The Mommy, The Wife, The Housecleaner, The Cook, The Blogger,THE BITTY ; How To Get A Handle On The Stress

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I am a mommy, a wife, a house cleaner, a nurse, a seamstress, a cook, a counselor, a coach, a teacher, a bather, a laundress, a personal assistant, a singer, a playmate, a cheerleader, a repair woman, a chauffeur, and a blogger. By the end of the day, I can be quite the bitty!

As my husband sat having lunch a few days ago, the topic came up about what a struggle it is to balance my many roles. There are many days where "the house cleaner" is too busy to come out and play. Therefore, the following day, "the house cleaner" has to work overtime while "the cook" serves cereal for lunch. While "the cook" serves cereal, "the mommy" feels bad. Sound familiar?

Now, don't get me wrong. I love staying home and I do it by choice. That being said, I needed to figure out how to balance all of the different responsibilities. I was feeling entirely way to overwhelmed and my stress was not allowing me to be the best mommy I could be.

Let's start with the mommy and wife role. This is not part of the job you can let slide for a day. So, moving right along to the house cleaner. It is pretty important to me to keep a clean house. I was doing a thorough cleaning daily, but since our conversation, have knocked it back to just the basics on a day to day basis. Ah, now there is more time for the cook. I realize my kids are just as happy to eat grilled cheese as they are steak. OK, who am I kidding? They are probably even happier. I have figured out that I can significantly cut the cooks hours by providing simple soup and sandwich type meals three times a week. I felt bad at first, but grilled cheese, carrot sticks, and yogurt is still nutritious and much easier. The remaining four nights I make a large three to four course meal but make enough for leftovers so I only cook twice! I will be trying my hand at freezer meals soon. Of course, I will blog it!

Now, that is some of the major roles a mom plays, but what about the laundress. Yes, I have given myself a title for doing laundry. I figured I do enough of it, I have earned it. I was really struggling to get the laundry folded. I sat back and assessed my situation. If I changed the location I folded laundry, this might help. I have started folding the laundry on the couch. The kids can play in the playroom or watch television while I get this dirty little chore completed. Sometimes I get lucky enough to get them to help fold dish towels or mate socks. It adds a little more work because I have to tote the laundry upstairs, but at least it is getting done.

While the other roles such as: nurse, cheerleader, chauffeur, and personal assistant are not duties you must preform daily, but when your little child cries in despair or pain, you must jump into action. There is not time to switch from the role as "the house cleaner" to the role of "the nurse". That is why us mommies are so special. We can do it all!

So, I wrote this post to encourage other moms who struggle to stay on top of the demands of everyday life. I did not change much, but these few little changes have really eliminated some stress. I am sure you all could use the stress break, right?

I would love to hear from all you out there! What sorts of things do you do in your home to save time, energy,  and unneeded stress?