It took me almost a year after having my first child to feel like I was getting anything done. Now that I have two I’m wondering if it will take two years this time. Having children necessitates having new and more realistic expectations of what you can accomplish in a day. I am one of those people who is always pushing myself to get more done in less time. My husband bought me Getting Things done for Christmas (at my request) but I haven’t had the time to read it yet. (How is that for irony?) My house in a perpetual mess and I haven’t even had to cook many meals yet, thanks to generous friends and family who have been bringing meals since our son was born on March 19. The idea of trying to return to regular every day life is an overwhelming one. Then I realized something. Regular every day life has changed, again.

It changed when my daughter was born and I became a Stay at Home Mom. It changed when she finally began sleeping consistently through the night at one year and I felt like I had my life back.  It changed again while I was pregnant (twice) and the lack of energy sapped my ability to get much done. Now I am the mother of a toddler and a newborn. What was once normal no longer applies. Slowly I am trying to add back in activities I once did regularly like exercise, writing and blogging. But for now I need to be happy with the things I do get done; whether it be finished laundry (including my cloth diapers) or a dinner ready on time. This is the new normal.