How does that work, exactly, for a mom?
(The following is an oh so very condensed version of my day)
While I am in the shower, the kids wake up. Cutting my shower short and hoping I washed out all the conditioner, I start getting ready for the day. Noticing I'm almost out of clean clothes, I stop getting ready and start some laundry. I go back to getting ready.
The kids all want a drink. I stop working on myself and go in search of sippy cups since they always seem to be missing. Now they want breakfast. While working on breakfast, I notice I need to clean the kitchen. I start cleaning. Someone needs help in the bathroom. I stop cleaning and go help. Now they want to watch a movie. Perfect.
I start on a drawing.
The baby starts crying. I stop drawing and take care of her. The kids want to play with the dominos. After getting the dominos out, I notice my laundry is done, so I start folding laundry. My sister calls, asking about her wedding invitations. I stop doing laundry, go to the computer and go over some things with her. She hangs up.
While at my computer, I notice I have several unanswered e-mails. Some are weeks old and I feel guilty that I haven't responded yet. I start on an e-mail, then the baby starts crying. I pick her up and go back to my computer.
One of the kids needs to go potty. I put the baby down, she immediately starts crying again, and I go into the bathroom. After helping them, I remember that I was doing laundry earlier but the baby is still crying. I get her fed; then, taking her bottle into the kitchen, (stepping over pretzel crumbs and dominos along the way) I realize I need to do dishes. I start on dishes when the baby spits up. I stop doing dishes, change her clothes, which reminds me that I didn't finish the laundry. I start doing it again, but the kids want to color. I find them their crayons and coloring books. I take the opportunity to draw some more.
A sound pulls my attention away and I hurry to catch him before he colors the wall any more. I start scrubbing the wall. The kids start going on and on about how they are hungry. I stop scrubbing, I go to get them a snack.
I notice it's late and I haven't started dinner yet. I start dinner. While doing dinner, one of the boys pulls all the books off the bookshelf. I tell him to put them back but he ignores me and continues to smash the book covers. So I leave dinner and put the books back.
Turning around, my attention is again drawn to the pretzel crumbs and dominos all over the floor. With a lot of effort and coercing, I manage to have the other kids help me pick up the dominos.
Dinner boils over. I stop cleaning and go back to making dinner. The kids start fighting and wake up the baby. I break up the fight, settle the baby back down, then pull out the vacuum to get those dang pretzel crumbs. I accidentally snag the corner of a sock and it throws the belt off the vacuum. I go back to get a screwdriver and notice the drawing that I desperately need to finish. Then I catch one of the kids on my computer. As I pull him off I notice he has deleted my partially written e-mail. Forgetting what I went back there for, I go back into the living room and seeing the vacuum, I remember that I had gone in search of a screwdriver, but I need to finish dinner.
Wait, I need to break up another fight while begging the kids to leave the toys in their bedroom. The baby starts crying again. She needs a diaper change. After changing her diaper, my attention is again drawn to the laundry that I haven't yet completed...and so on and so forth.
By the time my hubby comes home, the house is only half clean, the laundry half done, dinner half cooked, kids half dressed, art project half completed, e-mails half answered, dishes half washed and me half frazzled.
Is that what they mean by "moderation in all things"?
--
