Well – this morning was good. We got up and dressed relatively quickly and then put together a little package for Greg. Something he needed for class, but had left behind. We looked for buses and trucks on the way to FedEx. Archer is very observant and often saw them before I did. Then he charmed everyone in the FedEx store; he kept announcing that he needed to run and then ran in circles around the posts demarcating where the line should go. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy and it was full of women who melted at his smile and eyebrow wiggle.

Then we went to AT&T to get a new sim card for my iPad. I almost died when the guy said it would be a 20 minute wait. But we stuck it out, running around outside until we got cold, then playing with the animal puzzles on my iPad. He’s gotten amazingly good at it. I’ll put a video up of him doing an interactive puzzle, once I figure out how to do that with WordPress.

The first two errands took longer than i thought, and I resisted the temptation to stop at Michael’s to pick up supplies for a little art project so that we could get home in time for lunch and nap. Still, Archer refused to nap and the afternoon spiraled downhill with lots of tantrums caused by frustration. That he only refuses to nap for me is a huge source of my own frustration. Greg says he’s challenging me. I just have to hope this is a transition phase.

I had an idea to keep me levelheaded during this transition time. I’m going to write a book titled, “So you quit your job to be a SAHM. Now what?”. So far I have a couple of chapter ideas and a few kernels of ideas to flesh out.

• Why I did it
• Things to consider before making your decision
  • Are you able to chase an active toddler around? If you had a desk job, consider implementing an exercise plan several months in advance. Are you 8 months pregnant and waddling? That might not be the best time.
  • To wean or not to wean off of day care.
  • Is your child just entering a challenging phase, like the terrible twos? Be prepared for the issues that you’ll face on Day 1, because you won’t have time to figure out how to deal with them in the moment.
• The science of tantrums and the art of dealing with them. (neuroscience might finally pay off!)
• Plan your days before you are a SAHM. Winging it might not work.
• Finding other SAHMs that are going through the same thing. Being a weekend parent versus a full time parent – not the same thing, especially if you all of a sudden become the full time parent of an older child. Seems different than if you’ve been with them from Day 1.

I dunno. Seems like there could be a market for people struggling with the decision and then the reality of it if they make the jump.

And finally, a funny moment… “Archer cooking”

First for Prada:

Then for… well, I don’t know: