I work, yup~I work. But do I get paid? Well, not in dollars most of the time, but there have been a few times...but I'm a stay at home mom of two teenagers~My work is mainly homemaking chores and doing the things God has called me to do~like blogging for instance. But my job mostly is as wife and mother.
How do I do it?
Well, sometimes not so well, but at other times I am on my game~yeah I am! I can really do some stuff pretty well and have a great time doing it~but mostly I enact a little time management and goal setting. I have been known to make a list or two as well~Sometimes I prioritize. Looking over what has to be done that's gotta be done first creates some urgency sometimes...but I plug away and manage to get things done and generally on time. Recently we put clocks in several rooms that didn't have them so I could better stay up with the time. I don't wear a watch anymore so seeing the time and being conscious of it eludes me sometimes...soo my overall best answer IS~
I JUST DO IT!
No real magic. I pray a lot. Sometimes I find myself feeling anxious over situations in my life, but I am learning to depend upon Him for all my needs and for the needs of my family. When I feel this feeling, I will not only pray but I will begin taking a slow deep breath~that helps...There's really nothing 'extra' special about what I do~
My kids do a good bit b/c we want them to LEARN HOW to do everything we know how to do and be very practiced at it. They accomplish many of the chores here in the home and really each of us has a 'domain' that we keep. Mine is dishwashing and some laundry. My son vacuums~trash and clears the table, my daughter empties the dishwasher~washes the floor~and does some laundry and my cooks and we both dust and clean generally. Bathrooms are divided up as well as other stuff~But it's TEAM WORK around here~everybody pitching in and how we ADD this to homeschooling is that having our home orderly is a priority so we work it EVERYDAY. Oh I am not Mrs. Clean and Neat or Miss Neat and Tidy~nope! I'm a messy kinda Sister~but I do like to keep the health dpt at bay and OUTTA MY HOUSE with the quarantine sign or the little black flag~
When mine were littles, like in preschool~I fixed an old butter tub with warm water and soap and gave it to them to help me wash walls, baseboards, floor corners and the like. Little people LOVE to clean and help, so I let them by teaching them~ I remember how much they would BEG me to clean the windows with spray cleaner and towels~LOL..today, it's NOT even on their radar in desires for fun, but they KNOW HOW and will do it if I ask them~When I did laundry and was sorting, I had them come into that area and "work with me" so they'd know how to sort and wash appropriately. It's an art to do these things well~and it takes practice! I really didn't do much growing up myself. I HATED the kitchen and dish washing so my mother did it ~I guess to avoid my grumbles...and I never learned to cook either...but I can now..and so can my kids! We're working on stove 'attendence' by Girl Thing One smoked up the kitchen the other day by leaving a pan and it began to throw off smoke~not good in this climate where it's too cold to open a door or window~so she is off the stove and just has access to the microwave and toaster for now...it won't be long and she will be back cooking her breakfasts again~but she's will learn to be diligent...and all these skills take practice.
Something else I allow them to do, but taught them how is organizing. When we lived in KY I had two big pantry areas withing a huge butler's pantry and my son used to organize it almost weekly. I know, it sounds awful probably, but this kid is pretty good this way! I have a drawer in the kitchen right now that needs HIS special touch~maybe next week, huh?
Well, I just can't do it all, but I can and do my part to add to the work of my family. Even though I am not professionally employed, my contributions to add to the overall health of my family and bring us benefit~WHAT would they do without ME??
Tell me about how you make it work~Are you teaching the littles HOW and let them practice it frequently?
How do you work in and out of the house and homeschool?
3 comments:
Good for you! When my daughter was young I had no choice but to work outside the home. But eventually I landed a job that had me work from home. Finally it was the best of both worlds.
Great tips SisterTipster! Raising little ones and training them is ALOT of work. I enjoyed your post. Thanks for participating in the BC this week!
This is very inspiring work you have created for us. Some people need to know that these things can ensue to anyone. You have shown me a better view now.
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