I'm a stay at home mom

I'm a "stay-at-home-mom". I love how everyone always stereotype stay at home moms.

The dream life. Staying home in your pj's all day. Snacking from the "free vending machine" (aka: pantry) whenever you want. Taking a 2 hour nap every day. Chatting on facebook with all your stay at home mom friends. Talking on the phone with other stay at home mom friends. Doing play dates almost every day, which obviously is an excuse to get together and talk non-stop for hours on end while each of your kids keep each other busy and out of your hair. Doing fun things like going to museums, parks, out to eat, craft stores, music stores, fabric stores, grocery stores...you get the idea stores whenever you feel like it with no need to rush because you have no demanding meetings that require your attention back at home. Watching tv and movies all afternoon, cuddled on the couch with the all perfect behaving children. Jumping on the trampoline, going on long afternoon walks, running through the sprinklers, playing at the splash pad, laying out on a towel and soaking in the rays....etc etc....

Now please do not mistake this post as a way to complain or whine about staying at home with my kids. On the contrary I am very, very blessed to care for my 4 wonderful, beautiful, funny, smart children. I only would like to clarify - if I may - give a little bit of enlightenment to all those who may be envious or slightly curious of the mysterious life of all us lucky women who stay home all day..... the above daydream of daily life is real. You heard me. Real. Even if it is silver lined and somewhat exaggerated for purposes of entertainment....

The Reality of the Dream Life: What nobody ever thinks about is all the little people wandering around the house with you all day. Let me explain: What do you think THEY do all day? They don't just sit and watch tv or movies with you...they don't just sit and watch you chat on facebook or talk on the phone either. No, no! The moment you slip up on your attention span - they're off! Off to the races - of destruction! Even if it is a wonderland of pirates fighting in the overflowing bathroom sink that the husband insists isn't broken but is in fact clogged with a toy, and yet somehow that justifies not fixing it....somehow... (different topic!) Or if they don't mean to knock off your favorite decorations off the entry shelf that you cherished so dearly with that dang ball you told them a thousand times to not throw/kick/spike/pass/dribble in the house! Or if when you don't hear them ask you for the 100th time to get you a drink and the entire pitcher of red koolaid ends up on the newly mopped floor....which brings me to the obvious next topic.
Chores. We all have them. The 2nd in command, after the children, are the household duties. Sweeping, mopping, unload, load, wipe counters, wipe tables, wipe spilled things off of cabinets, stoves, refrigerators. Reorganizing the mess you call a pantry, cleaning out the fridge from the 50 year old leftovers you swore you would eat the next day.... Washing/folding/hanging the 7 loads of laundry - o wait - 8. Pick up toys, vacuum, go to next room, pick up toys, vacuum, go to next room, pick up toys, vacuum....only to return to room one and find toys and now cracker crumbs all over the floor again. Go grocery shopping, with only 3 of the 4 children. (Score!) I love it - after a busy day of entertaining/cleaning and you ask the hubby if he can run to the store for two whole things and he just says "Do you really need it tonight? Can't you just go tomorrow?" I'm sure this is a harmless statement. A "I'm tired after a long day of work and dont' want to walk a mile around WalMart for two whole things..." kind of statement. Let's clarify how that sounds to the mom. An exciting adventure! Put baby in seat belt after chasing 3 year old across parking lot to save his life from the SUV barreling down the parking lot. Tell 3 year old and 5 year old to hold on to cart while you run (ok walk as fast as they can) to get the trip over with. Two seconds upon entering said store the 5 year old says, "I have to go to the bathroom." Mom, "I told you to go before we left the house two seconds ago." Kid, "but I really have to go NOW!!!" = trip to the bathroom = trip past the fish tank = extra 10 minutes. LOL Grab two things that turns into 15 things and "what are we having for dinner" - make that 20 things. Walk up to check out line to tell the kids no they cannot go to the playroom area, please don't play with the light-up spinning suckers, pay for your "two" things and go home. Only to realize that you haven't done any laundry yet, at all.
Point is: Staying at home is no walk in the park. Oh wait! YES it is!!! On those field trip days to the park. When you get to feed the ducks. Remind the children not to step in poop, clean poop off shoes, holler after them to stay where they can see you, freak out for a minute when you can't see them anymore until you finally find them, take more trips to the bathroom, forget to pack the bottled water and have to buy drinks at the gas station on the way home. But at least on those days everyone gets a little vitamin D, exercise, and you're pretty much guaranteed a nap time!
This post could go on forever but I've probably lost most of you already. Please don't take for granted your stay at home mom/wife. It's not all play time.