Hello there! My name is April and I have made the decision to be a stay at home mom. I made this decision in July of 2013. I am not a traditional stay-at-home mom meaning that I did not have my first child, look at that beautiful face, and declare I shall never leave him. I did not do this with my second child either. Nope, still had not declared my right as a parent by the time I had my third. I made this decision when my fourth child (yup, I have 4) turned two. This was a huge, scary decision to make. Even now, I wonder how I actually took the bull by the horns and did it.
Now with all that being said, I had illusions of grandeur about how wonderful I could make the lives of my children and husband as a stay-at-home mom. It did not take me long to become grounded in reality. I am still overwhelmed by the many demands of being the housewife and mother. All of those things I used to pay to have done, I am now doing myself! There is a degree of personal satisfaction it that but time management has been my arch rival.
I live in a rural area thus I have a big yard, animals, and a fairly big house. I thought my house would be postcard perfect with me at home and meals would be extravagant and well planned out. I was wrong! My house is neater and I do cook more but I am no means a Caroline Ingalls which brings me to my name.
Just Call Me Caroline is my name because I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie. As a child, I thought Laura was so cool. Now that I am older, my admiration has switched to Caroline. She was amazing. Now I know that TV is for entertainment purposes only but she was a great role model. She was loving, a guide, strict when she had to be, and very organized. She was up and dressed in the morning and seemed to always find time to talk. The show also showed her very human side, like frustration, leaning on faith, and having to do the unexpected, even socially inappropriate at times.
So, as a stay at home mother, all be it a late bloomer, she is someone I think is amazing. I gleaned even more from reading the books as a child. My mother was able to stay at home with my siblings and I for a while but she was never "just" a housewife or mom. She was and still is married to a farmer. She worked with home when needed and was often in the field versus the kitchen but you would never have known it. She was beyond efficient when it came to getting things done. Our meals were always sit down affairs, never grab and go. Laundry never piled up and the house was always neat as a pin to the point the white glove cleaning police would salute her!
One who has never tried running a household before, namely me, would assume that being a housewife and mom would be easy and come naturally! Well, I am here to tell you it has been a learning process. I am enjoying it but it is not without trials and tribulation. I intend to blog about my endeavors, successes, challenges, blessings, and more!
