I am a stay at home mom.
Sometimes I think my people without kids, or women who work assume that I am sitting on my couch snuggling my little one all day and drawing with crayons.
There is some of that going on, but really what does a stay at home mommy do? Well, it is different for everyone. I thought I would share a little depiction of what a day in the life of a stay at home mom can be like.
Here is an example of my day. (This is from about a week and a half ago, I wrote every single thing day for the entire day for this post.)
6:30am- Alarm goes off, hit the snooze.
6:40- Hear my oldest get up across the hall and get dressed. Thank goodness he is old enough to get dressed on his own. I can lay there for 5 more minutes and listen to him rumage around.
6:45- Ezra comes in to our bathroom to use the detangler (we cannot keep it in his bathroom because my 3 year old will get into it). I get up finally and head to the kitchen. On the way I peek in at my toddler who is still snoozing peacefully.
7:00- Pour Ezra some OJ and start the coffee (should have done it before I went to bed). Ez likes to make his own breakfast these days which consist of a bowl of yogurt with some strawberries and some granola or nuts sprinkled on top. I whip up his lunch. Today it is a Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich, a sliced up apple, a baggie of cherry tomatoes, a yogurt and a box of juice.
7:15-While Ezra finishes eating I head to the back of the house to get dressed myself. Slip on an outfit or two before settling on a pair of camel pencil pants and a tank top with my jean jacket since the mornings are still a bit brisk here in Colorado. I hear Lucas get and call for me to help him go peeeppee in the potty. He is standing of front of the toilet in a panic. I hurry to assist so he doesn’t have an accident. Hand him off to Paul and go pour him a bowl of cereal.
7:25- My husband begins to get Lucas dressed. I pull my hair into a pony and put on some mascara.
7: 35- Double check that Ezra has his homework and books for class. Lucas eats a quick bowl of rice crispies which are his current must have breakfast. I argue with Lucas about how to nicely ask for some orange juice and refuse to give it to him. He screams. I still refuse. Break up a squabble between my boys who are fighting over a Buzz Lightyear vehicle. Remind my 7 year old that before school is not a time to play.
7:45-Herd everyone out the door. Chase Lucas out of the sprinklers and toward the car. Load into the car and head for the school.
7:55- Drop Ez off. Today Lucas and I are hitting up Target because we are out of dishsoap and only have one roll of toilet paper left. While in Target my toddler screams about having to ride in the cart. Have a discussion with him about the necessity of riding in the cart. He is still mad, I tell him this is not a choice he is aloud to make. Browse the clothing section looking for a new swim cover. Toddler is pulling clothes off of the racks and hangers. Remind him that that is not how “big boys” act in the store. Pick up all the clothes while dodging dirty looks from a Target employee. Sorry! I have a toddler. We hit up the clearance racks in the kids section. Nothing cute today. Grab the items we need and go. So proud that I actually left Target without dropping $100!
9:00 Arrive home. Lucas asks if he can watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I agree and put it on. I know I know, fitting into a Stay at home mom stereotype here. I don’t think it is bad to let him watch it for a bit though. He learns things from it…colors, numbers. This gives me 30 minutes. I sit down and publish my blog, and catch up on facebook really quick.
9:30- Lucas wants a snack. I hand him a pack of raisins…no! apple…no! toast… no! cheese…no! cereal…yes! Cereal twice in one day…ok. After spending 20 minutes trying to compromise with him on a snack I should have guessed it would be rice crispies again. Sigh. I have a bowl of it myself.
10:00- Grab a basket of laundry and hit up the laundry room. Empty pockets, and check for stains.
10:15- Sweep up the floor… I have to do this every day.
10:30- Call my girlfriend Stephanie so I can have some company while finishing up some chores. While chatting I wipe down the cabinets and counters and clean up the breakfast dishes. When Lucas finishes his snack I can finally wipe down the table too. Sort out pile of paperwork on the counter and toss trash. Lucas asks to color. Grab the box of crayons and markers and a coloring book for him and get him situated at the table.
