Second Time's the Charm?

I must confess that this is technically my second time being a SAHM.  My first experience was when our oldest was about 7 months old and we moved out of state for my husband's job.  I was just finishing graduate school and wrote my thesis during the first few months in our new home.  Technically I was working because I was writing my thesis, but really I was home taking care of our daughter. 

I had our daughter during our last year in graduate school and fortunately we were able to work our schedules so we didn't have to put our daughter in daycare and thank goodness.  A friend of mine and had her son a few months before me and unfortunately, she had to put her son in daycare by 8 weeks to go back to work.    When our daughter was 8 weeks old, I looked at her and began to cry at the thought of having to take her some place for some one else to look after and raise for me.  My husband and I had already talked about me being a stay at home mom, so we thought the move was a great opportunity to try it out. 

After I got the house unpacked, I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND!  We had no money and no friends.  I couldn't even afford the gas to go to the park and forget about walking around the neighborhood.  We were surrounded by businesses  on a busy street with no sidewalks.  Our daughter wasn't difficult  to take care of either.  She was a very good natured baby who required very little attention.  In fact, most of the time she preferred being left alone.  So I spent most of my time cleaning and inventing things to do with her, but there's only so much a person can do with a 6-12 month old.  During the week I had a pretty strict schedule.  I still remember it.  My husband would get up about 7 to get ready for work.  After he left, I would shower and our daughter got up around 8.  She would have breakfast while we watched the Today Show.  We would then vacuum and sweep and mop the kitchen floor (yes I did it everyday).  We would then play in her room for about 30min, have a snack and she would go down for her morning nap.  Then came lunch, a walk around the block, dusting and cleaning the bathrooms (yes, everyday).  I would start dinner while she was having her afternoon nap and watched "The Nanny" and "MASH" reruns.  I saw every episode of those two shows in order about 4 times.

The best days were Thursday and Friday.  Thursday I would do the laundry, so that gave me something different to do.  I actually enjoyed ironing just because it allowed me to mix things up.  Friday, my daughter and I would meet my husband for lunch and then we would go grocery shopping.  I would take 2 hours, just because I needed something to do.

To make ends meet I  had to get a job at Kmart as a cashier.  It wasn't the most glamorous job in the world, but it helped pay the bills and was less stinky than when I cleaned locker rooms at a local gym while in high school.  The best part was I worked evenings with a bunch of teenagers who were a little goofy and just helped to make the work experience a whole lot better.  Luckily, my husband's company relocated us to an area where I could get a post doc.  And after 7 months as a SAHM, I was ready to go back to work.  Six and two kids later, I am back at home.

My second experience as a SAHM has been completely different.  As a mother of three, I don't even have time to breathe, much less get bored.  It used to be that when my husband was out of town the days seemed to creep.  My husband was recently out of town for 2 weeks and it felt like the blink of an eye.  I am honestly moving from sun up to way past sun down.  As my children get older, I'm sure things will get less chaotic, but right now I can't imagine going back to work.  I can barely keep up with what I need to do now.  To throw work and all the stress that comes with that into the mix just might send me to the loony bin. 

While I have managed to get a shower every day, I have to admit that my hair does not always get done and sometimes my children are in their PJs until lunch time.  This is only my 5th month as a SAHM of more than one child, so I am still getting situated.  It does get a little easier everyday and I do have a family routine worked out; I just need to implement it.  Maybe tomorrow.