SAHM - Why we can't do it all

Ok, so I'm still new to the stay-at-home-mom gig. And I'll admit, I had lofty goals when I embarked on this journey. Really lofty. Not only did I think my house would sparkle, but I thought I'd have time to organize, learn to cook, and take a photography class perhaps. Yeah, not gonna happen. Not even the sparkly house part.

I maintain that the only thing more difficult than being a SAHM is being a working mom. However, I do feel like as a working mom there is a little more fogiveness if your toilet hasn't seen a toilet brush in 6 months, or if 5 out of 7 dinners a week are from a take out menu. As a stay at home mom, maybe not so much. I have a wonderfully supportive husband who has accepted the dramatic decrease in the family income to allow me this time at home with my children. I'll never have this time again, and I'm so grateful I get to enjoy them while they are young. While they need me the most. But...I see the look when he gets home from work. The glance around the living room, most likely wondering when the grenade went off. I mean how else could one explain the mess of epic proportions? Well let me try...

Basically every night after I get the kids to bed, I think about all that I did NOT accomplish in the day. But then I think about what happens when I try to take care of the kids and the household chores at the same time...

I won't even recap the days that they are both at home. One word - Impossible. Those days I just take a deep breath and know that the house will look crappier than ususal. But on the days that Zach is in school, I do TRY to make an effort, but the lovely little "I'm into EVERYTHING right now" Miss Alexis likes to try her hand at helping too. Laundry, there is never a lack of that right? So I sort, and she sits next to me and tosses everything into opposite piles. Once sorting is complete (taking at least 3 times as long as usual), I take the first load to the washer. She follows. Oh wait, is that the hot water heater she is playing with while I load? Hmmm...move baby, race back to loading because she is a quick one and will crawl back to this water heater faster than I can toss the clothes in. Ugh. She's at it again. Move her again, this time set her farther down the hall, and run. Finally loaded only took 3 tries, but one load is in. Oh wait, I have to do this again in about 45 minutes with the dryer. Forget it. I'll do it when she's asleep.

Maybe I'll try to unload the dishwasher. First task, set out some toys to distract child. That should do the trick, right? Hmm...she doesn't seem to want to play with those. Oh she's crawling over to the dishwasher, pulling herself up. No you may not grab a fork. No, not that bowl either. Back to the toys. Not working. Here she comes. What is she picking up off the floor? NO! Don't eat that. Too late. Ugh. Guess I'll save this for later too. (Note to self: Those 2 dishes you unloaded before she threatened to poke her eyes out with the flatware should really save you some time later.)

I could fold the laundry. That should be easy, right? Oh wait, why is she pulling everything OUT of the basket? Put that down - I just folded that! Please don't suck on that button. Zippers are no good either. Oh forget it. Let's just go eat lunch.

Lunchtime - 60% of food goes in the mouth. 40% on the floor. (Another note to self: Pick up all crumbs before the human Hoover eats the said 40% off the floor.) No time to do the dishes...need to keep the baby from hurling herself out of the highchair.

At last naptime. At least an hour of "me" time. Time to check email, do a bit of work (if I'm lucky enough to have some...), feed myself, tackle any pre-dinner prep that I can in order to save time later, shower, and MAYBE sit down for 20 minutes before she wakes up. Maybe. Usually during this time I pick up the first round of toys so that when Zach gets home he has a fresh clean living room to throw all his crap.

Time to pick up Zach from school. There is no hope of chores from this point on....

Get home in time to make dinner. Dinner, which takes twice as long (need to stop and break up toy struggles, and "No, you may not sit on your sister) and is ususally twice as over cooked as a normal meal should be.

Husband comes home and sees the half done laundry, half folded laundry, half emptied dishwasher, toys all over the place, me burning the dinner, and I'm sure he's wondering what he signed up for.

Dinner, clean up, bathtime, bedtime...and we wake up an do it all again the next day. Did I mention that I love this and wouldn't trade it for the world??