doing it all

I received an email {very sweet} from a blog reader {and friend of my sister}. Here is a piece of it:

“I am completely inspired and overwhelmed by all of your fun posts.  I am so amazed that you have time and energy to do all the things you do, with four little ones.  I just had my second baby in Jan and only hope to get to my ever growing to-do list of fun projects.  How do you do it?  and I was also wondering, how do you organize it all?  if you were willing to share I would love to hear, that is my struggle, keeping all my projects and dreams organized.”

First of all, I am humbled by these kind remarks. I am inspired by so many other women’s blogs so I am happy that my little blog can inspire others.

Now, I’m not exactly sure how to approach this for fear of sounding like I have it all figured out, because truthfully, I don’t.

But I’m going to say a prayer and trust that the Holy Spirit will say what He needs to say through me. 

Here it goes.

Moms have it tough.

Let me explain.

There is this struggle in every mom I know to be the best mommy to our children, but also be true to ourselves. To have a life outside of our babies. To have dreams and interests and hobbies and opportunities to wear real clothes. 

Regardless of whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home one, we all feel the pressure to do it all. And do it all well .

I certainly do.

I want to home school my kids, grow my business, sew a dress for Audrey, run some errands, keep my wood floors clean, make a healthy dinner, work out, spend time in prayer, be a good friend, play with the boys, read too many blogs, spend time with my husband, fold laundry, watch a tv show or two, go to book club, send handwritten notes, call my sisters AND redecorate my office, all in a single day. 

Anyone else out there?

And the problem is, I think I should be able to do it. And do it well.

But the truth is, I can’t.

Let me remind you {my sweet readers and friends} that a blog is a place to put your best face on. What you see here is my house when it is picked up, my kids when they are smiling, me when I look cute, projects that worked. I want to be vulnerable and honest in all I write, but truthfully, I also want to appear put together.

What you don’t see is my dirty bathrooms because I would rather sew than clean them. Or the piles of clean clothes that don’t get folded for days because I’d rather read a book than fold them. Or my children watching Curious George at 5pm because without that precocious monkey I would not be able to make dinner.

What I’m saying is that there is a trade-off.

Sometimes my boys play for hours by themselves. Sometimes I feel terrible that I am not upstairs creating lego masterpieces with them. Sometimes I am just thankful that they play so well.

Sometimes we eat out so that I don’t have to do dishes. 

Sometimes I don’t shower for four days. I’m not kidding. And by sometimes, I mean most of the time.

You get the point.

We have to make a sacrifice in one area to be able to achieve in another.

SO, to answer the question of how I do all that I do, let’s just say I make sacrifices.

But in a very practical way, here are some things that help:

1. I don’t watch much tv.

2. Audrey is the easiest baby alive.

3. The boys play well together {with an occasional eruption now and again}

4. We have several go-to activities for them that keep them occupied and are readily available. {We moved my office to give them a ‘lego room’ so that they can create to their heart’s content and I don’t have to find legos all over the house.  Our kitchen table is usually covered with colored pencils, paper scraps, scissors and drawings of monsters and battles and pirates.  The backyard, while I’d like to keep it nicely groomed, is often the site of ‘rat traps’ and mud making.  Dart guns and foam swords are favorites, as are every blanket and pillow in the house for fort making.} I like to keep things picked up and in order, but I regularly have to remember that part of my job is to encourage the boys to be creative and sometimes creativity is messy.

5. We have a monthly menu of dinners so I know what I am making and have the ingredients on hand.

6. Ryan is a firefighter and has a great schedule for having a young family. He is home quite a bit and helps out a lot.

7. I stay up late.

I’m not sure how to wrap this one up, but I hope this answers the question.

Remember the story of Mary & Martha?

^{Luke 10:38}As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I think that sums it up perfectly. We need to choose what is better. We can not do it all. We must make little choices daily, little sacrifices, let some things go, allow for messes and unfinished projects and dirty bathrooms and too many kid shows and in the end, know that  G R A C E  is what gets us through.