The Method to my SAHDness...

OK, here's the deal.  My wife gave birth to our last child, a beautiful little girl(who would soon become a princess, even though I have no royal bloodlines), and we realized that having three kids was not just one more than having two.  They suddenly outnumbered us!  We went from raising two kids to running a daycare center.  Our last tiny bit of free time and relaxation not only disappeared, but was kidnapped, tied up in a burlap sack, and tossed into the Mississippi River(Sorry, my grandmother was from Sicily, so these analogies come very naturally to me).  We noticed that the house was not being cleaned as often or as thoroughly as it had been.  Dinners were prepared quicker and less healthy than we liked.  We needed a plan.  Our first thought was to hire outside help.  We brainstormed about the ideal scenario.  A maid to come in weekly, a part-time babysitter, a personal chef to prepare some of our meals, and a lawn guy in the Summer.  Then, reality set in.  Perfection would be way too expensive.  We would both have to work more to have all of these things. 
     It seemed strange that my wife and I would have to spend more time away from our kids for them to have a so-called "better" life.  I hated that idea.  My dad was barely around while I was a kid, and my mother was busy working as a single mom with three mouths to feed.  I wonder how many other SAHDs didn't have their parents around much when they were growing up?  Maybe that's why we have the patience to listen to our children's constant chatter when other men need to go out for a drink with friends.  Maybe we remember wishing our dads would just listen to what we had to say ...ever.  Anyway, when we finally did all of the math, we realized that it would be more cost-effective for me to stay home and take care of things for a while until the kids got a little older.
     Enough for now.  It would be stupid for me to ignore my kids because I'm writing about being a SAHD.  Like it or not, we are both each others boss at different times, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

First Things First...

Although it takes guts, there is certainly no glory in being a stay-at-home dad!  At least stay-at-home moms get the respect and admiration of their female peers.  Women know what it means to stay home and care for your house and family.  Not so for us guys.  Most of my friends want to know when I'm going back to real work.  I tell them I used to work five days a week, eight hours a day, but now I work seven days a week, sixteen hours a day, and I'm on call the other eight hours a day!  Plus, at home, I get to say interesting things like, "Please don't stick another piece of cheese on the TV screen." and "If you lick that toilet you will be punished." 
     I have been a SAHD(stay-at-home dad, abbreviated for everyone's convenience)for five years now, with three kids, and I created this blog to vent about the monotony of doing the same job over and over again ad nauseam (are you listening dirty clothes?).  I still do all of the things considered to be "man's work" also.  Things like taking out the garbage, repairing everything that breaks(trust me, everything breaks, usually more than once), lifting all heavy objects and playing referee to the kids. The hardest time is the Summer when I have all of the outside chores to do as well.
     My wife is great!  She knows I am working from the time I wake up until ????.  She tries to take the pressure off of me by sharing in the cooking and cleaning, but when she does a chore that I had planned to do, she thinks I should sit down and relax.  I just move down the list to the next job.  I think that's part of the stress of being a stay-at-home parent, male or female.  You never leave your job.  My wife enjoys her days off, even if she does do some work around the house.  She doesn't feel the urgency that I do to keep everything in order.  When I look around the house, I don't see the things I've just cleaned, I see all of the things that are waiting for my attention.  It's hard to relax when there are stray Lego's on the floor(dangerous, too, if you walk around barefoot).  I first became a SAHD so the kids would always have someone at home to be there for them and I haven't even talked about that yet!  This is my first post, and I approve this message.