Day 2 as a Stay-At-Home-Mom (again)

Things went well on our first day, but I have a a few lessons learned already.

Lesson 1: In my family, you do not make the same amount of pasta for goulash as you do for mac & cheese. We had some boxes of Mac & Cheese that Alex had picked up from the Cross-Walk. They all have food dye, but the pasta is still good. So I used the pasta to make enough goulash for a family meal and leftovers for a lunch. Ethan "I like your goulash mommy, but I just don't feel like eating it right now" Shockingly, he didn't feel like eating it for lunch the next day either. Adam is on a no/low Carb diet and Chloe is on a pasta strike, so none for them. Let's just say that there is enough to eat it for the next week and still have leftovers.

Lesson 2: Now that I am cooking more, I will use the pots and pans more often. The lid to my large crock-pot broke a while back. I was thankful that the lid to one of my pans fits it perfectly, so it wasn't a big deal. Today as I am tossing dinner together in the crock-pot I went to grab the lid. I remembered that it had broken, so started looking for the pan lid. I was thinking I would have to ask the girls (who have been helping with the dishes) where they put the lid. Then I remembered the goulash from Lesson 1, and the pan that it is still sitting in on the fridge shelf.... Well, I found the lid.

Lesson 3: Teaching the kids to enjoy housework or at least tolerate it would be easier if I didn't hate it. I need to keep a positive attitude and keep my eye on the prize. Then I need to do it along side the kids to help them learn; remember that having the kids do housework is NOT the easier way, however doing it myself is not helping them. Then think like the kids while trying to find things back in the kitchen...

Lesson 4: I LOVE mornings!!! I forgot how much I loved getting up in the morning to just enjoy the peace! Doing my devotions before anyone wakes up means that I get so much more out of it and that I start my day stress-free. Cinder loves me in the morning also, before the kids get up and put him an alert. (waiting to be "loved" by the kids) You can hear the birds chirping without the constant noise from passing cars. Ahhhh

Lesson 5: Everything from 5 years ago did not just come back to me. I am going to have to relearn time management (at home) as well as most other parts of being at home. I only got half of my planned day done yesterday despite getting started at 5:35am. The kids get up on their own time and they ask for things like cuddle time that you just have to do!

Lesson 6: I am in LOVE with my job! The work is hard, pay is not good, but the benefits out way everything else. I got to cuddle with Ethan, Chole, and Donna as well as got a great hug from Alex. What more could I ask for?

Today I feel blessed to have this amazing family and a second chance to be home with my kids!