Friday, July 18, 2008

Today I.......

At my high school reunion last week I didn't talk to any other stay-at-home mothers. True, only 20 of my classmates showed up, but I was a little surprised. I was talking to this one guy & we were just asking general questions like where do you live, what do you do, etc. Anyway, after he asked what Craig did he asked what I did. All I said was, "I stay home & take care of my kids." He looked a little shocked by that response. I don't know why. It got me to thinking though. What do people think at home mothers do all day? This may be boring to some readers, but I thought it would be fun to make a list of a typical day for me. So, here goes.

- Made coffee & read my bible
- Got the kids breakfast
- Ate a piece of toast with homemade cherry jam
- Checked my email
- Put away laundry
- Fixed Ayla's hair
- Loaded the dishwasher
- Helped Micah search for a lost arrow, wiped Ayla's butt, put bug spray on the kids
- Made my bed
- Took my vitamins & cleaned up the kids' breakfast mess
- Tried to scrub one of two scorched pots. I've had these pans for years & in one month I scorched two of them. I'm fully blaming pregnancy brain for this.
- Finally got dressed, brushed my teeth & fixed my own hair
- Cleaned the main bathroom
- Put chicken tenders in the fridge to thaw for supper
- Did some online banking
- Sat on the porch & talked on the phone
- Folded & put away towels
- Finished unpacking from our trip to Iowa (hey it's only been 5 days!)
- Shared a clementine with Ayla while checking the news online. I can't believe Brittany Spears is giving up custody of her kids. To me that would be like voluntarily cutting off my arms.
- Marjan arrived with 3 of her kids & her daycare kid
- Melanie arrived with Traleigh (my daycare kid)
- We got the kids lunch, fed the babies, got them down for naps & then ate our own lunch
- We sat on the porch & pitted 20 pounds of cherries
- Throughout this time period we consoled crying children, put kids in time out, got various kids drinks of water, changed a couple of diapers, answered our phones & tried to carry on adult conversation (and to think that our husbands sometimes seem envious of this time we spend together while they are off working!)
- Cleaned up the lunch & cherry pitting messes & said goodbye to our friends
- Read a Batman comic to the kids
- Sorted through our towering pile of mail & filed paperwork for 15 minutes
- Cleaned out our van
- Changed Traleigh's diaper & fed her supper
- Made our supper & ate
- Cleaned up the dining room & kitchen including sweeping the floors & unloading & re-loading the dishwasher
- Cleaned up Traleigh & the high chair & gathered up all her stuff for her pick-up time

Now it's 7:30 & I could easily crawl into bed. Instead I need to help Ayla wash her hair. Do you think I can convince Craig to take us out to DQ & then have him put the kids to bed? That's my plan for the rest of the day. I'm sure your day was as busy as mine, hope you enjoyed it. Happy Friday!

10 comments:

Carrie said...

I am jealous of the time you get to be home with your kids and get stuff done. I wish I had the ambition, but after teaching all day, I come home and want to crash. At least I still get my summers off (not a whole 3 months) and I love being with the girls. Sometimes it is tiring, but well worth it. Being a stay-at-home mom is a very important job, too bad not everyone sees it that way anymore. I am glad my own mom was home with us as we grew up.

Ethel said...

ummm..you do work. you're a day care provider it sounds like and a bill payer..a butt wiper, a cook, a cleaning lady, a ...wow!! you do ALOT during a day. Is that typical? I don't think i did anything today. and my kitchen looks like it! I'm thinking you are way overworked! But, I think you did it all serenely and made it look like fun.

Neisha said...

hey, you're pregnant, you're suppose to take it easy and let things slide. I'm exhausted just from reading about your day

Anonymous said...

I don't think he was shocked, I think he was just a little surprised - maybe his impression of you from high-school was that you would be a career type person. And didn't he also say "good for you" or something like that afterwards?

Mindy said...

i didn't hear him say good for you, but maybe he did. i think he did say something, but it was very quiet.

Anonymous said...

You are showing the rest of us up!!!! =)
I tagged you....see my blog for details.

Neisha said...

Tag...you're it. See my blog for details.

Shannon said...

were you making more cherry jam?

Anonymous said...

Ok, i'm tired just READING about your day!!! Being home with the kids IS work, just a different KIND of work, and with GREAT benefits right?!!!

Lani said...

Sounds like you had a good day. I've noticed this summer I have ZERO ambition to do any house/yard work. I think I need to take a class on how to be a better stay-at-home mom. I came home from CA and my house was cleaner than when I left it. Maybe my husband should be the one staying home. *sigh*