Lay down, Slow down

Getting from Point A to Point B with a toddler is never quick and I hate that so much of my time with Ivor on workdays is spent urging him to move 'quickly' or 'hurry up'. We have to catch trains and get to work on time or get home in time for dinner, so a bit of rushing about on these days is unavoidable and I think justifiable.

But it hit me hard to realise that the 'rush, rush, rush' mentality of work days was carrying through to my days at home too. I was spending so much time and energy focusing on all the THINGS I had to do- play dates, errands, chores, endless loads of washing- and not enough time focusing on the little person I was off work to spend time with.

I've been faced with the conundrum that I am sure all working moms face- Things vs people. Laundry needs to get done. Doesn't it? Dishes don't just clean themselves. And how will we eat if I don't spend time shopping and cooking? I can't just ignore the sticky spots on the floor and the stink of the full trash can. Can I?

I don't know how other people answer these pressures, but I have had to come to accept that a clean home doesn't matter as much as I feel it does. I am learning to put down the vacuum and pick up the book my son is asking me to read, to set aside the laundry for a visit to the park, and to let shopping be a two hour excursion where we examine all the fruits and veg and let little eyes expore the bugs and trees we encounter on the way home. 

I am making an effort to lay down my pride in the kind of housekeeper I want to be so that I can pick up the little boy I have. I am learning to sacrifice energy spent on my interests for energy spent on building up the little person entrusted to me.

New Home!

At the end of January we picked up the keys to our new flat. (That's right- we are officially home owners!)

My Packing 'Helper'

There are still a handful of unpacked boxes, lots of empty wall space and an entire large spare room/dumping ground to sort out, but we are pretty well settled into our new home. I am even starting to get my head around how to clean twice as much space. 

The flat is lovely, big and bright, with original wood floors throughout (though I think we'll probably put carpet down in the bedrooms in the coming months).

Here are a few photos:

The long Entry Hall, which Ivor loves to run down.

The kitchen- there are two benches that we've since added around the table.

Despite the darkness of this photo, our kitchen is actually nice and bright!

The living room, with our lovely new Chesterfield sofas!

Ivor's room

The best part- his room looks out onto the lane, where the Babadee comes!

There are two more large bedrooms, a small bedroom which we've turned into Ross' Study, a bathroom, and a basement storage room. We are still working on the lighting situation, so all my photos of these rooms were too dark, but you've probably seen enough to get the feel for our new flat.

Ivor is LOVING having more room to run and play. Actually, he seems to have pretty much made his mark on every room of the house. Ross and I were commenting recently on how our world has become totally toddlerized- mini potties, toys, balls, stickers, little people hats, shoes, and coats seem to be pretty much everywhere! I put everything away only to discover toy cars stuffed into my oven mitts or a train sticker on the back of the toilet...

The boys making use of our new home

That's our new home! Come on over- you are welcome any time.