Confessions of a Stay-At-Home-Mom

Do you ever wonder what a stay-at-home-mom does all day? Well, have you ever been a manager at work? Have you ever had an employee that didn't listen to you and you had to reteach them the same task over and over again? Have you ever asked them to do something and then had to redo it yourself? Well, that's pretty much what I do. Except I don't have employees, I have 3 children. And I teach them basic skills like how to walk, how to use a fork, how to use the toilet, how to put away their clothes, how to ask for something without screaming etc. I teach them something and then we practice it again and again and again until they can do it on their own. Oh, and I also do all the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry for 5 people. But, all the organizing, bathroom scrubbing, organic cooking, carpool driving, yada yada homemaking stuff is really about teaching my children how to become productive, socialized human beings. I love my job. I love days like today when I just stay at home and organize closets and help Jakob clean up his blocks and paint a head board for Ehlana's room. I actually like to clean. But, life as a mom isn't always easy and I certainly don't do everything right. And that can lead to guilt. I recently watched a TV show about "mommy confessions" I have to say I have been guilty of most of the them. Here are some of the things other mom's confessed to doing:

1. Forgetting to buckle their child's car seat
(One day when Jaxson was a toddler and Ehlana a newborn I was driving and as I came to a stop light Jaxson fell out of his car seat. Yup, I had totally forgot to buckle him. I freaked out as I pulled over.)

2. Throwing away birthday party invitations and not telling your kids about them
(My kids have come home excitedly holding a birthday invitation and if I don't know the kid or their family it usually goes in the trash and when they ask about it later I make up some excuse. I also have not put parties on my calendar and then completely forgot about them. Oops.)

3. Staying at home all day in your pajamas
(Is this really a confession? My kids love staying in their pajamas all day. One time I had a woman from church bring us dinner and my kids were in their pajamas. She said, "Oh no, are they sick?" Ummm, no. I'm just lazy today.)

4. Using diapers for yourself in an emergency
(It's true. I have heard two women confess this! I have not had to pee in a diaper myself, but I would if I had to!)

5. My personal confession.... Jaxson has a bed wetting problem and so there are mornings when he tells me he wet the bed and then in the craziness of the day I forget about it. That is until I am going to bed and there's nothing I can do about it at that point so he sleeps in a pee bed. It's disgusting I know. I'll put another dollar in his therapy jar.

A woman named Samantha Kemp wrote an article entitled 10 Things I am No Longer Ashamed to Admit (About Being a Mom) she said:

Motherhood is fraught with judgment: from friends, family, and most of all, ourselves. Moms–especially new ones–see every scraped knee as evidence we’re not living up to the title of “mother.” I have four kids, so I’m a parenting veteran of sorts, and I have a dirty little secret to share with all the parents trying to get it right.

Ready? Here it is: There is no “right.”

Being a mom is hard work. Parenting is hard work. Last night Steve and I stayed up late talking about a behavior issue with one of our children. We still don't really know what to do about it. But, we are trying. And praying to our Heavenly Father to help us know what to do.  There are so many little things that can bring us guilt, but really they don't matter. I pray that I can focus on the things that matter most and not be ashamed to admit the things I don't do as well as others.