Who are these children and why are they following me?

As you know from my title, I am a stay at home mom. I didn't always used to be a stay at home mom - I decided to do so when confronted with the high cost of day care that did not guarantee your child's safety and well being.

While I don't always guarantee my children's safety (when they're having a blast jumping up and down on the sofa and sitting on the edge of chairs, who am I to interfere with their fun) I can always guarantee my child's well being.....but they don't always guarantee mine.

Here are some cases in point:

My office. I have finally started to establish some "me space" in the house, now that the youngest is 18 months. I mean, children, really, your toys are everywhere in the house, even in the bathroom. Can't you give mommy some space to herself that is not occupied by a plastic, brightly colored toy? Apparantly not. Just like the bathroom, whenever I am the office, there are always emergencies, food needs and potty-training issues. Why? Why must you plague me when I only want a few seconds of peace and to read some email? Right now they are hovering outside of the door, saying "mommy what are you doing in there?" Gee, having some peace and quiet! Leave me be!

The bathroom. Regardless of the hours of potty training, getting to know the toilet better than I truly want to know, the intimacies of pee-pee and boo-boo and annoucements of exactly how much boo-boo is in the toilet, plus numerous readings about Joshua and his chamber pot and continuous perusal of "Everybody Poops", my little ones still seem to be a little bewildered about exactly what I do when I am in the bathroom. How do I know this? When I go into the bathroom and close the door, my oldest will knock and ask "Mommy, what you doing in there?" I used to answer, but why bother when they're just going to ask it again? How many times as a parent am I required to say, "Mommy is using the potty. Give me privacy." Why can't I say, "Look, I'm crapping. Leave me the alone!" I'll tell you why because when their father comes home, that'll be the first thing they tell him "Mommy crapped today." Then it will be repeated to my mother and any trusted adult they see. "Mommy crapped today." "Mommy crapped today." Ugh!

The kitchen
Yes, I am all for children helping you cook and participating.....What? No I'm not. When it's 3 pm and I'm rushing around trying to get things prepared for dinner, I really dont' have time to answer "What are you doing mommy?" Here's the answer I wish I could give, "You wanna eat? Then leave me alone!" (Funny how that 'leave me alone' is becoming a common theme.....)


All right, before you well meaning folks out there call division of youth and family services and trace me via my IP address, being at home isn't all that bad. Yes, the children will follow you from pillar to post (unless they're busy getting into something, which I bet they are RIGHT NOW because it's awful quiet out there) but it's such a blessing to watch them grow and do funny things with each other. You haven't lived until you hear an "argument" between a 3 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. Which is why I cherish every moment I'm at home with them!