Friday, May 1, 2009

Naptime - my link to sanity

People often ask how I can manage taking care of five small children, the housework, various projects and activities at church etc., especially given my husband's super-busy work schedule, while still finding the time to blog or do anything else recreational.

My first answer is, I don't. My house is not always (okay, almost never)as clean as it should be, and I rarely get more than a few minutes of quiet time during the day.

My second answer is, I don't sleep. While obviously an exaggeration, staying up when the kids are down is a wonderful opportunity to get stuff done without them undoing my work on the other side of the house.

I am pretty easy-going as far as scheduling the little ones goes, but I insist that at least the youngest two (sometimes three) take a nap every day. So when the baby falls asleep around lunchtime, I quickly send Miriam to bed for her nap. Most days, I also tell John to lie down while I get some work done, and tell him that he will be allowed to get up in 15 minutes if he is still awake. That gives me enough time to get the dishwasher loaded and started, which is my favorite household appliance because it keeps the little ones asleep unlike anything else. With any luck, John will also have fallen asleep by then. If not, this is the time that I do school work with him for a half hour or so while Solomon and Isaac have "quiet time". If they are not yet done, they finish up their school work, otherwise they are only allowed to engage in silent activities such as reading or puzzles, or they have to play outside. During this time, they are not supposed to come bother me at all unless they absolutely must.

Once I get done with John, this gives me an opportunity to straighten things up around the house, do some laundry, or relax on the computer. I really need that time where I am not just constantly being bombarded by all the kids at the same time.

Same thing at night - one hour spent working after the kids are all in bed is worth more than all day long with them on my heels. I try not to stay up too late, though, because I also like to get up early. Now that the days are getting longer, I often wake up around 5 am on my own, which gives me about an hour or two before the kids start getting up. I use this time to read my Bible, work on the chapters that I have memorized and want to maintain, do some quiet housework, and yes, blog. I just love quietness. More so than sleep.

Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

Proverbs 20:13

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:15

7 comments:

  1. Wow, thats a busy day!! May God bless you and your family as you seek to live for Him in this world.

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  2. I enjoy your blog because rarely in this society do we see a husband and father providing for his family. A woman who enjoys being a wife and mother. There are difficulties but you perserve. God bless you.

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  3. I am a stay-at-home, Christian mom in Northern AZ. I'm glad I found your blog because I feel like my husband and I are alone in what we believe and how we live. We feel alien to this world (as we should), but we also feel estranged from most other Christians because they seem to be just going along with the "program" of whatever society and the government dictates. Whenever we express our concerns about what's going on in this country we either get blank stares or fierce resistance to the idea that these leaders who run things have nothing but our well-being in mind. I wish they defended God so strongly.
    I feel like you and your family are in the same boat as us and that brings some comfort.
    God Bless You! Keep writing, people are "listening".

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  4. I know exactly what you mean.... I've been wanting to get up earlier for a while now, I did it for a week and actually enjoyed it... but staying up late is my favorite thing, that sense of freedom. I've always found that evenings were my best/most alert times and it is sooooo freeing to know that everyone is asleep and I can work on some things, QUIETLY. I am hoping to eventually switch it around and have this alone time in the morning...still working on it.
    Thank you for your post. :)

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  5. When people ask how I get it all done, I'm never sure quite what to say. They are sorely mistaken? I don't get it all done. I just pick and choose and focus on what needs to get done.

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  6. Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement!

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  7. The second picture from the top shows the officer SMILING while shooting the taser?

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Your KINDLY WORDED, constructive comments are welcome, whether or not they express a differing opinion. All others will be deleted without second thought.