If there was ever a chore that I hated…And there are many, let me tell you…

I hate doing dishes! H.A.T.E. those dirty D.I.S.H.E.S!!!

Thank the good Lord for dishwashers, and the fact that he saw fit to bestow one of those lovely machines on me! (Actually – I went out and bought one. Then I flat-out REFUSED to move into our current home until my husband had installed it. So maybe I bestowed it on myself. Hallelujah! Amen!)

Seriously. What is worse than cooking a meal for 4 people, sitting down to eat it, and then looking around the kitchen at that mess 3 times a day?!

Oh right, being the one who has to clean it too. I feel you, Cinderella!

And so I digress….

Welcome to my blog! It is a special little slice of the internet that leads you right into my sarcastic brain. I’m Kaitlyn, the stay-at-home mom of 2 beautiful and super-silly girls and wife to a pretty darn good-looking yet completely maddening man. After sharing little bits of my daily life on Facebook, random people started asking me if I had a blog. When they found out I didn’t have one, their response usually went something like:

“OMG! You have to start a blog! Your life is hilarious!”

Ummm….thank you? I’m glad the mundane details of my life desperately shared on a social networking site in a shameless attempt to get some adult interaction (How many likes?!) during the long, lonely day have acquaintances of mine so darn entertained! Adult interaction achieved! Soooo…Here I am…Starting said blog. Yikes. I am totally new to the blogging world, and I have no idea what the heck I am doing. I normally get annoyed by all the “Mommy Blogs” out there, so I am sincerely hoping this will not be one of those! Feedback welcome – but please be nice! Constructive criticism, people!

A little bit about me:

I am currently a stay-at-home mom, but I certainly do not aspire to that as my only life purpose. Quite frankly, if I had to do this for the rest of my life I would end up in the nuthouse. It was a horrific adjustment period to become a stay-at-home mom. The feminist in me screamed and clawed to escape her 1950’s suppression! I absolutely HATED financially relying on someone else. I hated living on a budget. I hated having little to no contact with the outside world. I hated being the maid, cook, nurse, and secretary. I didn’t get a college degree so that I could decorate our house with budget-friendly decor and clean the toilets! I joked that I should be called Cinderella. When was my fairy godmother coming along to wave her magic wand so I could begin my dream career and escape this never-ending cycle of cooking and cleaning? My old self hid in the depths of my subconscious while I halfheartedly tried my hand at cooking dinner and folding laundry. She begrudgingly emerged, accepting the inevitable, after a little talk with my grandmother. My lovely Grammy departed some useful and harsh words of life wisdom on me that day. I am paraphrasing, but will never forget the gist of it. It went something like this:

“Katie, you have made the decision to stay home for the benefit of that baby. This IS your everyday life now. You could continue to be miserable, or you could embrace it. When you wake up every morning you need to tell yourself that YOU are the one who can make your daughter’s life what it is. YOU need to make her meals and keep the house clean. Nobody else is going to come do your dishes or fold your laundry while you sit here and whine. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s below you, because your baby needs you now. YOU are the one who has control of that household, so you better start running it. I love you, and I want to see you happy. Being happy in life is a choice, Katie. Be happy to be home with your family.”

Boom. Just like that. The way to admonish my misery in one little sentence: “Choose to be happy.”

Mind. Blown.

Believe it or not, I instantly felt better! I didn’t need a fairy godmother, just a suck-it-up-buttercup pep talk from my grandmother. Needless to say, that snapped me right back to reality. I woke up the next day and embraced my current situation. I have been trying to make the best of things ever since. Organizing, cleaning, reading stories, cooking, setting routines, scheduling play dates, singing nursery rhymes, administering time outs, checking fevers, decorating the house, grocery shopping and gardening right with the best of them. Some moms would want nothing more than to be home raising their kids, and I was lucky enough to be living their dream! I have learned to love being home right now. I have been there for each and every first moment. I have been the one to kiss every boo boo. I have been the one to teach our daughters their ABC’s, 123’s, shapes, colors, manners and essentially all they know about the world. I know where every single thing in this house is, because I am the one who put it there. Organization has become my middle flipping name. I have embraced my inner-Martha, and she is good friends with my inner-feminist. They get along really well now, in fact! This household works because I make it work, damn it! I am woman, hear me roar!

I have made this sacrifice for the good of my family, and I firmly believe it was the right choice for us – Even though it probably wasn’t the right choice for the old me. Once my youngest daughter is in school full-time, (Only four more years!) I can resume the pursuit of my dreams and start granting some of my own wishes! Because who needs a fairy godmother to grant wishes when you know you can do it yourself?! I am already on the way there, despite this whole stay-home-mom detour. I have a B.S. in Kinesiology from Northern Illinois University (Goooo Huskies!) with an emphasis in Preventative and Rehabilitative Exercise Science. I tell you this because it is something I am proud of, something that defines me, and something that will be guiding me to bigger and better things. Hence the “wishes” while I do my dishes:

Oh! Medical school, how I wish to someday attend thee!

Oh! Career of my Cardiology dreams, how I wish to someday attain thee!

I joke about making wishes, but I truly believe that you get nothing out of just wishing upon a star. (Disney be damned with its fairytale lies and happily ever after deception!) Good things don’t come to those who wait, they come to those who work for them! Right now I am channeling all my energy into making my home the best it can be for my kids, but keeping these wishes simmering on the back burner of the stove helps get me through the everyday tasks. I allow myself to stir this pot while I gaze out the kitchen window, spending (God only knows how much!) time – you guessed it – doing the dishes.

🙂 Kaitlyn

P.S. Are you a mom too? You might enjoy reading this post!