All the guts NONE of the Glory

This is definitely a healthy living blog, but this is definitively not a healthy living post.
This is a rant... please read on at your own caution...

I'm am a mom of 2 children, that does not work outside of the home.  BUT, I do work from home, and act as stay at home parent to my 2 kids. This day in age there is not a ton of glory in being a stay at home mom. My childless friends think I'm lucky, my friends with children think I'm lazy, the teachers, dr's, and dentists, think I have all the time in the world, and my brother thinks I sit at home doing crafts all day. 
Let me tell you what I really do.  I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 4 people. Let me emphasize cook because that's what I do, no drive-thrus, or boxed mac and cheese over here. I work on this computer far longer than what a normal 9-5 would be, plus weekends. I workout 6 days a week. I run errands, clean, take kids to playdates and bday parties, clean, kiss boo boo's, and clean some more. With a 4 and 2 year old there is A LOT of cleaning to be done.  Most of the time when people ask if I stay at home with my kids I just smile and say yes. I don't find a need to tell them I also work from home full time.  It's really none of their business. But even if ALL I did was be a stay at home mom, that's a hell of a lot of work!  I don't expect praise, it was my choice to have kids and really it is a job, a very rewarding one. Lately, there have been a lot of articles about the new "stay at home dad"
STOP THE PRESSES
It is with utter amazement and disbelief that a man can stay at home with his kids. Those same people that pity me praise the man doing the same thing.  I'm sorry I cannot get on board with that. I just can't. My husband did it with our first for almost 2 years, while I worked outside of the house. This wasn't a reversal of roles, it was reality and it was great. He loved being at home with our son, as do I. I loved working and being around adults as opposed to kids all day. There are merits in both.
I don't want a medal for what I do on a daily basis, my life is exactly what I made it and I really truly love it. My friends have it right I am lucky, and no, it's not because I have time to shop all day (try going to the mall with 2 kids, just try!).  It's because I am able to do what I want on a daily basis with my kids, with my work, with my time.  But, I don't want that medal passed down to the dad because he is doing the same thing.

Rant Over.

Enjoy your weekend.

XOXO