It IS a job and it is NOT easy.

A lot of my friends post these "blunt cards" on Facebook. They post them pretty often. Naturally, if I see one that it is hilarious or an absolute truth, I pass it along. Yesterday, this little gem was posted on my news feed.

I don't know who made it so I can't give credit. Sorry!

Now, I'm not going to just go around punching people in their faces with hammers. I'm not quite that violent. However! This is one of the best e-cards I've ever seen because it is absolutely spot on. If I had a dollar for every time I heard something like: "Oh, you stay home? I wish I could sit on the couch all day." "It must be nice to not have to work." "If you're home all the time, why isn't your house spotlessly clean?" "Well, you've only got one kid so you must have it pretty easy." "It isn't a real job because you don't make any money." Let's just say I would be filthy stinking rich.

And that makes me sad. While it is true that, unless she works from home, a stay-at-home mom doesn't make money, there are so many benefits that outweigh that lack of monetary income. To wake up every morning and be able to make my son breakfast, to be able to read to him and teach him throughout the day, to be able to know what he's doing at any given moment instead of wondering if he's crying in the daycare or if the teachers understand what he wants and needs, to be able to raise my own child through his infancy and toddlerhood mean more to me than having a little extra money.

I cannot adequately describe to you how frustrated I feel when I am told that I get to sit on the couch all day or that I'm so lucky that I don't have to work because being a stay-at-home mom must be so easy. This morning alone I had to calm down my boy because he wanted to walk up the apartment stairs on his own and when I was three steps behind him he freaked out and ran back down to start over twice, I got screamed at for walking out of the kitchen so I could sit down and eat my breakfast, I had to explain that turning the TV off means that Spongebob goes away and it was no fault of mine since Addison had turned it off himself - all of this before nine AM. That's not even including making sure he eats healthily, gets enough educational play, is clean, has a dry diaper on, and also keeping all the clothes laundered and put away, keeping the dishes washed, sweeping the dog hair out of the kitchen, vacuuming every other day to get the dog hair out of the carpet AND the general picking up and putting away of everything else in the house. (That's not including cleaning the bathroom because I absolutely hate cleaning the bathroom and do it as little as possible. Shhhh.)

Believe me, if being a stay-at-home mom was as easy as sitting at a computer in a cubicle all day, we all wouldn't be quite as offended when people accuse us of being lazy or incompetent. Until you know how hard it is to care for even one child all day and then be expected to keep up a house and have dinner on the table and tend to your spouse's needs, you have no idea how difficult it can be.

And, sure, there are some days where nothing gets done but playing with my boy and some days where I sit and read my own books at any given opportunity, but even adults that work 9-5 get at least one day off a week. Are stay-at-home moms not allowed that same break?

It seems like so much is expected of us that if we even slack off for one day, we are seen as lazy housekeepers, bad mothers, or worse. That is just not fair. We work our cute mommy butts off to take care of our kids, our house, our pets and our spouses.

Just don't forget: we have to take care of ourselves, too.

So, if you know a stay-at-home mom, before you accuse her of having a dirty house and before you tell her her job is so easy, try and step into her shoes for a minute and think about all that responsibility she carries.

And if you still say those things? You probably deserve to get hit with a hammer. Just sayin'.

-Mommy Michelle

Librarians Rock!

This morning I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a while now. No, I did not record a CD about how much I love Harry Potter (although I would totally rock that). What I did this morning was far more educational and fun. (Seriously, though, I could sing an entire song about Hedwig.)

I took my boy to toddler story time at one of our local libraries! All of you parents with kids: if you haven't done this already, GO! It is SO much fun! If you're a local Knoxvillian, I definitely recommend the Bearden Branch of the Knoxville Library. All the parents there were super nice and participated almost as much as their crazy, cute kids did.

Now, I hadn't been to a story time in a library since I was little and was going with my mom, so I didn't know what to expect. The woman read several books that were hilarious and so cute. Most of the stories involved the children making animal noises or guessing what animal would make what sound. We also sang along to a couple of songs. When "If You're Happy and You Know It" came on, all the kids cheered and started clapping, stomping, turning around and, inevitably, bumping one another over.

