What do you do all Day?

If you are a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM), you've surely gotten this question at least once or twice - probably more.  Maybe even a few snarks from other moms that totally don't respect what you do, you know who I'm talking about...

Awh, you're cute, what do I do all day?? Are you freaking kidding me?  Clearly the person that asks you this is someone that hasn't stayed home with a baby before.  More than likely IF they have they only achieved the bare basics, taking care of the baby...  When you stay home there is far more that you need to accomplish than just taking care of the baby, lemme give you a few examples:

• Make beds every morning
• Clean Litter Box (if you have kitties, MEOW)
• Vacuum/Sweep floors
• Clean Countertops
• Clean bathrooms (sink, floor, toilet, shower, bathtub)
• Laundry (all clothes, towels, sheets)
• Dishes
• Plan Meals 
• Go to the grocery store
• Cook Dinner
• Entertain baby while awake (Tummy time, toys, reading, etc...)
• Soothe baby while crying
• Feed Baby
• Change diapers
• Rock baby when crying or when needing a nap
• Bathe and Clothe baby

Okay, the list could go on and on.... I know what all of you working moms are thinking right now, wahhh wahhh wahhh the stay at home mom is complaining AGAIN!! 

I OBJECT!! 

I want to be really clear, I'm not for one second complaining and I'm fully aware that working moms have to do all this PLUS deal with the stress of going to work all day.  I'm just trying to clarify what in the world it is that I spend my time doing all day when some people think that stay at home moms do nothing.  Just so ya know I kinda used to be that person and it was BEFORE I had a baby.  I TOTALLY  get it now!

Here's the thing - I 100% enjoy what I do every single day, I DIDN'T enjoy the job that I had.  I would much rather stay at home and be judged by all those people who are either jealous or just think that staying at home is being lazy.  Yes there are some challenges here and there and most days there is a wrench thrown in my plan by a crying baby, but I make it work.  Just like all moms do, we all MAKE IT WORK.

So for those of you that have asked a Stay at Home Mom "WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY" please think before asking.  I promise we aren't sitting on the couch watching Lifetime and eating bon-bons!

Stay At Home Mom Style

I would love to lounge around in yoga pants all day with dirty hair and no makeup, but I just CAN'T.  Lets be honest some days I don't shower and I am nasty, but the baby doesn't care, right???  I've made a rule for myself that if I have to leave the house for any reason (errands, grocery shopping, etc) I MUST have on makeup and make somewhat of an effort with my hair even if it is just a ponytail it's an intentional ponytail - ya know?

Now that it's summer, I'm mostly wearing shorts and t-shirts or some type of cute top.  Here's what I wore the other day on my grocery shopping outting.

Ignore the poor quality photo, my son is asleep in the background and I couldn't turn on the light #SAHMproblems

Fancy, right?  This is about as good as it gets here people.  It's a far stretch from the styles I used to sport like this one and this one...  But my style is evolving now that I'm a stay at home mommy and it really has to be more functional than fashionable.

What's your stay-at-home mom style??

Becoming a Stay At Home Mom

You mean to say you are going to be staying home with me everyday???

What do the words Stay At Home Mom mean to you?  I used to think it meant going to the Country Club everyday, wearing your cute tennis outfit and hitting balls around the court for a few minutes, grabbing cocktails at lunch and eating bon-bons in the afternoon.  PUH-LEASE!  After being home with my son for 12 weeks I realized this the farthest thing from the truth!  I also used to judge other women that were stay at home moms and think that their job is the easiest thing on the planet - WRONG!

I have respect for both the working mom and the stay at home mom.  Both jobs are a lot of work just in different ways.  When I was pregnant I read an article about what it's like to be a stay at home mom: full-time housekeeper, chef, nanny, grocery shopper, the list went on and on... I thought, yeah but when you're a working mom you have to do all that PLUS go to work.  I only have experience working for 3 weeks, so I wouldn't at all consider myself an expert on what it's like to be a working mom, but I do have a little insight.  I feel like if you stay at home you have to make the housework & cooking your job and it better be done ALL the time, like 24/7 365, no lunch breaks or peaceful potty breaks, you better be ON 100% of the time... Maybe this is too much pressure for myself, but I want to perform well at my new job... Wondering if my husband could give me an annual review so I can stay on top of my game - lol, jk, but not really!

Going to work all day means you get some "me" time:

• Eating lunch with zero interruptions (aka crying baby), but you could have work interruptions
• Talking to adults all day instead of having one-sided conversations with a miniature poop machine 
• Going to the bathroom and not trying to rush after being in there for .5 seconds to soothe a crying baby because they just realized you left the room

The list of things above are all things that I took for granted while I was on maternity leave and didn't realize how much I had missed such simple tasks.

Putting all these things aside, I've been given the opportunity to stay at home with my little one and I wouldn't change anything in the world to be able to spend this time with my him.  I know he is going to grow up in the blink of an eye and I'm just so thankful that I'm going to be able to spend as much time with him as I can.  

So whether you're a working mom or a stay at home mom, you're a MOM and we all can relate to one another.  I hope all of you will stick around as I travel through this new chapter of my life...