So...What do you do all day?

When I was pregnant with Nas, I was sitting with a few working moms and a woman who didn’t have kids but was employed. It was kind of early in my work as an at-home mom so I wasn’t as prepared for the ridiculous comments they hurled my way as I would be now. Have you ever had someone cut you off at the knees leaving you speechless and completely at a loss for a great comeback? Well, I’ve spent most of my life in such a predicament and this situation was no different.

Then my all-time favorite ‘maybe she’s jealous or absolutely clueless’ working mom question: “So…what do you do all day??” And the mothers stared blankly at me. I felt ‘this’ big. Back then, with just one 3-year-old in tow and a baby bun growing inside I wasn’t ready for this one, but the lioness inside every mother matures with each child, so as a mom of two I’ve got a response. Too bad I wasn’t armed with it back then!

So, to end all of the wondering, the questions (genuine or in jest), and for those considering at-home momdom, I’ve got an answer for you. There isn’t much that goes into a day in the life of an at-home mom, but it’s pretty constant. Pay attention, it probably isn’t what you expected!

6:45 am – Nas enters my bedroom asking for new “undie-wears”, juice and breakfast. My eyes have barely cracked open to see the Pull-Up he is swinging in my face. I’m exhausted so I convince him to lay in bed with me until my body catches up to his, at least close.

7:45 am – Jay has joined the land of the living and she says, “I’m so huuuungry.” I glance at the clock and figure, I’d better get going!

8:00 am – Cooking oatmeal for breakfast, filling a cup for Jay and looking high and low for a sippy cup with the insert to keep juice off Nas and the floor.

8:15 am – I blow Nas’ oatmeal until it’s no longer the temperature of hot lava. He suggests I stick it in the "fri-frigerator", so I do.

8:30 am – I wash the breakfast dishes along with dinner dishes that sat in dirty dish water over night.

8:45 am – Time to finally get Nas into a clean Pull-Up.

9:15 am – Time to change Nas again, I should have just waited for him to poop!

9: 30 am – The kids go play and I steal away a few minutes to watch “Rachael Ray” while I fold laundry. During commercials I toss another load in.

9:45 am – I hear Jay and Nas fighting and a few licks are exchanged…both are in tears and I must deal with them. I decide to send them both to brush teeth, wash faces and to pick out their clothes so I can iron them. Jay cries, as usual, because she detests the getting ready routine. I must ignore it, my heart needs a break from all of the jolts I send it during my tirades.

10:15 am – I brush Nas’ teeth, clean the toothpaste out of Jay’s sink, pick up dirty clothes they have left on the bathroom floor. Then walk past the laundry room and realize I left the washer open…close top in utter disgust and grab the dress Jay feels inclined to wear. I iron whatever needs it and get everyone ready.

11 am – We’re all dressed, for all it’s worth. I remember to sit Nas on the potty, for all it’s worth, then I threaten him with anything he finds interesting that day until he finally gives in to the pending nap. Often, this nap part occurs after I get Jay on the school bus.

11:07 am – I wait with Jay for the bus; kiss, hug and wave goodbye until the bus is no longer in sight.

11:30 am – I plop down in front of the laptop to check email, Google whatever crosses my mind, check My Space (for all it’s worth), then decide if I have any pressing blog entries to hammer out before it gets crazy again. On a tired day I decide against an entry. HGTV or TLC’s “A Baby Story” it is.

12:30 – I’m starving and Nas will be hungry when he wakes so I figure out lunch. I eat and leave his ready to heat in the microwave. Some days it’s leftovers, others it’s a sandwich, and on a rough day it’s from a can.

1:00 – Nas drags himself downstairs, usually in a foul mood, and I change him A-gain and feed the kid.

1:30 – “Read to me, mommy” Nas says, so I do. Some days it’s two short books, others we can spend several minutes on the couch reading together.

2:00 – I realize it’s getting late so I decide to vacuum, wash any dishes and put toys in the playroom…with Nas’ help. On a good day I’ll clean the downstairs bathroom as well.

3:00 – Jay hops off the bus with a backpack full of books and homework. At 3, it seems I have to kick it up a notch to make it through the final leg of the day. Sometimes I succeed, others I fake it til I make it. It’s at this point in the day most mothers do the same thing, some have more hours to do it, others have to get it done in two or three. Three o’clock, for me, is the 5 o’clock for others. We have a snack, do homework, enjoy some family time, have dinner, then get ready for bed around 7 p.m.

Unfortunately I don’t have time for Bon-Bons and soap operas like the scene some working women might envision, but I try to squeeze in some me time whenever I can. If I need it, I’m taking it, or it gets ugly. Moms are the same everywhere, we all work very hard, wear too many hats and try to raise wonderful people simultaneously. Moms in the Working mom vs. At-home mom war are doing just what society expects of us as women.

The way I see it, I’m at home so if I can help you in a pinch, or if you’d like to have a Starbucks sans kids, I’m more than happy to help you out. We moms have to stick together.