motivation, or the lack there of...

Sometimes you just have to turn on the Charlie Brown Christmas station in Pandora, lay on your bed, and make lists.  Of course, if you have a baby, you have to drag some toys in your room first and make sure there's nothing laying around that could kill or seriously maim them.

I have no motivation whatsoever today, so I thought making a nice pretty list complete with a glitter gold star would make getting things done a little easier, or at least a little more fun.  I don't know how things are in your house, but after a weekend with hubby/daddy home, there is a lot to do around here!  My friend Joree wrote a post on her blog recently that got me thinking.  She wrote about how hard it can be to feel motivated as a SAHM to get cleaning and chores done, and I completely agree.  When I worked, I could always find motivation to clean/do chores before work by reminding myself how nice it would be to come home to a clean house with dinner waiting in the crockpot.  When you're home all day it's often hard to motivate yourself because, let's face it, there's usually no reward.  Hmm...I'd better clean the living room so that my baby can tear it apart in an hour when he wakes up.  Or wow, I really should make dinner, except that I just cleaned the kitchen and I don't want to get anything else messy again.  Sometimes it's just easier to lay on the floor in your babies room, in your yoga pants and high school sweatshirt, while your child crawls all over you scratching your face and trying to stick their fingers in your mouth.

In those moments, it's hard to find the motivation to get up and get going.  There is one thing that is always in the back of my mind that helps to motivate me.  Wondering what that is?  Ok, I'll tell you.  It's the thought of my hardworking lineman, freezing his butt off for 10 hrs a day, 6 days a week all because he loves me and Riggs so much.  Just one thought of him coming home to utter chaos and no dinner always seems to inspire me to get up and get certain things done by the time he gets home each day.

Steve is on the left, old picture but you get the idea

My 'Steve list' includes having some kind of food ready for when he gets home, tidy bedroom with the bed made, a somewhat picked up living room and kitchen, and at the very least a stack of clean clothes in the bathroom for after he takes a shower.  I want our house to be a nice place for Steve to come home to, and I think it's a pretty easy way to show him that I love him.  Plus I've found that when I finally get up to get those 'Steve list' things done, I suddenly have the energy to do everything else that I need to do to!  What are some ways you motivate yourselves to get things done?