Me. In all of my un-domestic glory.

I was going through old drafts and came across this post that I wrote almost two years ago.  While I no longer have to wash pump parts (yay!), just about everything else is relevant.

I’m not as un-domestic (yes, I made up a word) as they come, but I may be pretty darn close.  I don’t know how to fix things, I’m not a good cook, my house will never be pristine.  I’ve never pretended to be a domestic goddess and poor A knew what he was getting into when he decided to marry me. J  I have no doubt that I would be a terrible housewife.  Thank God we’ve moved on from the 1950’s.

Because my inadequacies have been pointed out recently, I thought I’d put together a list of things I actually do.  Yes, there are many things I totally suck at (meal planning, laundry, scrapbooking, ironing to name a few), but I’m certainly not a lazy slacker.

I try to cook 1 or 2 meals a week.  A is really great at grilling and making roasts.  I, on the other hand, am good at pasta dishes, enchiladas, and soups.  While some weeks are crazier than others, I do try to contribute to homemade dinners at least twice a week.

I take/pick up W from preschool every Tuesday and Thursday.

I select/buy all the shoes and clothes, including coats, pajamas, etc. for the boys.

I research the hell out of baby products/gear, toys, and books.  Nearly every children’s item in our house was carefully selected.  Safety and durability are incredibly important to me (and so is fun).  I hate the thought of wasting money on unsafe/unused/inadequate products.

I plan the activities.  I like to get out of the house on the weekends when possible.  The zoo trips, play dates, gym trips, new park visits are mostly planned and researched by me.

I hand wash the bottles/pump parts.  I’m not the only one washing these, but I do a significant portion of the washing.  The dishwasher just doesn’t do a good enough job.

I take the boys to all doctor’s appointments and haircuts.  I have only missed one doctor’s appointment and that was because I had just taken W in 2 days prior.  He didn’t have an ear infection when I took him, but I was certain he had one 2 days later and he did.

For the past 11 months, I’ve been pumping for S.  He’s been on 100% breast milk since he was born and I’m very proud of that commitment.  It hasn’t been easy and it has been very time consuming.

I do the grocery shopping.  A almost always helps with this, but I go to the store every weekend.

I lay with W until he falls asleep every night.  We’ve always had trouble with W sleeping and I’ve discussed it here (probably too many times).  These days, I lay with him until he falls asleep and then sneak out.  It’s a small price to pay for a full night of sleep.

I make all the photo albums.  Another very time consuming task.

I design/send all the Christmas cards and birthday invites, wrap the majority of the presents, and plan the birthday parties.  I also order/make the décor.  I realize these things only happen once a year, but they are very time consuming.

Daily baths, diaper changes, teeth brushing, potty training, and all the other tasks that come along with raising little ones.

I contribute financially.  This is a big one.  As a full time employee, my paycheck is very significant to our lifestyle and well-being.  Without my job, we wouldn't have our house.  The boys wouldn't participate in extra activities and we certainly wouldn't go on vacation ever.  We'd be living paycheck to paycheck and surviving.  Working also means I’m gone and/or busy from 7:30am - 5:30pm every day.

I watch 0-30 minutes of television per day.  It’s most often 0, but every now and then, the stars align and I have a few minutes to myself.  I only mention this to point out that I don’t have much free time.

This is in no way suggesting that A doesn’t pull his weight or contribute.  He most definitely does.  In fact, he does all the laundry, the dishes, and often cooks in addition to a bazillion other helpful things.  I’m also not complaining.  I actually really like doing all of these things.  It’s just that when people question my contributions, I get defensive.  I’m not perfect.  But I’m a damn good mom.  I work full time and when I’m home, my priority is the boys.  Some may not understand our family dynamic and that’s fine.  But it works for us.  And really, that’s all that matters.