Archive for July, 2009
Answer From Kelly
In the course of making this website I’ve had the pleasure of coming in contact with a lot of friends from my past. One of them is Kelly, a gal that I knew briefly in my college days. She also recently joined the ranks of the SAHMs thanks to her beautiful little girl named Lyla. I asked Kelly what she has learned over the past 8 months of being a stay at home mom and her response was so thoughtful that I asked her to let me share it.
I’ve learned a few things from being a SAHM…
- Your life is not your own anymore. For me, I have always worked full-time since I was 16 so that was a HUGE adjustment for me. Plus, I am very social so it’s hard to be inside with no other adults. Luckily, I have a few friends that live around me and are in the same position in life as I am, so we can sometimes get together.
- It is HARD WORK! If I am not taking care of the baby, I am cleaning, cooking, paying bills, doing laundry, etc. I obviously can’t say much but I would be willing to bet that being a SAHM is a lot more work than working a 9-5 job. It is 24/7! But it is definitely more rewarding
- I’ve come to realize that I need to do things for me. We just moved to a new area right after we had our baby, then my husband tore his ACL and had surgery on it. So our activities were limited and I was serving them hand-and-foot without taking much time for me. So after talking to my husband we agreed I needed to do things for myself. So this summer I am taking a tennis class that is on Saturdays when [my husband] can watch the baby (so fun!). And this coming fall, I am taking a digital photography class at an art institute that is one night a week for 4 hours and I’ll end up with a certificate in it. Hopefully I’ll be able to use that to start a small business of taking family portraits for people and earning a little extra money. It’s little things like that help me to feel better about being at home.
- I feel more organized and I spend less money when I plan my meals for the week and only buy items I will need so I don’t end up wasting uneaten food.
- My baby and I are happier when I take the time to play with her and let her crawl all over me instead of making her play by herself while I try to get things done. I think that one-on-one time is really important.
Thanks for your contribution Kelly! I was thinking about this last bullet you wrote while I was playing with Cee and I realized that as a mom I’ve really had to learn to let things go. Time with Cee is his time which means that things aren’t always in their place or the dishes don’t always get done right away, but that’’s fine. My day was a success because Cee knew that I loved him and after that everything else is second rate.
A Friend’s Recipe and Chanllenge
*She’s curious about how I’d healthify this dish, and I’m excited to give it a try. If my attempts are a success I will post them on Average Pantry Gourmet. If I’m not successful, I’ll cry, try once more, and then edit this challenge part out of the post and hope no one remembers. : )
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 green bell pepper chunked
1 red bell pepper chunked
1 can pineapple chunks
Cut up pepper and pineapples into chunks. Mix in 9×13 baking dish. Cut chicken into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Add chicken, peppers and pineapple in baking dish and toss together. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.
Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stove top. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced – about 6-8 minutes.
More From the At-Home Hair Stylists Club
In response to my home haircutting post, I recieved the following message from Amaree (MT):
I made the brave step [to cut hair at home] (with the much cheaper, Revlon clippers) when my first little boy was about 1 1/2. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on three boys’ hair cuts! (Charlie was just a baby, but his day was coming!) So, on Aaron’s insistance and a dear sister’s help (who was a hair dresser and even taught me how to scissor the top and fade with the scissors!), I learned how to cut Aaron’s hair. And Kade’s hair. And Charlie’s hair now. Squirmy little boys are much more difficult, but it’s less obvious that I botched the job… even a hair dresser can botch little boy’s hair I figure in the 2 years I’ve been cutting hair, at $12 a cut, at least once a month for 2 years for the two older boys and a year for the youngest, I’ve saved about $600 so far, in just 2 years. But I’ve had my share of mishaps, especially as I’ve grown more brave and trying to have more “professional” looking cuts… they’re patient (well, Aaron is patient, since he’s the only one that cares!) and I figure it was the best investment of $40 and two pizzas and a couple of hours I’ve ever had!
Thanks for your response Amaree!
Photo Challenge Response: Nora in the Grass
Angela from Idaho tried doing my photo challenge and had a great time with it. Here’s what she sent me:
I did it! We went golfing the other day as a family and after the kids were all done we sat in the grass while Dad finished putting. I decided to take your challenge and I took a bunch of picture from the point of view of GRASS. They turned out cute and different. Love it.
Thank you Angela for your contribution. If anyone else would like to share stories or results, I’d love to hear from you! kim@justamomha.com
Your Tales Coming Soon….
I can’t wait to start hearing from you! If you’d like to submit a fun mothering story, report results from the mommy goal or healthy living, or even a recipe you can email me at kim@justamomha.com or use the form in the Contact Me page.
