When I had only one child, all housework waited until she was sleeping. While she was awake, I was with her one-on-one. With two kids, I quickly realized that this wasn't a reasonable, doable, or sane idea. The problem is, there are days that I'm left feeling guilty and the kids feel ignored. The other day I heard Hadley and Blake playing together, and Hadley said, "I'm the Mommy, and mommy's don't play." Ouch.
So, here is what I did: I had laundry to fold, a kitchen to clean, dinner to prep and floors to mop. I made a train out of dining chairs, named Blake the conductor, and after a short "ride" he would drop me off to run and complete a task, while I told them where to drive to while I was gone. They had a blast, I had fun, and the kids felt like I was part of their game, instead of ignoring them while I cleaned. Plus, I got to hear conversations like this while I was cleaning:
Hadley: Blake, are we in Wis-scons-kin?
Blake: Yep
Hadley: What do we do in Wis-scons-kin?
Blake: I don't know. Go to Minnesota?
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