Stay At Home Mom

For almost three weeks, through a series of odd events, I've been home with the kids instead of part-time at work. I attempted to get some work done when the kids were occupied but overall I couldn't spend more than an hour or so at a time on the computer. As soon as I logged on to our database it's as if a noise that only children can hear is emitted and they come running to me.



I've observed a lot while at home and have decided that there are many pros and cons. And, despite the number of cons, the pros will always win out. Somehow a bad day with the kids is always chalked up to "that's life" and while I may be exhausted and frustrated at the end of some days in the end, that's what having kids is about.


Pro: I'm able to concentrate on potty training Jamison and Lily (and her doll) is a great help to me.

Con: He continues to strip during training and will escape from me. Unfortunately, this time, he shared this with the neighborhood. Question: When is a child considered "potty trained"? A week of no accidents or a month? We don't count naptime or bedtime, just awake time.

Pro: I'm able to comfort my daughter when she is sick.

Con: She happened to not only catch strep once, but twice, and in between each occurrence was diagnosed as allergic to penicillin. This picture doesn't give justice to the allergic reaction she got from the penicillin and she wasn't exactly willing to take the picture.

Pro: Occasionally, I'm able to work when the kids are playing together.

Con: While I was on a conference call they both ran to me arguing over a doll/fire truck situation. Having to explain that one to the callers was awkward. After that I learned how to mute my cell phone.

Pro: I get an idea of what my cat does during the day when we're not here.

Con: The cat is boring. But apparently very good at balancing. And yes, our cat does not have a tail. He is very sensitive about it so please don't mention it to him.

Pro: I feel like I get so many little things done during the day. Things that I normally would push to a Saturday or a Sunday get done immediately.

Con: At the end of the day I look around and can't remember when I did with my time. Nothing looks accomplished. I have to tell myself that if I hadn't done those little things throughout the day the house would look a lot worse. Of course, it would have been helpful if I told my kids to pick up the purple T-Rex that was in the middle of the floor. If that little task had been accomplished it would have prevented me from sliding across the floor on the dinosaur and slamming my neck (near my hairline) into the corner of our kitchen wall. No, that's not a hickey, it's the bruise I got. Lovely.

Pro: Winter time=outdoor fun!

Con: We have had little to no snow and the temps have been well below what is safe for kids. Even if it did warm up what are they going to do out there? Play with frozen dirt? Swing on metal swings and get wind burn? Sounds like fun to me!

As a result we have been stuck in the house. When Lily wasn't contagious or breaking out in odd rashes, we ran errands but cabin fever set in pretty quickly. We did the mall. We did the museum. We did the doctor's office 4 times. We're running out of options.

My mom returns home tomorrow and next week should be a normal week again. Work from 10-3, kids from 3:30 to 9:15 the next morning. We are used to our own schedule and can't wait to get back to normalcy.