Secret Life of the Stay at Home Mom

Every type of mom have their own unique difficulties. A stay at hom mom can't quite understand the trials of the working mom, and the working mom can't quite understand the stay at home mom. Neither one works harder or has it easier than the other. I do think that the stay at home mom is frequently misunderstood. Yes, we are 'lucky' to stay at home and to do what we love and what we choose. But the same could be said for anyone's job. It's all a choice. I am a stay at home mom, so this is what I can talk about. I don't want any arguments.
There are some dirty little secrets that stay at home moms don't tend to talk about. We do our job 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The same thing. Every day. And just like any office job, there are times of boredom (no one tells you this, unless you have a good sister, like I do). Now, there is precious little quiet time, so that's not where the boredom comes from. It comes because you've read the same book 257 times, played with the same toys 489 times, and watching your baby bang a spoon on a tupperware was really cute the first 172 times you saw it. No one likes to talk about these times, because the stay at home mom is so lucky to stay at home and play with her kids, she should be happy and loving every moment. But sometimes you need to refresh a little. You have to find new ways to be creative during playtime not only to enrich your kid, but to preserve your sanity. (And don't even try to multi-task on your kid. I don't know how they know, but they know!) If your baby wakes up early from the afternoon nap, not only are you going to have a cranky baby by bedtime, but your afternoon is ridiculously long because you have to think of things to do. Every day. The same thing. lol And any time I talk about this, I feel like I have to apologize for feeling this way. But most people with office jobs have the same complaints about their jobs, it's just more acceptable to talk about it and to feel that way.

Another issue with being completely immersed in your kids every day is that you have precious little else to talk about. I never wanted to be that girl that could only talk about their kids, just like I never wanted to be the girl that could only talk about horses, but shoot, James and I spend a lot of time together, every day. :)~ But I was that girl at a party at our house last night. sigh Not only do I not have much else to draw from, I'm so excited to talk to grown ups, I'll say anything! It's embarrassing, and a little funny. Luckily I have very good natured friends.

And the littlest things make the life of the stay at home mom way too exciting. It took me a solid week to prepare for the aforementioned party. My husband had the fantastic idea of making the party all do it ahead appetizers. Perfect. Everyone brought something, and I made 4 dishes, all ahead of time. Which was a good thing, because between cleaning the house, preparing all the food, and just setting up, it took every bit of nap times and several playtimes throughout the week to get it all done, just so I could enjoy one evening without having to do much. And it was fun, the food was great, the company was the best; I even had time to do my hair. And I'm so glad it's over!! But I would do it again, it was the perfect way to have people over. Never again will I cook dinner for a group, at least, not for a long time. Unfortunately I should probably clean the floors again....naaah, he's not even crawling yet! ;)