Distracted? Or Multi-tasking?

Multi-tasking is overrated.  You may think you're doing more, but really, you're just doing more things - less well.  I mean the more you stack on the pile, the more likely something is going to fall, right?!

I googled images of both words.  Funny thing.  Here is what I found.  Can you guess which one is distracted and which one is multi-tasking?

I know there is a ton of research out there right now confirming my suspicions:

“Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,” said David E. Meyer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”

Here is a hilarious (don't know if true, but hilarious none-the-less) image of one such "mistake" from this article on why multi-tasking is bad:

That explains my life to a tee right now.

I get so many distractions all day long that I am constantly trying to remember what I was just doing a moment ago before __________ happened or before ____________ called or before _________ email came in or before _________ stopped by.  That is at work.

Then, I come home and it's chaos all over!  What to tackle?  I have 5 minutes (I think).  So, I start something, but then someone needs something, the task is put aside and the forgotten about and I'm on to other things, then it's time for dinner, then dishes, the bath time, then bedtime, then whew!  I'm tired....wait....what's that over there?  Oh yeah, I was going to call the doctor about Maddy's glasses.  Once again, fail.  Not done.  Another week goes by and it's not done.  Now it's almost 10 and it must wait until tomorrow to try again.  When will I fit it into the day?

All I know is that I seem to be able to knock 2-3 things off my official "to do" list each day at work.  Now, maybe that's reasonable to some, but to me, it's absurd.  That should only take a couple hours - not all day!  Where is all that time going?

I am thinking of:

• meetings starting late
• forgetting a piece of paper and having to backtrack to get it
• the phone interrupting meetings
• the knock on the door interrupting another meeting
• the side bar conversation in the middle of the meeting
• the 5 people who showed up unexpectedly who needed 1/2 hour of time each
• the real needs of real people around me that need prayer or encouragement
• all the unnecessary emails and spam, even at work!  can't get rid of it.  Grrrrrrr
• so much paperwork and clutter, it's just piling up and there's no time to tackle it
• a frustrating database that freezes up my computer when try to send out an email
• waiting for the internet another grrrrrrr when I just want it NOW!!

crazy life!

it's not a good sign when...

you take your baby to MD for 6 month old "well baby check" and he says, "wow, you're the first people I've seen all day that haven't been sick."

gee, thanks doc.  now i just want to sanitize my kids and put gloves on their hands so they can't touch anything in his little cubicle exam room.

and my 2 year old of course is touching EVERYTHING!!

24 hours

I think that how much I need...with no kids to "help".

Just me and this home, the inside.

I look around and see so much to do that I just can't keep up with these days.  These past 5 months have really done me in!

Here is a sampling of the random chaos that sits around and drives me bonkers in the recesses of my crazy mind:

* baby welcome, congrats cards - August
* hospital paperwork and stuff
* pumkins - halloween
* turkey pan - thanksgiving
* Christmas tree
* Gingerbread house
* lots of leftover Christmas candy goodies no one seems to want
* Tax paperwork scattered all over, hoping for a good return!
* piles of mail, bills, receipts
* cords, chargers, boxes, phones, just stuff!

So overwhelmed when I think about it.  So, I'm going to go to bed and put the blinders back on!

Rejected?

I am not sure how I feel about this.  Twice today.  My 5 month old sweet girl not only rejected me, but screamed loudly and angrily at me, as if "How dare you mama?"  She didn't want me.  She made this very clear.

So, I made a formula bottle and she sucked it down happily.

Actually, I think I do know how I feel. Sad.  Disappointed.  Surprised.  Alarmed. Not needed.  Rejected.  It's these time where I find myself grieving how fast they grow up. How can they have such strong wills at such a young age?!

Funny, I thought I was the one calling the shots and going to decide when we quit.  Maybe not.

I'll try again tomorrow. But, wow, this was a weird day.  Never happened before.

An Internal Freak Out Mom Moment

So, tonight, we are at a friends house,  having a great dinner, celebrating a birthday and just hanging out.  Our daughter is upstairs playing with dress up clothes.  Nothing new really, it happens often at our house.  She loves the heeled sandals, dresses, skirts to "twirl" in.  It's adorable!

I was sitting in the chair closest to the stairs so I could see about halfway up.  I catch a glimpse of her coming down the stairs with a sparkly blue dress on (upside down and backwards, mind you).  My mind and heart leapt; all of the sudden I was picturing her 20 or so years from now in a wedding dress coming down the stairs on her wedding day.  It was like I was already there.  My mind gave me the clear mental image of her grown up, wearing white, a beautiful bride.  It's now etched in my brain!

A startling, but fleeting moment that evaporated as she quickly approached me wanting help to get the dress on right and my normal mom mode kicked in.

We don't have stairs here at our house.  I don't know why the stairs and the dress did that to me, but wow, what a rush!  I want to treasure every moment we have with her until that day.  Lord, help us.  For the boy out there who will one day grow up to be her husband, I pray for him to be all she needs, all she wants, and that he seeks to draw closer to His Heavenly Father each and every day.