Cooking and Cleaning ...

Dishes, laundry, cleaning, meals ... if it's not one task it's another in the motherhood realm. Nothing ever seems to be completely finished. After breakfast, lunch will inevitably follow just a few hours later (not to mention all the dishes)! It seems that just after I finish folding the laundry I put the kids into their pajamas and end up with more clothes to wash. The toilet is usually used within minutes of it being cleaned. Oh the endless jobs of being a Mommy!

One of the things that helps me the most in cooking, cleaning, folding laundry, and so on is to phone a friend. My closest friends are those with whom I have either blood or marital ties - my mom, sisters, sisters-in-law and my cousin Natalie. Today I knew the only way I was going to get through my heaping pile of dishes in the sink was to call Natalie and chat while I did them. I quickly became lost in conversation and the chore vanished.

In reality, it always takes more time to do something when I'm chatting, but the task seems to be accomplished so much faster and I'm so much happier to do it. I'm so grateful for family and friends that lighten my load.

Other things that help me take on the endless household duties:
* Help the kids clean up their toys at the end of the day. (They can't make messes in the playroom in their sleep. At least I don't know of any sleepwalkers in my house. And I feel better about teaching them to clean instead of doing it myself afterwards.)
* Do the evening dishes before retiring to bed. (Again, waking up to a dish-free sink makes making breakfast easier and I'm always in a better mood when I don't have dirty dishes staring at me first thing in the morning.)
* If no friend or family member is able to talk, watching a movie or listening to an audio book also helps with doing household chores. (I can usually work faster with media than on the phone, but it's not nearly as fun!)