A Day In The Life Of A Stay At Home Mom (Part 3)

My long overdue PART 3 post is finally here. I apologize that it’s taken me a while to finish this series but I think that’s just another attestation of motherhood and family life. We had a hectic December and also took a much needed break from blogging. Then with other delays, distractions and unpredictable timelines, here we are with my A Day In the Life of a Stay at Home Mom Part 3 post two months later.

Family life can sure be unpredictable but our evenings are the most predictable parts of our day. So I’ve divided this post into four simple headings.

The Wait

It’s 3:30PM. Rosie and I are both grouchy old farts by late afternoon. I’m antsy and eyeing the clock because George is supposed to get off work at 4pm. I’m eager for my backup to arrive and give me some relief. Rosie becomes insanely clingy around now. There’s definitely no more independently play for the rest of the day. I give her my undivided attention: we play, we read, we eat a snack, we check the mail and we sit in the condo lobby to people watch – anything to help pass that SLOW 60 minutes. Daddy ends up coming home at 5PM. He’s been working extra lately and I knew in my head that he would come home late but I’m always getting my hopes up.

I admit 4-6PM is the worst time of the day. I am irritable, physically exhausted most of the time, and my single preoccupation is anticipating when George will come through that front door. So unfortunately after waiting so long, I’m not in the best mood when he comes home. Today I force a smile as he comes in the front door.

Dinnertime Shenanigans

I mellow out in the kitchen as I cut the vegetables. As tired as I am, I prefer to do the cooking because it’s my break from Rosie. I think it’s also nice for daddy to catch up on some quality time with her too (although more times than not all three of us just end up in the kitchen). Cooking dinner can be stressful because it’s always feels like I’m racing against a hangry baby. By 5:30pm she’s miserable but I usually can’t get dinner on the table until 6pm. We also learned the hard way that snacks so close to dinner time is a terrible idea.

So send me your simplest meal ideas. I am always looking to add to my list of quick and easy dinner recipes. Lately I made a lazy cabbage roll recipe with our Instant Pot. It turned out so well and I think it was the fastest and laziest meal I ever made. It was probably less than 30 minutes from the time I prepped to the time the meal was on the table.

I set aside Rosie’s portion of dinner and George starts to feed her. We’ve stopped bothering to let her eat independently for dinner. We just don’t have the energy to deal with the mess and the shenanigans.

After dinner Rosie is a bit more content. A tired baby is better than a tired AND hungry baby. She walks around tossing her ball and chasing after it. George and I wrap up our own dinner. Rosie picks up a book and demands it to be read. We read for a bit and then do family worship.

Bath Time & A Good Night

Rosie always perks up for bath time. “Come Rosie, it’s time to take a bath.” She grins and she’ll lead the way to the bathroom. She loves helping daddy fill up her tub. She reaches for the stream of water coming out of the faucet and making a mess before she’s even in the tub. She is never more cooperative as I undress her – the eagerness to hop in is unreal. Then she plays for a good 10 minutes, mostly throwing her toys to make the biggest splashes she possibly could. I kid you not, this girl LOVES water.

It’s always sad to have to pull her out of the tub. She puts up a fight when daddy lifts her up. She scratches madly as mommy scoops her up in a warm towel. Drying off and lotioning is an endless battle of the limbs – Rosie’s four limbs against mommy and daddy’s hands. The whole ordeal takes long because of Rosie’s eczema. We want to be as thorough as we can to keep her skin condition under control. Once the princess is prepped for bed and in her pajamas, she drinks a cupful of warm milk, brushes her teeth (gets her teeth brushed) and is tucked into bed with lots of hugs and kisses. Daddy sits with her briefly.

Free Time Begins

Mommy leaves to veg on the couch for a bit before tackling only the essential chores – putting the food away, finishing any laundry, and cleaning up the toys (just to make daddy happy). George and I have been trying to sleep earlier too so we have about two hours together before we head off to bed. Those two hours fly by in the blink of an eye – chores, an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, some chit-chatting and snuggles, and we’re out cold.

So there you have it, a typical day in the life of this stay-at-home mom with all its glorious details. If you haven’t, catch up on our PART 1 and PART 2 posts here! Like I said at the very beginning of the series, it is a mundane and tiring routine but it is well worth it in every way.