A Typical Stay at Home Mom Day

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A stay at home mom day can be very exciting. Between the laughter, tears, and poop, you never know what might happen. When Ben gets home and asks what we did, I often just stare blankly: huh? I don’t know. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about all that intentional mothering stuff. Raising my kids up to love Jesus, teaching them what a sheep says and how to count to 10, blah blah blah. In fact, that’s usually what I write about. But let’s be honest, that stuff isn’t what takes up most of the average day home with your littles.

In the spirit of authenticity, here’s what most of our weekdays look like…

The kids wake up. Emma likes to play, Addie likes to snuggle.

stay at home mom day SAHM

change diapers
have juice or milk

they usually play together before breakfast for a while. by play together, i mean…
emma tries to destroy whatever addie is working on & addie yells “NO EMMA NO!” at her
emma does it more & addie cries

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we eat breakfast

stay at home mom day
this is their new thing – Addie feeding Emma yogurt.

girls play & i start a load of laundry
emma tries to destroy whatever addie is working on & addie yells “NO EMMA NO!” at her
emma does it more & addie cries

i clean the kitchen from breakfast while the girls play
emma tries to destroy whatever addie is working on & addie yells “NO EMMA NO!” at her
emma does it more & addie cries

sooner or later, the girls get dressed.
While Addie is choosing her own undies and pants, Emma is usually trying to pull out all the clothes in that drawer.
Sometimes Addie thinks it’s funny, sometimes she cries.
Addie likes to try to get dressed by herself.

[Side note: For me, this “by myself stage” is a mix of extreme hope and extreme frustration. Hope because I get glimpses of a day that is coming somewhat soon when my children will be able to put their shoes on, pour themselves some cereal, and wipe their own butts. I assume when this day comes, I will eat bon-bons and frolick around with my other SAHM friends, shopping and going to lunch where our children sit quietly beside us. Isn’t this what stay at home moms do all day?

And extreme frustration because, well, all the by-myself-attempts are SOOOO SLOWWWWWW and there’s only a 50% chance of success, max. My type-A-control-freak momma instincts get all confused and I can hear the two voices in my head fighting.
This is inefficient.
Let her do it by herself.
I’m so much faster than her.
I’d hope so – she’s 2. Let her figure it out.
Okay I’ll just offer to help.
No. Don’t help. Just let her do it. 

Moms of toddlers, please tell me I’m not alone in this? End side note.]

moving on with our day… after all, it’s only 8:30 am.

Usually during the morning, I do 1 (and only 1) house keeping thing (vacuum, wipe down bathroom, etc…) while the girls play nicely together (and by play nicely together, i mean, follow me around whining or “helping”). Throughout the morning, i usually vary getting something done (emails, meal plan, grocery list, blog stuff, laundry, etc…) with playing with the girls a little bit. our dear first-born is SO SO SO social. like 100x more social than I am. I seriously think that child is slowly turning me into an introvert. She would always choose to be all up in my bizz-nass. It’s been sanctifying. Whew. Anyway, I get down and play with her throughout the day, and also encourage her to play nicely with Emma or find things to do to entertain herself.

Mid morning we sometimes leave the house for one of the following exciting destinations: grocery store, gym, library, park, play date.
I announce we’re leaving and it’s time to get ready to go.
Addie asks a lot of questions about the plan. #MommasGirl
Addie goes to get her socks and shoes.
Emma toddles behind, and then dumps all the socks on the floor when Addie leaves the drawer open.
Addie cries because she can’t get her socks on.
I help her.
Emma finds her shoes and brings them to me. (She loves wearing shoes!)
Emma attempts to sit on my lap while I’m putting Addie’s shoes on.
She starts her one-year-old-hyperventilating-and-arm-flapping since she doesn’t have the words to say “I’m growing impatient and I want these shoes on 30 SECONDS AGO!!!!”
I put all 4 shoes on all 4 little feet.
Addie tries to gather every book and toy she sees on the way out to bring them with her.
I explain for each one we’re not bringing those things in the car.
She asks why.
We make our way downstairs (garage is attached to basement). This takes a while. I’ve learned to allow 10 minutes or more for getting in the car and pulling out the driveway.

