This is a topic that not many people have been drawn to so I thought I would post something since I STILL consider myself to be one. I have stayed home with the kids since the day we brought our first adopted son home from the airport. My husband and I decided that if we were going to have children I would stay home and care for them. Leaving the working world and staying home to be with an infant was quite a switch for me. While I loved my son dearly, I sometimes yearned for the company of other people and the need to feel like I had accomlished something other than laundry, dinner, entertaining my son, etc., etc. Recognizing this I started treating my days with him like work days. I made a list almost every single day of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to take him(and eventually, his siblings) who I needed to call, and the list goes on.

There were those people who would ask me WHAT I DID ALL DAY. I felt like telling them I sat around and ate bon-bons, or better yet, I sat at home with my finger in my nose. When you have 3 little kids to care for...what do people think you do all day? Looking back now I must have decided somewhere along the line that I was a PROFESSIONAL HOMEMAKER and not a HOUSEWIFE. A housewife was a woman who stayed home in front of the tv, usually eating and letting the kids evolve around her. She didn't get dressed until noon (if she felt like it) and when she was dressed she chose to stay home and watch the afternoon soaps! The kids were just making messes around her and she wasn't actively involved in their lives other than to scream an occasional order! When hubby came home and asked what was for dinner, she didn't know!

I, on the other hand, was a PROFESSIONAL HOMEMAKER, I had my shower before hubby left the house for work and was up and ready to tackle the day. The list was made of the day's activities. The kids knew in advance what the order of the day was, where we were going, what we were doing and with whom we would be doing it. Sounds rigid, but it worked for us. We walked, strolled, played, zooed, aquariumed, parked, swung, slid, picniced, swam, napped, baked, cooked, playdoughed, libraried, read, chilled,...get the picture?

When they started getting older and were in school I added volunteer work to my schedule and started helping at the church and schools. Believe me, a woman who chooses to stay home can put in many volunteer hours in a week. Anyway, there are many ways to go about raising our children and I am grateful for the way I have been able to raise mine.