I'm counting down the days until I get to sleep in, lounge around the house in pajamas and eat bon bons all day....yah, right! But I am counting down the days until I officially join the ranks of stay-at-home-moms worldwide. Although there are a lot of things I WON'T miss--like the forty-five minute commute into Seattle, trying to survive on 4-5 hours of sleep at night (all at once IF I'm lucky) or sitting at the scope without falling off the chair when I nod off, I am a little uncertain about how I'm going to survive the reality that I won't be around other adults most of the week. My husband tries to comfort me by saying I won't just be a SAHM but that I'll be the one responsible for washing the clothes, cooking meals, vacuuming the house, taking out the garbage; you know, all the other tasks that only the privileged get to undertake.

Anyway, although I know he's trying to be funny, it doesn't really help. I think I've come up with a decent short list of the things I can do to stay sane but I'd appreciate any suggestions from any of you SAHMs and SAHDs out there!

My List of Keep-Me-Sane Tactics:

Breathe--probably the most important but also the most overlooked tactic. My mom says that when we were younger and used to work her nerves, she would stop and take a deep breath. Then she'd give us really big hugs and most times, she'd be able to put things back into perspective....gonna work on that one mom. For some reason, my breathing either turns into hyperventilating or low growls which my two year old is now starting to imitate whenever his brother gets on his nerves! As if....

Take long showers--what a comforting and relaxing act! Once the kids are asleep (and I usually wait long enough to verify this), I try to take advantage of this luxury. However, I think God purposely implanted little "mommy-quiet-time" radars in the kids because as soon I'm enjoying the quiet,relaxing shower, the inevitable wail begins. This of course forces me to put tactic number one into practice all over again!

Reading--maybe not...because although it's very relaxing, I don't think I've finished more than one book in it's entirety in the last couple of years. I can read a book over the course of a few months but by then I not only forget what I was reading in the first place but it's also time to return it to the library since I've already exceeded my maximum allotment of renewals.

Writing for Hubpages--ahhhh, yes, the one thing I have been able to do successfully even if the kids are yelling, tearing down the drapes, or mashing food into the carpet. This is probably one of the few releases that I can enjoy no matter what the kids are up to since none of you have to listen to the boys yelling or fighting or to me screaming at them to keep quiet or else they'll wake up their sister.

Sweeeet Victory......