Being a stay at home mom...

Being a stay at home mom makes some people think you have EXTRA time on your hands when in fact it's the exact opposite. I get comments like I know you have time to call me and talk on the phone because your home all day. Well lets see...even if I was infact home all day this is how my day goes:
7:45am -MacKenzie wakes up...(sometimes screaming because shes hungry)
7:45-8am - MacKenzie eats (guess who makes her breakfast? yes that is right this stay at home mom who has so much time to make phone calls all day long)

8:30- We clean up from breakfast (do dishes, clean MacKenzie's face & hands, clean high chair and floor- this takes maybe 30 minutes sometimes) - during those 30 minutes MacKenzie does free play but mostly lately she's clingy and pulls on my leg while I clean...(do I want to talk on the phone during all of this "NO!"
9:00-Circle Time - Do we have to do this? No but sometime of the day we need to have quality time together and circle time is one way we do that (I focus on MacKenzie and we talk about things and explore activities from her lesson plans) - Would I talk on the phone during this time -OBVIOUSLY NOT!
9:20 - Outside Play - Well now I could talk on the phone during this time but I don't want to be one of those moms who talks on the phone the entire time their kids play outside, yes that's right I actually enjoy watching her play and playing with her and I don't want her to get hurt because I'm not paying attention either.
10:00am - This is snack time - I prepare MacKenzie a snack now if we are home I normally cut her up a fresh piece of fruit and then she takes about 15-20 minutes to eat it then we do the clean up process.
10:30am- During this time we do Table Activities or Art (I have to guide her during these activities so not a great time for a phone convo.)
11:30- Stories and songs with MacKenzie
11:45am-Time to make MacKenzie's lunch and mine too...
12:00-12:15 - Time for Lunch
12:15-12:30- Clean up from Lunch, then after she goes down for nap the rest of clean up takes place...
12:30- Nap time for MacKenzie (if she goes down on time, and then I clean up a little and if I have time left I may actually get some rest for myself or time to work on a project I need to work on- Could I make a phone call during this time? Yes, of course! Do I always want to? NO! I have less than 2 hours a day to myself whether it be to rest, watch tv, read a book, do laundry it's MY TIME! I'm lucky to even get it some days!
2:30 - Snack Time
3:00 - Outside Play
4:00- Music & Movement Time for MacKenzie

Okay now when it's 4pm here it's already 10pm on the East Coast so I do not need to explain the rest of my day...once it comes to a close there isn't time to make phone calls to family and friends since their days are over.

This post isn't about me not wanting to talk to family or friends but it's about the comments I've received from people. I will call when I have time I WANT TO SPARE but often I don't. I enjoy getting phone calls periodically from friends and family to catch up and shoot the breeze but I don't enjoy getting tons of RUDE messages about me not answering the phone again... I wonder how many stay at home moms experience stuff like this.

 So from all that I posted here Do you think I have time to talk for over an hour every other day to anyone? Nope, sure don't...now skype is a different story, that is much easier to use with a toddler running around...I can actually have her involved in the conversation and she loves it too! She gets to talk to her grandparents that way all the time and we love it!

Briefly this is the rest of Kenzie's day:

4:30 Storytime/floor activities/table toys-art

5:30 Free Play

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Bath

6:45 Free Play

7:30 Story Time/ Cuddle time with Mommy and Daddy

8:00 Bedtime

 From 8pm-10pm I catch up on chores, relax if I can, and I blog sometimes...oh and I go to bed early if MacKenzie has been sick and may be waking up during the night etc. (this isn't a rare thing...)

I know for some of you reading this you must be thinking wow she's upset at someone but after months and months of staying home with your child and hearing stuff like this it just starts to make you a little more than irritated! 

Strange Invitations...

So I thought today this would be a great facebook status for me:
(Name Here)...thinks it's weird to have a party for your birthday and have someone selling stuff at the party where your guest feel like they have to buy something in order to attend your birthday party...strange...either it's a birthday party (where you already get gifts) or your trying to make money which is it????

Why would this be my status you ask?
Well because in the last month I've been invited to an acquaintances birthday party (where she was using someones home business to make money during her party) then not more than a month later she invited me to her husbands party that was the same theme (another person would be there selling stuff)!
Why am I so put off by this?

#1 - Don't invite everyone on your facebook to your birthday party (that is strange to begin with)

Isn't your birthday party just for close friends and family? I wouldn't want all my acquaintances to feel pressured into coming to my birthday party especially if I met them under business pretenses (which was me in this case)

#2 - Having more than one of the same type of home party to make money for yourself it tacky! I've heard of people having like 5-10 different parties a month and paying their mortgage by just selling so much product to their friends and family members who just wanted to support them or felt pressured to buy.

#3 - If your having a birthday party graciously except gifts your friends and family give you and let that be enough, I mean really do you need to hit their wallet for even more than they already paid for your gift you know they will be bringing since it's a "Birthday Party".

Okay, so normally my blog is about crafting/homemaking and not my opinion like this blog but I needed a place to vent and I wanted to see if anyone else felt this way about this? Isn't this what a blogs for anyways?

New Crafty Projects for MacKenzie II -first project

Felt Food First Attempts:

Overall, I think these pieces of felt food were pretty easy and a great way to start this craft. I just need to make the bread and I'll have a whole felt sandwich for my daughter to play with!

Childrens Museums

We've always loved going to museums and now that we have our daughter we love to go even more! Not only do we go to our regular places like science museums but now we go to children's museums too! I can't wait to go to some in North Carolina, they have a ton of them! When I was a child I went to some of them too!
 
Hawaii:
 Hawaii Children's Discovery Center (Honolulu)
Teddy Bear World

North Carolina:

Children @ Play (Kitty Hawk)

The Children's Museum of Wilmington

Children's Museum of Winston-Salem
Children's Museum of Winston-Salem will not grant Reciprocal benefits to greater Triad residents with Reciprocal memberships to museums outside greater Triad area.

The Children's Playhouse (Boone)

Discovery Place KIDS! (Huntersville)

Exploration Station, Hands-On Learning Center (Lumberton)

Fascinate-U Children's Museum (Fayetteville)

Greensboro Children's Museum

Hands On! A Child's Gallery (Hendersonville)

ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center (Charlotte)

Iredell Museums - Children's Museum (Statesville)

Kidzu Children's Museum (Chapel Hill)

Marbles Kids Museum (Raleigh)

Museum of Life and Science (Durham)

Rocky Mount Children's Museum & Science Center

Where to find the information for your state: click here

New Crafty Projects for MacKenzie II

See Felt Food Pattern,Tea Time and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep


Here's a link for how to make a felt sandwich!