Once we’re all buckled in, we head to the aforementioned exciting destination.
There is usually singing or music of some sort. Sometimes there are important phone conversations.

stay at home mom day
Right before I took that picture, Addie said, “Mom, don’t interrupt me. I’m going to call Grammy.” #She’sLearning

We frolic around Omaha doing our thang and then head home by noon for lunch.

Our lunch menu varies between PB & J, Mac & Cheese, Hot Dogs, and Leftovers.
We eat “healthy food first” (veggies, fruits, etc…) I’m trying to teach enjoyment of healthy food to the girls even though my taste buds just want all the brownies!!!!

After lunch, they play for a a few minutes while I clean up and then we do potty, diapers, stories with milk, and naps.

Me at nap-time.

so freakin excited

(if you haven’t seen that SNL skit, you should go watch it ;))

During naps i try never to: clean or spend more than 10 minutes on dinner prep. I DO try to: work on my one project that month or do blog stuff. Both girls nap at the same time for roughly 2 hours a day, so for now, this works.

After naps, there is usually some combo of:

playing inside & outside (and of course more of the second-born-destroying-the-accomplishments-of-the-first-born)

stay at home mom day     stay at home mom day

watching a movie (don’t be fooled by the books – emma’s eyes are the giveaway) ????
stay at home mom life

or dinner prep, sometimes with help. (see anything problematic about this picture? hint: insecticide)

stay at home mom life

When Ben comes home, we all flock to him like our knight in shining armor. Every single day, the literally come running and jump all over him. There is squealing and laughter and lots of hugs. It is so so sweet.

Then, this is usually what happens until I finish getting dinner on the table.

Lately, Addie helps set the table. Her table-setting skills could use some practice. Maybe I’ll get one of these.

table setting placemat
Picture of a Melissa and Doug Table Setting Placemat on Amazon*

The other day, she really wanted to be the one to serve everyone. Having your toddler serve you is my top weight-loss recommendation.
stay at home mom day stay at home mom day

After dinner, there is usually more outside playtime (during the non-cold months). Sometimes there are motivational ice cream treats for people who have a good dinner :)

stay at home mom daystay at home mom day

Around 7 or so, we usually do a bedtime routine of potty, jammies, stories with milk, snuggles & a song, asleep. When there has been ice cream or sandbox play, there is also a bath. Otherwise, we prefer not to bathe our children. Saves on water and hassle. #FrugalTip

Then Ben and I party with deep conversation, our computers, or whatever show we’re hooked on.
We almost always go to bed by 9:30 or 10. #CoolPeopleTip

That’s the end.

Our current day-to-day life isn’t all that thrilling, let’s be honest. But, like I said. In between the mundane, there is learning, growing, discipling, loving. And I’m choosing contentment and thankfulness is this season of life, however intellectually decapacitating it may be. 😉

What does your typical day include? Is it weird that I like knowing what other people do during the day? #creeper

what do you do all day? life as a stay-at-home-mom, while a privilege, can be rather dull. here's a real "day in the life."

2 thoughts on “A Typical Stay at Home Mom Day”

  1. The comments on my site are turned off now, but I'd love to hear from you on Instagram! Follow me there & tag me in a comment or DM me. Xo I'm @MrsReneeCook on Instagram!
  2. It sounds so peaceful! I feel like our day is way more hectic and crazy. Granted we have two more kids in the family but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Our days vary most days. We read stories before bed every night. We do baths are every other day. M, Wed, & Friday afternoons I get two hours to myself which when I usually try to get caught or simply be lazy and do nothing. Tuesday & Thursdays’ are my tough days because our 4 year old is home all day and keeping her entertained is hard. I am trying hard to find something for her to do. Evenings are usually the time we enjoy the most when Sam gets home and we to hangout with him. He & I rarely go to bed before 11. We are watching TV or he is working & I am working on my business. Also, we try to get a workout in too before 9. Not a creeper. I don’t mind sharing. ????

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