And the laundry gets finished... at last!

Today started out with high hopes (on my part) of doing a few homemaking-sorts of things... after all, Crystal hosts Making Your Home a Haven every Monday, and I'm really getting left in the dust!! My kitchen counters are packed with junk, and the other day when I tried to set something on top of the fridge, dust bunnies flew down onto my head.

So today I was really going to be on the ball. I decided I would do my projects in the morning, take pictures, and then spend some of Eliyahu's nap time posting on my blog about it all. Then I would take a nap myself, and have the rest of the day free. Haha!! That didn't exactly happen. ;)

Task number one: Give Ruth a bath. She smelled like sour milk! Yehoshua and Eliyahu helped run the bath water, and watched closely while I bathed her. Here she is in her long-sleeved onesie (a great invention for winter babies!) right before her bath. I don't have any during-pictures, because I can't quite manage two toddlers plus a camera while bathing a newborn. ;)

Yehoshua got to pick out Ruth's clean outfit. He loves this blue turtle sleeper. :) After I nursed Ruth, she fell asleep. I put her in her bed, got the boys busy playing, and jumped in the shower. Even though I hurried, Eliyahu got antsy and Ruth woke up before I was done! At least I got a shower. :D

Now, the laundry part. This was going to be so easy. (haha!) Here I am half-way through the day's laundry. I had Joshua's work clothes washed and hung to dry, and yesterday's load was in the basket to be folded and put away. (Since I'm using the indoor clothes rack and it takes about 24 hours for a load to dry, I do one load every day.)

But, in between diaper changes, nursings, and keeping Eliyahu out of trouble, it was suddenly 11:30am, and time for some lunch. The children and I ate some leftovers, and by the time I got them washed up and got Eliyahu ready for his nap, and sat down to nurse Ruth yet again, I was about ready to fall asleep myself! And all I had done was give Ruth a bath and hang up one load of clothes!

Yehoshua was tired too. I read him a story, and since Ruth was already asleep in my arms, we all just laid down on the couch and took naps.

Eliyahu woke up about 3pm, as I was changing Ruth's diaper. She went back to sleep, but now it was time to start dinner. I had Eliyahu help me in the kitchen (Yehoshua stayed asleep) and we made a dish of Farmhouse Chicken.

This is what it looked like before it was baked. :)

So, dinner was made. Yay! Now, time to tackle all the dishes in the sinks.

Eliyahu is a great dishes helper. He loves playing with Joshua's travel mug, especially.

And then we were done! I love a clean kitchen. Unfortunately, the part in the picture was the only part that was really clean. Oh well... Ruth woke up just as I took this picture. :)

So, we ate dinner, cleaned up the dishes again, took care of babies and toddlers, sang some songs together, picked up toys, and got Eliyahu off to bed. Yehoshua played with Play Doh at the kitchen table while I held Ruth, who stayed wide awake (and a little fussy) until about 9:30.

Nine-thirty... and still my little bit of laundry sat, unfolded. Oh well... it was time to pack Joshua's lunch. I finished that about 10pm... when Ruth woke up, again!

But, Ruth ate and went back to sleep. And I folded my laundry. And took this picture, finally. :D Tomorrow morning, the work clothes will be dry, and I'll have a new load to hang... and we'll start all over again. :)

We had a good day. My kitchen counters are still packed with junk, and I know there's a layer of dust on the top of my fridge, but I can always try for those things tomorrow. :)

Tammy's blog | printer friendly version

You're doing what is important

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 00:21.

Tammy,

I just wanted to let you know that I think you are doing a great job of managing your household with 3 little ones. My three are now 19, 16, and 14 but I remember well the days that just seemed to slip by with me getting hardly anything done. The thing to remember is that the laundry will ALWAYS be there, the dishes will ALWAYS be there, the clutter may/will ALWAYS be there BUT your children won't be. They will grow up way to fast and one day you may find yourself (like me) wishing for those days when they were so little and always underfoot. ENJOY every minute of this precious time in your life!

Missouri Momma

I really truly believe there

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 00:24.

I really truly believe there is no such thing as a perfectly clean house when you have little ones. Especially with a brand new little one. I call it "survival mode" and try to keep things from looking like a tornado ripped through! I find it harder with my 2nd now that my 1st can run around and make a mess!

Wow!

Submitted by Martha Artyomenko on Tue, 2008-02-12 00:44.

You got alot done for a mam who had a baby not long ago! I always had to remind myself that if I wanted to have more babies I had to listen to my uterus in the amount of chores I got done!

Hi Tammy...I really enjoyed

Submitted by mamatoalmost9 on Tue, 2008-02-12 01:26.

Hi Tammy...I really enjoyed your post and thankyou for showing the reality of this stage in your life....
I was wondering do you still have access to my private blog?? http://celebratinglifeandmotherhood.blogspot.com
I'd love it if you stopped in regularly if you can find the time that is!!:) I know it's busy with a new baby!

