Being a Stay at Home Mom Isn't That Hard

Consistently teaching the children to pick up their belongings
means that the living room takes 10 minutes to clean.

I am zipping up my fireproof suit and putting on my hard hat for this one. I am about to make every stay at home on the planet mad at me. Forgive me as I might come across a bit harsh.
Being a stay at home mom isn't that hard. Ok, hear me out. There are always exceptions to the rule but for the majority of us, being a stay at home mom just isn't that hard. Yet, we are always the first to stand on our soap box shouting at others about how difficult it is to keep our homes clean or to complain about how we never get a moment to sit down. So what gives? Why does it always seem that there is something to be done? Why is the laundry never caught up and the sink never empty?

TIME MANAGEMENT.

There. I said it. The majority of us moms don't manage our time efficiently. We have time to get on FB and complain about how our dishes aren't done when we should actually be up doing them. We manage to read blogs, complain, check emails, complain, Tweet, complain.

Let me temper my post with some grace. Yes, there were seasons of my life that were hard. I had 2 babies within 10 months (I swear it was all my husband's fault!) and my life revolved around sleep deprived diaper changes, feedings, play time and all the other joys of being high risk pregnant for practically 2 years straight. I am not saying that seasonally we aren't going to go through rough patches. I'm not saying that even the physically easy days don't have moments that are emotionally draining. However, the truth of the matter is, that as my children have gotten older, being a stay at home mom has become easier. Easy to the point that there is no good reason for me not to be "all together". No reason for me not to have a good nights sleep, cook a good breakfast, clean house, school the children and even enjoy some down time browsing Facebook.

Proof that we can memories without messes.
We are stamping with the bottom of a celery stalk.

Sorry to burst your "my life is so hard" bubble. The truth is that if we are managing our time efficiently being a stay at home mom is pretty stinking cushy. A messy home isn't "a sign of character" or "memories my kids have made". It is a sign of bad time management at best and laziness at worst.

Since I have taught my children how to do their own laundry,
and I actually LET them, this stack took about 20 minutes to fold
and get put away.

Oh, and the poor me attitude, it's old. Sure, I do a lot of laundry...for the BLESSINGS that God has given me. The three babies that I was told by multiple doctors I would never have. Some days I spend most of my time breaking up bickering, cleaning of messes that are instantly repeated, making meals that are complained about, but the worth of what we doing sure does change when our perspective is on the eternal value instead of the "hardness" of what we are doing.




I'm not saying that I am never guilty of complaining (trust me it is quite the opposite!) and I realize I defy all of the mushy memes that talk about how I am a "nurse, cook, janitor..." and I suppose, in a way, I am all of those things, but at the end of the day this is the life I am not only called to, but it is the life I CHOSE. So really, what I want to tell all of the stay at home moms out there is to pull up your big girl pants, get yourself together and realize how good you actually have it. Now stop reading this blog and go do your dishes! Oh, and remember, it is all worth it :)

Disclaimer: As I said above, there are exceptions to every rule. I am speaking in general terms. I realize there are mom's whose children are ill, dealing with ADHD, autism or a other conditions and that their situations are far different than mine. Oh, and stick around for part 2 in which I tell you why being a stay at home mom is so hard!