Oh the woes of Mommy guilt!
That word mompreneur is somewhat new to me and still sounds funny to say it. But the definition is according to Oxford Dictionaries “a woman who sets up and runs her own business in addition to caring for her young child or children.” I fit this description to a tee. Running a business while caring for my 2-year-old twins is quite the job. You might ask how I do it? Well, that question is a loaded one. I suffer mommy guilt so many days probably more days than I don’t.
[bctt tweet=”I suffer from mommy guilt! #momlife #toddlermom @iplannerandco ” username=”losethecape”]
My days consist of having Sofia the First on in the background on Netflix, I’ve practically got all of the available episodes memorized since my girls adore her, then I usually have a cuddler or two either right against me on the couch or in the overstuffed rocking chair.
Usually, I’m awake by 7:30 or 8 after staying up ’til 1 or 2 the night before, due to needing quiet time to think about what I’m writing for my book or blog or what I’m reading for one of the virtual assistant projects I’m working on. I fill some sippy’s with milk or juice, get the girls some breakfast and then settle in to check email and make sure things are in place for all of my tasks for that day.
Then around 10 or 10:30 the girls start to get super cranky and I know that it’s time for a nap and I’m usually more than ready for one myself. I know that right now it’s a luxury because they’re both napping at the same time and I just have the two of them. But after hearing my own family doctor tell me that I need to rest when they do due to some health complications that I have, I’ve learned to listen otherwise it makes for quite a cranky mommy.
How do I ever keep up with everything?
Well, I don’t. Simply put. I can’t, there are 5 of us in our apartment including our twins, my husband and I and my sister-in-law. So I depend on my hubby and sister-in-law a ton! They help with meals and do an awesome job, they help with cleaning, they take over and watch the girls other times so that I can have phone conferences or record videos or have a bit of quiet time.
[bctt tweet=”How do I keep up w/ it all? I CAN’T. #losethecape.” username=”losethecape”]
That last bit is the one that I struggle with the most, getting any quiet time to myself, getting to pamper myself or get out shopping just alone without going grocery shopping. As an example, this past week my husband arranged for my sister-in-law to watch the girls while I went with him to a bigger city about 20 miles away where he is in school and has a Friday morning class. I was able to go and do some shopping. I enjoyed getting to browse the stores even though I knew I had a deadline to be back at the college campus in 2 hours.
I even managed to go to Target which is becoming a favorite place to visit even if I mainly purchase from the Dollar Aisles. 🙂
Being a stay-at-home mom sounds awesome and it is.
However, there are days when I just wish I could get away. I have struggled with this and feeling guilty about it because I do love my family so much, but I also know that constant caring for them leaves me feeling very drained.
[bctt tweet=”Constant caring for the family leaves me drained. #mommyguilt #losethecape” username=”losethecape”]
I recently ordered a few things to give myself a pick me up and help me to focus on myself a bit.
For 23 years it was just me then for another 5 it was just my husband and I and now we’ve got little ones that totally depend on us to make sure they’re clean, diapers are changed or they’re getting to the potty when needed, they’re fed when hungry and given cups when thirsty, put down for a nap or bed when they’re tired, cuddled when they’re sick or hurt, given love several times a day with hugs and kisses and interaction like reading or playing, that we’re making sure to teach them things they need to know like counting, ABC’s, manners, how they should or shouldn’t act or making sure they know when they did something wrong.
Being a stay-at-home mom is a full-time job that offers no pay except for the pride of watching those little humans grow and develop (which is super rewarding), and having them wrap their little arms around your neck and say “I love you, mommy!”
So, just remember when you start to feel guilty about taking a bit of me time, stop and think of all the things you do for your family, you wash, dry, and fold their clothes and put them away, you make sure dinner is hot and ready when it’s time, you read to your children, your snuggle them, you kiss away their boo-boos, you make sure the house is decently clean, make sure you have that snack ready for their class at school, or help them with homework, give a listening ear to your hubby while he tells you about his day over top a crying child, hand out a band-aid for an imaginary boo-boo because sissy had one and they felt they needed one too, make sure the rent is paid on time, make sure the phone bill is paid, take the dog out, feed the cat, clean up the milk spill in the kitchen or worse on the couch, scrub the spaghetti sauce out of your favorite tee shirt, iron clothes, bathe dirty children, and mop up the bathroom afterwards.
Whew!
See that list could go on and on. So taking mommy time is super important. I find it refreshing when I get a few hours out of the house. I’ve even taken a walk down to our church to play the piano for awhile as I find this soothing to my nerves.
Do you suffer with mommy guilt? What do you do to get some much needed “me-time”?
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