by Shayla Taylor
Unfortunately so many people seem to have the idea that a day in the life of a stay at home mom is an easy one and most feel that being a stay at home mom is not a real job. When you’re a mom and you work at home, most people think that “work at home” is code for watch television and take a nap; however, there are so many things a stay at home mom does during the day that no one sees or appreciates. I myself have two step-children, a 13 year old daughter and a 14 year old boy with Down’s syndrome, so life can get a bit hectic in this home. So, the following is a small glimpse into a day in my life as a mom who stays at home and runs a home based business at the same time.
6:30 am – It’s 6:30 in the morning and the alarm is going off incessantly and I’m contemplating throwing the thing across the room; however, I go ahead and roll out of bed, wishing for a few more hours of sleep. Time to wake up the kids, a challenge in itself, and once their sleepy heads are actually moving, it’s shower time for me.
7:30 am – The kids are clothed and possibly in their right minds and it’s time to drive them to school. Hopefully we’ll miss the train and be on time today. First Tyler (my daughter) gets dropped off at middle school and then we’re off to drop of Ty (my son) at the high school.
8:00 am – As I’m on my way home, I realize that we need toilet paper and something for dinner, so I’m off to the Wal-Mart Supermarket for a quick shopping trip. Fifty dollars later, I head out of the store back home to get started working.
9:00 am – I’m finally back home and it’s time to get to work. Today I’ve got a huge amount of work to get done before the kids get home, which is a tall task.
11:00 am – Now that I’ve been working a couple hours, I suddenly remember that I never got a chance to grab anything to eat this morning, so I set about making an early lunch. However, halfway through I get a call from my son’s school saying he isn’t feeling well, so I abandon my half made lunch mournfully and rush off to get my son.
11:45 am – Finally I’m back home with a sick kid working to meet the deadlines that just seem to be flying up on me. Today is Wednesday, so a bit of house cleaning needs to be done too, so between answering business emails and dealing with writing deadlines, I attempt to get the living room straightened up and get the floors mopped as well. Walking by the bedroom I look longingly at the inviting bed; however, a nap is not in the agenda for today.
2:25 pm – I wrap up a final article in a hurry and then it’s off to pick up my daughter from school. On my way out the door I lay out some chicken to thaw out for dinner. Remembering I have my son at home too, I get him ready to go and we pile in the car and rush off to pick up Tyler.
3:00 pm – By 3pm we’re back home with Tyler in tow and the house begins to get loud. With a Barney DVD going in one room and the Suite Life of Zach and Cody blaring in the living room, I realize it’s time to bring out the best wireless earbuds under 100 I had bought to my computer if I’m going to get any work done. So, I turn up the music, get focused and start back to work again until the kids come out looking for drinks and a snack.
4:30 pm – Suddenly I realize it’s almost 4:30 and I haven’t even started on dinner yet, so I jump up from the computer and start on a nice dinner of baked chicken, roasted potatoes, and broccoli. Once I get everything in the oven, I peek in on the kids, make sure my daughter has started working on her math homework, and then set down to try to get a bit more work done.
6:00 pm – My husband is walking through the door after taking care of some business and I realize the time and scurry to get dinner finished up after a quick kiss. Putting the finishing touch on dinner, I close up my laptop and stash it for now so I can set the table.
6:30 pm – We’re finally all gathered around the table eating, and if I do say so myself, dinner turned out great. As I look around at the happy faces all happily munching on dinner, I smile, knowing it was worth the work to keep them all well fed. After dinner is offer I put away the leftovers and get my daughter started on the dishes, which she lets me know is not really on her top 10 list of things to do.
7:30 pm – After spending a few minutes with my husband, I pull out my laptop again for a bit more work. In between helping my daughter with her homework and keeping my sick son happy, I manage to get a bit more work done before it’s time to get the kids in bed.
10:00 pm – It’s time to get the kids headed for bed, and after showers are complete and they are ready for bed, we give them their good night kisses and happily send them to the land of “nod.” However, before my daughter drifts off, she tells me that she has no clean school uniforms for tomorrow, so it’s off to throw in a load of laundry.
12:30 am – Finally the laundry is done, and the clothes are folded or hung up. I’m so looking forward to jumping in bed tonight. I get myself ready for bed and finally fall into bed with a good night kiss to my “honey,” and within minutes I’m out like a light. However, it seems like only a short time later, I’m waking up to the alarm again…
As you can see, the days are long, busy, and hectic. Do I regret it? No! I love being a stay at home mom with a business I can do right at home. My family is my life and I love doing for them…it’s just that I wish that blasted alarm would wait a few more hours before it goes off again.
Biography
Shayla Taylor is a stepmother to two teenagers and lives in Arizona with her husband Tim. She runs her own home business as a successful freelance writer and truly enjoys the opportunity to work from home. In her spare time she enjoys writing music, playing the piano, photography, and spending time with the family and the family dog, Chewy.
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This is so true. I am also a stay at home mom and my job is never done. I get calls from people needing me to do things all of the time because they believe that I have so much free time. Well let me tell you that with 4 kids there is no free time. I finally had to learn how to say NO
Thanks for participating in the December 3, 2007, edition of the Carnival of Family Life, hosted this week at http://www.imaginif.com.au!!
Hi there. This post is now published in the Carnival of Running and Organised Home. Thank you for your submission. We hope to see you again!
spillay
http://spillay.wordpress.com
I’m thinking there is no such thing as a stay at home mom. You are all working at home moms, no? Stay at home sounds so awful–like you’ve been grounded or something, you know? You aren’t really just staying at home. You are working your butt off at home. Yes.
I totally agree with you… I think sometimes men need to carry the cross, share the chores and if possible be stay at home dads for a while if not for a long while.
Haha I have 1 2yr old girl and its STILL hectic, i think if your doing your job as a sahm then it will be hectic. I could just put my daughter in front of the TV and call it done but thats not my job.
Wow! the schedule of a working women is so thrilling and adventurous. It gives a good idea for beginners.
I have a son in Kindergarten, one in preschool, and a 3mo old. The one preschool only goes 3days a week. I have to rush them around, plus to activities such as soccer and dance. Life is hectic.