Mom hints: Enjoy being at home

The fruit of the Spirit is...joy.  Galatians 5:22

You are home with your children, day after day after day.  Every day seems the same: get up, fed everyone, get everyone dressed, clean the bathrooms, clean the kitchen, wash the clothes, wash the dishes, settle squabbles, pay bills...

It's enough to make you want to chuck it all and get a job!

But wait - this IS your job!  Don't be fooled into thinking that taking an outside job will be more fun or glamorous than being at home.  It won't.

Being a stay at home mother - a homemaker - is the highest calling of a woman.  It doesn't have to be boring, dismal drudgery.

Do your job, and do it well.  Don't let your house be a messy place that's no fun to look at.  Clean it.  Clean it early in the day so that it's done and you can enjoy the peace that comes from having an orderly place to live in.  If you clean it every.single.day, it will only take minutes.

Don't have a clue how to get your home in order?  Here is a place to learn:  flylady  This is a wonderful site with lots of hints and tools to get your house under control, and keep it that way.

If you are a homeschooling mom, be assured you don't have to spend hours and hours and hours doing school.  Yes, you are a homeschool mom, but that is not all you are.  See the first paragraph.  Those are all your jobs, too.  I determined many many years ago that our homeschool would not last more than two hours a day, and I have stuck to that.  Over the years, I've learned that all learning does not have to come from textbooks.  We read, we visit the museum, we go on field trips with our co op.  I've been a homeschooling mom for 22 years, and I have success stories now to show that I have done my job and done it well.  That will come for you, too, if you can keep it light, and keep it fun.

And lastly, make your home a place you enjoy.  What are your interests?  What do you like to look at?  Surround yourself with those things.

I happen to love birds.  I have chickens, turkeys, and geese outside.  I usually have a few birds inside, too.  Recently I read a book about Tasha Tudor.  Did you know she had 41 birds?  I decided if she can have 41 birds, so can I.  I'm on my way - between son Tommy and I, we have nine.  The bird mart show is next month.  I plan to go!  For now, here's my favorite, little Manderly:

My house sounds like spring all the time.  Well, daughter Rachael thinks it just sounds loud and annoying.  But I love bird songs, and I love to hear Manderly saying "Hello.  Hello.  Birdy, birdy birdy " when he wants my attention.

I also love raggedy Ann dolls, so I collect them, and scatter them around my house:

Things that make soothing noises are nice, like the wind chimes son Gage brought me home from Viet Nam and now hang in my bedroom window:

Little lighted water fountains from WalMart are soothing, too:

As are big water fountains, like this one I got at a garage sale for $10.  Today, it is bubbling away in the rain:

I absolutely love this clock I bought for $5 at another garage sale.  It has a beautiful chime, but it's quirky and it chimes at four minutes past the hour, instead of on the hour.  Maybe that's why it was only $5?  I don't know, but I just love that it does that!

Last but not least, it's always good to have a hobby.  And as much as I love raising chickens, I think I love crocheting more.  Especially when I find shimmery yarn and a beautiful pattern:

I guess I will never understand why anyone would want to work outside the home,  if it is possible to stay home?  I ran a home daycare for years, because I hated working away.

So the keys I have found to being happy at home:  keep your house clean, it really isn't that hard.  Not spotless, but clean enough that you aren't embarrassed if someone drops over unannounced.  Surround yourself with fun things that you love and that soothe.  Have a hobby you really enjoy.

There's no place like home!!