Grace - give yourself a break

When you are a parent, there is no instruction manual. And yet, we expect that we should intrinsically know how to do this. Maybe it is the media or maybe it is our internal expectation of ourselves, but it seems like everyone else is making it work, so we must be doing it wrong. 

Give yourself a break. Do not be so hard on yourself.  No one can do it all. That is why Woner Woman is a fictional character. Even those women who seem to be put together all the time are sacrificing something. Everyone has different priorities and experiences. 

Here are some areas that I have had to give myself some leeway on:

- not all meals need to be from scratch. I want to offer my family healthy, hearty meals with minimal processing. Although a vegetable rich meal cooked from scratch is ideal, it is not easy and often takes time. 

It is ok for me to use processed frozen meals sometimes. I can choose healthier brands/flavors and add extra vegetables on the side. 

- sometimes I use the IPad to entertain my son while I get house chores done. For the first 2 years of his life we limited his screen time to Skype calls with family.  With a little help from Grandma, he has learned about other games and TV shows online. Most of the time, I watch the program with him, but now that I know the content, I can let him watch while I finish the dishes or fold laundry. Getting those little things done goes a long way in improving my sanity for the day. 30 minutes of screen time will not turn him into a zombie. 

- my house does not need to be tour ready at all times. I have housekeepers come in once a month for deep cleaning and I take care of the laundry and spot cleaning. I would rather spend quality time with my family than do housework. 

What areas do you need to give yourself some slack?