Actually it sounds like you

Submitted by TaftMommy on Tue, 2008-02-12 01:59.

Actually it sounds like you got a lot done! All the important stuff really :) God bless you...loving these updates :)

Perspective

Submitted by BethMeg on Tue, 2008-02-12 07:52.

As was mentioned before, you are doing what is most important, and I think you realize that. You have a good perspective on the important things in life. I wanted to share with you something I remember from when I was in your phase of life. I had 4 kids in 6 years before I was 27 years old. Yes I was a young bride and young mom and I wouldn't change that for anything. I saw a clipping of a cartoon on the fridge of a friend who was in the empty nest phase of life. It was a Family Circus cartoon of the mom looking at her absolutely spotlessly clean house with a sad expression. She had a thought bubble of her house as a mess with toys and kids everywhere. The caption underneath said something to the effect of "those were the good days".
I've been putting together pictures of my son's life since he's graduating high school this year and all of the kids have been rummaging through these old photos. At the time all I could see was the toys and laundry and mess, but now I look at the photos (with all of that in the background) and my kids are laughing, playing, enjoying life. They told me they do not remember the cleanliness of the house, but that I always got on the floor and played with them. Those are the memories and experiences that are the most important in the long run.

That is going to be me in a

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 08:00.

That is going to be me in a few days...the only difference is my kids are a bit older(9 and 5), but we also homeschool! ARGHH!!! Scary... LOL

Wow thank you "BethMeg" I

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 08:47.

Wow thank you "BethMeg" I needed that reminder just today--you have no idea how much. It almost made me cry. I have three little boys and am quite the perfectionist. We are trying to move just to a nearby town in the dead of winter and I have been super stressed. (-:

Tammy you are doing a great job! I am impressed with all you have done already. (-: Thanks so much for sharing. It is a great encouragement to me and motivator. What precious memories you are making.

Tammy, you are doing

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 09:11.

Tammy, you are doing awesome! My question would be: are you doing anything special to help keep your energy levels up? If so, I'd like to know what it is as that is something I struggle with during and after the baby's (or babies') arrival(s).

I can't help it, but I kinda love that sour milk smell. . . : ) Ruth is precious, and so are your boys. You inspire me to get my boys involved more with what is going on in their home. Thank you!

Emily

Tammy, You should be proud!

Submitted by JoyfulGal on Tue, 2008-02-12 11:34.

Tammy,

You should be proud! I would feel accomplished getting all that done, with 3 little ones especially :)

I love the outfit Yehoshua picked out for Ruth!

Love ya,

Kate Ambrose

http://ambrosehome.blogspot.com
http://pictures.danambrose.com

You're doing a ton!

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2008-02-12 16:46.

It may not seem as if much is being accomplished if you look at it all from the perspective of a to-do list, but all that feeding, nurturing, disciplining, and diaper changing is a lot of work! You're doing a ton!

I have no idea if you have an IKEA anywhere near you or not, but if you do, I highly recommend IKEA's drying rack. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50095091 Unfortunately, it's not for sale online, but even if you don't have an IKEA near you, perhaps you have a friend or family member who does live near one and could pick one up for you. The price is fabulous, and it has an unbelievable amount of space for drying things. I love mine! My other drying rack cost twice as much as has only half the space as the IKEA one.

getting things done

Submitted by Lilyofthevalley on Wed, 2008-02-13 21:17.

There are days and I wonder what I did all day!! But when I think about it I realized I did the most important, taking care of my family. The housework and laundry will always be there. :) Baby Ruth is such a sweetie. My children love to pick out the clothes for their baby sister too. :) ~Tanya

This made me think of this

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2008-02-14 15:59.

This made me think of this poem. I have three children too, the oldest is 5 and the youngest just turned 1. It is hard to find the time to get everything done! I've been told just to enjoy my babies! They grow up so fast.

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there, ours boasts it quite openly, the signs are EVERYWHERE.
For smears are on the windows, little smudges are on the doors, I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read and if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other; I'd like to cook and clean and scrub, but first I'll be a mother.

I can't get over how

Submitted by Bethany on Sat, 2008-02-16 15:14.

I can't get over how absolutely gorgeous your little girl is!! And you sure can keep a house clean, even with just having had a baby. Your before pictures look like my after pictures. :D

LOL!

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2008-02-17 10:18.

Tammy,
I've got three too (4, 2 1/2 and 6 months)and it seems like a lot of our days end up like that! It can get fustrating, especially when you are first getting used to having that third little one. But you did get the important stuff done - everyone was fed, napped, clothed, cleaned, and LOVED for the day! :) AND you even did more than that!! WOOHOO!!! Thanks for sharing your day...