I have a toddler that has become increasingly moody and tempermental, I'm due with my second little one Dec 16th, and my husband works a full time job. Before my daughter became a toddler, before I got so far along in my pregnancy, etc I could be more of the mom and homemaker I love to be. But lately it feels like I just can't find the time and the energy. After a long evening with my daughter and a handful of temper tantrums, all I want is some alone "mommy time" like a nice bath, a book, an adult tv show. The time I used to make (and want to make) for cooking from scratch, doing crafts with my daughter, decorating, and all the extra things I do to make my house a home are being temporarily neglected. Rationally I know that's fine, but emotionally I feel guilt over it. For example, I'm doing almost everything but the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom is working, my older half sister is gone out of state for family emergency, so I stepped in. Usually this would be great fun for me. But now it's just SO MUCH WORK. I pictured myself making all these great things from scratch, ignoring my limited cooking skills, and just in general being some kind of wonder woman. Yeah. Not so much. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up needing to buy potato flakes and premade stock to get things off the ground. I know my family won't mind, I know my husband is going to pitch in to help, but I feel like I'm not doing enough or as much as I wanted to. I feel the same way when I'm snapping at my daughter after a frustrating day, or when I ruin dinner, etc.Â
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How do you let this guilt go? How do you admit to yourself that being human and doing your best is enough? Nobody else is putting all these expectations on me. I don't expect perfection from anyone else either. So why am I doing this to myself?Â
