I Am A Domestic Goddess! Bow Down To Me!

Ok, I'm throwing modesty out the window here: today was one of those days where I just kicked ASS in the fine science of domestic engineering. I mean, I *totally* got the gold medal. In addition to the usual morning wrangle of getting both kids ready to get out of the house, I did about a zillion housewife-y things. In my minivan, no less. Tres bourgeoisie! I'm going to miss these Fridays off when they're gone…

But really, it was quite a busy day, and I am justifiably proud of myself for having accomplished so much. Check it out: After dropping Eli off at school, I took the baby and we went to Petco and Target, then back home to pick up the lunch I'd forgotten for Eli, then back to Eli's school for a special moms' tea party in honor of Mother's Day. After spending about an hour there, fussing over Eli and his buddies and chasing after Isaac (who loved being at preschool with all the toys and kids, and who happily consumed nearly my entire portion of angel food cake and strawberries), we left Eli there and went to Safeway for grocery shopping.

Then, just in time to avoid complete and utter toddler meltdown, we went back home for Isaac's nap. Once he was settled, I sorted, ran and folded two loads of laundry, baked, wrapped and priced a batch of Scottish Shortbread for a bake sale, and did dishes. I also managed to do some general house decluttering (which never sounds like a lot, but it takes forever to put all the little things back where they belong). Then after Isaac woke up (and thank god it was a nice, long, 2+ hour nap) I fed him a late lunch and did a bit more pick up and sweeping and setting the table for Shabbat, and suddenly it was 5 o'clock. But was my day over yet? Noooooooo, gentle readers, it was not. I turned the baby over to Daddy for a little while so I could go to the vet to pick up Oreo's meds (she's still hanging in there pretty well, for those of you who are interested), and then go pick up Eli and drop off my shortbread. After dragging Eli away from his buddies, he and I stopped off at Safeway (that's right, again) to pick up Shabbat dinner, then went back home. I fed the baby his dinner during our dinner, and then cleared and cleaned while Josh bathed the kids. Then I got Isaac into his jammies and put him to bed while Josh finished up Eli's bath and got him in his jammies. Then when that was all done it was time to have dessert (mmm cold sweet honeydew melon) and play King's Challenge with Eli until it was *his* bedtime. I cleaned up the bath toys, brushed and flossed Eli's teeth, read him a chapter of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and put him to bed while Josh unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and then finally, *finally*, it was time to sit on the couch and go "whew". And not 5 minutes went by before I thought "I gotta blog this" and now here I am. And guess what? It's bedtime. And I still have to go give the cat her meds.

It was such a…housewife kind of day. I don't have those very often. (Not even on my Fridays, during which I often do chores but not quite this many.) It was the kind of day that gives me a whole new respect for the women who stay home and do this all the time. It's damn hard work: I'm wiped and my back is killing me. I know that everyone has it hard in some way: it's hard to be a working mom facing two shifts (paid and unpaid work); it's hard to be a stay-at-home mom whose work is truly never done and who never really has clearly delineated "time off". Keeping a home clean and running and children fed and healthy (physically and emotionally) is no small feat. It's days like this when I dream fondly of being one of those households who has "help"--what I wouldn't give for a housekeeper, a butler, a nanny, a laundress, a cook, a handyman (and of course, a personal trainer/masseur). Of course, having to oversee the staff probably wouldn't be that fun, but still…it sounds good to me right now.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble so I think it *would* be smart of me to go finish up and go the heck to bed. Because I'll be up with the baby at 6:30 or so and there will be no rest for the weary after that. But in closing I would just like to reiterate: I am a domestic goddess. Go me!