I am a SAHM of a 22 month old. My husband own a small business. We were making a generous income until Jan. 09, since then it has been decreasing, like most we can thank the economy. So its a great thing your husband is doing well and that you want to stay home... and are able to do so. So many mothers are not. I am going to school, part time, a job in itself. I want a degree but am not entirely sure if I want a career afterwords. I may want baby #2 by then (I have to get my degree before I would even consider, just in case I do have to work) or maybe not. When I am not at school or on break I try to do as many activities with my daughter as I can. We have a weekly schedule that I stick to, make a calendar, and the kids will know what to expect. When I am in school I try to schedule my classes around our schedule or rework or activities and find new ones. I am a member at the Y so we are there three times a week. Now that the pool is open, I work out and then we swim for an hour. Wednesday we go to the library for story hour, and sometimes get ice cream. We also love to go to the farmers market together. We will be doing a tumbling class together this summer. Just stay busy and you won't get bored and the kids won't sit at home, especially true when the older two will be home for the summer. Be careful not to overschedule. We stay home at least one day a week and are really only gone a few hours at a time, with exceptions here and there. Try to find things in your area that are cheap or free. Go hiking. Plan ahead, when and where, and mark it on the calendar. And make sure to include alone time. Mine is in an aerobics class (the Y is great, family friendly and cheap) or in a hot bath. This will help you manage better all around. As for organization, I love to organize. I always clean out my closets, my husband says "you never keep anything." If we haven't used it all year I give it to Goodwill. With the exception of my camping equipment which I swear I am going to use someday. I keep my desk organized, I use a ton of baskets to keep things, in every room. You can plan your meals ahead, this would save you in time. If you clip coupons, you can do that ahead of time as well. I don't plan my meals ahead but I do use coupons.... I am not good at organizing them though, I do manage to save $50 each time. I plan spring cleaning. My husband loves that. This year he has to take all the blinds down and clean them with the hose. Try to get your older kids involved, see if they will help organize a yard sale. If you have family take advantage of them. Have them babysit one night a month for date night. And playdate are good to get involved with and schedule, get a big M. group. I like to have the least amount of things around me, it makes me feel less stressed. I make files for everything. My daughter has her own file bin for records. Make one for each of your kids and store it in the top of their closets. The Container Store is a great place to start. I keep all of my cabinets organized, again thanks to the CS. Lastly, I wouldn't put too much stress on being clean and organized. Give yourself a break, you have four kids. Your husband has to help and the children as well. Make chore lists. My husband cooks a few times a week and that helps me to organize a drawer or two in my free time :) Start looking for summer activities to get involved with and schedule a yard sale. Find something that you are also interested in doing and then do it. If you organize ahead you will have more time to do the things that you want to do but be realistic as well, don't try to do it all. I like to read and i've really gotten into "green living." You are already doing things right. Nothing about being a parent is easy and none of us do everything right. Allow yourself to relax and make mistakes. We all want to use our time wisely, never feel like we are loosing our sanity or feel like we need a break but thats not reality. No one is ever JUST a SAHM. I also feel like working as a nanny for 20 hrs a week, a highly rewarding job in itself, may not be the right kind of job to relax with. I don't think I would feel so guilty about having that part time job. Its still a break and sometimes the children need it as much as you. Given its a job that allows you to decompress. Volunteering is also great and something your family can get do as well and rewarding. My house is very organized and we try to be scheduled while being flexible but is it by no means always clean.
