I've had a few people ask me what I'm up to these days. Sit down. Grab a cup of coffee. Here's a typical day in my life.
7 am-(on a good day. Earlier on a bad day)- Drag myself out of bed to grab Henry and/or Palmer. Make breakfast and spoon feed each child something healthy so Eggo pancakes aren't the only thing they consume. Coffee. Feed self. Clean up mess.
8 am- morning chores (start laundry, unload dishwasher, make beds, pick up toys). This process is never quick or easy. I'm interupted every 5-10 minutes for anything from a diaper change to breaking up a fight over toys. Yes, it's already started.
9 am- get kids ready to get out of the house. I don't always know where I'm going, but I know it when I get there. Usual suspects are the pediatrician's office, playground, play date, grocery shopping, gym, and/or library. Getting ready before kids involved a nice shower with scented shower gel. Blowing my hair dry. Make-up. Perfume. Sometimes ironing my outfit. Now? Tears are involved in getting ready. Mostly Henry and Palmer's, but sometimes mine too. I can't find Henry's other Croc. I can't find Blue Truck. I will not let Palmer play in the toilet. I won't let Henry wear his astronaut costume. I won't let Palmer climb the stairs. I look fat. Still. And I definitely didn't get a shower.
10 am- breathe sigh of relief because we are going somewhere! And then we get there and it's chaos.
11 am- Panic at the disco/pediatrician's office/playground/playdate/grocery store/gym/library. Because: children.
12 pm- Lunch. See breakfast.
1 pm- Nap time. The big misconception about nap time is that it is some three hour long period where responsibility doesn't exist. False. First of all, only recently have I been able to get both kids down at the same time. Even then, it's a small window of overlap. What do I choose to do with that time? Depends. I lie down for 20 minutes. OR I read a book for 20 minutes OR I shower. Usually, I lie down. Because: children.
2 to 4pm- Palmer is usually up by 2, so it's time to take George out and get the mail. Switch washer to dryer. Prep for dinner. Pick up toys. Pay a few bills. Write a few thank you notes. Try to find the bottom of my dining room table. Try to entertain Palmer who is boooooored without Henry.
4:30 pm- Storm has passed. Henry wants to do something as does Palmer, who is tired of being cooped up inside. So we take a walk or go to a close playground and take George too. OR I have to make an emergency run to Giant for some dinner ingredient I don't have or get beer. Usually it's beer.
5 pm- Try to get dinner started. I don't usually get very far. I usually hit a wall around this time and give up, turn on NickToons, crack open a beer and wait until Ryan gets home. It's not peaceful, though. There are diaper changes, potty trips, snack requests, phone calls, and fights.
6 pm- Ryan comes home. Cue the confetti. He either takes the kids and lets me fix dinner or I continue keeping the peace while he makes dinner. Usually the latter.
6:30 pm- Dinner. Same as breakfast and lunch, minus the coffee. Feed dog.
7 pm- Palmer goes to bed. Start to see the light. The end is near. I clean up the remains of dinner, start the dishwasher, take George out, clean up for 15 minutes (no more, no less). Grab our waters. Feed cat.
8 pm- FINALLY. Finally. I have some time to myself. If I'm feeling charitable, I fold laundry. I don't feel charitable often. I get into my PJs. I read some blogs. I check the weather. I pin some shit. I check instagram.
8:30 pm- Ryan emerges from Henry's room. FINALLY. We watch a show in bed. We don't talk. We just lie there.
9:30 pm- Oh, hey there. Catch up for a minute before digging into our books.
10:30 pm- Lights out, baby.
So why am I telling you about my day?
Because I've had more than a few comments lately about how *nice* it must be to be a stay at home mom. The comments are never overtly rude, just things like, "it must be so nice to be able to do what you want during the day!" Something along those lines. And when there's a need to go above and beyond on a project for a committee or preschool or church or whatever, I feel the pointed eyes go straight to me because I *Have All This Time On My Hands*. Please don't misinterpret my likes of facebook/instagram photos as evidence of my ample time. Five minute pockets of time here and there while I'm in line or waiting at a traffic light do not mean I have time to knit a sweater or hand-make all my Christmas cards.
I'm not trying to start a debate about stay at home moms versus working moms or moms versus working women or whatever. My point is that everyone is busy. Everyone is trying the best she can. The single girl who lives across the street from me? She's busy. The checkout lady at Giant? She's busy too. I'll say it again, *everyone is busy*. Moms at home? No different.
That's my story. Blogging is something I really do enjoy, but I'm having a hard time fitting into my life because even while I've written this, I've let a lot of other things around me go that I probably should be doing instead. Henry is up and asking me for a snack. Palmer is now putting a screw from the broken baby gate into his mouth.
What are your thoughts on time? Or people's false perceptions of your life? I'm interested. I know it's not just me.
Love this post. And you're doing a fantastic job with those two adorable boys.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on time? There's never enough. But as long as, at the end of the day, the kids have been fed and are relatively clean and happy? The day has been a success.
So, keep rocking it, girl. You got this.