When Mommy stays home

November 29, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

It’s been 7 weeks since I last wrote a post.  The reason?  There are too many to list, but the biggest reason is that I’ve been busy being a mom.  Since my last post, my husband and I decided it would be best for our family if I resigned from my job and stayed home with the boys.  The decision was both the easiest and hardest decision I’ve made in awhile.  Easy because I just couldn’t see how we could manage life if I was balancing the boys and my job.  Hard because I’ve been a working mom for nine years and knew it would be a major change.  So, how is it going?  For one, it is clear how it has affected my writing.  It just doesn’t happen as often as I’d like.

When I resigned, I had an idea of what it would be like to stay at home full-time.  Here is what I imagined:

1) My house would always be clean

2) I would meet up with my other stay-at-home friends on a regular basis

3) I could take up hobbies I’d always dreamed of

4) I could cook elaborate meals and bake cookies on a weekly basis

5) I would be more organized than I’d ever been

6) I could re-vamp my house, starting with my junk drawers and working through each closet and nook and cranny

7) I would love spending more time with my boys

So what is the truth?

1) My house is never perfect and is always in various degrees of clean.  Some days it is a disaster.  Other days, I’m able to do an extra load of laundry or mop the kitchen floor in the middle of the day.  Mostly though, we create more dishes and make more messes and I’m constantly trying to catch up.

2) I do see some of my friends, but I still haven’t met up with many of the people I’ve meant to.  This is at the top of my list to change.

3) Hobbies.  Hmmmm.  Unless changing diapers and feeding children are hobbies, then I’ve definitely failed at this.  However, I did get to sew Halloween costumes (with the help of my mom), which I absolutely loved.

4) Elaborate meals?  No way.  I forgot how much a 3-month old needs to be held.  Factor in a 2-year old, and the kitchen gets pretty interesting.  Thankfully I can give the 2-year old certain jobs to “help” me.  I’ve also enlisted my older boys to help.  It takes longer, but the job gets done.

5) Hahahahahahahahahaha

6) See above.  I have managed to donate quite a few boxes of unwanted items and have thrown away a lot, so I haven’t completely failed at this one.

7) Yes, I love spending time with my boys.  Do I love every minute? No.  This is the hardest job I’ve ever taken on.  It is also the most rewarding.

None of this is too much of a surprise, other than the fact that I actually thought I could accomplish everything in the first list.  I’ve started making lists again, which will be an immense improvement.  Being at home made me think I didn’t need lists anymore because I had all day to accomplish tasks.  First thing on my list today was to write a post in my blog.  Check!

Our family at Halloween. The three youngest boys are sporting the owl costumes I made with my mom and mother-in-law.

Look for more regular posts coming up.  I’ve decided to take a cooking challenge, starting this week.  It’s called the Dark Days Challenge, where you need to cook meals made of local food (within 100 to 150 miles) from now until the end of March.  It will be tough, but I needed the motivation to get me writing.  I’m sure I’ll have other adventures along the way.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll even write two posts a week.  Must add that to my list.