A Day In The Life Of THIS Housewife

I am fortunate enough to be able to stay at home and take care of Elise, and I know lots of moms that aren't but would give anything if they could. I have to say that I think very highly of those women that are able to juggle a full time job, a marriage, a household, and children. While I don't have the full time job thrown into my mix, I have a hard enough time managing all the other things. I know some people would think "What DO you DO all day?" and the tasks of cleaning, cooking, and laundry should all be completed everyday since I'm not working outside the home, but caring for an infant and doing all the other things really is work.

Most days run pretty smoothly, but I feel like I have conquered a huge feat if I have a good meal cooked for my husband when he comes home, have made the bed every day, kept Elise satisfied from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed and the house is still standing. I do manage to complete laundry and try to keep the house picked up, but some days I have a very fussy baby that doesn't nap and refuses to sit or lay anywhere besides in my arms or on my lap. It's those days that the chores don't always get completed. Some wouldn't understand why dinner can't be ready and the laundry all cleaned, folded, and put away, but taking care of my baby is my number one priority.

From the time she wakes up, we start the cycle. Eat (her, not me), burp, change diaper, play. Repeat. Sometimes we throw in about 2 or 3 outfit changes when she spits up all her and me or poop leaks out her diaper, or if she pees mid diaper change. After that, the laundry really starts to stack up. She doesn't really nap, just a little 20 minute dozing here or there. During that time, I try to get a shower. She usually wakes up or is awake and fussing, so my shower lasts about 7 minutes. That's 13 minutes less than I would like. If we have to go to the grocery store or Wal-Mart, I have to make sure she's full and clean before we go and be back in time for her to eat again. I usually throw laundry in the wash and can get it in the dryer, but folding it might come the next day or so.

In the evenings, I try to make a meal for us, get Elise fed and bathed. The kitchen has to be cleaned and she has to be fed again before bed. When Jason is home, he is trying to unwind and shower from his day. Elise doesn't really go to bed until we do, so Jason and I don't really have time for each other. Most of our conversations are about her, and by the end of my day, I'm pretty ready for some kind of adult conversation that doesn't involve singing, funny faces, or animal noises. Sometimes my husband finds that a bit challenging and acts like a 7 year old. So I have then spent my entire day talking in baby talk and making up the words to nursery rhymes that I can't remember - only to deal with a grown man tormenting me because he thinks he's funny. I wish I was living a glorified life like the housewives of Orange County, but those women have nannies and housekeepers.

I am not complaining by any means and do NOT want this to be interpreted that way. I am only intending to say that just from what I do on a day to day basis (which is work for me), working moms need to be given a lot of credit for what they do. I can imagine it's not easy, and even harder to leave your child. My day will come soon enough when I will have to learn to juggle all those responsibilities. I will then feel the enormous guilt of knowing my baby is spending her days in the care of someone else instead of the guilt of not contributing anything financially to my household, and having my husband sacrifice with me to accommodate the choice to be a stay at home mom.