Stay at Home Mom

The stay at home mom is the envy of many. Especially me. I want to sit home with my feet propped up and take it easy during the day.

The thing is, I am a stay at home mom. I do sit around the house A LOT some days. Especially when I'm working on building a newspaper or surfing the net --- although, I call it my personal education. I love to find nutrious rich foods to feed my family. The problem is --- the recipes are all new, all the time. I try it on the family and then it gets forgotten about. And, many nights, it doesn't matter how good my intensions to make a healthy, raw dinner, we simply run out of time and a couple cans of soup goes in the pot or a stir-fry from the freezer. I know, I know, I could prep my own and freeze them myself, and sometimes I do. But, then again, it's taking the time to do it.

But, then again, I have plenty of time...

This morning I got up late, 6:40 a.m., and  pulled up the covers right up under the pillows. Pulled on yesterdays jeans and a fresh shirt. Dragged the hamper to the laundry room. Opened the washer and surprise, Eli had washed his work jumpers. Those have to be hanged to dry and this morning I don't have time. So much for getting the wash started. I pass Eli as he is heading out the door for work. I snap at him for leaving clothes in the wash and immediately wish I hadn't. Now he's grumbling and emptying the washer.

I need to get the kids started. Thankfully, Eli already has. I wish again I hadn't mentioned the wash.

Alyssa just sat down at the piano to practice. I head to the kitchen and start a green smoothie, and the piano practice stops. The kitchen is a mess from yesterday, but, fortunately, the blender got rinsed out from yesterday's use. I pull out the rest of the chopped pineapple from Monday and a tub of spinach, throw in some frozen fruit and blend it. I call the kids in for a blessing. Payton has me give a run down the ingredients before he will try it.

On to lunch. Dump last night's leftover green salad into two plastic containers. Wash, peel and slice some fresh kiwi. Payton asks for raisins too. I get some but I hate digging those out of the box because they always get up under my fingernails and make my fingers sticky. I wash my hands and pack forks and napkins. The kids take their lunches to their backpacks.

I spray and scrunch my now 4 day old hair do. Better, but not nice. I don't have time to do Alyssa's hair either! I hope she brushed it, she prefers to do her own hair these days anyway. She didn't. Instead, I ask if her reading books are in her backpack. (I knew those were and I hoped me asking would make her feel good about it.) She smiles a yes and I give her a high five.

Payton is getting dressed so I run downstairs to add a new correction (that was emailed late last night) to the Figure Skating Program that has to be printed today. I am nervous about sending this off because I don't feel like anybody took a serious look at it and last year's program had a bunch of errors. Payton's Parent Teacher Conference reminder is sitting next to the computer. I enter it into the computer's calendar and realize it is the same day as we scheduled the primary party for. At least we are scheduled later that evening. I wonder how it's going to work out for the other kids.

7:31, time to warm up the car. I stick my bare feet into my boots by the door and race over the icy lawn to stick the keys in the ignition. No frost today, but windy.

Back inside I brush my teeth. The kids already have their coats on and backpacks ready! Good surprise and I tell them so.

We're off to a happy start this morning. In the car the clock now reads 7:49. It couldn't have possibly taken me 20 minutes to bush my teeth!!! We're suppose to be at the chiropractors RIGHT NOW! We're suppose to come early! So much for early! We hit every red light and get there right at 8:00, then wait another 15 minutes. Payton gets his knees re-taped and I get my neck cracked. No time for therapy. We race off to school and get there just as the 1st bell rings (at least we're not late again!) We give kisses and I love you's and the kids are off to their classes. I wave good bye and watch until they disappear inside the doors. (That's still gets to me a little.)

I head back home because I forgot to put my electronic file in my purse, use the bathroom (my belt goes an extra notch tighter!) and race back to the chiropractors for my massage. Sure, it's nice and it's helping my recover from whiplash, and I'll be glad I took some time out to get that done later. She tells me I need to ice between my shoulder blades. When, I wonder, am I going to do that! (I suppose, being a stay-at-home mom I have the luxury of doing that while I watch soaps this afternoon... as if!)

I schedule our next chiropractor appointment and massage then drive to the dollar store for glass stones for our upcoming Primary party and a couple things for my kids upcoming birthday party. The store still has a big empty space where I think all the colored streamers are suppose to go --- still, only white, black and baby shower streamers. Those won't make a very good rainbow.

Then, a quick stop by UPS. She takes the flash drive from me. I tell her the name of the file and she heads to the back. I think she says she's going to make a copy. She returns and says, "Ok, got it!" and I try to give her a bit of instructions about how page 1 needs to be printed on the back side of the covers that they got yesterday. She's confirms that they have all the instructions. I say that I'm not sure the lady who left the instructions understands how I built the document. She responds with, "You need it Friday." I nod and she is off to the next customer. It makes me really nervous leaving it at that, but I do. I should call later, but I already feel so annoying to them that I don't want to.

