Now that I’m a “Stay-At-Home-Mom,” 85% of the time, it’s easy to think that the days are all mine. It’s easy to think that after taking care of the baby’s needs, that the remaining hours of a very short day are mine to do with what I’d like. Write. Exercise. Blog. Contemplate my creativity sitting atop our view porch in the sun. Redeem an endless supply of blow outs and shopping sprees. Right. Especially to that last one. While we aren’t made of money, we are currently in a position to allow me to stay at home with our infant daughter. This is such a gift. One that I don’t plan to squander. In addition to being a good mom, I’ve decided I also need to work on being a better wife. It’s true that we’ve fallen into traditional gender roles – him, winning the bread, me, supposedly baking it. We tried having me work full-time too, but it just didn’t make sense considering what I was bringing in with the cost of child care. So, here I am. My new job at home; my new job, THE HOME. While, Merp, the ole’ man of the house truly expects NOTHING of me in terms of house wifery, I still want to get good at it. After all, what would you expect of your partner if they stayed home all day, and you didn’t? A clean house? Dinner a few nights per week? I mean, right? It’s only fair to take care of business, while the person working does.
Enter, The Good Wife Project.
As part of my self improvement initiative of 2015, I will chronicle my continued domestication. Guys, I’m not the world’s best cook, okay? I may have an eye for home decorating, and know that a cup of tea and a cozy throw go a long way toward making a home feel like one, but I can do more. I can be better. I CAN learn to whip up delicious dinners beyond the basics. I can learn to nourish my man’s body and soul. It just may take a little practice.
As Merp was leaving for the day I told him about the Good Wife Project and he said, “Sound awesome! Will you wear sexy outfits while you serve me dinner, too?”
Nice try, husband, nice try.
I was a house Hubby for 11 years , I looked after the house,property,our kidlet, cooked cleaned the whole 9 yards, you will quickly find (especially with a new baby) that there just isn’t enough hours in a day, and being a stay at home parent/wife/hubby is a very hard full time job, however not to discourage you, it is also the absolute most rewarding experience of a lifetime, you get to be with your child and watch as they learn and grow, you get to spoil your partner in so many ways,you get to run the house and home as you see fit, you get to organize and decorate it to your tastes,you control the house always, being a Domestic Engineer is a great job , don’t let anyone tell you different.
Awesome! I like how you called it “domestic engineer,” that about sums it up. 🙂
Haha. Nice try, indeed. Love that photo of the two of you!
Thanks! I can’t believe we’ve been married for almost 5 years!
This was one of my resolutions this year. I have been home for three years with my kids and my husband and i both have taken it for granted that i am home with our kids and just recently came to the conlusion that us acting that was really effected our relationahip. Good job keep it up it will make a world difference in a situation where everyone can very easily feel under appreciated
Yay! Let’s keep this resolution together!
Sounds like a plan
I love this. Nobody knows how hard the stay at home mom actually works and I know it’s easy for us to expect a lot out of ourselves because – let’s face it – when hubby comes home to no dinner and a messy house, it certainly looks like we spent the day on our butts. I do have days like that, where the house is messy and the food isn’t cooked, but baby is cared for and that’s the main thing that matters. But still, I want DH to know that I love and appreciate him and that I am willing to work just as hard as he is. So I have been striving towards doing that little bit extra every day to make sure that I am keeping our home up to a level that he can be happy to come home and relax. 🙂 It’s hard some days but it’s also rewarding.
Like the days where you never change out of your pajamas/work out clothes? I can imagine how my husband feels when he comes home after an hour long commute to a messy house and a hag warmed over, haha! Not saying I won’t have days like that, but I hope to kick butt on most other days so that I feel like I’m doing my part… I just wish cooking etc. came naturally to me. I can’t say the learning process will be delicious, but it will be interesting!
Well you inspired me today. I made fried chicken and burned my hand lol. Maybe we can perfect this culinary technique little by little. 😉
We can we can!
This was going back a few years and it never crossed my mind
to take Crash Course Driving Lessons, I could have saved so much time with Intensive Driving Courses.
It was so embarrasing when someone looked at your license
and thought you were an easy mark if your licence stated you were divorced rather than single.
You will soon get relegated into the dreaded friend zone,
which I must tell you is almost impossible to escape
from.
Hi!
I love this!
I REALLY want to become a Stay-At-Home-Mom and my husband wants that too, mostly because having a job or taking educational courses go home and cook and take care of 3, hopefully soon 4 kids, is too much stress for me, and it makes my social anxiety disorder and risk of depression much worse for me. My place is home where the kids are, they are mine and I want to raise them, i don’t want them to be raised by a lady in the kindergarten, you know.
So my husband and I wants to move to another country where he can get a better paid job so I can be home and focus on the kids and be a good wife.
You are welcome to follow my blog, I am actually written a post this weekend about bad things people say about Stay-At-Home-Moms. You might have a few things to say to that one.
From Jazzmelia
Hi! Love your enthusiasm! Being a stay-at-home mom has its challenges, but I love it!
Surprise Merp; wear a sexy outfit one night for dinner. We’ve been married 33 years and I wish I had done it more often. Thanks for liking my post, “If We Were Having Coffee Right Now…”
He would love that haha! Although I don’t feel especially sexy now at 12 weeks pregnant.
That could all change next week and then it will be “Look out Merp!”
Hi Steph, thank you for following my blog. I love the topics in your blog, you’ve gained yourself a follower 😉