Meals today were a huge eye opener. In the book she's big on eating together. We do this for dinner always, lunch sometimes and breakfast...rarely. I've always let them grab their own breakfast and had some easy things to grab- oatmeal, cereal, toast etc. Well, on Monday and Tuesday of this week I got up early and made Paul breakfast before he headed off to work (I did this for a short time before Addison was born... took me two years to get back to it!!). I sat down and ate with Paul but made enough breakfast for the kids too and just kept it warm. When the kids got up we all sat together and ate. It was nice. Afterwards they quickly did their "Table Chores" that we usually only do at dinner and off they went. I didn't think much of it until today. Today Paul is home and we all slept in a bit. I let the kids go back to our normal way of grabbing breakfast on their own and I did the two little girls when they got up. I was thinking it would be more relaxing and laid back...WRONG!! It's now almost 11am and I just finished cleaning up the kitchen for the millionth time!! Nobody did their Table Chores on their own. I called them each in separately- waste of time #1. Then I had to call them back for things they missed #2. I called them a third time realizing we forgot the dishwasher #3! Add to that it didn't matter that they did their chores because it was in the middle of people grabbing food. Two had already eaten and three hadn't. No big deal I thought... I wiped up the counters and did a quick sweep...THREE TIMES #4! I never realized how often I did it until not doing it for two days! Then I got the girls dressed first- waste of time #5! By the end they both had spilled and needed mopped up and changed. Ergh!!
It made me think about lunch too. The counter is usually a mess along with the floor and while the littles eat in the kitchen the older boys may go outside or by the TV and then I have and kids all over. Again, I don't always call for Table Chores, it just seems easier for me to do it. BUT! Let me tell you, two days of not doing it myself has proved how much easier being together is!
I will be keeping my eyes open while I read this book for more areas where I'm wasting time. I'm pretty sure I'm not handling chores in the most efficient manner and I think my procrastination in cleaning the boys bedroom and doing laundry are making my life harder than need be. Funny, I feel like putting it off or in the case of meals, letting them get them themselves was saving me time and work but I'm realizing I'm making MORE work for me. I've been told that before but never saw it clearly. I see it now!!
How about you? Look at your "normal" and see if your working double or triple by being separate. What can you do together as a team to make more time for the fun stuff??
1 comment:
That is very interesting! I'll have to think about that!
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