The rules

How I survive staying at home full time:

1. No daytime television after 11 AM. I can squeeze in The View or linger over the Today Show, but absolutely no soap operas, lifetime movies, or episodes of "A Baby Story". Nothing says slacker like four hours of the most dumbed down programming of the day. Plus, those paper towel ads with the really happy Moms cleaning up after their families make me want to kill someone.

2. Try to learn at least one new thing each week. Today I made yeast rolls from scratch. Next week I am going to practice filling in the states on a blank map of the U.S. (it gets a little hazy around the Dakotas). This stuff keeps my brain from going to complete mush and I'll be thankful for it once I am back in the working world too busy to cook from scratch or study geography.

3. Leave the house in real clothes. I take my daughter to school in what would pass for an actual outfit. Unless I am headed to the gym or meeting a friend for a walk, I am in jeans and a cute top. Bad enough that I am driving a minivan, no one needs to see me in sweatpants. And believe me, some of you ladies aren't fooling anyone with your yoga pants at Starbucks.

4. Make time for me and don't feel bad about taking it. Once a week, I get a sitter for the little guy and have a long lunch with a friend. It's like therapy, but at about half the price! When opportunity strikes, I throw the kids on hubs as soon as he walks in and head out for dinner or drinks or a movie. I am amazed that heading out during a weeknight seems like such a big deal to some of my girlfriends. Not having to cut someone else's food into itty bitty little pieces, get up five times for seconds, drinks, and napkins or dodge flying crumbs from the little guy - makes me feel like a whole person again.