As I revealed in a
previous post I'm not the best stay at home mom. Although I am grateful for the opportunity and realize how lucky I am in this day and age to be able to hang out at home all day long, I admit I don't take full advantage of the situation. My house is rarely spotless, I don't take Tania to the park every day, and Aren usually never has homemade treats waiting for him after a long day at school. But there are some things I have learned, and that's how to trick Rick into thinking I do these things all day long. I know he reads this so my pretend dream is now over, but I figure his mom is a way worse housekeeper than I'll ever be so it'll be ok.
So, some tricks for you ladies who are tired and need a day off but feel guilty about it...
1. To make everyone think you have a clean kitchen, even if it's not, pour a little bit of bleach down the sink. The bleachy smell will make everyone think you've been slaving all day and even if it's not perfect, people will think that something they can't see is super clean and therefore compliment you on your hard work. This also works for bathrooms.
2. When someone asks what you did today, list each item individually. Instead of cleaning the house you, "straightened the family room then put some clothes away. Tatiana was being crazy so I tried to calm her down by letting her help fold the laundry which was totally exhausting...". You get the picture.
3. Storebought cookies get as much excitement out of the kids as homemade ones. Plus if you don't have any on hand, you can list going to the store as one of your individual items.
4. Be outside waiting for your husband with the kids when he gets home. This way even if you've only been out there for five minutes, he doesn't know that and he'll think that he owes you some time with the kids and you can go pour bleach down the sink.
5. If you're really desperate, blame everything on the baby. It helps to throw some of the afterschool cookies on the family room floor and rub some crumbs into her face. Also, take her pants off and let her run around in her diaper. Nothing says "I can't take any more of this" like a dirty baby/toddler.
I don't necessarily recommend doing all of these on the same day, unless you're borderline ready to kill your children, then by all means, use these and any more you can think of. Hope this helps!
And of course Aren just asked me if he could be Darth Vadar the next Halloween. Seriously? Let's at least get this day over with before we start planning for next year.
