I Found The Secret

I think I found the secret to a happy, and dare I say “quiet” house.

Like every mother on the planet (okay, maybe not the ones who have a full staff of hired help), I have struggled with trying to do it all myself. It can’t be done. One person just can’t cook, clean, shop, help with homework, sew on popped buttons, garden and STILL try and knock out some super fabulous blog posts. Impossible!

Doing all the above amidst the screaming, fighting and whining of three children is enough to drive a person to do desperate things. Hmmm… that bottle of wine sure looks good. So the real question has become, “How can it all get done with little-to-no drama?” Believe it or not, I think I found the answer.

Every kid has something they like to do. The secret is to figure out what it is and use it to your advantage.

My oldest daughter, Temera, loves to cook. She would make breakfast, lunch and dinner for you if you asked. I love to cook too… just not all the time. Temera has taken to making breakfast on the weekends (and she makes my coffee too). I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to not have to jump out of bed on a Saturday or Sunday morning to children complaining, “I’m hungry, make me breakfast!”

Amanda was a little more challenging. Her favorite thing to do around the house is watch TV. Doesn’t really work in the scheme of things. What we discovered was that she actually really likes to sew. Seriously. What 9 year old do you know that likes to sew? So, I started giving her all the little sewing projects around the house. Buttons, chewed up dog toys, a sleeping bag that was torn at the zipper, holes in socks. Phew… a huge burden lifted off me.

The little one, Lauryn, really likes to help. As long as I approach her by telling her I really need her to help me out with some stuff around the house, she is more than willing to oblige. She doesn’t like to clean up as a rule, but she really loves doing the laundry. At 7, she is perfectly capable of sorting and washing the clothes (although her folding needs a little work).

As they grow older, I am finding that the messes around the house are getting a little more tolerable. At least, I’m learning that if I use their skills in the right way, I can actually not have the stress of doing it all on my own.