One Mom's Guide to Staying Sane at Home

It's a mad world for the stay at home mother. We pour cereal, pick up clothes off the floor, clean up dirty diapers, wipe away tears, hold chubby hands, sing nursery rhymes, All. Day. Long. Then the husband returns home from work and, tired from his own version of a hard day, turns a deaf ear to our desperate attempts to converse with an actual adult.

If you're like me, you wouldn't trade staying at home with your children for all the diamonds in the world. But, you have to admit that sometimes, it's hard to stay sane when the only person you've spoken to all day (besides your mother over the phone) is under the age of five, and you didn't sleep well the night before because a warm little lump climbed into your bed at 2 a.m. and kicked you all night. And you want more than anything to just take a shower uninterrupted, or go grocery shopping by yourself without having to worry about the germs on the shopping cart, or just to sit and read more than three pages of an adult book. (And I'm not talking about a romance novel. Any book with more than five words on each page will do.)

I have been a stay-at-home-mom for the past five years, and there are days I literally fall into bed right after my kids without having any "me" time at all. But over the course of my journey through stay-at-home-momdom, I have learned a few tricks to brighten my day and break the monotony of the stay-at-home routine.

• Leave the house. Load up the kids, and head to a drive thru coffee place. You don't even have to get the kids out of the car! Drive up to the window, order your favorite drink, and chat awhile with the barista. Not only will you get some energy from the caffeine, but you will score some interaction with another real live adult! I have found that just leaving the house for a half an hour can really improve the quality of my day.
  
• Start a playgroup. If you have several friends who also stay home with kids, this is a great way to make sure you get to see your pals every week. Playgroups will also help your children in so many ways, exposing them to different people and ideas well before pre-school. I suggest choosing a specific day, time, and location that you will meet each week.
  
• Create mini school lessons for your kids. What better way to get them prepared for preschool? Starfall.com has some great resources to help your child learn her letters, and eventually, to read!
  
• Swap kids with your friends. I have a couple of friends who trade babysitting. Friend 1 will watch Friend 2's kids for a few hours one week, so Friend 2 can have some alone time. The next week, it's Friend 1's turn to return the favor. If you do it this way, you won't feel like like a burden when you ask someone to babysit, because you will be babysitting for them soon, too!
• Look for a MOPS group in your area. MOPS is an organization the serves Mothers Of Preschoolers through fellowship, games, snacks and crafts. Most MOPS groups offer low cost (or even free) childcare, too! Joining MOPS is a fun way to get a break from "the dailies" and meet some other mommies who are trying to stay sane just like us! Go to MOPS.org to find a MOPS group in your area.
• Build a relationship with the Creator of all things.   He is a friend who will always be there; no matter how messy the house is, no matter how long it has been since you had a shower, no matter how much the children misbehave. In my most desperate moments, when I'm frustrated and stressed and just want to scream, if I pray and breathe deeply, He helps me through it.  A little wine helps, too, but only after 8 p.m. ;0)
  

Our little ones won't be little forever, so let's be the best mommies we can with the time we're given.  Do little things to remind yourself that you are capable, strong, and wonderfully made. Don't lose yourself amongst the piles of laundry. You are the only mom your child has, so embrace stay-at-home motherhood.  It won't be like this for long.