Fish or Cut Bait

If I read one more parenting article or mommy blog that suggests I lower my standards and "let the house be messy" as a solution for dealing with how-the-hell-will-I-get-it-all-done stress, I will spit. A toy-strewn living room and piles of un-folded laundry do nothing to lower my blood pressure - quite the contrary.
Staying at home with the children is a dream-come-true for many hardworking Moms out there.  Our decision for this sort of arrangement was easy to imagine, easy to execute, but remains difficult to master. It was easy to imagine because it just made sense for one of us to be home full time since SeaHusband is away so much.  The transition was pretty simple.  My little home office in our bedroom has a nice Ikea desk, and all the necessary tools I need to edit cruising guides. I work when I can - when I have child care or when the children are sleeping. It is a very nice situation for which I am very grateful.

And yet...
I
CAN'T
GET
ANYTHING
DONE
!

The dishes, the cleaning, the laundry, the chapters due to my editor, the blog, the lawn mowing, the bills, the laundry, the laundry, the laundry! Not to mention the downtime needed for my sanity.
So I've been lured into reading some of the "Mommy Blogs" and have actually found a few keepers which offer some great simple ideas for ways to get ahead of the piles of work, and stay ahead.

I think this one is my favorite. The message is simple, Get it Done Early or as we like to say here in New England, "Quit friggin around! Fish or cut bait."

I've been making an attempt in the past few days to apply this theory and so far it's working. I am slowly gaining ground on the to-do lists and my living room is not a fall hazard... for now... because they are sleeping. But the good news is that I will have a full 9 weeks to put these good suggestions into practice - because that's how long he's going to be gone this time.