A race against myself….

Ready.

Set.

GO!!!!

My race against myself starts promptly every morning before I get out of bed. My first challenge is to get the hell out of bed…not stay in the warm, cozy, soft bed that I have all to myself. (By the time I get out of bed, Tom is already gone to the gym at work.)

Here is a dream day for me…

1. Wake up at 6:30 a.m.

2. Go downstairs and start coffee, then go back upstairs and change into workout clothes.

3. Hop on treadmill and walk/run two miles. (thirty minutes on mill.)

4. Take a quick shower.

5. Run down, get coffee….run back upstairs, wake up kids, then start getting myself ready.

6. Know what I will be wearing that day w/o trying on 50 different things, then do hair..(which will look fab by the way) and makeup also. Also will be able to do this while all the kids are eating w/o fighting and can depend on them to clean up the cereal, put away the milk and dirty dishes.

7. Remember, this is a dream day…so stick with me.

8. All the kids get ready, no fighting with me or each other. Lily won’t scream or shake her head as I am trying to brush it and make it pretty for school, and nor will she wine and cry when I tell her to put socks on.

9. There, all done. I look and feel great…..time to go to the bus stop.

10. Kids won’t take all their bikes, skateboards, razors out, instead, go directly to the bus stop where they won’t goof off, or hit each other with their backpacks.

11. Claire won’t make Lily cry, or visa versa.

12. Kids are off to school. Knowing that their homework is done, kids have studied for tests, quizzes. Papers signed in timely manner.

13. Drive Lily to school. Drop her off to pre-k. Stop at the store if need to, but shouldn’t b/c it’s my dream day, and I would have already have had this covered. Frige full. Pantry full. Freezer full.

14. Return home to do some gentle picking up. Prep for dinner. Check e-mail. Do computer work.

15. Maybe walk outside if it’s a nice day. All the while I am feeling great. Accomplished. Relaxed.

16. Pick Lily up. Spend quality time with her. Read, do puzzles, paint nails. Lunch (healthy of course).

17. Knowing that dinner is preped, start lunches, make Tom’s salad, prepare snack for kids about to come home.

18. Four kids home from elementary school. They have snack and don’t complain. They do homework and not talk, and remember to wash their hands w/o me telling them, and hang up their backpacks all on their own. And, best of all, no fighting.

19. The two older kids come home. No attitude, just telling me about their day. Have snack. No sneaking of food from pantry. No fighting over whos turn it is on the computer. Not hearing “this sucks, that’s gay, your retarded”.

20. Ahhhh…this day is wonderful!

21. Hubby comes home on time, and we have a nice family dinner together. No fighting. No attitude. No complaining about dinner. Everyone helps clean up. Homework is done so everyone is set.

22. Baths, showers are done. Everyone goes to bed on a timely fashion.

23. Tom and I get to spend some time together. We get to tell each other about our day over a nice glass of wine.

24. All caught up on bills, now we can play on the computer, or watch our fav shows.

WHAT A GREAT DAY!

Ok…so that is my usual day. But just omit…#’s 6-24, and even 1-6 don’t happen every day.

Who says that stay home mom’s don’t work? We work every minute. We (or I do) race from minute to minute. Trying to catch up from the day before, so I can make the rest of that day and if things are going well…for the next day. Then collapse after Lily goes to bed.

We (stay at home mom’s) should get paid. Imagine how much we would earn for all that we do here in the house. We work to make everyone else function for their day. We work. Even though I’m home, I work dammit, and I work hard.

Hats off to all stay home mom’s out there! You work hard for your family. You rock! Woo-hoo!

What is your dream day?