don't try sweeping and mopping as much when they're awake anymore, Avery likes to chase the broom and/or mop, making it nearly impossible. Vacuuming makes Lauren cry, but also wakes them up if they're sleeping - so I choose the lesser of the two evils and let her face her fear (builds character, right?).

American Baby magazine assures me that around my babies first birthday, they will switch to taking one "gloriously long" nap after lunch that lasts anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. All I have to say is, I'll believe it when I see it.

My Little Helpers: