January 4, 2010 - Back to Reality

So today we have officially returned to "everyday" normal life. My husband is in the military which meant that he got to have a nice break and light schedule for the past few weeks with the Christmas and New Year holidays. It was so nice to have him home and I think he understood better what its like to be home with the two kids on a daily basis. What I go through and how I cope with all the housework, dishes, laundry, food preparation, etc. I ran a lot of holiday errands while he was here because it seems almost impossible to get any shopping done with two kids. Either one is hungry or the other needs to go to the bathroom every 30/40 minutes to prevent any accidents. My oldest son is two and a half and we just finished potty training. Now that he knows what to do we just need to keep reminding him to go. Just a constant interruptions which makes it hard to accomplish anything without a lot of stress.

I'm still nursing my almost 8 month old baby. It makes it hard to control my 2 year old while attending to the baby's needs. I want to nurse him as long as I am able but it makes me want to wean earlier because of this challenge.

My biggest frustration above all right now is the fact that my 8 month old does not take good naps. He started this a few weeks ago. The longest his naps during the day is a little less than an hour. He isn't too grouchy without a nap but what makes it hard is getting anything else accomplished. I have been told by other Mom's that they think a "clean" house should take second priority over attending to your children. It's a slippery slope I think because my kids need to understand that cleaning is an important part of responsibility. If I just put it by the wayside things will never get done thus a very "messy" and "disorganized" house. I need to teach my sons that cleaning is an important part of life. I'm hoping that as the rest of Calvin's teeth come in that he will start taking better naps. My oldest son enjoys his naps and takes very good naps. Has since he was just a little baby. Just proves to me all the more how different all your children are going to be.

Being a stay at home Mom is a blessing. I am so glad that I get to snuggle and cuddle my boys as much as I can during the day. And not be behind a desk or in an office thinking of them missing them like crazy. Getting home from a long day and giving them my "leftover" energy and attention. If someday I am forced to return to the workforce premature my plans due to financial need I will look back to these days and thank God all the more for this privilege and blessing. I only say my frustrations because that's life, and the reality of being a Mom. They are not complaints just truths that create a bigger challenge to my role as a Mom.

I hope that the rest of you had a good day. And that if you can relate at all to my first day back to the "norm" of 2010 you feel better knowing somewhere out there you can relate to someone. I know it always makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one.

Best wishes to the rest of you Stay at Home Moms (SAHMS)