CalicoKat Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The dry season = When there is very little down time from parenting. DH is working loooong days. The kids are rowdier than usual. The lack of personal time or time off is very little to nil. When potty training is irritating. And cheerios stuck to a sweet little face make you cranky. I have an arsenal of things I do to keep myself cheerful and motivated. Coffee, Chocolate, enforced nap times, these message boards.....but it's just not cutting it. Anyone got another idea that helps them look up on difficult and loong days? Please share. Mine are old and worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennC Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have had this same feeling. My best immediate responses *go outside with one or more of your children and just sit or look at ants or something that makes them smile *remember they grow up so fast *put chocolate in your coffee *usually my biggest stress is a dirty kitchen/dining room/living room; if I can keep that living space comfortably tidy it makes a big difference * explain to your older children that if you all work together, mom will have more fun time *give yourself permission to take a break *remember homemaker is not the same as housekeeper; I am a homemaker (I am a homemaker, I am a homemaker . . . ) * my number one motivator was having my last baby; realizing that this stage in my life is coming to an end makes me "cherish" this time - dirty floors, dirty diapers, dirty dishes, dirty clothes and all including sticky cheerios Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 To me I try to put my life in perspective. I once saw a tv show that had a teenage girl carrying large bricks of clay on her head for miles, just to turn around and do it again. It said something to the effect that she does this all day, 7 days a week, for 15 hours, to feed herself for the day. I know this is an extreme and and isn't how most of the world works, but it does exist and is very real to the people who live this way. When I feel overwhelmed, I think about how easy I really have it. I choose most of my inconveniences because I want to stay home with the kids. We could live luxuriously if I and my husband were willing to work that hard, 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can choose to pop a movie in and watch it on a very nice tv, eat what ever I want for dinner(within reason), drive to where ever I want to go, I pick what to feed my kids not by what is available to me, but what I choose to give them. If I want to buy a book, so my kids have their own personal libraries....so be it. My kids take swimming lessons, piano lessons, go to summer camp, baby goes to daycare when I need a break, and sometimes I feel like my kids have more toys than a small toy store! Yes, having children is irritating, yes, we all get tired. But my days when I say "I am exhausted", I know in my heart, it is absolutely nothing compared to the truly exhausted people who live in 3rd world countries, and on the streets in the good ole USA too. That there are places in this world that, that cheerio would never have been played with as a toy, it would have been gobbled up and not wasted. When I get whiny, which is easy to do with an aggressive, sensory intense, toddler running around, I put my life in perspective, and realize that at any given point in time....I have choices, there are people in this world who don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Parks. Park days with other homeschoolers or with friends and their kids. Gets us all out of the house and gives me some adult interaction. Works wonders for us - or should I say, me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Water balloon fights! You get to work out some of those emotions and have fun at the same time! :D hehehehe Swimming, parks, water parks, the free movies days, plant a garden with the kids and let them have their own plants to care for, go to the library for their summer activities and did I mention water balloon fights?? ;) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyinPA Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Usually a change in venue works for me. Just something different for the day. Maybe a field trip that you didn't get to last year. A new park. Lunch out. I know it's hard to be the only parent "on duty" for a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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