What do stay at home moms do all day?

A couple of days ago I did a voice memo for every 15 minutes of my day. I often get to the end of the day and wonder what I accomplished but mostly just see what I did not get done. Mind you this was a Sunday, our "day of rest". Needless to say I am not trying to be intentional, thanks to the recommendation of a great friend, for "me days". They are not selfish, they are not indulgent, they are necessary on the job precautions. If your day looks anything like this please try to find a way to take time out to recharge, refresh and listen to the creator of your day. If you have people in your life that don't understand what you do with "ALL YOUR TIME" maybe you should do a job report of your day. This was also eye opening for me to see if I do really waste time or what I can cut out or add in. Just a little bit of accountability for everyone. Hope you feel seen and encouraged by reading a little bit of my crazy. 



645 wake up to #2 asking for juice and #3 wanting to nurse
let the dog out get juice and milk for the girls make coffee

715 asked the girls to feed the dog end up feeding him myself ask them to get ready for church they tell me they don't want to go make breakfast for the girls change the clocks because I'm confused

730 make breakfast for the baby pour cream of wheat instead of baby cereal start over feed the baby drink my coffee watch curious George Halloween for the hundredth time

745 check Facebook change from Halloween to Thanksgiving flag eat my breakfast

8 o'clock scratch eating breakfast change a major blowout realize baby needs a bath instead get #3 ready for church

815 trying decide whether I want to choose a healthy breakfast or something fast settle on whole wheat bagel with peanut butter banana hemp hearts coconut and honey sit down to eat baby cries nurse baby while eating breakfast 

830 share breakfast with all of your 

children get #2 ready for church

845 talk to husband on phone nurse baby to sleep check Facebook

9 o'clock to try to get yourself ready with 1000 interruptions baby crying Fiona has to poop wipe but partially do your make up let dog out put dog away get everyone in car frantically pack bag to make sure you have enough of everything for everyone

930 time to go can't finish everything you need to
house is a mess didn't get to clean up from breakfast headed to church

talk to a friend about children's church on the ride to church

10 to 12 o'clock refreshing church service all kids in care (I forced Fiona and heard her crying down the hall but I just needed a break)

1230 lunch at Wendy's thanks to Papa Fiona pooped in the potty in the car (collect poop with a doggy bag wipe butt find a trashcan)

1 o'clock drive to MacArthur mall return lip stain at Sephora (try to explain problem to associate while kids touch everything and ask for lipstick 456 times)
visit CeCe at her grand opening at Garden Gazebo get a drink to share at Bon Pan
let kids play at the play place

Take all the kids to the bathroom (Fiona is doing a great job potty training)

4 o'clock we are back home #2 and #3are sleeping Simone will have quiet time

415 bathroom break for me (just kidding baby is crying awake)

430 watch how to get away with murder on nursing a baby

530 make dinner for everyone

630 baby is asleep i'm having a cuppa coffee

645 Fiona has an accident cleanup bathroom floor fold two loads of laundry

715 Rock baby back to sleep daddy is home

I stopped at this point but my parenting continues through the rest of the night with wake ups from all 3 which means I never get good sleep and this starts all over the next  day. Anyone working this schedule for any length of time would be run ragged. While I love being a mom and the blessing my family is is not lost on me. I am starting to recognize that I also need to be taken care of and that is only going to happen if I am intentional.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or tried and true methods to get recharged and feel human. 

Finding Yourself Right Where You Are

I have three beautiful daughters a lovely home a devoted husband and a lot of my angst and philosophical questioning has given way to practicalities. Still, in the midst of seeming endless dirty dishes and poopy diapers, I sometimes find myself still very unsettled. The days where all I can do is lock my two oldest outside to "play" and put the baby in the crib to "sleep" and go cry in my room so I can't hear anyone else cry, I ask myself and God many questions. Questions of purpose, questions or worth and of whether I am failing miserably or if He is still even listening. I indulge myself a few minutes to collect myself so the old man doesn't rear his ugly head. But lately I have been finding those moments happen far more often and the indulgent few moments not being enough.


I had been praying for provision and purpose putting far too many irons in the fire to help ends meet and my heart fill, mostly in vain. Then through a series of seemingly unassuming events, I discovered a hidden talent, passion and additional income all in one.

