Because You Asked

Someone asked me recently, "So what do you do all day now that you are a stay at home mom?"

I know! I know! All you stay at home's are like, "What the ^%$@?" But seriously, think back to when you were working or going to school and you saw people like me staying at home with kids. You were stressed back then too. It was just a different kind of stress (although I do feel like if I could just get a good nights sleep, I could conquer anything). I really remember thinking, that lady stays at home with her kids? What the heck is she doing all day? So here is a quick run down of a day with kids as a stay at home mom. I'm posting this for those of you who really wonder. If you wonder, you are not a stay at home mom so this is a warning if you are trying to get pregnant with dreams of watching soaps while you fold laundry in your perfectly pressed 50's dress.

12 am - Go to sleep
3:30 - Get up and give Cate a bottle, rock her, change her and head back to bed, on the couch because Andy is snoring and I'm not going to get back to sleep with that kind of noise.
5:00 - Move from couch to bed as Andy is now up and "on duty" for the kiddos.
8:30 - Get up, drag yourself from bed to coffee machine. Get coffee going if Andy hasn't, turn on Veggie Tales to entertain Abby while I get the kitchen cleaned and make some breakfast.
9:30 - Clean up breakfast after trying to get coffee in myself, rice cereal and formula in Cate and Cheerios in Abby. (I assume you are all aware of what a mess is made throughout each meal...)
10:30 - Maybe take a shower, usually with Abby. I never get into real clothes unless I'm going out somewhere. Get everyone dressed. Maybe do hair if we really have time.
11:00 - Fold laundry, clean up bathroom, put things away around the house all while being asked for milk, juice, help going potty and trying not to step on Cate who follows me around like a baby chicken.
12:00 - Make lunch, feed everyone, clean up lunch, put Cate down for a nap.
2:00 - Fall on the couch wishing that mommy's were required to have a nap time.
3:00 - Play with Abby, move laundry, hold Cate after she gets up from her nap as she sloshes formula all over everything while playing with/consuming a bottle.
4:00 - Start dinner, deal with snacks and juice and milk and more laundry all while trying not to burn anything.
5:00 - Feed everyone. Clean up after everyone.
6:00 - Start baths for kiddos. Brush their teeth while they try to eat the toothpaste. Get them, struggling, into their pj's. Read stories. Supply potty breaks, water and appropriate sleeping materials for each child. Most likely, Cate falls asleep here and wakes up again around 8:30 or 9.
8:00 - Watch what I want on TV for 30 minutes until Cate wakes up. Watch something that won't give her nightmares until 11pm while rocking her, feeding her and trying to get her to sleep. I'll admit that I get more calorie burn here than throughout the rest of the day as she's about 22 lbs. and she likes to be walked around. Weight training and aerobics all while watching black and white movies.
11:00 - Try and talk to Andy before I pass out.

And in between all of this, there is potty training and more laundry (I know you are thinking, "What's with all the laundry?" Kids don't make twice the laundry. They make 10 times the laundry because they are always spilling or peeing or pooping and it's just more than you care to deal with!) and cleaning up random spills and fishing things out of Cate's mouth that she has found on the floor and is attempting to choke on and holding kids who have bonked and need kisses. Not to mention that going out of the house is an ordeal in itself. You have to pack a suitcase of stuff. You can't fill a grocery cart with food if it has kids in it. You can't get through a store at all when you have to stop at the potty 3 times. It is fun but you are not your own. You are at the mercy of your children and all they may or may not be doing that day. It's a hard life but I like it.