Who the hell has the time???

Spend the entire day baking? Right. I read the blog of a past friend, we don't really keep in touch anymore, but I really enjoyed the friendship we had.

Anyway, she has a tribe full of children and a full time life yet still manages to spend the day baking with her kids. Does she have a maid? A secret little army of genies that give her more hours than I have?

Grrr. I am not bitter, I am amazed. There must be a sacrifice in there somewhere...her looks? No, she's gorgeous, her hair? Nope, Looks good to me. Her sex life? Ermmm, still popping out kids, so I'm thinking, no.

How does she do it? Not only does she bake and cook but the recipes are not of a 'normal' nature. Some of her kids have allergies and the family is very health conscience so they eat a lot of vegan and organic stuff.

I used to think I wasn't a great mom because I would compare myself to her and all that she does, but then I decided to assess my situation in relation to hers.

1) Her kids are older and can do more on their own.
2) Her husband doesn't have a full time disability.
3) She doesn't work graveyard shift.
4) She has lots of family near that can come by and lend a hand.
5) Her life is completely different than mine, and not at all comparable.

So this was my conclusion.

I am a great mom, a great wife, and a great employee. I have time enough to spend with my kid, take the dogs for a walk, hang with the hubby, throw something together for dinner, get some laundry done and run the vacuum over the floor. If the shirts don't get hung up, well, they don't get hung up. If dinner involves the phone and a menu, then so what, more time for the family. If having a date with my husband involves an old movie, bowl of pop corn and the remote, then all the better for me, I don't have to get out of my PJ's.

My life isn't ever going to be that of a stay home mom. Our circumstances dictate that I will be the one 'bringing home the paycheck'. As a result, our daughter has been very blessed in that she has grown up with Dad around, more than the average kid. Yes, it sucks that Tom has a bad back, but in the same respect, it doesn't suck that he is home all the time.

So, all the moms out there that get to stay home and bake umpteen loaves of bread and trays upon trays of cookies, I salute you on equal ground. My island has different paths, but it's still in the middle of the ocean.

On the rare occasion that I have any free time to myself, I am usually here, on the computer. I'm not really into 'spa days' and all that self pampering stuff. If I want pink toes, Kendra and I will get out the 'toebox' and rummage around for the colors we want and spend some time watching Harry and his bucket full of Dinosaurs and painting each others toes. Much more rewarding than spending $80.00 in a salon all by myself...but of course, if Tom gets me a gift certificate, then I'll use it...

I hear people talk all the time about 'me time', "mommy time', 'take care of yourself first'...blah, blah, blah. I would much rather be with my family than all by myself staring at the ceiling in the tub till the water gets cold. I really like my husband. So, for me, 'mommy time', 'me time' taking care of myself time', its all in surrounding myself with my family.

I think that as much as I complain about 3 dogs and a cat being on the bed with us during a family movie night, I don't think I'd change it. (OK, maybe not the dog hair part...) Being surrounded by love is the best 'me time' there is.

So, tomorrow, I think I'll pull a box of pre-fab cookies out of the freezer and Kendra can put them on the tray. While she's doing that, I'll go kiss my husband, feed the pug, and hang up the jacket on the exercise bike, all in time to toss the tray into the oven and hang with the kid.

Stay tuned for more riveting updates in the never ending saga of the life of Jennifer. Will she bring out the bread maker? or will she make a mad dash for the nearest bakery?

I'll tell you what, THE 2 OF YOU THAT ARE ACTUALLY reading this, YOU decide and get your friends in on this too. If I get 20 people to tell me if they want me to bake a loaf of bread or buy it, then I'll do the majority, and I'll blog about it and even post pictures. I know, I know, I need more 'mommy time'....
Hey, It's something to do right? Next time it might be more interesting, maybe even more daring......
C'mon, aren't you even just a little bit curious??????