I am the oldest of 5. I have 1 sister and 3 brothers. We are all mostly grown up now. I used to think of how much fun it would be when we were all growed up and married, playing games while the little grandkids were running around. Well so far mine are the only ones "running" around.... and I am just about done, while the others are still "in progress." :)
About 5 years ago, my brother was just getting ready to go on his mission. He was at my house visiting. When I have a sibling over, I try to NOT fuss or frass, but I sit on the couch and visit, depending on the nature of the visit. After one such visit with my oldest younger brother, he was leaving and he asked, "So what do you do all day?" Huh? I am sorry? At this point, I Savannah was 4, Mikenna was 2, and I was in school full time. Hmmmmm.
Fast forward to 5 years later. My middle youngest brother was over for dinner. He asked, "So now that you aren't working, what do you do all day?" Again. HUH? I am sorry? Did I hear you correctly?
Now while I don't imagine that either of my brothers were trying to imply that I do nothing.... One must wonder the genuineness of such a question. My initial response to the question is,
"Well I have a maid to clean my bathrooms once a week, vacuum twice a week, sweep and mop daily, wash dry put away 8-10 loads of laundry a week, empty put away and load dishes at least twice daily.
I have a cook to prepare all of my meals daily (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, milk before bed) and lets not forget the grocery shopping to prepare those meals.
I have a nanny to entertain kids, run kids to tumbling, ballet, music, and therapy twice a week, dress kids, bath kids, do kids hair, follow them around and pick up all their 'piles,' and come up with endless activities to occupy said kids with crafts, swimming, story time, library, museums, movies.
And a personal tutor for each of them to help with homework, reading, math, fine and gross motor skills, etc."
So as you see, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I have to wake up early every day to fit in all that I need to. 10am. Then I make myself a shake and head to the gym for two hours. I come home, shower, go get a mani, pedi, and my hair done. After all that stress, I head off to the spa for a massage. Oh and don't forget lunch with my besties and all the shopping I have to do for all the parties I am in charge of.
Ok we all know that's a lie. I don't live in New York and I am definitely NOT a New York housewife.
So take away the Nanny, the cook, the maid, and the tutor..... And that my brothers is what I do all day, every day. And the "now that you don't work......" line :) Well I am a Nanny, a cook, a maid, and a tutor. I think they call that a MOTHER. LOVE Ya!
To all you Woman out there (or men :)), leave a comment (AND EMAIL ADDRESS) about one thing you do with your kids and receive a $15 gift card to Target for something "FUN." And if you don't follow me already, add yourself. Don't be shy :)
I will draw names on August 9 because we could all use a little extra to get ready for school. I will email the winner and you will have 24 hours to reply. If I don't hear from you after 24 hours, I will redraw and repeat :). Good LUCK
36 comments:
I work full time during the school year, go to school full time and teach online college classes plus have three kids. My husband works nights and sleeps days so I do IT ALL!. Carpools, dishes,laundry, pack lunches, clean, referee fights oh did I mention the laundry!
I Love your blog. I don't know you but I am LDS and I feel inspired by you!
Well, today was craft day. (Or "craps" as Jenna named it a few years ago.) We (and by that I mean I) made headbands with felt flowers on them. We spent an hour shopping and an hour crafting, made a complete mess of my mother-in-law's kitchen, and wound up with a couple of glue gun burns, but my kids are so pleased with their little treasures. The perfect way to spend a girly afternoon!
Picnic's at the park are a fave right now. Since our summer weather allows for it, we do it often :) Swimming is always fun too!
cassicurryaz@gmail.com
Love reading your inspiring blog.
One of my favorite things to do right now with my two little boys is dance. My three year old can bust a move like it's no one's business to Lady Gaga's Just Dance (I too have a love/hate with her music!). And my baby loves to stand up and literally bounce himself silly. It's one of the best ways to break up the other not so fun parts of our day!
heatherdemke(at)gmail(dot)com
I wake up at 6am, get myself and two kids ready for the day, drive them to my mom's house (or in laws, depending on the day), drive myself to work at 7:30am, listen to angry parents most of the morning, take a 30min lunch break, work some more, leave work at 5pm, pick up my kids from my mom's house, drive back to our house, feed my munchkins dinner, entertain them until bedtime, bath them and put them down for bed...and then when my husband comes home from work at 10pm, I spend 20-30min with him and crash into my bed to start everything over again. :) But it's all worth it and I know someday people will be asking me what I do all day when I get to be home with my kids.
stargirl_KSF(at)yahoo(dot)com
I am a friend of Stephanie's and love your blog. I have three children and a husband that has been in Iraq since the end of December. I am lucky I work for a company that allows me to work out of my home office. I do all your chores as well- plus the ones my husband normally does. I think you are inspiring.
