Mr. Mom and Ms. Dad, week whatever

Work days completed: 22. Work days remaining: 8.

He said: This week has been quite a bit more difficult to get back into the stay at home dad routine that was somewhat established in the earlier part of the summer. This is mostly due to the fact that while away in Colorado my mother had her hip replaced and our bathroom went into full remodel and and still has a ways to go prior to completion. I have felt the need to get out of the house (so Rhett can nap somewhere else and not be around during the work being done right next to his room) and so I can help with whatever it might be that my mother might need. Needless to say, Rhett is in a way getting lost somewhere in the mix. With that being said, he is still eating, sleeping, playing outside, going on walks and is for the most part happy. I feel mostly good about taking care of him.

So, I cheated and read ahead, and I have to admit that I am not the best at keeping house. I feel like I was doing better before our trip, but perhaps that is in part because e has been less vocal about it. In my defense, I do move the items on the shelf when dusting. I must just suck at it. As for the housework this week, as I mentioned I have been out of the house for most of the day and I have not had the normal time to do the housework as well as I am capable. On a normal day I would clean while he naps, but when is is napping somewhere else, I am typically somewhere else with him instead of at home doing the housework. The other problem is not that I am unable to multitask (although this is true) but instead I am not the glorious planner/list maker. I would be much more productive if I were, but I am not. I don't like making lists and because of that I forget things. I don't have to do them all at once, but I need to remember to do them. I would even be okay if e wanted to make a list for me and then I would do everything on it. I guess that puts the onus of keeping house back on her and that wouldn't be fair to do, but in the long run I think everyone would be happier. e is just better at this than I ever could be. I'm glad that I have had the opportunity to see what really goes into it and why she is so good at it.

She said: This is the first week back after our week-long vacation to Colorado. We have been really busy, so the problem (as noted in the last update) of my non-parenting-upon-arrival-at-home has really been a non-issue since the second I get home, there is stuff to do. We'll see what happens next week.

However, the hardship this week has been my frustration with Chuck. While he's doing a great job of taking care of Rhett and being involved and doing things with him, he's not the greatest at running the household. But it's hard to express these feelings without sounding like a nagging wife. I mean, how important is it that instead of lifting the items on the shelf to dust, he's just dusting in front of them? Is this worth mentioning or not? What about the basement not being dusted at all? Or can all of this just wait until the 24th when I get to dust? Should I just appreciate that he's dusting at all or should I expect him to do the job well?

I feel that my frustration with the job he's doing of running the house is in part due to his inability to multi-task. Once he gets doing something, he can focus only on that one task, whether it be taking care of a toddler or cleaning the mildew off the deck. This tunnel-vision inhibits his ability to see the meal calendar stuck to the fridge screaming at him that maybe the chicken should be thawed so that we can eat it for dinner. I need to figure out how to get him to see all of the things that need to be done in order to have a smoothly-running house.

At the same time, I know he's trying, and I know that's it not easy. I've always struggled with this: the fine line between stating my expectations (and the things that will make me happy) and nagging. I'm still learning. Clearly.