I remember when I was pregnant with Camden, sitting in my little cubicle at work, clients and co-workers would often ask me what my plan was as far as work was concerned after he was born. "I plan to take a year off," I'd tell them, "And then I'm not sure beyond that." The truth was, I didn't know that I'd be interested in staying home for more than a year. I wasn't sure if I was cut out to be a stay at home mom. I'd think things like, What on earth would I do all day? and I'd be so bored without any adult interaction. I think those are common misconceptions about being a stay at home mom: that we sit around the house in our PJs all day without anything to do besides channel surf. And yes- there are occasional days when the yoga pants and the TV stay on longer than they should. But those days are few and far between. I'm sure it's different in every house with a stay at home mom, but I thought I'd give you a quick glimpse into a 'typical' day at our house:
7:45-8: Time to wake up! Camden & Macey usually wake up right around the same time. Thankfully, Macey is content to lay in her crib and talk to her Bubble Guppies for a while, giving me time to get myself and Camden dressed. First, we head to Camden's room and put his clothes on. He then plays in his room while I get myself dressed and ready (I always shower at night now. I used to be a morning shower-taker, but after Macey gave up her morning nap, that just wasn't happening anymore).
8:15- We scoop a happy Macey out of her crib (and get our morning, "Hi, Mommy! Hi, bro!" greeting) and head downstairs. I give both of the kids breakfast (usually pancakes, cereal, or mini muffins) and then make my own breakfast and coffee.
8:40- My sister and nephew arrive and it's time to head out for preschool. I load Camden and Will into the car and hit the road. Macey uses this time to play with my sister.
9:30- I return home after getting the boys settled into their classroom. Then I get Macey dressed and do my daily chore. In my life pre-kids, Saturday was my "big cleaning" day. I'd spend a few hours and clean the entire house. When I was pregnant with Camden, I decided that devoting a few hours to cleaning the house probably wasn't going to work with a small child chasing me around. So, I decided to devote a day each week to cleaning a particular area of our house (for example, on Tuesdays, I vacuum downstairs; on Wednesdays, I clean the bathrooms upstairs). No, it's not fun having something to clean each day, but it only takes 20-30 minutes tops and then I don't have to devote half of a day to cleaning the entire house. (On field study days, this is the time of day I head out to the school for a couple of hours.)
10-11:30- This is the time when I do a variety of things: I pack lunches for the following day (for Matt and Camden); I do any prep work that needs to be done for dinner; I make a weekly dinner menu and grocery list; and/or I run any errands that need to be run that day (grocery store, etc.).
11:30- Lunch time for Macey! (I usually eat shortly thereafter)
12:00- After lunch, Macey and I usually play outside (weather permitting), go for a walk, or play in the playroom until it's time for Camden to get home from school. (A couple of days a week, this is also the time a kid I recently started babysitting shows up for a few hours.)
1:00- Camden's home! I unpack Camden's things from school and we talk about his day.
1:15- Nap time for Macey Jean. I take her upstairs (with Bubble Guppies in hand, of course), put on her trusty sleep sack, and tell her goodnight. She normally jumps and plays for 10-15 minutes before falling into an exhausted sleep.
1:30-3- While Macey naps, Camden and I normally do "play time". We take about 20-30 minutes to play a game or activity of his choice. He loves this time and looks forward to it every day. After play time, I often work on a short 'school' activity with him (lately it's been practicing his handwriting) or we watch a TV show together.
3-4:30- Once Macey is up from her nap, we have a snack. Then, we often head outside (again, weather permitting) and go for a walk or head down to the cul-de-sac and meet up with neighbors and cousins to play.
5- Time to head inside and get started on dinner. I usually have an episode of Bubble Guppies playing during this time so that I can get dinner started without a toddler climbing my legs. Sometimes this work well; other times, I cook dinner one-handed while juggling a little blonde girl on my hip.
5:30- Camden, Macey, and I eat dinner. Unfortunately, Matt only eats with us on weekends. He doesn't get home until 6:30 or later, and the kids can't wait that long to eat (and, let's face it-- neither can I). So, after we finish eating, I clean up and do dishes and stick a plate for Matt in the fridge.
6:30- Daddy's home! The kids are always excited to greet Matt and play with him for a few minutes before it's his dinner time.
7- This is often the time we head upstairs to take a bath. They're now getting to the ages where they actually request to take a bath. Camden will suggest it and Macey will overhear him and start repeating, "bath?!" while looking upstairs.
7:30-8:15- The freshly cleaned kids head back downstairs to play with Daddy after bath time. They usually play in the playroom while I go back upstairs to shower.
8:15- Time for bed! We've switched up our bedtime routine; I put Camden to bed and Matt takes Macey. We used to do it the other way around, but we found that Macey would stay up later and later (sometimes not falling asleep until after 9) if I was in her room. She doesn't take advantage of her Daddy that way, so for now, Daddy puts her to bed. Camden and I brush his teeth and then talk about our day and/or he'll request that I tell him a story before he goes to sleep.
8:30- Kids are asleep (or hopefully they are anyway!). What I do in this time depends on the day. I always straighten up the family room & play room. Many times, I head upstairs to do some homework. I spend some time with Matt. And sometimes I even get to catch up on my terrible reality TV shows.
10-11- Sometime in this range, I head to bed, hope that both kids sleep soundly, and get ready to do it all over again the next day.
So, there you have it, folks-- not exactly the lounging around kind of day that I pictured life as a stay at home mom to be like while pregnant the first time around. There's no time for boredom. And yes, sometimes I do miss adult interaction during the day, but I still wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. I'm so glad I get to be home during these precious, formative years. I'm soaking it all in, because I know that it's only a couple short years before I return to the outside workforce.
[If this post is too long for you, feel free to refer to my Interview with Camden post to get the Cliffs Notes version of what it is I do all day: nothing.]
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