This year, this mother of two aims to do less. My kids don’t really appreciate what I do anyway, so why not save myself the trouble? Less time on THEM means more time on ME. (Hey, maybe I’ll finally find time to use that Wii Fit all the cool kids are talking about nowadays.) So, here is my list of how I plan to dumb it down in 2010.
First, the obvious ones…
–Less Cleaning Up. I’m tired of picking princess figurines up off the floor. So, any toy not put away gets thrown away. (Take that, producers of A&E’s Hoarders!)
–Less Cooking. This means more frozen food and increasingly frequent trips to McDonald’s. Also, I now believe that tater tots count as a vegetable serving.
–Less Laundry. Has it been worn three times? Until then, don’t even think about putting it in the laundry basket. Just consider that stain a quaint reminder of a previous meal.
And, some not-so-obvious ones…
–Less Entertaining. Some days, I host a three-ring circus in order to keep my kids happy, fulfilled, and content. It’s exhausting. Well, this ringmaster is done. Yo Gabba Gabba! and Spongebob can take over.
–Less Interfering. Ohhhh, I hear a fight brewing over a toy. Normally, I would jump in and referee, but now I’m just going to turn the TV up a little louder. Work it out amongst yourselves!
–Less Scheduling. No more class this and lessons that. I’m tired. (Not to mention the gas I waste.) So, learn it at home or don’t learn it at all. Either way, I’ll be on the couch.
–Less Volunteering. There’s a never-ending revolving door of activities happening at school. Whether it’s a book fair, fundraiser, or class project, I’m out. Don’t ask me to get involved. I’m far too busy catching up on my favorite TV shows.
–Less Lying. It’s time to get real. It takes a lot of energy to come up with reasons why I don’t want to play musical chairs or go to the park. From now on, “Mommy doesn’t feel like it” will become a valid answer.
–Less Micro-Managing. Don’t want to brush your teeth? No problem. You want to wear a bathing suit in January? Okay. No arguments here. Instead of bossing them around, I’m going to let the kids run their own railroads for a while.
–Less Coddling. Life is hard. Learn it now. You won’t always get your way and it’s not fair. So, nut up, already!
And, now, for a cocktail….
We like moms who admit to wanting to aim less and low in twenty-ten…and moms who end their posts talking about cocktails. Heh. You can see more of Jodi’s plans for this year over at her site Daily Dose of Common Sense.
About Guest Writer
They are amazing resolutions….think we should all give them a try!!!
Twitter Name: AdventuresEM
“Mommy doesn’t feel like it.”
I’ve wanted to use that quite a few times. Ha!
Twitter Name: LovinStilettos
I need to take that laundry thing to heart. Somehow all the clothes I wash and fold end up in the hamper the next day. I’m over laundry! I’m going to tell them to dress out of the hamper until I can smell them 10 feet away!
Twitter Name: LaurinEvans
You mean tater tots aren’t a vegetable serving?
I’ve been *trying* to employ some of these tactics (but the culturally-dictated mommy guilt is a cruel mistress/whorebitch)
Twitter Name: izzymom
Let’s see, I’ve been doing less cooking, entertaining (Yo Gabba Gabba IS entertaining), interferring (unless there’s tears), scheduling, volunteering, coddling (I tell my girls to man-up all the time) for a while. Score for me. :)
Twitter Name: mommabird2345
And if you serve ketchup with the tater tots, you’ve got TWO servings of vegetables! (Keep up, Girl.)
Twitter Name: MPoppinsinHeels
Love it. Bring on the less is more!
Can I follow suit if I’m mostly already there? Ha.
Made me smile on a Friday.
These are way better than the resolutions I made. And have since broken. ‘Either way I’ll be on the couch’… I love it!
Some great ideas for the slacker mom who wants to raise the bar. I will give them a whirl….but what I really need is a maid …and a martini
Twitter Name: emmakaufmann
I *think* you might be me… this list pretty much sums up my life perfectly. Joy! And now, off to nap…
These are dumb ideas. You shouldn’t have had kids in the first place if you didn’t know that this is your responsibility. Kids need to learn how to be adults from you and they may not appreciate it now but thy will by the time they have grown. And I’m sure you moms would be proud to say that when your kids have grown you were the best mother a child could have.
And yes I do have a child and I’m 21 and the mother does nothing all day and I come home from work cook myself food and take care of my child. I may not love my wife anymore but Boone cam tell me there’s a better father for my son. I love him more then anything and I’ll but my butt for the rest of my life doing it