Home again. Back to the kitchen. And it's still a mess! I empty the dishwasher while I think about what needs to be done first. Maybe I'll get dinner going. But, the counters will need washed, so I start a sink of soapy water, but something sticky and yucky was dumped in there with old lunch containers. I move the containers into the other sink, run the water a bit to loosen the junk in the sink while I start pulling food out to make myself another green smoothie for lunch, wipe out the sink and start filling it. Pull some food out of the fridge that now needs to be put in the compost. While at the compost, I notice the dog bowl needs water. Fill the bowl. Fill the sink. I should have started the laundry when I got home... I gather up the old dishtowels and wash clothes and remember there was a big smudge across the bathroom mirror. Grab the Windex and wipe the mirror with a dishtowel. Decide to wipe down the counter too. Probably should put up a clean hand towel too... and wipe down the toilet. The floor has band-aid wrappers all over it and I make a mental note to remind Alyssa to clean it up again. And, yes, I could very easily do it, but, then how would she learn that she needs to clean up after herself? I gather the used towels and washclothes from there too and put the Windex back away on my way downstairs. I'm not sure where Eli's jumpers have gone too, but those need to hang dry...  Laundry started, I head back up to the kitchen. From the back of a chair, I remove Alyssa's sweater (the one I put in her hand yesterday to put away), and Payton's painting apron from the floor. I toss those onto their beds and return to clean the table, chairs, counters and everything else I see that I can wipe up quickly, including the fridge handles, which reminds me that I wanted to get dinner started.

Raw tacos. Pull ground turkey from the freezer. (Ok, not totally raw tacos. You can replace the meat with chopped walnuts, but that makes my kids constipated and my husband breaks out from nuts, so I only chop a small bowl of walnuts and the ground turkey goes in a pan.) I go to get spinach for the green smoothie but remember the beets I bought and decide to use beet tops instead. I grab a tomato for my green smoothie. It could look better, but it's not bad yet. I cut off the top and put the rest in the blender for the green smoothie. I grab the last tomato for dinner's salsa and YUCK! this one's molding!

Ok, we'll do spaghetti squash spaghetti tonight instead.

What goes good with beet tops? And now I'm at the computer (yes, sitting on my butt), loosing all my momentum to get things done. Instead of soaps, it the net... Do a quick look through google, not what I'm looking for. Decided to just go for it. Add the beet tops to the tomato and water. Add 1/2 a cucumber and some lime. Mix well. Add avocado. Not the ideal mix, but at least I won't need a nap after I drink it. Tasted it. Not good, but, not bad. Edible.

Wash spaghetti squash and poke holes with knife. Set oven to auto pilot so it will be ready after ice skating tonight. Decide to make bread maker French bread. Out of wheat flour. Pull out flour mill. Out of wheat. Go downstairs to pantry to get some.

Oh, but I remember it's time to move the darks to the dryer. Put lights in. Remembered the white towels in the bathroom downstairs. Go there and see splatters on the mirror and toilet seat. I'm not sure I want to know where these came from. Back to the laundry room for Windex. Shine mirrors, spray toilet, decide to let it sit a minute. In the meantime I should really make another attempt to get the blue crayon out of Payton's two brand new white church shirts --- after all, today's a slow day --- I've got plenty of time. I scrub and scrub but it doesn't budge. The stain remover needs to sit for 5 minutes, and, oh ya, the toilet needs wiped down. Another bathroom half-way done. I wipe up a few handprints with the cleaner from a towel on way back to the laundry room. Wipe the washer top, under lid, down the front. Toss towels and shirts into wash. Wash my hands because anything I use to scrub clothes always makes my fingers crack.

Back to the kitchen. Drink smoothie. Remember I need wheat. Grab a container and head back to the pantry. Find toilet paper wrappers all over the floor. Pull out wrappers. Pull out last of toilet paper to take upstairs. Pull out wheat bucket. Try to open. Try, try, try. 15 minutes later it's finally open. Fill container. Leave lid off so I can fill container again before putting the lid back on.

Mill wheat while finding a French bread recipe. Measure ingredients. Set timer on breadmaker so it will be done when we get home from ice skating. Clean kitchen mill.

...

It's amazing anything gets done while I'm sitting on my butt. Lucky, lazy, stay at home me.

My husbands wants me to get a "real job." (FYI --- working from home is not a real job.)

And, yes, the ice skating program got printed wrong. I am so embarrassed to say I did it.

Some days I envy those who have a real job. But, then, I think of my kids and I know I am blessed to be home. Mostly I keep my mouth shut and keep what I do at home to myself. I wish I was more efficient at what I do and do more, but, I do what I can do and I just have to call that good enough, it makes it easier to put a smile on my face and be happy for our family even if what I do is not all they want.

And, yes, some days I do just want to sit on my butt!