The “Uh Oh” Bucket

So I came home refreshed from our mountain high getaway…not sure if it was all the fresh air or just good clean living?  Either way, I was ready to welcome summer, as game plans change and so do routines.   I am ready to change it up a bit!  The house work, trying to keep the kids entertained for the summer, working, all the demands of a mom can put us on edge.  Moms are amazing creatures, all the tasks we take on and can accomplish really makes us strong and resilient.  So here are a few ideas to kick off some of your summer solstice energy!

Loving this idea sent to me from one of my midwest readers.  How simple to instill such a great lesson….pick up after yourself!

At a recent Mothers Day awards banquet, one grandmother of 12 shared a tradition done in her home.  She has a “chore basket”.  When all the relatives come to visit for family dinner or holidays you are welcomed by grandma with a big hug and then a beautiful basket.  The basket contains little things to do while on your visit.  You pick out of the basket a card and you could be setting the table, washing dishes, filling up drinks, saying dinner prayer or serving dessert.  All have a responsibility.  Kids love it and so do grown ups  – this way EVERYONE has a great time and the same adults don’t get stuck in kitchen doing everything.  They can enjoy too!

Here is an idea to help with your everyday demands of life.  The idea is simple and you can go in any direction you can dream up..check out my favorite.

Take a bucket and fill it with dollar store plastic balls, on each ball write out a chore.  Everyday have your kids and husband pick one ball and whatever that chore is they have the day to complete it.  This is a great way to take responsibility for some housework and work as a team to get it done so that we have more time to enjoy the finer moments in life.

Now an  “Ode to the Busy Mom”…

Perhaps you think you have gone plain crazy,
Or if not mad, than simply lazy,
For you used to keep a house so clean,
And now a polished floor, well that’s a dream.

There are crumbs that cover every piece
Of that beautiful wood floor and then there is grease
Stuck to the burners upon the stove
and Cheerio dust that will stick to your toes.

Laundry piles near the washer so high
that it shocks your own mother, she responds with “Oh my”
Are you sick? she asks. “Is everything alright?
You should never have more laundry than you can do in one night.”

“Oh mother” you say, as you roll your eyes.
“Its about the quality of life not the laundry pile size.”
But even as you say it you wonder inside,
Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right?

Motherhood is a journey wrought with doubt
Whether all you are doing will ever amount.
To anything important, to anything dear
Or we will all just end up in a therapists chair

Chin up fellow mommas, sisters in life
My house is a mess, my children they fight
It is simply a part of the road we must travel
Even though it can feel like it all might unravel.

For when you love and serve from a place that cares
Does it really matter if your sink prompt stares?
Does it really matter if your shelves are dusty
Or if your refrigerator smells just a little musty?

A day will come when your floor will be clean.
Your dishes put away, your house again pristine.
When that day comes it will be quiet inside
For your children will be off living their lives.

Lives of their own and their mess you will miss.
So for now ignore the laundry and give them a kiss.

Above is our “Kiss me Kate” thanking the ice cream angel for such a delicious bowl of ice creamery bliss this past Sunday!  Simple pleasures.  Thank you to Lisa Littlewood at www.littlemommawriter.blogspot.com for her fab poem.