Invisible Jobs

I am a person who is only noticed when I screw up.  It's the nature of my various professions.  As a stage manager, the majority of the people in theater don't even know what it is I really do, until I don't do it.  As a video editor, if you notice my work, I did it wrong.  As a mom, do I even need to explain?

Considering I'm such a flattery whore, I wonder why I've chosen such invisible careers.  It's kind of getting me down at the moment.  A little depression is creeping in.  One of these days I'm going to find a way to obtain some external validation.  K does his best to acknowledge what I do that I do it well, but he doesn't really keep up with the neediness that is me.  So I'm going to do a little validating of my own by spelling out a bunch of little random things that I do that make me good at this mom job.

• I've created 2 big spaces in the house that are baby proofed with plenty for the girls to play with.  By thinking ahead and really looking from all angles, the spaces are pretty idiot proof and the girls can play without me chasing them every second.

• I've equipped the big expansive spaces with safe things for them to pull up on and cruise along, and to break up the space so it's not so intimidating.

• I always take the bottles and dishes straight to the sink so they don't smell, get left out of the dishwasher, or get found by itty bitty hands throughout the day.

• I wipe down the girls feeding table and sweep under it immediately after the girls eat so whatever is on it doesn't dry making it that much harder to clean later.

• I keep the house supplied so we never actually run out of anything.

• While I'm never really on top of the laundry, I keep up enough that we're never actually out of clean laundry.

• There's always a set of clean bottles and sippy cups available.

• I keep the girls faces and hands free clean.

• I keep all the bills paid on time.

• The girls have wardrobes the next couple of sizes up.  They are organized and can be grabbed easily if they suddenly outgrow what they're currently in.

• The girls eat from each food group every day.  How much of which group may not be balanced properly every day, but at least they are getting something from each.

• I have an emergency diaper bag in my car so I'll never be stuck somewhere by surprise without at least some clean diapers, blankets, and snacks.

• I change diapers frequently and quickly after they fill.

• I rotate toys every week or so to prevent boredom.

• I remember to take my fancy wedding ring off when bathing the girls or slathering on sunscreen so I don't scratch them.

• I keep their nails trimmed.

• I make sure the girls nap properly every day.

• I give them independent play time and play time interacting with me.  No structure to either of those, but they both happen.

• The big room of the house has floor level bins for toys to be tossed into before we go to bed every night.  Toys are the only mess and it takes 2 minutes to collect everything and toss it into bins for the girls to explore the next day.  The only organization is that soft toys that can safely fall on a babies head are in the higher shelf bins and everything else is tossed into floor level bins.

• The TV cabinet has random plastic cups and stuff that the girls can discover.  Hopefully feeling like they found something they shouldn't get into will prevent them from actually touching things they aren't supposed to like the cable box (which is harder to reach).

• I've kept the cats out of the nursery for 8 years so they haven't had a chance to destroy it like they've destroyed the rest of the house.

• I've been able to keep the girls entertained without the using the TV to do it (so far).

• I retrieve wubbas and pacis from under cribs every couple of days.

• I put a lovey the Teeny Tiny likes in Middie Biddies crib that Middie Biddie has no interest in.  This helps keep her wubbas from being stolen by Teeny Tiny because TT feels like she's won when she takes the lovey.

• I moved Teeny Tiny's crib out of reach of the light switch.

So there it is.  A bunch of stuff that I have done, or do every day that keep the house functioning, but is completely invisible, unless I fail to do it.  I think every mom should make one of these lists once a month or so just to realize how much they do and how well they do it.