Monday, August 31, 2015

Would you rather have a sexy wife or a clean house?

This is not my house. Not even close.
We have officially entered a new phase of parenting: school. Though Dash is only in TK we've already been to our first PTA meeting and have been wrangled into helping out at the school with various events and fundraisers. Knox has also started preschool and has his own list of activities that require parent involvement. Don't get me wrong; I am really excited for this phase. Both our schools are full of amazing staff and parents and I look forward to being a part of this new community. But all this change means we need to shift our lives a little to make room for all these new adventures and that takes some finesse.

At the same time, I've found myself back in another phase I'm quite familiar with: The baby weight battle. I've set some realistic goals (about 10-15 lbs in 6 months) and I dangled the motivational carrot (permission to purchase a smoking hot dress to wear to a wedding we are going to in the spring and maybe some new clothes to wear on our vacation) and I've carved out some time for exercise.

There's only one problem.

Between school events and obligations, family time, blogging, and exercising, I have zero time to keep up on my house. This week I had three days where I only had one child for three consecutive hours and I did not have time to do any housekeeping except for dishes. No laundry. No vacuuming. Forget about dusting. One day was dedicated to errands, another day I walked our rather neglected dog and worked on the blog and today I took a long exercise-y walk with a friend. When I realized my entire week was gone and I had nothing to show for it, I messaged Mr. Sir:

Would you rather have a sexy wife or a clean house?

And with the entire internet as my witness, this is what he said:

LOL, but seriously...a sexy wife.

And there you have it folks. Please don't judge me for the state of my house the next time you drop by. Because according to my husband of almost 8 years, this lady right here *points thumbs at self* is more important than a Pinterest - perfect house. And though I haven't had time to talk to my husband in detail about his answer to my question, I can tell you that he doesn't want a sexy wife because he needs some arm candy. (I mean, we have three kids under 5; we don't go anywhere on a Friday night except to bed.)

He wants a sexy wife because I'm happier when I'm exercising. I sleep better when in taking care of myself. I'm more confident when I feel sexy. I have more energy when I give myself permission to do something for me. Of course, there are other fringe benefits for him but mostly, I'm the glue that holds this place together. When mama's happy, everyone is happy. Investing in me is an investment in everyone in our family. Who cares what our house looks like if the people who are in it are rays of happy sunshine? Ok, let's be honest. I care what my house looks like, but letting loose on the reins a little while we find our new groove won't hurt. 

So happy Monday, friends. Cheers to starting a new week with a fresh perspective. And a messy, but happy house. 

3 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I know that battle for time all too well! It's tough to carve out time for yourself, and once you stop working out for a while it feels like tories starting up again... the trick is to never really stop doing it, but that means having less time for other stuff. Having a clean house is never THAT big of a priority for me either.

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    1. I have been fighting the good fight on housekeeping for the last few years because I feel disorganized and stressed when my house is a wreck. But there is definitely a balance because if all my energy is put into the house & kids, there's nothing left for me!

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  2. Oh yes, I know that battle for time all too well! It's tough to carve out time for yourself, and once you stop working out for a while it feels like tories starting up again... the trick is to never really stop doing it, but that means having less time for other stuff. Having a clean house is never THAT big of a priority for me either.

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