Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mrs. Dad

I've been playing Mrs. Dad* since last Friday when the hubs left for an extended weekend o' hunting**. As a parent who works outside the home, I think it's always good to do the stay-at-home gig periodically. It's like an accelerated parenting class where there are many valuable lessons to be learned. Here are my top 3:

  1. Manage your time - You can get a lot done when your child takes two naps a day! Speaking of which, did you know Bonnie Hunt has a talk show? On the flip side, you cannot get anything done while the child is awake. Including, but not limited to, showering, preparing meals, answering the phone, answering the door, running errands, cleaning and going to the bathroom. I recommend planning accordingly and avoiding all beverages.
  2. Videotape everything - As soon as you implement a man-to-man instead of a zone defense, your child will get sick. The child will instantly feel better when the zone defense is reinstated. This means your spouse will not believe you when you tell him how crabby the child has been.
  3. Count your blessings - Eating a hot lunch at your desk while answering the phone and typing an e-mail is not so bad. It's better than grabbing a handful of Cheerios between diaper changes and bottle feedings. Similarly, reading the same book for the elentyhundredth time is not so bad. Especially when you've got a sleepy little baby snuggled in your arms.
And now, I'm back at work with these new lessons tucked away in the ole memory bank until I get to play Mrs. Dad again. Of course the lessons are never ending so I'm sure my next accelerated parenting class will come with a whole new set of learnings. But I'm looking forward to all the classes on the road to my parenting PhD. And then, you may call me Dr. Mom.

*They've made movies and recorded songs about Mr. Mom. Where's the equal love for Mrs. Dad? Fair is fair. I'm calling Gloria Steinem.
**Vegetarian married to a hunter = proof that opposites really do attract. Also, no animals were harmed in the writing of this post which means the Hubby is very grumpy but I am oh so happy.

3 comments:

Anonymous November 18, 2008 at 3:08 PM  

LOL I've found the same thing to be true Lori - I cram all of my chores and eating and work into Liam's two daily naps because the rest of the day is all about him.

The Tucson Gang November 18, 2008 at 5:27 PM  

That is stinkin' funny. Glad to hear bambi is still roaming free! :-) And yes, that is what happens all day long. I got the best of both worlds..when they were little...worked outside the home 2-3 days/week, home the other 4-5. It was awesome...and did I look forward to my quiet time at work - frequent bathroom breaks and adult conversations...and equally enjoyed the moments with the little ones.

Emily November 18, 2008 at 6:10 PM  

Too funny. I know just by babysitting a lot that it can be a challenge to find a chance to do the important things, eat, use the restroom, etc. Especially since the baby would honestly need to be held 90% of the time. It was soo hard even to fix his food cuz he would cry each time I put him down or if I walked across the room without him. So, I simply did what I could while still holding him and there were also times when I just had to put him down even if it meant crying for a couple minutes while I hurried to do what needed to be done. But I love kids. They are soo fun and loving.

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