"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

I had to laugh over the Erma Bombeck quote I found this morning. This is pretty much an accurate summary of my feelings about housework.

The problem is, as a stay at home mom, I feel like I have to be responsible for all the house work. I am not bringing in any money, and that bothers me. So I feel like I have to "pull my weight"- I need to keep up with the yard work, take out the trash, clean the house, do the laundry, cook the meals, manage the finances, and care for the kids. I don't know how this idea got planted in my head. I really don't.

This is not the type of house I was raised in. My parents split the house-hold responsibilities in what I assumed was the "traditional" way. My mother handled the money and the housecleaning- my father took out the trash and did the yard work. As the kids in the house got older and more capable- we were assigned chores to help out in and out of the house. So I certainly never saw my mother shouldering everything- I definately didn't learn it from her.

That Guy has never made me feel this way. He certainly never told me I had to shoulder it all, and when I have talked about the stress I feel staying at home, he has always volunteered to help more, he's told me to take it easier, to learn to ask for help, and to not try and do everything on my own.

For some reason though, I feel like I "owe" That Guy, because I do not work outside of the home. I just wish I could find some way to carry my weight other than housekeeping- because I despise it!!

I spent an hour and a half cleaning my house today. I cleaned dishes, counter, windows, floors, carpets, picked up toys, made beds, scrubbed toilets and washed clothes. I would have vastly preferred hitting my head on the top bunk bed. This is NOT fun. Because- no matter how much cleaning got done today- I am going to have to do it all again tomorrow.

So please, bring on the head banging and fainting. It would be a nice change.