Thursday, January 17, 2008

Being a SAHM

It feels as if Maleia and I have started the rhythm of a schedule here at home. Of course, it mostly revolves around her feedings every 3 hours or so, but I'm able to get things done after her play time when she's napping. I've started going through each room of the house & trying to get it organized. While I was pregnant this summer and fall, there were so many family gatherings, church functions, etc., that I did basic, and I mean basic, cleaning when I could & had energy to do so. Now, I'm making up for it & getting things together to go to the local thrift store, trying to organize closets, and all that fun stuff.

So far, I've gotten Maleia's room done. Honestly, it took a week. Her room is 1/2 storage & 1/2 baby stuff. With all the hand-me-downs & Christmas gifts, I filled one 25 gallon container with her 3-6 months outfits and another 25 gallon container with 6-9 months outfits. Her dresser drawers hardly shut with her 0-3 months clothes!! The girl is quite the clothes hog. :) We truly are blessed because when she came into the world, we had 5 undershirts, 10 sleepers, and 3 sleeping sacks. As for the storage part of the room, it still looks like storage, but I know where everything is, and that's what counts!

One thing about being at home is being able to think about dinner & get it started earlier in the day. I've loved using the crockpot and just having time & energy to get dinner ready. It's hard to think about & do when you've put in 9 hours at a job 5 days a week! Not that taking care of your kids isn't working, but it's a different stress level I think.

Now, I'm wondering what other new SAHMs do to stay busy?

Here are some pics for the family. I've finally caught some smiles on camera.




7 comments:

Carrie said...

very cute pictures! The first couple months things weren't too busy I worked on SS lessons, went to Bible studies. ..then around 5 mo everything changed. These days with two we go to grocery store one day, clean church 2 days, go to the Library, park, zoo . . . when we are home I clean (there is always more to do) and play with the kids and laundry, ironing, blogging, cooking and baking. Isn't it a great life?!

christina said...

yes, i too love being a stay-at-homer. God's design of babies is perfect. obviously :). i was able to get things really settled and get some good rest when connor was a newborn. through each phase we've adjusted our schedule, but he always knows that he has to go with my flow which has been good. i like having my menu planned out. i've been doing that for while and it's been a real time and budget saver. nathan has always been able to come home for lunch which makes things a little crazier, but i'm glad he gets the time with connor. i don't do many out of the house activities b/c we only have one car, but connor and i are always outside in the summer when we can go for walks and play.

Karen said...

What do we SAHMs do? We relish those early weeks of multiple naps (sneaking in a few of our own whenever possible!), and then we brace ourselves for the day when our babies start to MOVE!

I guess I'm not a 100% SAHM--I work 21 hours/week--but home is where my heart is. (Wow, how cheesy does THAT sound!?) I'm with Christina; I HAVE to have an extended menu plan in order to survive!

Maleia is such a sweetie--love her big eyes!

Katie said...

Way to go, being all productive and all! I feel like I'm a little past the "survival" mode with Simon, but just in that level where the house stays sort of picked up and hopefully not too dirty. :) I'm definitely not doing any extended organizing, but look forward to when that happens! The tough part is having an ENERGETIC 3.5 year old who doesn't nap. We're trying to develop room time, but Luke is so social - he's not very good at being by himself. This makes me crazy some days! I too have to have a menu, or we end up eat scrambled eggs for supper (though sometimes, that IS on my menu) :)

S said...

In my early days as a SAHM, I wasn't as productive either since Esther was a fussy baby with acid reflux, etc. and it seemed like she always wanted to be held! I relished the time with her though since she was the first and I had the time to cuddle with her. We too have adjusted our schedule with Stephen's and now we're so busy with ministry, that I'm going to have to restructure our schedule again. It seems now there's not enough time in the day. I love what I do now, but I feel like it's still as busy as when I worked outside the home, except now it's doing jobs I like! :) My time seems to be filled with cleaning, cooking, laundry, family finances, playing with Esther, training Esther (some days that feels like it's all I do), and helping Stephen with ministry projects and keeping in contact with girls in our youth group. Last year, I tutored 10 hours a week and we travelled an hour one way to church on Sundays where we were really involved with music, so that was how we spent our time too.

Glad you're enjoying being a mommy!

Unknown said...

thanks for posting such adorable smiley photos! she has quite the endearing grin.

i'm with everyone else, most days i love being a sahm. i very distinctly remember those newborn days with Chloe - tiring but productive once we got into a schedule. (It gets even better when your little one sleeps through the night!) All I can say is, enjoy it! Things get way crazier with two kiddos and the days fly by. As Katie mentioned, at the end of the day I'm feeling good if I can get supper together (which I try to do when/if both nap) and keep things slightly picked up.

I also have a part-time online job which fills up my free time. I'm picking up more work now as I ease back into my responsibilities and I'm wondering how I'm going to get it all done. One HUGE thing God is proving to me these days is that His grace is ALWAYS sufficient. Tonight when I dreaded the evening God reminded me to trust in Him with all my heart and not to rely on my own understanding of the situation. Let's hope I can remember these lessons as Clive gets older!

Elizabeth said...

Wonderful pics, Pam! I'm definitely bringing my camera on Monday. :) I'm glad you had the chance to get organized. I know it drives you nuts not to be. :) Looking forward to Monday!