Best Two out of Three

Saw this image on Facebook this evening and felt it was the perfect writing prompt.  =)

I have two full-time jobs (being a mom and working outside the home) and two part-time jobs (unfortunately I think being a wife and taking care of myself fall into this category).  I was not about to take on a third full-time job and try to be a housewife who (somehow) keeps the house running seamlessly as well.  I just don't feel like I can do it without losing myself and giving up any sort of me-time that I can find for self-care. 

Keeping up a house has NEVER been something that appealed to me/that I was any good at.  My mother LOVES to clean.  She'll actually do that as her me-time.  Me?  Nope.  Didn't get that gene AT ALL.  My room as a kid was a mess.  My room as an adult is a mess.  There is just so much more that I'd rather be doing that cleaning the house.

About a year ago Jacob and I made a couple of household-life-change decisions.  The first was that we would hire someone to come in once a month to give our house a nice cleaning.  The second was that we signed up for an online meal planning service.  Both of these decisions have been EXCELLENT.

Now, don't get me wrong, we still clean the house throughout the course of the month between professional visits, we don't live in a pig sty, but that once a month break/deep clean has been great (especially since the cleaner comes when I'm at work so I could home once a month to a spotless house after work and didn't have to lift a finger!).  I feel lucky that this is an expense that we can afford right now.  I doubt we'll be able to keep it up forever, but, for now I'm a happy wife.  =)  (especially when, even days later I run across things that were cleaned unexpectedly... like, for instance, the inside of our kitchen trash can!)

Using a meal planning service has also been amazing.  Before we would shop with no real list (except what we needed for the house), and then it was a constant battle every night after to work to figure out what to cook for dinner.  And we often had the same things over and over again.  And, while Jacob and I are both capable of cooking, I wouldn't say that either of us are particularly creative/adventurous in the kitchen.  In other words, it got a little boring.  Now, we get a weekly shopping list and dinner recipes via e-mail (I signed up for recipes for a family of 4-6 so that I'm sure to have left overs for lunch).  We just have to get to the store (or order from Safeway... we have definitely simplified our life by using that service every now and then, too!), get the things on the list, and then make one of the recipes each night when we get home.  Everything is laid out for us nicely and I don't have to think about a damn thing (except for doing any sort of pre-marinading or crock pot prep work that needs to happen beforehand).  Generally the meals are delicious and include healthy foods that we would not have even known what to do with before.  We've been VERY happy.

If I have to pick the best two out of three of that graphic above, it's going to be happy kids and my sanity every time.  I'm just blessed right now that I have the benefit of making that choice and can afford help in the other area.  I know that others don't have the same luxury, and to those women (and men!) I say "you are amazing."