It started with a set of cheap face paints a dear friend gave to me and two very eager little girls that wanted to become a new character EVERY DAY. At first I was doing it to appease them, then I found myself getting frustrated that my canvas wouldn't sit still for long and I couldn't add as much detail as I wanted to perfect the rainbow butterfly princess fairy.

Then my mother was nice enough to let me raid her huge barn full of junk (umm I mean treasure) and list it on Craigslist to get some extra money. I started with the big furniture pieces to get them out of the way to look through the more collectible pieces. I had an idea to spruce up a few pieces with some spray paint and I quickly made a few extra hundred dollars. Then I discovered a huge lot of old beautiful windows and thought I could paint family signs or something of the sort for the holidays or as presents.  I had some dollar store paintbrushes and five colors of acrylic paint leftover from a Father's Day project and thought, "anyone can paint letters right?" So I put some feelers out on social media and nobody really bit. I laid in bed one night counting the bills that were unpaid and the lack of opportunity and started to tumble down that rabbit hole of self pity. And I am not sure exactly  the timeline of things but I got a harebrained idea that I wanted to paint a mermaid for my sister for her birthday on a window. I spent hours into the night searching for inspiration as the rest of my house slept and the next morning I awoke and neglected most of my responsibilities to get this idea out of my head and onto the window. The process was so pleasurable and the finished product wasn't half bad. I had a second window and a little more paint left and my second mermaid came to life.

I was amazed at the nearness of God as I painted and the hushed conversation in my mind of creation and detail and personality.  It is incredibly difficult to replicate the human figure, far more complicated to think of something so creative and beautiful out of nothing. I watched this creation come to life and I felt a pride and a wonder about her. I thought of my children and even myself and the creative detailed process that went into making my inmost being. The Father was teaching me his heart and sharing his creative genius.

Soon I was getting such positive feedback on my art. Next thing you know people are commissioning me to do specific pieces. Isn't God hilarious? Here I am, a stay at home mom, with no degree, no art training and a yearning in my heart. He took the junk laying around my house and the little bits of time in my life and made an artist out of me and provided for my family.

Make your requests known to God, open the box of possibilities, and be diligent with what you already have and watch some magic happen. Who knows what hidden talents we all have waiting to be ignited by the creator of the Universe. Watch Him make room for the gifts He has given you. God sees you right where you are, let Him redefine your understanding of yourself and your circumstances.

What Romance Looks Like Three Kids, a Mortgage, and a Minivan Later

When I was single I had grandiose ideas of what marriage and parenting should look like. Since I wasn't demonstrated these things at home well, I decided I would just do the complete opposite and add a dash of a Hollywood romcom or two. Turns out real life doesn't work that way and despite your best efforts, being a grown up is way tougher than anyone can prepare you for.

Now that I am in a new decade I am starting to TRY to appreciate what is right in front of me and not what I don't have. Most of life hinges on perspective. So here is a list of what romance might look like after you say I do, the honeymoon is over and nobody is sending anymore gifts for growing up.

1. Husband in robe holding crying child cleaning dishes
2. Coming home from 12 hour shift to toast freezer waffles so you can get ten extra minutes of sleep
3. Remembering you like vinegar with your fries at Five Guys even though its been ages since you have been there or had any date at all
4. Wearing any child in any carrier
5. Still grabbing your jiggly bits even though they have gone quite a bit softer and farther south
6. Giving you the red and clear gummy bears out of the pack
7. Attending to your ugliest body malfunctions after childbirth
8. Remembering how you like your coffee and bringing it to you even if you will never drink the whole mug hot because of a zillion screaming children
9. Keeping the kids busy while you put on your make up alone for two and a half minutes
10. Taking the diaper genie out after you have overstuffed it because you are just too exhausted to take the extra steps to the trash can

I could do this all day folks. The fact is we are in a tough season with three little ones and never enough money to stretch or time to spend. The choice I'm faced with daily is to find the romance in this season in our real lives. The fact of the matter is the romance really is truer and sweeter because you have seen the worst of each other and you still choose to do the little selfless things to hint to the other that your vows still stand and you still find the other totally HOT!