*in my best Bob Dylan impression...which admittedly isn't that good...*
I just glanced at the clock hanging over my TV while catching up on my DVR, winding down after another day with my teething, almost 11 month old daughter, and my increasingly active 4 year old son. Some days bedtime is like heaven... I finally get to chill for a few minutes before heading downstairs to start the laundry rat-race again. I get a little me time... time which moms, whether stay at home or working, rarely get. Time for us. Time when we are not needed RIGHT NOW!!! When the little people who depend so heavily on us for just about everything are tucked safely into bed and not trying to break into the cabinets to play with the small appliances, or Andy Dufresne under the gate in the back yard, after taking a hint from the dog.
(Yes. That was a Shawshank reference. And yes, I did use "Andy Dufresne" as a verb. You're welcome)
Anywho... my realization staring at the date on my atomic clock...
It's been over a year since I was put on maternity leave with tiny Z still cooking away. Essentially... aside from the three and a half final days of my "resignation", I have been a SAHM for a year.
Wow.
It seems like it has been weeks, not months.
Also, I can count on 2 hand the amount of migraines that I have had since she was born.
Man, things have changed!
The first few weeks, I felt like Supermom. The entirety of every day. I was getting all kinds of stuff done and cooking dinner and even getting a nap in!
Once the routine of staying home settled in, not so much. There are days when I don't get a lot done. Days when one of my babies are sick and just need to be held, which is really the only circumstance in which Z lets me snuggle her anymore.
There are days when I feel like a rockstar!
18 loads of laundry done, dished all cleaned and put away, bathrooms cleaned and walls scrubbed. Also, I had time to make sun tea, bathe both children and dust and vacuum the entire house, and dinner is on the table.
Also, the dog has been walked, bathed and groomed. Boom.
Yeah... those days are few and far between.
One thing that I realized very quickly is how spoiled JP had become with food. He pretty much told us what he wanted to eat, and we made it for him. He very rarely ate what we did. He survived on PB&J, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese sandwiches. As Z started eating big people food, I just started sharing my meals with her. She loves broccoli, chicken, and mushrooms. Tonight, I made ground turkey with taco seasoning over romaine lettuce with a little shredded cheese, and sour cream and mango peach salsa instead of dressing... on of my favorite meals. Z kept yelling cause I wasn't feeding her fast enough.
JP ate awesome tonight! He had about 2 Tbspns of ground turkey, a few slices of cheese, and a few small pieces of romaine dipped in ranch dressing. We also had a few strawberries and lots of blueberries.
Needless to say, this didn't happen overnight. It took me saying "You'll eat what I make or nothing at all!" for, like, a day and a half. Then JP saw the seriousness in my face and realized I wasn't backing down.
We still struggle a little. He has some anxiety about trying new things. Our rule is he has to try it, but he doesn't have to like it. That really seems to work... for the most part.
Another change... the TV.
When I was working, I felt like I didn't have enough time. There wasn't enough hours in the day for me to feel like an adequate mother, a loving wife, a decent housekeeper, or a devoted friend. LOTS of things fell to the wayside... the house stayed in a perpetual state of dustiness. There were always dishes in the sink and wet clothes in the washing machine.
The easy thing to do was to set JP in front of the TV so I could run a quick load of laundry so I could have clean underwear for work. Or so I could pack food for work. Or try to sleep of a headache. Or *insert anything that cannot be accomplished with a baby on your hip here*.
I have cracked down big time on screens. No more than 2 hours combined. I try to keep it under 90 minutes, but if he's particularly well behaved during the day, he gets an extra episode before bed.
Goodness... look at me, getting all domestic and stuff.
I just glanced at the clock hanging over my TV while catching up on my DVR, winding down after another day with my teething, almost 11 month old daughter, and my increasingly active 4 year old son. Some days bedtime is like heaven... I finally get to chill for a few minutes before heading downstairs to start the laundry rat-race again. I get a little me time... time which moms, whether stay at home or working, rarely get. Time for us. Time when we are not needed RIGHT NOW!!! When the little people who depend so heavily on us for just about everything are tucked safely into bed and not trying to break into the cabinets to play with the small appliances, or Andy Dufresne under the gate in the back yard, after taking a hint from the dog.
(Yes. That was a Shawshank reference. And yes, I did use "Andy Dufresne" as a verb. You're welcome)
Anywho... my realization staring at the date on my atomic clock...
It's been over a year since I was put on maternity leave with tiny Z still cooking away. Essentially... aside from the three and a half final days of my "resignation", I have been a SAHM for a year.
Wow.
It seems like it has been weeks, not months.
Also, I can count on 2 hand the amount of migraines that I have had since she was born.
Man, things have changed!
The first few weeks, I felt like Supermom. The entirety of every day. I was getting all kinds of stuff done and cooking dinner and even getting a nap in!
Once the routine of staying home settled in, not so much. There are days when I don't get a lot done. Days when one of my babies are sick and just need to be held, which is really the only circumstance in which Z lets me snuggle her anymore.
There are days when I feel like a rockstar!
18 loads of laundry done, dished all cleaned and put away, bathrooms cleaned and walls scrubbed. Also, I had time to make sun tea, bathe both children and dust and vacuum the entire house, and dinner is on the table.
Also, the dog has been walked, bathed and groomed. Boom.
Yeah... those days are few and far between.
One thing that I realized very quickly is how spoiled JP had become with food. He pretty much told us what he wanted to eat, and we made it for him. He very rarely ate what we did. He survived on PB&J, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese sandwiches. As Z started eating big people food, I just started sharing my meals with her. She loves broccoli, chicken, and mushrooms. Tonight, I made ground turkey with taco seasoning over romaine lettuce with a little shredded cheese, and sour cream and mango peach salsa instead of dressing... on of my favorite meals. Z kept yelling cause I wasn't feeding her fast enough.
JP ate awesome tonight! He had about 2 Tbspns of ground turkey, a few slices of cheese, and a few small pieces of romaine dipped in ranch dressing. We also had a few strawberries and lots of blueberries.
Needless to say, this didn't happen overnight. It took me saying "You'll eat what I make or nothing at all!" for, like, a day and a half. Then JP saw the seriousness in my face and realized I wasn't backing down.
We still struggle a little. He has some anxiety about trying new things. Our rule is he has to try it, but he doesn't have to like it. That really seems to work... for the most part.
Another change... the TV.
When I was working, I felt like I didn't have enough time. There wasn't enough hours in the day for me to feel like an adequate mother, a loving wife, a decent housekeeper, or a devoted friend. LOTS of things fell to the wayside... the house stayed in a perpetual state of dustiness. There were always dishes in the sink and wet clothes in the washing machine.
The easy thing to do was to set JP in front of the TV so I could run a quick load of laundry so I could have clean underwear for work. Or so I could pack food for work. Or try to sleep of a headache. Or *insert anything that cannot be accomplished with a baby on your hip here*.
I have cracked down big time on screens. No more than 2 hours combined. I try to keep it under 90 minutes, but if he's particularly well behaved during the day, he gets an extra episode before bed.
Goodness... look at me, getting all domestic and stuff.
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