Is Anybody Home?

Are you a "stay at home mom"?  I suppose that is what I am, supposedly -  only I am hardly ever home.  I'm more of an "always on the go mom", or a "never at home mom".  Those titles sometimes suit me better than stay-at-home mom.  Just today I went to the grocery store, took one of my sons for a haircut, checked out books with the kids at the library, went to the bank, and ran some other errands.  Last week we had 3 dentist appointments, a doctor's appointment, grocery shopping, several errands, a special event to attend, and so on. 

It is a lot easier to manage your home if you are in it.  Being on the road and being gone a lot wreak havoc on your household responsibilities.  My laundry piles up (worse than usual), my house gets messy (faster than normal), dinner is late getting on the table, and we don't get nearly enough school work done.

If you are going to make your home cozy for your family, if you are going to put a delicious, nutritious meal on the table for dinner, and certainly if you plan on homeschooling your children, you might have to work on being an "at home" mom.  I have to be intentional about being home or I won't be.  

If you desire to be a stay at home mom here's what you could do:
(and what I'm going to try to do!)

Consolidate your errands and run them all on the same day, one day a week.
Go grocery shopping only once a week.
Don't feel you must take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.
Take care of some of your shopping online, pay bills online, renew library books online.
Say "No" when you need to.
Designate some days as not-leaving-the-house days and stick to it.
Don't be afraid to unplug (turn off your cell, shut-down the computer).
Look around the house for entertainment options for the kids like board games or crafts.
Trim your "to-do" list.  Do you have to do everything on it?
Have a picnic in your own backyard.  Pitch a tent and let the kids camp there too!
Double up when you shop and buy 2 (or more) of the things on your list so you can shop less often.
Learn how to make some of the things you need - soap, detergent, baby wipes, gifts.
Turn some of your errands into DIY.  (music lessons, oil change, haircuts, pedicures, etc.)
Grow food at home (start with a small vegetable garden) and bake bread at home. 
Barter with a neighbor.
Ask your honey to take care of an errand on his way to or from work.
Re-use and Re-purpose things you already have.

Once you start thinking about it you will come up with lots of ways to be an at home mom!