anyone still a sahm now there children are at school?

[spottyzebra]

just sems that ven if your a sahm you will return to work whn your lo's go to school

i want to be a sahm forver! how do i go about this?

I am......but only because I am not ever going to be able to work during the hols etc and find childcare for 5 kiddies!

and what about illness etc?

nah....DH said his mum stayed at home until he was 15yo, and that I can do the same as long as we are able!

luvverly man

I am a SAHM because my kids are at school. Want to be around at either end of the day. It is a luxury (for me) and one I would like to keep up for as long as possible.

I wish I was, too. I would get the house clean! I would indulge in my jewellery making which I have not done since ds came along....so many things! I would love it. And I would be able to bake and prepare lovingly concocted-lentilly-wholefood meals for us all in the DAYTIME instead of manically preparing things late in the evening. I might even get to bed before 1am

I must go now and check my casserole, due to be cooked at 1am - really!

I am mostly a stay at home mum, mainly because I can't get jobs that are Mon to Fri and finish at 2.30pm and are term time only. I also can't get a childminder that will take them to all their afternoon activities.

I do have a part-time occasional job, that is very flexable, so it is easy to fit in shifts and MIL only has the kids when she can. I do 1 or 2 5hr shifts a week and some long weekends away throughout the summer.

I am also studying a full time Uni course by distance learning, so I can fit that in when it suits too.

I can't see me getting a full time job until my youngest is at least at high school and can go to her activities or home herself, so thats at least 3 years, just in time for me finishing my degree. Still don't fancy full time work though .

I am although dd has only just started school this year.
I love it and hated my job before so wouldn't go back to that.
I do feel at a bit of a loose end sometimes and would love to do something more constructive with my time but don't know what yet.
What do all you other SAHM do when the kids are at school?

Honoria at the idea of sahm = clean house. Certainly not in my case!

PrincessB. OK maybe I was fooling myself there....but the awfulness of my house is getting me down; work Mon-Fri and if I want to have a LIFE at the weekend and not spend all of it cleaning, then the house just stays a mess.

The Open University is great for those feeling at a loose end. You don't have to do a whole £600 course. They do have one-term ones and you can also get the fees paid if you have a household income less then £35,000.
And to those dinner table type questions to "what do you do for a living?" you can reply, "I'm a stay-at-home mum doing a degree in health and social care" or child development or even modern languages such as polish or mandarine. The usual reply I get is "lucky you" which I take as a compliment.

I'm a SAHM - have been for 15 years, youngest is now nearly 9. I do a bit of cleaning/washing/ironing, a bit of cooking, i'm treasurer of the PTA, i project-managed the extension and fitting-out of new kitchen etc last year, and I do glass-making when I have time, which is not actually very often. I see friends once a month, and sit on MN for hours!

I only have 1 child at school at the moment my DS starts pre school in Septmeber. I have no intention of going back to work when they are both at school. I will probably get involved in the school a bit and drink coffee the rest of the time in Starbucks...oh and shop!!!

I was a SAHM dc's were at school all day until my ds was born, 9 months, though I have to say my house wasn't that clean considering I had the who;le day to do it in . I don't have anyone to look after the dc's if I went to work, pick them up from school ect, and I'd have to earn loads to justify childcare. Luckily dh earns a reasonable wage but it's tight and things would be easier if I could bring a bit of money in.
Now that we have ds I can't go to work for ages!!!
I did an OU course a few years back but I couldn't finish the degree then cos I was so tired, but the dc's were quite young and not even at nursery then.

Message withdrawn

I am a SAHM and my last child started school in September.
I am in my 40's will probably never work again (sigh).
I worked from 18 until 34 when DS2 turned up and i planned a couple of years at home before returning to my career.
DS2 unfortunately developed severe ASD and the next six years were all focussed on him and DS1 and home.
Now my DC's are 14, 11 and 5.
I could try and get a job but we don't need the money and as DS2 also has many associated special needs such as special diet I have enough to keep me more than busy.

DH has encouraged me to enjoy these few years as much as I can as DS2 will leave school soon enough and then will be home with me forever.
I try to balance creating a nice home with doing some of the things now that I will have to give up when DS2 is finally at home for good.
My sister is constantly bitching at me about my coffeee-ing and shopping but when I ask her if she would really like to swop she goes quite quiet

I am.
And I went to the gym yesterday (yay for me emoticon)
Somehow the days are just full but not with cleaning and washing though.

I work 2 days a week and my youngest will go to school full time at Easter. TBH the working part seems harder now they're at school. e.g now my holidays have to be fitted into school hols, which can cause probs at work, if they want to do anything after school I have to arrange for someone to take them, plus it can be very hard to arrange to be at things like sports day and Christmas plays. When they're at home full time, their commitments can be fitted around yours. Not so easy once they're at school.

Also if, you aren't there to collect them from school you won't know their friends or their parents,

But for me the hardest thing, now that I don't get so much time with them on the days I'm home is that I begrudge having to work when they are home, like in school hols or after 3pm. Also, I think that it's important that you're there when they come home, in case there's anything they need to get off their chest.

There is that enough reasons not to go back? I have justified not increasing my hours once DS2 goes full-time, by buying a wreck of a house which will be my project for at least the next 10 years.

Pagwatch -- are you my secret twin??
Though it's my oldest who has the ASD, and he's finally a bit settled at school, so maybe I could do more than bits of freelancing...but after-school childcare still doesn't work out...

Nope, I think I'm still unemployable.

I'm basically a SAHM, occasionally do some paid for workshops, write the odd article but basically my time's my own. I've 4 dc's from 14-7, and if I went back to work in my previous job (academic)I wouldn't earn enough hardly to cover holiday childcare, let alone what to do with them if ill, school closed etc - no family nearby and dh's job is not one where he can take a day off at short notice. I did work until the I had 3 under 5's and they were being really affected by me working, and I tried pt for six months, project went really well but was just ready to write it up when a rival group on the continent published the same thing!
I am thinking about going back to work, but hva plenty to do - ride hores, have coffee with friends, garden,bit of voluntary work, mn etc - life's hell sometimes

I will be in September/October.

I intend to be at home for at least the first term ds is at school (circumstances permitting of course). But by then I'll coming up to 46 and I can't see myself as being particularly employable tbh

I am but desparate to be back in the world of paid work.

I've got M.E. and at the moment wouldn't be able to cope with career.

ArcticRoll - snap

I've had ME for years now. We didn't plan children, but along came dd 4.5 now. She is wonderful, but I barely manage to keep my head above water. When she was a baby I slept when she slept, and used to lie on the floor next to her when she was playing. Now dd is older she understands when mummy is tired, but I wish I wasn't like this. I want to be able to do all the lovely things the other mums do - sometimes even 2 things in one day.

Now dd is at school part time I'd love to work, but can't hink of anything that would fit in with me. I would like to work from home in my own time, so I'm not calling in sick or letting my employer down. We could do with some extra money coming in but dh has never put pressure on me, it all comes form me...

I'd also like to get involved at school, but worry about committing to something permanent. I did help at Christmas fair though. TBH I've lost a lot of confidence and can't think of anything I could do that isn't being a mummy

Any ideas anyone????