I remember the first time I got introduced to juggling. Oh no, not the type of juggling where you take 3 balls or scarves & toss them around in the air, trying to make sure that none of them hit the ground. I am talking about the first time I realized I couldn't do everything for everyone at the same time, in parenting to be specific. 1 kid, piece of cake, you sleep when they sleep & you still know what its like to actually be able to sit down & eat a meal while the baby is sitting in their highchair. No, I am referring to once you have 2 kids, then 3, & then in my case 6 lol. The time in your parenting career that you learn you have to eat that elephant 1 bite at a time, prioritize who needs what 1st. I remember there would be times I would be pumping, homeschooling, & trying feed the baby & myself at the same time. Seriously, if walls could talk. Its amazing the situations I found myself in at times. Again, the key, keeping your cool & taking it all 1 bite at a time & prioritizing.
Tonight I want to specifically talk about giving kids "special time". Trying to keep the "love cups" of 6 kids in the greatest juggling act I have ever taken on, that's not even including taking care of myself or making sure my husband is getting the time he needs. There will be times where you are able to give each kiddo a lil' attention here & there (having just 1 help with dinner or go inside the store with you), but there will also be times of famine where mysteriously everyone's seems to need some extra loving at the exact same time! I will admit, in those times it is very easy to feel a lil' overwhelmed. Everyone wants you to read a book to just them, play something special with just them, paint just their nails alone, or whatever the call for a lil' one on one time may be. Its in those times that some things just get placed on the back burner for the day (Don't worry, I promise the dishes & the laundry will be right there waiting for you later) & you just start tackling filling those love cups one at a time, even if you can only give each kid 15 min each.
At these times it is so awesome to have a great husband that can help you tackle the "famine" together. Just recently, I noticed all my kids were needing some "special time". We had been really busy the past week & it had all just been so go-go-go they really just needed some down time with their parents. So my husband & I decided we would make a game out of it. We put all of their names in a hat & then he would pull out one & I would pull out another & whoever's name got pulled out would get a parent exclusively to themselves for 15-20 minutes to do "whatever" they wanted. You would think we had given them a slab of gold with how excited they were when we told them about the game. It was also amazing how patient they were even if their name didn't get picked at first because they all knew their time was coming. So for J & I this meant phones off, no house work, & dedicating 2 1/2 hours strictly to our children-Our 100% attention.
In the end, every child (minus Zane who was napping majority of the time) got 15 minutes with just dad to do something & 15 minutes with just mom. There was baking, nail painting (Daddy's were painting an awesome red tone by Miss Addie), skating outside, Lalaloopsy adventures, & so much more fun! It is definitely an activity we will try again because the kids really enjoyed it! This whole week they have already been making plans for the next time!
So YES stealing moments away with your kiddos here & there is so fun, but does often take a lot of creativity & skill. But even if you think you are staying up on it, there will be times where it seems like its not enough & the needs may be greater than normal (I honestly do feel like moms notice this need first). Sometimes kids don't know how to ask or know that its a lil' extra loving that they need so stay aware & observant. Maybe they are going through a big change in their lives & need more time, maybe their is something going on at school, maybe they have been on the go-go-go a lil' too much & just need a lil' more one on one than usual. Get creative & prioritize getting those extra moments in. They are also great opportunities to get to talk to your kids on a deeper level without interruption. A time to help them work through their feelings, raise their confidence level, & just show them they are an individual &so important!
Night all!
-M&M Momma
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| The girls are all ready to go see a ballet performance by a local ballet school to a fun library book about a pig. |
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