At the end, the kids got to play with bubbles and pick out a sticker to take home. Addison had a blast. Well, after he got over the pain and shock of rolling off his chair onto the floor. He really does take after his mother.

Oh! And you should definitely check out this book for those of you who have kids. Or adults that just want to know if kitties deliver pizzas. I think the risk of getting fleas and cat fur on your pizza outweighs the benefits of having a cute, fuzzy kitten deliver cheesy goodness to you, but to each his own.

I mean, really, who is delivering this pizza?!

I've always been a huge supporter of libraries (where else can you rent an endless amount of books for FREE?) but knowing they have awesome little programs like story time makes me love them even more. By the way, they have things for all ages - not just toddlers. Go check it out! (Get it?)

-Mommy Michelle

When They Won't Poo In The Potty...

Do you know what's ridiculous?

Well, I could think of several things. The most recent thing in my life, however, and the most ridiculous is attempting to potty-train a 2 1/2 year old. Now, a lot of studies like this one talk about how potty training before three isn't necessary unless the child tells the parent that he/she is ready.

My son, the absolute cutest and smartest boy ever...

See? Cutest boy. I'm not a liar.

...my son will pee in the potty every single time he needs to...when he's naked. You put a diaper on his butt, though, and he'll just happily go in the diaper. It beats all I've ever seen! You know what's even better? Of course you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be sitting here reading about it. You'd be at my house KNOWING it. That would just be weird. Let me just tell you what's even better.

When he has to poo, poop, do #2, drop some kids off at the pool, or whatever you call it at your house, he will go into his room. He will open his closet door and pull out the drawer of the storage bin that's hidden in his closet. He will reach into this drawer and pull out a diaper which he will promptly bring to me. He will then go back into his room to get the container of wipes. He will hand these to me, as well, and then just lay down on the floor and wait.

Seriously, kid?

It would be infinitely faster if he would just pull his shorts on down, undo his diaper (which he does often), plop his cute little butt on the potty and do it there. Less mess, less clean up and less diapers to buy! Does my 2 1/2 year old understand this? Of course not.

That article I linked to mentions how awful it is for children (or anyone, really) to hold it instead of going immediately when you feel you need to. It makes sense (even before you read the horror stories about Nerf ball-sized poo stuck in the intestines). This is obviously not a joking matter and it makes me sad that some parents are so stressed about having their children potty-trained at the "right time" that they risk these awful consequences. Until a really great mommy friend of mine shared this link with me, I had no idea how serious these things can actually get. If you, my dear readers, know any parents with toddlers, please share this information with them!

That being said, it is a little funny when my boy runs around frantically to get his diaper and wipes to me before he goes in the floor.

-Mommy Michelle

What even IS a Mommy Blog?

You know, I've heard a lot about mommy bloggers and most of what I've heard isn't all that great. "All they do is complain about doing housework." "I once read a blog that was nothing but talk about nail polish." "Mommy bloggers are the peasant class of bloggers." So, I surfed around the internet for a bit and read bits and pieces of several different "mommy" blogs. Do you know what I found out?

Mommy bloggers are awesome.

These women are real women who live real lives with real issues that I can relate to. Sure, these blogs aren't for everyone, but when have you found something that EVERYBODY likes? Exactly.

My point is: I am making a mommy blog. (That may have been a round about way to get to that point. Round abouts are stupid. Why can't there just be a turn lane?!)

This blog will be full of my life. There will be much hilarity. Things in my house can get pretty crazy, so don't be surprised if the topics are very widely ranged. There will be a lot of talk about my awesome two-and-a-half-year-old, Addison, and my husband, Josh. We also have two pets I'll probably mention a lot: Maya, our year-and-a-half-old puppy and Chill, our four-year-old cat. There will be some serious posts, I think, because I plan on this begin a growing and learning experience.

Well, that's about all the introduction you're going to get. Be prepared because my life, family and friends are all so completely random that I honestly have NO idea what's going to happen in these posts. However, you are all so very welcome here and I hope you enjoy yourselves. I know I will!

-Mommy Michelle