Monday Musings: Bonbons and Soaps!

When I was young, there were several moms of friends who stayed home during the day. My mom worked and went to school for most of my childhood. She was a widow so she had to. There wasn't much of an option. I saw my friends' moms home all day and wondered, "What on Earth can they do all day?" I assumed they sat on the couch eating bonbons and watching soaps all day. Apparently, this isn't an uncommon assumption of what stay at home moms do. I went to Google and typed "lazy mom" for an image search and came up with this:

It was one of the top images that came up too. It's scary that so many people think this. I had two kids who were staying with a sitter while I worked when I was laid off. My husband and I discussed it and decided I would try my hand at being a stay at home mom anyways. It was such a shock. I had no time to sit and watch soap operas or eat bonbons no matter how much that chocolate would have soothed my nerves. No, I spent my day changing diapers, playing with children, breaking up fights, going to play groups, cleaning up messes after messes after messes. I finally sat down to watch TV and it was Elmo as I munched on the leftovers in my preschoolers plate before I was needed again. My husband came home and picked cheerios out of my hair before kissing me hello. It wasn't what I thought it would be.

Now, I have been a stay at home mom for almost four years. My children are older so there are less messes than there once were and no more diapers to change. We don't go to play groups as often but I am still busy. Now, I virtual school my children. This is the third year for my 2nd grader and first year for my kindergartner. Here was my day:

7am: got up, fed children, and we all got dressed.
7:45am: left for therapies (occupational and speech for my son)
10am: returned home and started school. I gave them independent work for the first hour so I could clean the kitchen.
11am: Dealt with my daughter whining about how hard Reading Eggs assignments were as I tried to teach my son a math lesson that ended up confusing us both and I had to get my husband involved.
noon: Lunch break for the kids while I wrote the weekly assignments down on each child's dry erase board. I then scarfed down my sandwich and just sat on the couch for 5 minutes then it was back to school.
3:00: kids finished school but then I had to get work samples scanned and sent to their teachers.
3:30pm: I finished work samples and found myself defending how busy I was to my husband because I didn't want him to think I just sat around doing nothing. I decided I would blog my random musings so my husband didn't have to hear any more.
4:00pm: Started blogging

Left to do today: plan family home evening lesson, cook dinner, fold laundry, sweep around the computer desk (crumbs everywhere), load dinner, do MY schoolwork (yes, I'm a full-time student too), and eventually go to bed. Tonight we don't have any activities so I am happy about that. YAY!

I love being a stay at home mom even if I don't get to eat chocolate and watch TV all day. I love that my children challenge me and keep me busy so I don't get bored. I am so glad they give me something to do. I love that I love waking up each morning to spend the day with them!