I'm a mom of 5, thats so interesting that you're the oldest of 5. My children are 16,14,12,10 and 6. As if that isn't enough in common, my name is Brittany and my 2nd daughter is named Savanna. :)
Since my kids range in age's, the one thing we like to all do together is to sing and dance!
We like turning videos on demand on and singing and dancing our lil hearts out!
OK. I love it! So true about the misconceptions of what Moms do!
What do I do with them, currently spend a good 4-7 hours a day in my car driving them from here to there and back again. . . But, to make all those quality hours, not just quantity hours we have been listening to Portuguese of CD!
(:
Oh yes... please you know how i love target.. as much as you right!!!
Glad to hear that you are a normal mom!!!! miss you.
I am the Bum Wiper.
You know my name. You know where I live. You know my email.
And you know that I pull a bald-headed baby around Mesa-town.
But we took all our bikes up to the mountains and rode all over up there, and bike riding in the mountains is 15 times funner than riding on the street.
I wish I could say I chase my cute little bugger around my apartment, and laugh and play with him, comfort him when he cries...but I don't. I just have my memories....and memories to create when my other buggers come here. Cute post!! don't you love to explain that question like hello!!?? do you see this house...
My favorite right now is scrapblooking and cooking. They love to help and yes it takes longer and makes a bigger mess but its time with them.
Tina
pugsley73@cableone.net
First of all I have to tell you that my husband has asked me this on occasion. I was sick last week and after having the kids all day he said "Wow, now I know what you do all day". :) I changes ALOT of diapers!!!!
walters_melissa@hotmail.com
Oh!!! I would love the Target giftcard!!! I don't think I've sat down at all this last week!! You are a wonderful mom! And I have been loved because I made your cookies this week! Thank you! If you have any good recepies, I am in need of something easy and different! Have a good weekend!
only one! i guess my most time consuming thing is Emmeline's daily therapy sessions. meganph(at)gmail(dot)com.
After work I usually take Jake for a walk around our apartment complex and play at the play structure. Since it's been hot (not even close to AZ hot thankfully!) we've been filling up buckets of water and playing with water toys. He LOVES it. He's funny about getting his feet wet so he has to wear his rain boots :)
Don't forget the wiping away tears, listening to/understanding childhood chatter, answering endless questions, being the family nurse that cares for owies, illnesses and every other hurt imaginable, negotiator, referee, director, and teacher of life's most precious truths, ... the list goes on... and on. Let's be honest - WE ARE IMPORTANT in the lives of these little people! Thank goodness for us, right!?! :)
Thanks for inspiring me!
Love, a friend (me, Lis) of a friend (Annie L.) :)
lisshumwayatyahoodotcom
Bike Riding - I love it, she loves it! Why not kill two birds (or 2 lbs) with one bike ride!
For many years I "didn't work". I just stayed home and raised 7 kids. Then, I went to school and got a real job! Ha! Ha! now I spend my days (my nights actually) getting paid to do what I had been doing for free for years. (Seriously my job is alittle more than that) On my days off I am the backup nanny, cook, maid, tutor, nurse, etc for my daughters and wonderful grandchildren. Now instead of hearing "what do you do all day?" I hear.."Do you work tomorrow? no?..Oh good..we will be over to play...gotta love it!
My children are 24, 22, 20 and 17 but I remember those days when they were younger. Now for fun I spend an hour a week email chatting with a daughter on a mission in France, walking/bike riding and other things with my 20 year old daughter and I spend a lot of time talking and entertaining my children with my forgetfulness. It was busy when they were younger but it is equally as busy now and I love the time I spend with each of them - I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks for inspiring me.
greatlakes984@msn.com
My kids are 2, 1, and 8 months - so changing diapers all day is about what we do for fun -- just kidding. Toddlers are busy busy - so I my challenge is to keep them busy in the right direction - usually coloring, playing on the swings, snuggling, and reading books.
rachelmdoyle@gmail.com
I don't work, but with a two year old and a very busy one year old, there isn't too much time for fun. When we need fun, we treat ourselves to the Sonic drive thru for Happy Hour. Nothing makes my two year old smile like having her own "pink soda", and nothing makes me smile like caffeine...
amjohnson517@yahoo.com
How sweet are you?!! I love your blog, it's one of my favorites!
