Confession Time

I can't tell you how many times I've had someone ask me "how do you do it all?" "how do you find time to bake and do crafts and cook when you have six kids?" "how do you work part time and get everything done?"

Here's the answer....

Are you ready for it?

  I don't! It's that simple...I don't do it all. 

First, I am the most unorganized person you will ever meet.  You would think that a mother of six would be the most organized person on the planet, but uh, not me.  I have several issues with this.

#1.  I'm a pack rat (not nearly as bad as those people you see on tv on hoarders).  I have boxes and boxes filled with crap that needs to be gone through and most of which needs pitched.  I have a hard time letting things go.  I'm getting better at it, (I only have one small box of baby clothes as keepsakes, as opposed to every piece of clothing my kids have ever worn).  And I only have one, well now two boxes of keepsake papers or things the kids made, pictures, stuff from my childhood, stuff that was my dad's, etc.  But, the other boxes have general crap in them...like suppose someone is coming over for a visit and my desk is a pigsty.  Well, I just toss everything in a box, throw a lid on it and hide it.  I have 2 or 3 of these boxes now.

#2. If I can't find something that I thought I had and it's not too expensive to replace, then I just buy another one.  My dad used to do this....which is why when he died he had about 10 different sets of screwdrivers laying around in his garage.

Secondly, I'm a major procrastinator.  Just the other day, I cleaned a crap load of paper work that was piled a mile high on the kitchen desk and finally dealt with some insurance stuff that I had been putting off...some of which could have resulted in being billed for things that our insurance would have paid for, if I had simply filled out the paper work.

Tonight, Rich asked me "what is in those 2 boxes shoved under the desk in the kitchen?" I told him, one of them is stuff that Nathan did that I was keeping (and probably should downsize).  And the other one is filled with projects that I'm planning on doing.  Thrift store stuff that needs painted and whatever. 

Then, he said "well, what is with all that crap piled up on the dishwasher?" I said it's all craft stuff that needs organized and put in my craft closet.  But, in truth there's a whole bunch of other crap on there too...like the goodie bag I got when I went to the Taste of Home show - several months ago....

Third, my kids are older and they help (well for the most part).  Amanda has a car and a driver's license so when she's not working and I need something quick from the store, I ask her to run and get it.  Or, sometimes, she will take the two younger boys with her when she picks up her paycheck and then buy them lunch.  All my kids are now in school too.  So that frees up alot of time during the day.

Fourth, Rich is retired (after being hurt in the line of duty as a corrections officer), so he's home with me and he helps.  He likes to tease people and say that he's Mr. Caveman - Male Chauvinist Pig....and well sometimes, he is....but, for the most part he helps me quite a bit.  He does alot of the major grocery shopping.  I still have to make quick trips to the store for little or daily things, but for the most part the major stuff is done by him.  He also takes the kids with him sometimes or entertains them so I can cook dinner or whatever.  He pays all the bills too, so I don't have to worry about that aspect either.  And he does the driving lessons with the kids.  I told him, I changed the diapers - you can teach them to drive....his part of the bargain is way scarier than mine. 

So, you see....I don't do it all.  If I did I'd probably go crazy.  I'm not perfect.....far from it.  But I decided there are some things that I like to do more than others.  And I'm lucky that my family helps and supports that.  Of course, that's not to say that I don't get myself in trouble sometimes LOL.  Or that my family is perfect too and they don't get mad or frustrated when my laziness or shortcomings affect them.  Life is short, and I intend to enjoy it as much as I can and make the most of it while I can.  And hope that the memories my kids have will be of me dropping what I'm doing to build Lego towers or play a game or read a book to them, instead of remembering how shiny the toilets were....know what I mean?

And now you know my dirty little secret....bet you feel all better now LOL!