It's been one of those days...one of those weeks, really. The kind that makes me want to lock myself in my room with half a gallon of Braum's chocolate almond ice cream, some good reading material and favorite movies and just be alone. We're all getting over nasty stomach bugs (except Jellybean, who escaped it thank goodness!). We're tired, stressed and the house is a wreck. Cbear has been super whiny since she doesn't feel good and Jellybean must be going through a growth spurt because she's been waking at night to eat again. I had grown really attached to 6-8 consecutive hours of sleep at night. I can't do anything around the house because someone always needs held or my full attention. All of this made today somewhat...challenging. I mean, I love my kids to death and I'm so grateful I get to be here with them every day, but crap, sometimes the stay-at-home mom gig is rough. We survived though, as always, and as I type here in bed with everyone else in the house asleep I'm able to regroup and laugh about it instead of cry (which, incidentally...Cbear always laughs at me when I cry...not sure what she thinks is so funny?). I've assembled a (true) list of what it's really like to be a stay-at-home mom. Enjoy!
You know you're a stay-at-home mom if:
-you consider eating the rest of the Mac and cheese and yogurt from your toddler's high chair as a decent lunch for yourself.
-you take great measures to get everyone dressed and fed so you can get out of the house and without fail, someone poops and/or spits up all over the place the minute they are buckled in the carseat.
-the great question of your life is what activity (or non-activity) to engage in during naptime. You don't want to make the wrong decision and squander that precious time.
-you have eliminated black tops from your wardrobe because they show spit-up stains so badly or worse, you're beyond caring about this.
-all you really want in life is to go to the bathroom by yourself.
-you have to make a conscious effort to lower your voice an octave when speaking with other adults.
-just about the time you think you absolutely can't take any more, your kids go to sleep and you just watch them in awe thinking about how beautiful and angelic they look.
-when you actually get the chance to go out with your husband sans kids, you have difficulty relaxing and enjoying yourself because you hope they are doing okay with the sitter.
-you have forgotten what it's like to not have someone else's bodily fluids on you.
-nothing grosses you out anymore and you have little tolerance for others in this area (like husband gagging when changing a dirty diaper).
-your favorite hobby has become showering because it's the only time you're alone.
-you have creaky spots in the floor memorized and walking down the hall during naptime is a little like navigating a minefield.
-you are an expert multi-tasker...for example you can draw a snowman for your toddler on a magna-doodle upside down and left-handed while nursing (true story). You can also fix lunch like this.
-you consider turning on PBS and sprinkling Cheerios around the house and just letting the kids fend for themselves for a while.
-you find yourself using baby sign language in everyday conversation.
-you don't work out anymore because you figure chasing a toddler counts as cardio and carrying a baby is like lifting weights.
-you thank God every night that your kids are healthy enough to drive you nuts.
-nobody can make your kids smile and laugh like you can and you get paid for your efforts with sticky kisses. It makes all the daily struggles worth it. :)
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