It's been fun to read all the other comments about what moms do with their kids. I love being a mom & wouldn't trade it for anything in the world (even on the hard days!).
My favorite thing ever is to just cuddle with my little ones, with no interupptions or being rushed to do something else. Love doesn't get any better than that!
lloyd_am(at)hotmail(dot)com
being a mom is one of the best parts of life for me. I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything. I have 6 kids, 17, 16, 15, 12, 11 and 8, whew that made me tired just typing it. I just love swimming with my kids. They burn off their energy so there is less bickering and we have a GREAT time exercising.
You are my hero Brittany!!! xoxo
rntina@msn.com
Fun idea, Britt--my favorite thing to do with my kids is drag them around Target (NOT!). Actually I keep my delicious Target trips all to myself. I am loving having my kids home from school, though, and we have wasted countless hours reading Harry Potter (almost done with #7) and playing classic Zelda (we've beat it three times now I think). Do I get anything else done? Obviously not, but there's always the school year for all that boring stuff...
Britt I loved this post. :) Thanks for making me smile. I think all moms fit into those titles. Moms rule. :) So I want to win a gift card, how fun are you?? To name one thing I do with my kids... one of their favorite things to do is to make cupcakes. So they all crowd around the Bosch to "help" me make them. The end result is usually faces plastered with cake batter. :) You have my email address, but to follow orders it is brooke.geary@gmail.com
Love ya!
This was such a fun post to read. I'm not sure how long i've been following but it's definately been a while. I'm a full time working-out-of-the-home mom and wife. My favorite thing to do with my little red-headed munchkin is sing and dance. She loves it. I'm not very good but it's entertaining to her!
SARA
saramhowarth@gmail.com
As a full time Mom... I think my days are filled to the max with pushing cars around, playing at the park, and getting dirty with my 1 year old son. The best days of my life. Sometimes it is incredibly hard to explain to people without children what we "mothers" do all day. Sure, we have SOME down time, but mostly it is go, go, go from sun up to sun down.
I love reading your blog. You are a true inspiration. BTW, I was Melissa's roommate at BYU-I back in 2002.
juliembarnes@gmail.com
Britt - you are so awesome. I am "the bus driver!" I drive my kiddos to swimming 3 times a week. Car time is great. It is when we do lots of chatting, singing, fighting, and catching up with each other. We do lots of other "stuff" at home too. Sure seems like we are in the car a lot though.
amietaylor@gmail.com
I loved this post! I could totally empathize with you! I'm a full time mom of 4 kids (7,5,3,1) Boy, Boy, Girl, Boy. They keep me SOOOO busy. But besides the "usual" mom stuff, my favorite things are reading to them, LOOOOOVE kids books, and both my husband and I take turns doing one-on-one dates with the kids every so often. It's so fun to just spend alone time with each child just for a few hours. It helps me feel closer to them and I hope they will have fond memories of these dates too!
Thanks for the give-a-way and thanks for staying so on top of your blog. It's such an inspiring and uplifting blog with a great sense of humor to it too :)
HAHAHA!! Well said Brit!!! I would have to say ditto to all you have already said. Only it's not therapy twice a week, it's 34 hours of therapy for Jack and 3 hours for Joe. Luckily, for me, Tyla has hers at her moms house during the week. Also, I am grateful that all but 3 hours of the 34 for jack are at my house. But, next week we have to add the 3 days of school, and with a new crazy therapy schedule, he won't be able to ride the bus :( Bummer for me mostly, cuz man, I loved that extra time I had to myself with Joe sleeping!!! (holy run on sentence) Anyway...that's what I do all day!!! Oh and we just got a new puppy!!! Yes, I am crazy!
briannamallen80@yahoo.com
Oh also, I wanted to tell you I went to my cousins house who lost her baby too (a different one, then I talked to you about before) and I don't know if you know anyone who does vinyl lettering or not, but she had the cutest little saying over her "shrine" of Emma. It said, "One of the best ways to have Heaven in your home, is to have someone you Love in Heaven"
I just loved it so much!!! I shared it with my bff whose little brother died on Aug 11 and she is going to make it for her mom.
Thats all. You continue to amaze me!! Love you :)
For fun we try to do something different every week. This week I'm (me alone) taking the kids camping with my sisters and their kids-no husbands-just mom's and kids. Should be fun-Hopefully.
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