Balancing act

I am unfamiliar with downtime. As it is now, any time I have that both kids are napping or otherwise occupied - I am spending it asleep. I look around my house where things have become piled on every counter and table top, toys are scattered on the floor, miscellaneous baby paraphernalia is strewn around the room and there are dishes in the sink. Not to mention that the check book needs to be balanced and there are miscellaneous phone calls and appointments to be made. It's probably pointless to say that I have had no time to do any of the above due to my annoying need for sleep.

I have recently had this feeling like I am just spinning plates over my head. I'd like to try to accomplish any of the other many things that need to happen but it seems like if I try to get anything else done, I will drop or break one of the spinning plates. It seems like I have all I can handle and that I am just barely making it day to day with the kids being cared for, fed and (sometimes) dressed. Don't misunderstand, I am not complaining in the least. I think I am just surprised by how much of my time is taken up with just the day to day activities of nursing the baby, feeding the toddler, changing diapers, cleaning spit up, rocking, reading, napping, bathing, and bedtime routines. I feel like I can't possibly accomplish one thing outside of our basic needs. Which is probably why I am finding additional goals like Christmas shopping, potty training, baptism planning, and budgeting so daunting. And is also likely why so many things but the very bare necessities have fallen to the back burner.

Until now.

Last night, I was recounting all of this to my husband and saying that if I could just get enough sleep at night, I could get some of these other things done while the kids were asleep in the afternoon. (I did not include blogging in my list because I feel that should just be assumed). Imagine my surprise when the baby who seemed like she would never go to sleep went to sleep at 11pm and we all slept until my nursing wake up at 2:30 and then went back to sleep a little after 3:00 until 7:00am*. Almost seven and a half hours of sleep in total. Which is how I find myself in a somewhat cleaner living space, with a balanced check book, phone calls returned, and dishes put away. Admittedly there is still plenty that needs to be done, but I've accomplished enough to enjoy these few minutes of writing and relaxing. Because it's really just a matter of minutes before nap time is over and the plates start spinning again.

*I should also note that as restful and enjoyable as it is to sleep until 7am - on a Tuesday this also translates to "late for preschool" as it is a physical impossibility to get us all out the door in an hour and 15 minutes. Which led to a very hectic morning making this peace all the much more appreciated.