11:00- Still on the phone go and water my flower boxes and flowers out back. Sweep back porch.
11:20- Lucas needs lunch. Make him a quick lunch of Applegate Farms chicken nuggets and a bowl of applesauce. Notice his hands and forearms are covered in blue marker. Scrub him down (thank goodness it is washable). Inspect the table and see that he colored it too. Clean table yet again. I eat a quick piece of toast and have a cup of coffee.
11:40- Sit back down at the computer with a Chobani. Check email, check our bank account, play on pinterest for a bit while Lucas is eating.
12:00- Lucas is done eating. Wipe him down and take him to his room so he can play with toys while I sweep the floor under the table and wipe the applesauce off of his chair and table.
12:20- Go and sit with him in his room. He wants to play restaurant he says. I sit at his little table and he serves me wooden and plastic food. He is so happy to see my reactions to the meals he makes me. I offer to read him a book. We read The Runaway Bunny, that was given to him at Easter from Grandma. As we finish he says “Can we read it again?” I read one more time and then say I need to go do some cleaning.
12:45- Down to crunch time. Move the clothes to the dryer. Put all of the lunch dishes in the dishwasher and start. I pick a cleaning chore for the day. Today it happens to be vacuuming Lucas’ room and my bedroom (Ezra vacuums his own on Saturdays as part of his chores). Since that chore only took a minute I decide to hit up the boys bathroom. Eeeek. Having two boys use a bathroom is rough. One of them is potty training too… ewe. I wipe down the toilet. Then clean the sink… toothpaste everywhere! I sweep up the floor quickly. I will hit it again tomorrow and do a better cleaning.
1:15- Holler at Lucas that he needs to get his shoes on. Jump in the shower. In and out. Spray my hair down with some beach spray. Mascara and lipstick and dressed again.
1:40-See that Lucas does not have his shoes on. Playing with his train in his room. C’mon lets go get Ezra, I say. NO! He is having a nice time playing. Wrangle his shoes onto his feet and carry him to the car.
1:50- It is early release today which means that Ezra gets out at 2pm. I wait. Lucas fell asleep in the car so it is quiet. Ahhhhhhh. I lay my head back and listen to the radio.
2:00- Ezra comes out of the school and we head home. He had a great day. I remind him that he has swimming lessons this afternoon so we need to get our swimsuit on when we get home.
2:10- Ezra bursts into the house and beelines for the kitchen. Starving! He says. I tell him to head back to the car and grab his backpack and lunchbox (that I had already reminded him to bring in) while I make a snack. “But mom, I am sooooo hungry. I can’t moooooove” He whines. I explain that I will not be giving him and snack until he brings in his belongings. He throws himself on the couch and whines some more. Lucas is screaming that the bathroom light is off and he needs to pooopooo. I hurry back and get the light on for him before he has an accident.
2:30- Ezra has finally relented and brought in his items. I ask if he has homework. Yes. I make him and his brother some tortilla chips with melted cheese and a few sliced up strawberries.
3:00- Pull the clothes out of the drying and fold while they eat.
3:20- Remind Ezra to get his swimsuit on. Go clean up the table from the snack mess.
3:30- Boys are fighting over a book. Holler that we need to go and there is no time for fussing. Getting tired myself and am wishing that my days included a nap.
3:45- Ezra begins his swimming lessons. I remember that I needed something from the store for dinner. Lucas and I run quickly to the nearby store to grab.
3:50- Hurry through the store with a toddler…haha. Funny. He stops to look at some flowers. Then a cake. Then a table. I finally make it to the aisle with the item I need. We rush back toward the checkout. Lucas tottling behind me. Hurry honey, I say. I check out and scoop up Lucas so we can go through the parking lot fast. “No, I want to walk. I am a big boy” He whines. “Sorry baby, we have to go fast” I say. “No, I am not a baby!” he yells. “Sorry, my big boy, we have to hurry.” I correct myself.
