Today my confession brings me to my Top 10 things that leave me scratching my head as a stay-at-home mom of 3.   Many of them apply to working and stay-at-home moms alike and they leave me perplexed…when I have time…and I wonder…is it just me?

10.  HOW in the WORLD do my kids KNOW when I’m AWAKE in the morning?

I swear they have Mommy Radar!  I have purposefully gotten up early (no easy feat for me) to either get a head start on laundry or other chores, or decided to take a little extra quiet time or just to talk to my husband and have coffee and at least one of them gets up every time!  What’s up with that?  How do they know?  I am SO quiet!  I make less noise than their father does every single day yet when mama’s up it never fails…a kiddo is up.

9.  Why is it harder to make dinner when I’m home ALL DAY LONG?

I am really good a meal planning when it comes to buying ingredients and making sure I plan the week out according to our schedule, etc.  But sometimes I forget to take the meat out of the freezer or before I know it it’s 5 p.m. and I haven’t even thought about starting dinner.  It’s as if the day gets away from me or something.  I pride myself on being a homemaker but some days it is much harder to get dinner on the table than when I was working.

8.  Why was my house cleaner when I worked?

I think the answer to this is 3 little tornadoes that follow me around in a whirlwind all day and undo what I’ve just done?  Plus when we were gone the house was left undisturbed all day and for some reason I was much more organized…probably because there were not 3 little tornadoes whirling around all day, everyday-?

7.  Why is it when people see me without any children they ask me as if I’ve completely ruined their day… “What…no babies?”

My first inclination is to say “Well…it’s nice to see you, too!”  Am I only good for bringing you babies?  It’s kind of degrading actually.  I know my kids are wonderful but…really!?  And I’ve had this question asked so many times and usually at the most inappropriate times and places…the strangest is probably every time we have to go to the funeral home.  Hello…my name is Jennifer.  I am the mother of 3 and I am a person with feelings and sometimes I like to get out of the house without children in tow…shocking, I know!

6.  Why is it that when my job is to take care of my children…I still need childcare?

Because…How in the heck am I supposed to go to the dentist?  How am I supposed to go to the doctor and have the nether region checked?   How can I work in the classroom and go on field trips and go to conferences when “no siblings are allowed”?  All of which go on during the day when my husband is at work.  I feel like I’m not doing my “job” very well when I need to find a babysitter during the day but sometimes you just have to!

5.  Why is the hardest part of my day fitting in a potty break?

I was at church one Wednesday night and another mom friend that I work with in the nursery came out of the bathroom and victoriously said “That was the first time I’ve peed today with the door closed!”  SO true!  Sometimes mommies just need privacy…you know…at least 1 week out of the month!  Another mom told me during that week when she closes and locks the door and opens a feminine personal product her children accuse her of eating a secret treat without them as if she starves them to death…BAhahaha!  It’s tough being a mom, isn’t it-?

4.  How many Cheerios actually make it “down the hatch”?

I find stray Cheerios everywhere because they are a major food group at our house!  I find them in my car, down my kids shirts, on the floor, in the high chair, in my purse, even in Jackson’s crib after his nap when I swear I got them all.  I would love to know the percentage of a box of Cheerios that actually goes in my children’s tummies.  It would be an interesting fact.

3.  Why is it assumed that I don’t have to “get up for work” or “get ready” in the morning?

This one really burns my butter I’ll tell ya!  While I do take being a mom very seriously (too seriously at times) it bothers me when people don’t think my family deserve my best.  I get up and get dressed everyday…do my hair, put on makeup…why is that considered odd?  Why is it implied that I wear sweats and slippers everyday?  I had one woman, also a mother, say to me last year when I had 3 children ages 4 and under (one who was a newborn at the time and I was pumping and feeding) “At least you don’t have to get up in the morning!” implying that she did.  Please! It’s not like I get to sleep in until 10 a.m. everyday just because I’m a mom.  I get up earlier as a stay-at-home mom than I ever did before children!

2.  Why is it that when I am with my children all day long and provide for their every need when Daddy gets home I am chopped liver?

I love my husband…he’s the best…and he’s the BEST father in the world.  I don’t blame my children for wanting to see him because I do too.  But…this was hard for me to get used to.  Emalynn at only weeks old could be screaming her little head off and the minute daddy walked in the door [ching] HUGE smile.  Seriously!  All of our kids are this way and it only compounds the more babies we have!  It’s a fact now and I don’t take it personally anymore but it was really hard at first.

1.  How is the absolute hardest job I’ve ever had the absolute best?

The majority of the time I’ve been a mom I have worked outside the home.  I became a full-time stay-at-home mom just over a year ago right before Jackson was born.  I made that decision based on God’s direction and guidance for me.  I can say without a doubt I have never worked harder in my life…but I’ve never been happier in my life.  Part of that is because of all the amazing things God has done in my life including our 3 children and part of it is that I have the blessing of spending every single day with them.

I know that I will look back on all of these silly things I don’t get and miss the days I couldn’t have a potty break with the door closed and when I longed for time out of the house by myself.  Someday I’ll have peace and quiet and I will probably hate it…and to be honest…I dread it.  Now that I have experienced the joy and blessing of being a stay-at-home mom I wouldn’t take a full-time job right now no matter how promising it was for my career, how great the benefits were or for all of the money in the world.  This time is just priceless and I am so thankful God has shown me the importance of listening to Him and His plans for my life.  I guess the ultimate thing I don’t get is why He’s blessed me so richly because I certainly don’t deserve it.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11