Day in the Life of a Sydney Stay at Home Mum

Even in winter we're at the beach

OK, so while I wait for the Institute of Teachers to approve my teacher status, I am wiling away the hours at home with my little one. It's a sweet reminder of what the first year of her life was like, and now that she's just turned two, a hell of a lot more fun. It's also a welcome reprieve from what was a hellish year of huge challenges and changes as I trained as a teacher. I am now done! And I have a long hot happy summer stretched out before me.

OK, so what's my life like now? I will be very honest here.

If it's good weather, most the next eight months of Summer will look like this. Blue sky, orange sand, pink sunsets. It will be the most personally rich time of year full of love, lust, happy families and hot days on the warm sand, but economically and resume wise - a write off.

I also confess that my little one is still at daycare two days a week, for several good reasons including that she loves it, they love her, she sees her friends, it gives me a much needed break (I do tend to shake with fatigue at the end of two days of childcare in a row. I said I'd be honest). And perhaps most importantly, because next year I will be back in paid work and I need to keep those days as the waitlist for my area is very long.

So if the sun's out, we'll be down at the beach in the local rockpool from 8-11 and again from 2-4. Two long hard shifts at the beach, where my two year old frolics in the baby pool with other kids and plays in the sand with her bucket. I get to lie around in the sun, swim, chat with other mums and generally work hard at being a mum. During that time we might pop into the shops of cafe for a coffee or food, or the library for story time, or playgroup on Mondays. This is what I envisaged in my office bound daydreams when I wanted to be a mum.

If it's not good weather, this is my timetable:

6am Wake up to noise of birds and moans of little one in bedroom next door. Bring her into bed, make her a bottle to drink in bed and laugh at the funny things she says.

7am Dress, nappy change. Say bye to Dadda

8 -11 Leave the house. Take refuge at the library and shops, buy treats at cafe and bakery, go to post office and spend a solid hour at the Red Cross 'toy shop' playing with toys and checking for any designer clothes for toddler.

11-2 Wind down time: lunch and nap. I either nap too or watch the Kardashians while online. If I run out of Kardashian downloads (and with baby Penelope about to be born looks like I'll finish series 7 very soon!), I then turn to Dexter, Homeland, Offspring, True Blood, Covert Affairs, Rake, Revenge, Girls and if there's nothing from all those shows I might match a recent movie or, god forbid, some local TV, which is a hellish and woeful experience as the women are hard and overmadeup and the men simply tiresome and old. And all of them are just so unintelligent. No names mentioned, Sonia Kruger, Koshie et al.

I might also read any of the 20 books I have out from the library. In bed.

I total over four hours a day online while in front of telly, usually two hours on personal stuff (email, facebook) and two on silly stuff ("research" on house building, floor plans, property prices and trends, local news, entrepreneurs, writing, dance courses, classes, schools, future jobs, health issues, parenting news). 

I usually buy several things online each week delivered to my door including a fortnightly big grocery shop at Woolworth's (I cannot face the store anymore and almost die carrying all the bags upstairs, not to mention dragging a two year old along!), weekly book shopping at my guilty pleasure bookdepository, and occasional gift shopping at eBay, zoodee, dealsdirect, theiconic. This week we played on our dealsdirect trampoline, had two boogieboards delivered from ebay and a bunch of early Cmas gifts for nieces and friends' kids. I also buy vitamins, cars and houses online. When I was 24 I bought my first investment properties, two houses in Queensland, online. So the internet is good to me and I conduct a third of my waking hours online....! In winter only...!

2-4 See first shift at 8-11. Repeat or go to beach - maybe Clareville if there's occasional sun or wind as it's on the opposite side. Occasionally stay home and play on trampoline, play with toys, play with playdoh and drawing, etc. Daughter actually really likes staying home.

5 Begin bath routine. Run bath outside, make bubbles, clean up little toddler. Offer dinner in bath on silver platter (pasta, cheese, omelet) which is usually rejected. The silver platter thing was a joke.

5.30 Nappy, pajamas, warm bottle and books. At the moment there are several rotating favourites: the one staple is an old fashioned english nursery song book with all the golden oldies (naughty Georgie peorgie, jack and Jill, rock a bye baby). There's also "Mamma's fave" Moonlight which is delightful and still entrances me as it did my entire childhood. As well as Mem Fox's Time for Bed, Green Sheep and Ten little fingers, but she's moved onto singing and reading her own stories.

6pm Bed for 2yo.

6-10pm Treasured leisure time. Snack, watch telly and surf net. Greet spouse when he gets home sometime after 7pm, serve dinner or eat snack, enjoy nuptial relations or take long bath. Or both. 

10pm Collapse in bed, take two seconds to get to sleep.