Wednesday, October 13, 2010

On Being a Stay-At-Home-MOM

Making Your Home a Little Piece of Heaven

On days like today when I've reached my limit of messes, whining, yelling, and disobedience I am inspired and thankful for others wise words. Whether its found in the scriptures (like last night), general conference, personal revelation or others wise words, I need inspiration everyday. My testimony of the sacredness and importance of motherhood is growing bit by bit everyday. My wish is to become a better mother everyday. Each day I hope to get a little less frustrated, slow down more and more and have the spirit in more abundance in our home.

I felt like these words from Clover Lane on "Making Your Home a Little Piece of Heaven" were wonderful bits of wisdom and I wanted to share.

Here are some excerpts that really resonate with me:

"Babies don't keep and children grow too quickly, so try to enjoy being home with them now. They will only be content to stay at home for so long, so I, for one, am drinking it up and soaking it in."

"Become a firm believer in doing nothing.

I think kids need their own space and time to do what they want to do. At our house, "doing nothing" includes, but is not limited to: playing, coloring, reading, writing stories, building forts, having "quiet time" (code word for naps), or running around the backyard. Doing nothing is unstructured time where my kids get to choose want they do, and I don't bug them. I am lucky that my two oldest are the best of friends. They are more than capable of keeping themselves entertained, which is a great skill for all kids to learn, even babies like my Stella."

I am a firm believer in doing "nothing" as she states. I know I post projects that the kids and I do (which is a treat for both mom and the kids) but that only happens once a day...if at all. The rest of our days are often spent doing "nothing" as she calls it. I do find joy in "nothing."

Limit outside activities.

"I think we all know how important family time is. Call me crazy, but I really believe that quantity is more important than quality. My kids are not currently enrolled in any extra-curricular activities. But they are still young, so I know this won't last forever. When they are older, and show an interest in things, I will try to limit their involvement a bit so that it doesn't interfere with family time."

This has weighed on me heavily. And I don't believe it's right for everyone but it has been right for our family. I don't have my kids enrolled in anything. Not preschool, gymnastics, dance, soccer, etc. At least not yet. This has honestly been hard for me. I have felt a lot of pressure (mostly from myself) to enroll the kids in an extra-curricular activity but have thus far felt that it's not the right thing for our family right now. Having others believe the same thing is comforting and helpful to me.