Learning to Slow Down

I'm a doer. How many of us are? Probably most of us, if not all of us. Mommy jobs keep me busy from morning till night, and even many hours into the night. I find I do good if I get 4-5 hours of sleep at night. But it comes with being a mom and I signed up for it! There are days I enjoy it, and there are days I really wonder what the heck I got myself into.

My oldest is four and a half years old. My middle child is three and my youngest child is 18 months. For the most part, my two oldest sleep pretty well through the night with the rare occasions of needing something to drink or just wanting an extra hug, kiss or cuddle. My youngest on the other hand is very, let's say, needy. She wakes up several times a night, nurses for about 1-2 minutes and then she's back asleep. But it's those several times a night that throws me off.  I stumble to her bed, cuddle her and feed her real quick and then try to sneak back into bed without waking myself up that much. But low and behold, I normally can't fall back asleep for at least 20-30 minutes.

Now, I'm not complaining. Like I said, I signed up for this. But this makes for a very tired mommy some days and of course, when a mommy is tired, it calls for several cups of coffee or a quick cold wash cloth to my face to wake me up! I sometimes have to do both!

Mommy life is full of ups and downs. Four year olds are really challenging! I thought two year olds were difficult. I changed my mind quite quickly recently. I know I've written about this before, but I always wanted to be the Pinterest Perfect Mommy. You know, the one with the sparkling tables and counters, empty sinks, shiny kid faces, every hair in place, house smelling of lemon and everything looking just so. I had ambitions of doing crafts with my kids on some fairy tale perfect schedule, with meals on the table that were healthy, filling and always on time. I dreamed of kids being in bed at the same time every single night and my husband having date night every night after they're fast asleep.

Wake up call! Didn't happen. While I do have days where the house is clean and the kids have clean faces, I have to admit that more often than not, I have dishes in my sink, my counters aren't perfectly clean, the table is full of mail and stuff I need to go through. My laundry pile is sometimes the size of Mt. Everest and if dinner is on the table by 8, I'm proud of myself. Gahhh! Schedules are practically non-existent in my house. I just do. I just do until I'm done. Which I'm never done.

I used to just focus on my house and keeping everything all perfect and beautiful. But then someone said to me one day, "You know, you should just slow down and sniff the roses. Enjoy your kids. Play with them. Get dirty. Do crazy things. Have fun. Just slow down." I was incredulous! You mean I shouldn't have a clean house and perfection all the time? *eye roll* Yes, of course that's what they meant. So I gave it a try. While my OCDness for cleanliness and wanting perfection still surfaces nearly every day, I have finally figured out that it's really ok to not have a Pinterest Perfect Home and be that Picture Perfect Mom. Life in the slow lane feels good. You can see what you're passing. You can experience it and even pull over if needed for a break. Life as a mommy is full of bumps and bruises, silliness and laughter, crazy times and happy times, patience and impatience. But all in all, wrap it all up into one fat burrito, life is good.

So mommies, let's just slow down. Let's enjoy our babies. Let's see things through their eyes. Let's appreciate their laughter and comfort when the tears fall. And go to bed, if you have to, with the dishes in the sink. They'll be there tomorrow. (But don't leave them too long! haha. Bugs love that stuff). But seriously! Have fun, Mommies! <3