I'm very lucky to have surrounded myself with people who do not ask
this question, because, well, they know. But, for you who wonder what a
Stay At Home Mom does all day, here's a snapshot at today. (This first
part is pretty routine for those SAHMs that might be reading it, so skip
down to, "I filled...")
After waking up naturally at 5:30 (then
proceeding to snooze for 30 minutes because we decided to stay up late
to finish Lost), I got up, got my kids fed, got my husband's breakfast
and lunch ready, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher and got the
toddler's clothes. I started a load of pee-accident laundry, then
proceeded to purged our cedar chest of all blankets and sheet sets that
do not fit on our upgraded bed to be donated to charity. I then moved
the rest of the linen's from the linen closet and deposited them into
the chest. At this point I got all the children down from the table and
told the girls to go get dressed before starting Cassia and Camellia on their online
preschool while Jewel Plant played.
I snuck into the bathroom for a rare mid-week shower,
that was immediately followed by helping kids figure out reading and
math, while I ate my breakfast. When they were settled and able to
continue unassisted, I snuck back into the bathroom to reorganize the
linen closet, which, if you haven't figured out, does not hold linens,
but soaps and other bathroom essentials.
After
finishing in the bathroom and helping kids with preschool, we played a
little while before putting Jewel Plant down for his nap. The girls and I
picked up the Easter grass from one bedroom and the hall and cleaned up
the entry way. Then, as they road bikes and played in the yard, I cleaned out
and organized the mess the garage became in winter (we'd love to park
either vehicle in there, but they're both too long, ugh), gathering more
items to either sell or donate.
Afterward I got lunch
ready, and got Jewel Plant up and ate. It took 30 minutes to get
everyone's shoes on and in the car because my sweet spirited Camellia has fully embraced the terrorist threes in the last month and was very upset that we couldn't ride the bike with trailer to the store that was 5 miles away. (Being 15 weeks pregnant and adding an extra 75-100 pounds of weight to my bike just wasn't going to happen for a 16 mile round trip ride.)
After getting the groceries we needed and running the errand my husband needed, we finally got home with enough time to run our last errand via bike, but with the tantrum prior to leaving we couldn't do that, so they played while I took a "nap" and planned to run that last errand alone.
After preparing and serving them dinner I took a minute to answer a phone call from one of my sisters. As I was on the phone they were ready for a bath. As I entered the bathroom I thought back to my shower and how the bathtub wasn't draining, so there was certainly a hair clog that needed to be manually removed. I felt prompted to clean it, but decided to do it later. This is where things got interesting.
I filled the tub and was letting the kids play (no soap yet, Jewel Plant can't be stopped from drinking the water, if he doesn't have a cup or lid he'll use his hands) and I pulled out the glass cleaner, deciding to take a moment (still on the phone) to clean up the mirror and the surfaces that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a year (spoiler, I cleaned them about two weeks ago). Just as I finished the mirror Cassia got out to use the toilet, and just as she was finishing my sweet Jewel Plant pooped in the tub. Well, I guess the living room isn't getting picked up before bedtime, there won't be time after what's coming. Immediately ending my phone call, I pulled him out and into the bathroom sink to wash him off, of course his wet hands straight away covered 70% of the mirror that was just washed, and had the other two wait while the tub drained, ever so slowly (I only put about 6" of water in the tub, or less). Once he was diapered and dried I removed the toys and cleaning cloths to the sink to wash them; the tub was still draining. After an eternity I could finally wash the rest of the poop down the drain and quickly bleach the tub and rinse it. At this point I decided that it's better late than never to head a prompting and removed the hair clog.
Refilling the tub, this time as a bubble bath to make sure the kids got extra clean, I let all three kids back in the tub, removing Jewel Plant after 3 warnings to stop eating the bubbles, so, less than 30 seconds. I finished cleaning the counters, toilet and picked up the floor, even dealing with the overflowing bathroom recycling and got the girls out and had everyone brush their teeth. After an explanation about why the PJs that were already out were the ones that were going to be worn (gotta love that Camellia) and having our nightly routine and tucking everyone in to bed, I went upstairs to prepare dinner for the adults. (You know, a salad because who has time to do more than up greens and toss them in a bowl?) As I made dinner I reached in to my pocket and found a block. Where did it come from? No clue, it must have appeared out of thin air.
Toys are still scattered around the living room, there's a load of dishes still waiting to be unloaded and another load to go in, there's a pile of papers that need to be filed away, a load of laundry in the dryer needing to be put away and one errand to be run and that's the way it will stay, apart from the errand, until tomorrow. Why? Because after having an hour with my husband it's time to have me time. You know, going to the store alone, and getting in the first bike ride of the season, second of the year because now that the air is clean.
So, what do I do all day? Everything you would pay to have someone else do for you and more. You can pay for someone to do just about everything you don't wan to do, except exercise. So, when you go over to a SAHM's house and wonder why it looks like it does, and why she's twilight-napping out on the couch while the children play, now you know. It might look like she's done nothing, but trust me, so much has been accomplished and you'll never see any of it.
