Doing Chores with Three Toddlers Underfoot

What is it like doing chores with three toddlers underfoot? You’ve heard it before: It’s like herding cats. It’s like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.

I wake up in the morning with a head full of ideas. I am ready to conquer the day! I am ready to not feel so crazy! I am ready to take control! I set the bar really low – don’t get me wrong. I am Okayest Mom, after all. But I do have ideas of what I would like to accomplish in a day, on top of the usual changing-eight-poops and making-and-cleaning-meals-three-times. Today, for example, I thought it would be a good day to change my own sheets and my own towels. Sounds doable, right? Sounds like a good goal for an Okayest Mom, right? Wrong.

As the day progresses, every little thing stretches into bigger things. Each thing that happens is like a hammer onto the side of my head, smashing down any hope I had of accomplishing anything beyond the bare minimum again.

I have three levels of work in this house:

1) “Needs That Are Immediate, Pressing, Non-Negotiable, and Never-Changing”:

poops
meals
laundry
keeping kids on schedule
hugging/holding/touching
reading to the kids
getting the kids fresh air
not losing my mind
connecting with my husband

2) “Needs That Can Usually Wait But Are Very Important and Must Be Smooshed in Somehow”:

baths
vacuuming
changing sheets and towels
getting myself dressed
cleaning
shopping
playing with the kids
blogging a little of the things that are in my head (so my head doesn’t explode)

3) “Wants”:

doing my hair
organizing the toys
making those cool file folder games for keeping the kids quiet in church
uploading photos to Shutterfly
messaging a friend
cleaning the stainless steel appliances
a haircut
blogging all the things that are in my head

I’m thinking I will get to the “wants” category when the twins enter kindergarten. No, wait, I will have to sleep for a year when the twins enter kindergarten. So, hmmm, maybe I will get to the “wants” when the twins enter first grade.