How do you balance ...

Playing with your kids and getting stuff done
I struggle with this
The house "to do" list is endless
I feel guilty when I'm just playing and I feel guilty when I'm doing "work"

How do you balance ...

I have an almost 2 yr old and work full time, and I'm 6 months pregnant. To be honest with you as long as the bathroom and kitchen are clean the rest can wait. I dust when I get a chance and I do a lot of peapod orders lol

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i dont balance it. i always feel the same way. way too much time cleaning and doing stuff and then i feel guilty not playing but whenever im playing all i cant do is look around and feel guilty not doing stuff.

How do you balance ...

I try and clean during dd2's nap time. When dd1 is home I put the tv on in the playroom and she plays and watches tv for an hour or so. Shes 4 and dd2 is 20 months. Then I try and have an afternoon activity to go to in the afternoon. She's in school almost full time M-TH 8:30-2 so those tv days are very limited during the week.DD2 if shes up will hang around me playing while I do stuff. I talk and play with her while im cleaning. I have to tell you that my house def suffers lol. It's so hard. and I have been in a funk lately that I don't want to do anything. lol I try to balance it but it's so hard. But when I'm on I try the above tricks. Oh I clean the bathroom during bath time. They don't need me to be on top of them but as long as I see them, I clean up the bathroom and bedrooms. I wipe the counters during lunch time etc. When they are occupied I try and do stuff.

How do you balance ...

DS is only 7 months old and I already feel the struggle. He's only going to be little once so as long as things are straightened up I consider it good enough. I try to get stuff done while he naps or after he goes to bed.

How do you balance ...

I've given up for now! LOL but its definitely a struggle!! I'm a SAHM to one DS, who just turned 4. so, on the surface, it seems like I have it pretty easy- I don't work outside the house, I have one kid who isn't a tiny, needy new born.... and I do have it pretty good. BUT it is EXHAUSTING being his only source of entertainment during the days!! I can't just tell him "go play with your brother", or set my 2 kids up with a game or something and then go do something. I mean, DS will play by himself for a little while- but obviously, he gets bored of just driving his little cars around or whatever by himself. and we definitely do a lot of playdates and he goes to preschool a few hours a week... but its still tough to constantly have him wanting me to play with him!!
So, yeah, it makes it so hard to get anything done. and I always feel guilty no matter what I'm doing ( if we're playing, I feel guilty for not doing house work, if I'm doing housework I feel guilty that I'm not playing with him).
hes at the age now though where I include him in the stuff I have to do- he'll hand me clean dishes out of the dishwasher, help me sort laundry, today he was helping to pick up leaves and put them in the leaf bag. I clean the bathroom while he's playing in the bath at night, clean the kitchen up while hes eating his lunch... I keep up with the basic stuff, and deep cleaning just doesn't get done HAHA
But honestly lately its been more playing with him than housework. he's only going to be this young once, and I'm only going to be able to be a SAHM for so long... so I want to make the most of it and just enjoy hanging out with him.

How do you balance ...

That's why my house is a wreck and honestly, it is what it is. We'd rather play with our baby and we clean when we can - weekends, a quick straightening up after she goes to bed, etc.

Message edited 11/23/2014 9:23:38 PM.

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It's tough. I mostly don't get everything done I want to get done. From the minute I get home from work until we put him to bed, it's all about playing with him, feeding him, bathing him, etc. I don't do anything else. He's usually asleep before 8 so once he's asleep I can clean up, dishes, laundry, cooking dinner, getting ready for the next day. On the weekend or days off, it's harder because I want to give him all my attention but it's not possible... I haven't figured out a way to do it all. If I'm not getting stuff done around the house, I feel guilty, but if I'm not interacting with the baby, I feel guilty. Either way I don't feel right about what I'm doing.

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I'm a little OCD so I need things to be clean, pretty much all the time.

So, I feel that scheduling for chores is the best way to ensure they get done - consistently. I make sure that the cleaning of bathrooms, the kitchen, washing sheets and clothes, dusting -- things that need to be done on a regular basis, I schedule them for myself. So, say every Monday and Thursday. I know that DS goes to bed and is in bed by the latest 7pm (for me) so, I make sure that I take an hour or so straight to do that, twice a week.

If I was a morning person I would get up an hour earlier than him but he gets up around 7am and I'm just not the type to get up at 6am if I can avoid it. I get up early enough for work. So, for me the evenings work better.

How do you balance ...

My DS is great about playing by himself when needed. If he had a buddy to play with it would be even better...he would never need me!!!!

That being said I also do not need my house so clean that its shining. I have an 80 pound god and a 3yo....it is what it is.

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I honestly can't function when things are a mess, it's just my personality. I NEED my house to be clean and organized in order for me to be on top of everything and feel in control.

I usually clean when my DS naps OR when both kids are in bed. My DS is in bed for the night at 6:30, DD at 8 but as long as he's down I can go around and clean up even while she's up playing. I'm a night owl too so sometimes I do things late at night.

Basically, I fit it in where I can and eventually everything gets done.

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I struggle everyday with this. I usually do most of my cleaning at night when I put my girls to bed. I always feel guilty taking time out from my kids to clean.

How do you balance ...

I don't really play with my kids a lot, to be honest. If it is something like play-doh or Legos where they need me I will, but mostly they play together. One of the benefits of having four dc!!

How do you balance ...

My house is a mess.. cutter everywhere, things piled up I haven't looked at in months. I don't care. Every now in a blue moon she goes to Auntie's house and we pick a room to destroy and recreate.

AJ hates a messy area so she'll clean up as well.

Like that tongue in cheek sign above. She was never in danger of something in the house but the house was never super clean.

I don't live in a museum.

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My house is a filthy pig sty.
That's how.

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I have no idea. Some things fall off my radar at times. I make sure the baby's laundry is done, her room and play area are swept and clean, and of course the bathrooms. I get to the other stuff when I can.

Eta: I think people think I can be lazy because the baby goes down 630/7. But I work from home so when she goes to sleep I still have work to do some nights and then get her stuff ready for the next day. She still gets a 10 pm bottles and after that I need to get to sleep because she can get me up real early.

Message edited 11/25/2014 10:39:31 AM.

Re: How do you balance ...

Thanks everyone!

Re: How do you balance ...

I love that sign!!! i need to get one and promptly display it in my house!! And then point to it when my mom comments on how my house is a mess!! LOL

balance...that's a funny word....i feel like i'm balancing on a tight rope and always in danger of falling off!! with that said...and like others have said....i do a lot after the kids go to bed and as long as everyone is fed, clean and not bleeding...i take that as a win! :)

As far as the guilt goes...when DD (who is 4) asks me to play with her, i usually stop what i'm doing and play, especially if DD#2 (5 mos old) is napping. i work full time (and long hours) so I barely get any quality time with her during the week; weekends are a little better, but still..its always rush, rush rush. that's why i try to play with her as much as possible. time goes too fast and before i know it, she'll want nothing to do with me! maybe then my house will be clean..until then...chaos it is!

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My kids don't play. We play for 20 seconds then one runs off to the other room to get into something and ultimately make something else for me to clean up. So my house is just a mess. I clean whats needed when they go to bed.

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I always think of the saying I read somewhere once:

Nobody says, on their death bed, “I wish I had dusted more often…”

But plenty of people say, "I wish I had spent more time with my kids"

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