Embracing the Chaos: Tips for Managing the Mayhem

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Ever have one of those days where everything goes incredibly wrong? If you’re reading this, chances are you have kids and you know precisely what I am talking about. If you don’t, then please for the love of god tell me all of your secrets! In the meantime, I will be embracing the chaos!

This is happening right now…

Embracing the chaos
The scene this morning

As I sit down to write my introductory post for Fairfield county Moms Blog, school is closed due to impending weather. My children are running around my “office” playing a game of “take a flying leap at the bed.” I am typing while I try to listen in on a conference call above the screaming kids. And if you can believe it, yesterday was even worse.

I got the black screen of death on my computer in the midst of a video conference. I failed to register my kid for kindergarten due to the fact that her birth certificate and social security card were missing. And I was locked out of the safe. 

GASP! Lest you be concerned, supermom managed to resurrect the PC and locate the important documents and the combination to the safe (after I paid to have it sent to me, of course).  So this is my (so called) life. Ya feel me, Angela?  

When did things go from perfectly smooth and simple to wild and a bit chaotic? Who knows when it all changed, but what I have learned is that chaos doesn’t have to mean that everything is going wrong. In fact, embracing the chaos can be fun! Did that just come out of my controlling introverted mouth?! Let’s get down to it.

Tips to Embracing the Chaos 

1. Give yourself a break: Stop obsessively planning (and beating yourself up) every day. You know what you need to do. Make a high-level plan and be flexible throughout the day. You will check things off the list; maybe not in the order or time frame you initially allotted.

2. Take time to smell the roses: Stop. Breathe. Cuddle. Smell their hair. Get lost in their pretend world. They aren’t going to want to do those things with you forever. Enjoy these moments while they last. The long line at drop-off will still be waiting for you, but those baby snuggles won’t last forever.  

3. Embrace Change: You read what happened to me yesterday, right? Elisabeth five years ago would have ended up in tears, paralyzed by the fact that everything kept going wrong. Until I realized it’s not wrong, it just wasn’t what I expected. Remember…embracing the chaos! See number one, above.

4. Laugh: If you don’t laugh, you will cry. And it is not worth it. Life is too short and your kids are too cute. Sometimes I call my mom friends and have a good cry, but in the end you need to be able to put it all into perspective and laugh.   

5. Take time for yourself: Whether your thing is to cuddle up with a good book or go out and dance the night away, give yourself time to recharge your batteries. It will be much easier to tackle life’s challenges with those endorphins running high! 

6. Nurture your relationships: It’s easy to be consumed with rearing children. Don’t forget to invest time with your partner and your friends.  Your family and friends support you; don’t forget to show them some love, too! 

Parenting is like the wild west, especially for first time parents. Embracing the chaos has been liberating and quite honestly more productive. How will you embrace the chaos? Me? I’ll be sitting here for the next couple of hours, snuggling with my little guy. In the meantime, grocery shopping can wait.

Embracing chaos
Baby cuddles over groceries, easy decision.

   How are you embracing the chaos?

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