The Stay at Home Mom's Guide to Staying Sane!!

I am blessed to be the stay at home mom for my four beautiful children. Sometimes being a stay at home mom can be a thankless job, though I do receive the occasional "thanks ma" but I have to have done something pretty amazing, like buying my teenager the pair of jeans she has been dying to have.

I am sure that when you decided to become a stay at home mom you didn't think it would be like having twelve full time jobs, I know I didn't. Now you are a chef, nurse, teacher, maid, alarm clock, counselor, fashion consultant, seamstress, mediator, chauffeur, repair person, and waitress. I sure didn't see all that in the copy of the job description, maybe I just didn't read it as well as I should have. Is there a way to stay sane (assuming you were sane to start with) through all this chaos? Yes, you may not stay completely together, but at least you will be able to stay out of the nut house.

When everyday can bring new disasters you need to find at least one thing that makes you laugh, The harder the better. This will help you not take everything so seriously. My children are constantly doing things that make me laugh so hard my sides hurt. Nothing is off limits (unless there is blood or protruding bones), if they decide it is a good idea to go running through the kitchen, then slip and fall on their rear, laugh, you know it's funny. If your thirteen year old daughter comes to you asking if it really is possible to have two left feet, laugh, laugh, laugh. Your children are not so sensitive they can't handle you laughing at their mishaps, hey you may even teach them to not take themselves so seriously too. Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to find at least one thing everyday you can laugh about, no matter how frustrated annoyed or tired you may be, laugh, it will make you feel so much better.

Everyone needs a little time to themselves sometimes. You need to make it a priority to get out of the house at least once a week. Now that my kids are all in school I meet some of the other mom's at the park, with our dogs, every morning (you can also find a ton of amusing things at the dog park). This gives us all the opportunity to have adult conversations and excessive your pet without wearing yourself out, plus we are almost all stay at home mom's, so we get to either brag about how wonderful our children and husbands are, or we complain how our entire household is out of control and how we are seriously debating running away to the circus. (bet you can't figure out which occurs more)

When you are feeling completely overwhelmed complain to your friends or family. Venting helps calm the frustration and lowers the stress level. Getting it all out makes it all seem easier to deal with.

The last bit of advice I have is "don't sweat the small stuff". If your kids are bickering in the bedroom, let them, they will most likely work it out between themselves, without your help. If you don't feel like vacuuming one day, don't, it will still be there tomorrow. Always remember you are doing the most difficult and rewarding job in the world. You are raising our future and that is amazing.