The Life of a Stay at Home Mom
I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom (SAHM). My mom was a single mom in the military, so we didn't always get to see as much of her as we would've liked to.
I never really wanted a career like that, and nothing else seemed appealing to me. But I always thought it'd be cool to go on field trips with my kids, and be there when they got home from school.
I'd been a nanny for years, taking care of others children. I thought about how fun it would be when I could stay home with my kids, cook & craft with them, and go on adventures.
I knew it would be more work, because you can't give them back at the end of the day, and you're solely responsible for their survival and well being. But I always saw that as a blessing.
It's an opportunity to raise my children the way I want, watch them experience life, and see them grow during the most influential time. I LOVE being a SAHM and wouldn't trade it for any job in the world.
As you can imagine, it gets quite irritating when you tell people you're a SAHM and they respond with, “What do you do all day?” “I could never do that.” “Aren't you so bored?”...
So, to help answer those questions, I'm sharing our basic schedule that we adhere to every day.
This isn't set in stone, but it's fairly typical. And keep in mind, this is with ONE toddler (it's a bit different with a newborn who naps all day or multiples of different ages), come November it's about to get a whole lot crazier with two!
SAHM Schedule
7-8am WAKE UP. It varies day to day when he'll wake up, but we usually only have a 15-30min window before he's demanding our presence. So basically, no sleeping in. This isn't the life of luxury over here…
8am BREAKFAST. Usually a struggle because he's going through the picky toddler stage where he doesn't like the same foods he liked yesterday. Oh, and he's got teeth coming in, so that's always a walk in the park.
8:30-10am WATCH “TOONS” (I'm usually making my breakfast at this point)
10am Get us ready for the day, do some light tidying (either the dishes, straightening the living room, or starting a load of laundry)
10:30/11am GYM/ADVENTURES/ERRANDS. Head to the gym for an hour of “me” time to workout, and Silas to have playtime. If there is time before lunch (or I'm just not feeling the gym that day) we'll go to the park, library, zoo, children's museum or run errands.
12-12:30pm LUNCH. Then playtime till nap. Sometimes we'll have lunch wherever we are, if we're out and about, and I remembered to pack it.
1-3pm (4pm if I'm lucky) NAP. I use this time to eat my lunch, network for my blog, edit pictures, do other quick/easy house chore (dishes, laundry, tidy/organize rooms, vacuum).
3:30-4pm SNACK/TV
4-6pm PLAYTIME. Usually at home, but we may go to the library or park till dinner. This is when I attempt to make dinner too. Most of that time is spent pacifying a toddler vs actually making dinner...
6-6:30pm DINNER
6:30-7:30 PLAYTIME (with daddy). They'll play in Silas’ room with all of his train/car tracks, read stories or play outside.
7:30-8pm BATH. Also getting ready for bed (pjs, lotion, brush teeth)
8-8:30pm BED. We always read a bible story and say Silas’ prayers together as a family.
8:30pm-12am ADULT TIME. I wish I could say we were always super productive during this time, but honestly more days are spent Neflix & chilling. I also wish I could say we went to bed earlier, but that's just not our reality. I use this time to put together my blog posts, finish up house chores and read.
As you can see, all the hours of my day are filled. They're filled with entertaining, feeding my kid, or getting housework done.
At no point in time am I like, “What should I do right now?”. There is no “boredom”, only procrastination on things I should be doing.
And there is ALWAYS something that needs done, especially when you live with a toddler. Most of the time it's cleaning, which I am terrible at because I just don't want to do it.
And now that I'm blogging, there is always something I am working on, whether it's during the day or at night.
So, when you talk to a SAHM, PLEASE don't ask her “What do you even do all day?” Ask her something that will open the door to more conversation, and get to know her; like, “What's your favorite thing to do with your kids” “Based on your experience, would you recommend staying home to others?” or “What's the hardest part about being a SAHM?”
She'll welcome the thoughtful questions, and appreciate not being criticized for not choosing to work a traditional career path. <3 Amanda
