When the Dishes Need Doing...

As a stay at home mom and wife most of the housework falls on me to accomplish.  Is housework my favorite thing to do?  Not even close.  Each day I am however, presented with a choice.  I can sit and think poor me, the floor needs sweeping, the carpet needs vacuuming, the dishes need doing, the toilets need scrubbing, the mirrors need wiping, and so on, or I can simply get up and do it.  Is it necessary to have a chance to sit down each day and have me time? Yes, of course it is.  It helps me to be a better parent if I have a few minutes of down time each day.  The thing I have to constantly remind myself of though is that it also helps me to be a better parent when Zoe sees me washing counters, sweeping floors, and dusting furniture.  My daughter needs to know the house doesn't magically clean itself everyday while she naps or after she goes to bed.  I want her to value hard work and a job well done and I am not teaching her that if I am not valuing those things myself.  Baking cookies, making craft projects, and playing play dough are far more fun things to do with my daughter but I need to make a conscious effort to put off the fun things from time to time and tackle everyday chores together instead.