Top Ten Commandments for Being a Stay-at-Home Mom, Part 2

Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I've come up with a list of ten rules to live by to keep my life, my child and my home from turning into complete chaos.  You can read the first 5 here.

6) Thou shall only wear workout clothes when working out.

Workout clothes are stretchy. And comfy. And forgiving when you start to gain weight. So, I need to make sure to wear my “street clothes” to keep tabs on my weight. Plus, when I’m dressed, with a splash of makeup on, I feel more compelled to go out into the world and be productive. I shall keep the motto of “Yoga Pants are for Yoga”.

7) Thou shall pay attention to mindless eating.

This is probably going to be my biggest challenge.  Food is my hobby. I love cooking. I love eating. I love reading food blogs and cookbooks. I watch way too much Food Network. Oh, and while the long story is probably better saved for a weight loss site or a therapist, I also am an emotional eater. And a bored eater. At least at work I had to go out of my way to find a snack. Now, 10 steps in any direction puts me in the kitchen. I MUST regularly track my food with the MyFitnessPal app. As long as I track, I can stay in control.

8) Thou shall enforce quiet time.

Max thinks the translation of Cincinnati is “City of no naps”. Since we moved, he’s napped twice. Not awesome. So instead, I’m implanting afternoon quiet time.  Basically, he’ll be banished to his room for 2 hours where he can play quietly or read. Ideally, he’ll be napping and I’ll be doing something restful and recharging like blogging or reading. Evening cleaning without distraction will be a regular use of this time. I know this won’t always work, but I will try to be religious about it because I know both of us need it. Speaking of recharging….

9) Thou Shall Take Time Away From Our Beloved Child.

Have I mentioned before that my husband is fabulous? I hear of people whose husbands come home from work and won’t lift a finger around the house or won’t help with the kids.  That’s a big “Awwww hell no” in this house. We are equal partners in this parenting gig.  It was actually Brett’s idea that I take a regular scheduled evening away or get a sitter for a few hours during the weekday so I can do my own thing.

Right now I don’t know what my own thing is.  I don’t really have any hobbies right now.  It could be a trip to Target, a yoga class, or simply driving around in blissful silence.  I’m making it my job to find something, anything that is for me.

10) Thou Shall Write

I truly enjoy writing this blog, even if no one reads it.  When Max was a newborn and Brett was in grad school, I had plenty of time to write, read other blogs, develop a readership and form a little community of like-minded blogging friends.  I miss it and I want to bring that back.

Also, I want to expand my writing beyond a blog where I just say “I, Me, We”.  There is more to writing than just a blog about life. Years ago I adored writing non-fiction and I want to do it again.  It’s a scary prospect since those skills haven’t been honed it a dozen years but I am going to try and make it happen.

Those are my top 10 rules that I hope will help keep life orderly and sane.  As time goes on and I become more experienced, perhaps those top 10 may change.  Unlike the original 10 commandments, they are not set it stone.

Do you have any set rules for living your life? Be it parenting, diet, or lifestyle based, I would love to hear them.