4:15- Hit the pool just as Ezra is finishing his lesson. I talk to his teacher about his progress and what level I should sign him up for summer classes. He wraps in his towel and carries his clothes and shoes with him through the lobby. Lucas toddles behind. I scoop him up as we hit the door and run to the car to pull it around the port cochere for Ezra so he doesn’t have to put his wet feet in his tennis shoes.
4:30- We make it home. Time to think about dinner. I get Ezra and Lucas situated at the table. Ezra doing his homework, Lucas coloring again. Lucas says “I am doing homework too” I pull out my chicken and pound it flat and bread it. Pop it in the oven.
5:00- Ezra is finished with homework. He unloads the dishwasher. This is his daily chore. I put away the high stuff (which is most of it) and load the dirty dishes. I tell him he can watch one show. He choses Fineas and Pherb. Lucas sits with him to watch. I prepare the asparagus to go with our dinner. Chicken is half done, pull it out and top it with avocado and cheese. Pop my asparagus in my top oven to broil while dinner finishes.
5:45- My mom shows up to say hi. I tell her to stay for dinner. Paul gets home. Tv gets turned off and we all sit down to eat. Dinner is nice and full of talk.
6:15- Bathtime. I put the boys in the bath. Paul goes out to mow the lawn. My mom and I chat.
6:35 Dry the boys up and get thier jammies on( after a fit from Lucas about getting out of the bathtub). I go clean up dinner mess a bit. Clear table off. Mom puts pans to soak.
6:50- Mom goes home. Lucas asks me to read The Lorax. I sit with the boys and read. Ahhhh… I love this time of day.
7:15- Paul comes in. The boys go back to thier rooms and sound like they are playing cars. I hear bickering. Lucas is tired. He had a very short nap today. I let them work it out. I will check on them if the bickering progresses, for now I don’t have the energy to intervene. I plop on the couch with Paul for a minute and say hi. He has turned on a sports show, hockey hightlights I think. I zone it out by perusing pinterest again for a moment and scanning facebook. A little minute to escape quickly leaves me feeling exhausted. I decide I better get up and do something before I get to sleepy. I fold a put away a quick load of laundry.
7:45- I ask if the boys would like some quiet reading time in bed. Yes! Ezra reads his magic treehouse book in his bed, Lucas reads a board book in Ezra’s bed too. They are quiet! Reading is amazing.
8:10- I say it is time for bed. They both squeel NOOOO! Paul grabs Lucas and takes him to his room. I turn off Ezra’s light and crawl up in his bunk. We talk about what tomorrow is. He tells me about his book. I sing him a couple songs and we pray. I go to Lucas’ room. Paul kisses him night night and I snuggle him and sing him a couple songs too. Kisses and goodnight. Lucas keeps coming to the living room. I need you, he says. Go to bed. We tell him. He reluctently goes back to bed. This happens three times. Ezra calls out for me to fill up his water bottle. I do. Sigh… I am tired.
8:45- I hit the kitchen again. Wipe down the stove and counter and fill up the dish washer. I make sure there are no dishes in my sink for the morning. The floor needs swept again. But I don’t do it.
9:00- I finally hit the couch with Paul. We decide to watch GCB on Hulu Plus. We snuggle. My eyes threaten to close.
9:45-I go kiss my boys goodnight one more time. Lay out clothes for the boys. Get ready for bed.
10:00-We climb into bed. I decide I need to read for a bit to clear my head.
10:45- I finally shut the lights off and go to sleep.
Whew… not sitting and eating bon bons on my couch. Not napping. Not watching soap operas. In fact, I didn’t watch any TV during the day.
I read this to my husband one evening, and he laughed. Yep, he replied, that sounds about right. Even though he is not here to witness each of these events, he knows how crazy my days can be. He knows most days I run from one event to another.
If you have ever wondered what the day of a stay at home mommy looks like. There you go!
