Sahmantha

SAHM..."Stay-at-home-Mom"

My friend Carlia over at nest building 101 did a post the other day on what she has learned from being a SAHM. As having been a (temporary...still job searching!) SAHM myself for the last 7 months, I could relate...

The top 5 things I have learned from being a SAHM (or just becoming a Mom in general!):

1. It's hard. And some days are really hard. Not every day is sunshine and roses. These are the days when I am exhausted from very little sleep, or she's being super fussy, or I'm stressing about money or even sometimes missing adult interaction. I would seriously like to punch in the face anyone who thinks  SAHM's just sit around and watch TV or that they "have it easy." No matter how much you love your child, everyone needs a little break. And SAHM's don't get them. They are on top of things 24/7.
2. Even though financially it has been tough with me being home, it has also been a blessing. To not have missed any moments with my sweet girl who I waited and wished for, has been nothing short of amazing! I love being with her! Each smile or laugh I get from her, erases one tough moment. It crushes my heart to think about her being in daycare and being away from her everyday, but unfortunately we can't afford to do that right now. So the job search has been in full swing. 
3. I have had to learned that my house is going to be messy. And that's that. Not "dirty" but just a little messy. I used to keep this place spotless and so organized and after awhile of trying to keep that up with a little one, I  realized  it's just not going to happen! And that's okay. I usually set one goal a day. Like "Clean off the dining room table today, tomorrow mop the floor." 
4. My body. I am in full frump mode. You know it's bad when your yoga pants (which haven't see any yoga, ever.) are starting to get holes in them. My body is a mess, my hair is a mess and my wardrobe in a mess. Saturday I am getting my hair cut and colored (something different and I'm nervous) and soon I want to get back on WW. I try to give myself a break because I know my body has been through hell in the past  few years. From IF meds, surgery, IVF, a rough pregnancy and a c-section! If my body could talk it was say "Leaveee me alone!!" But I need to start making time for myself and taking care of ME. My point is that I've learned that my body will probably never be the same. But I just want to get healthy.
5. I've learned that it is possible to do pretty much anything one handed. I'm surprised I'm not super skinny from just all the contortionist type moves I do on a daily basis, with Sam in one arm and multi-tasking with the other! 

I had taken Sam to an appointment a few weeks ago and the guy at the desk who was doing our paperwork asked me a few questions. One of them was "Do you work outside the home?" I LOVED the way this guy worded this, instead of "Do you work?" Women who are at home with their kids work just as hard as women who work outside of the home. Bottom line, we women are rock stars. We seriously kick ass at all we do. Whether your kid is in daycare or your kid is at home with you, we all deserve a round of applause. Seriously :) 

I saw this in the November issue of Real Simple magazine and loved it!

"$112,962....the yearly salary a 2012 stay-at-home Mom would earn (that is, if she were paid), as determined by the career-advice website Salary.com. The income was calculated by combining the average wages, plus overtime, for the jobs as a Mom typically performs, including laundress, janitor, driver, cook, facilities manager, psychologist, and CEO (of the household). The results also showed that the average stay-at-home Mom works a grueling 94.7-hour week and would make an average of $22.94 an hour."