Right now I have a good excuse, I might have the beginning symptoms of that icky flu that’s been going around.  But mother’s or anyone for that matter can feel lazy many times during the week.  The doldrums of housekeeping, perpetual meal making, organizing and laundry folding and/or pile ups can be exhausting, never-mind taking care of an entire household.  How do we keep it all together?

Here are a few of my little rituals that help me along the way when I’m tired.

*Go-to lazy meals*

I have a running list of simple meals I pull out when I just don’t have it in me to do the whole dance.

Burrito night with a veggie – I love refried beans with cheddar or Colby.  Any kind of tort, and cauliflower.  That’s it; bean and cheese burritos and veggies is so simple it can be done in your sleep.  I have this ready for one of those days!!!

I also love quesadillas, a veggie and maybe a thrown together salad.

Pot stickers with rice and a veggie (when you have children there must always be a veggie!)  I typically have pot stickers in my freezer so that’s real easy.

Tuna melts or egg salad sandwich and a side.  Easy peasy.  Canned tuna right there, sour dough in the freezer.  Go.

It takes a lot of brain power to talk myself out of the easy dial-up for delivered food.  I almost always regret it because it cost us too much, for just feeling lazy.

*Favorite rules*

(that I live by most of the time)

The ten minute rule.  Have you ever heard of it?  I read about it along time ago and it seems to be a thing for moms to help them get through the day in all the mess.  Toddlers are so messy.  Um…and my craftanista inner-self makes bigger craft messes than any toddler could.  Like unimaginable messes with little pom poms and threads and beads.  Eeww.  Being a jewelry designer has opened up a whole knew meaning of a disastrous work station…those beads, all those leather scraps and tiny poky wires…endless organizational jobs – I tell you.

So, the ten minute rule is something like a game.  The whole household must clean for ten whole minutes – powerhouse style.  You would be AMAZED by what you achieve in ten measly minutes.

It gives me such relief when I look at my dish pileup (which can happen in no time) I tell you.  I think to myself “ten minute rule” and voila, I feel better already.  Maybe it really is 15 minutes to dry all that but 10 minutes gets it out of the sink area and clean.  I sound like a slob but I’m not.  This is a major concern for those that make things from scratch, cook with their children or craft more than clean!!!  LOL…so true.  And those without a kitchen island.  I’m working on that!

Another lovely rule I live by is: Mama doesn’t get out a bed until it’s 6 am.  My daughter goes to report the time to me in intervals of like ten minutes and I keep the pillow tight over my eyes.  We discuss Lego house builds, my little pony adventures, Cheerios, everything under the sun but Mama stays under the pillow, and then I get a few minutes to adjust my eyes, too.  Bonus!  Before I am thrust into mommy-hood activities until 8 pm.  So, it’s a special time that I try to protect.  I recommend that you set a boundary on wake-up so you can sleep in until 6 am!!

Cleanup one area before we venture to the next is a hard one that I am trying to master.  It takes a lot of discipline but can be done beautifully.  This keeps the clutter away.  Keeps the little one held responsible for her activities.  I do most of the cleanup but at least get her to chime in.  This one is so obvious, but it’s actually hard to enforce.

Do things when they need to be done, not years later.  Laundry comes out, fold it.  Foods cooled down, wrap it up.  Griddle is dirty, wash it really fast.  Wash the dinner dishes right away.  This one is so hard but pays off big so you can use the ten minute rule on something else!!  Instead of the waiting game.  Just find away to deal with it in the here and now.  Making a strong effort here really makes a difference.  I know, because if I have three loads of laundry on my bed, I go insane.  I must keep up!  Make it your weekly challenge to keep up!!!

Bins bins and more bins.  Yup, everywhere bins.  I need this.  Craft supplies in every category…check.  Now emerging craft project that is becoming a dining room hangout…more bins.  These are lifesavers and still impossible to keep up with.  But definitely help on lazzzzy days when you just don’t want to deal with it all and you can just chuck a supply in a bin.  Great!  I got some colorful ones at a big 99 cent store along time ago, just FYI.

*Amazing mantras or momtras*

“I’m calling in the Miracles. I’m calling in the magic. May they fall down on me like rain. and surprise me beyond my wildest dreams”  

My friend said this to me the other day and I about melted.  I’m dealing with some personal stuff right now that is very hard to sift through.  This mantra just penetrates my soul in a way that I can’t even express.  A good mantra is so essential.  If you have a good one, share it in the comments.  I love finding relief through poetic insights.

 

“Be gentle with yourself, you’re doing the best you can”

“May you twinkle like the stars, shine like the moon, give warmth like the sun, sway like the trees, flow like the water, travel like the wind & glow with passion like a flame.” by: the white witch parlour.

On a total side note, we watched “the sound of music” last night and I cried so much!  It was so beautiful.  My husband and I even held hands at one point feeling so connected when they were realizing their love for one another.  Sometimes a great classic recharges me.  Reminds me how different times were.  It makes our life seem so much more outta whack in so many ways and emphasizes what’s important.

I used to sing “Doe, a deer, a female deer…” To my daughter over and over again.  We would laugh and dance.  She had never seen the movie.  I will never forget when she gasped and turned to me wide-eyed and full of joy when she saw them singing it on bikes in the movie.  Such a memorable moment.  I even caught her wearing heart sunglasses singing it to herself in the mirror today and around the house.  It was downright adorable.

Ending on a positive note: find a way to do things regularly to avoid that lazzzy feeling.  But when it strikes, don’t fret, we are all feeling it too.  Try some of these tips for the future.  Don’t be hard on yourself and remember the magic.

Bon chance!