So what do you do all day??

Sometime last year, Dan, Lucas and I were at a restaurant where you stand in a buffet-type line, load up your bowl with proteins and veggies, and then they are cooked in front of you and served over rice. The line was kind of long, so Dan and I thought it would be best if we went up one at a time so Lucas didn't have to wait in line for a long time (which, for the record, was a terrible idea, because Lucas and I were pretty much done eating before Dan even sat down with his food. Anyway...) I was waiting in line with my bowl and Lucas's, and I was in front of a twenty-something-year-old couple that sounded like they were on their first date. They were doing the whole awkward get-to-know-you conversation, and I was eavesdropping because A- the girl was about six inches away from me, and B- I don't get to listen to adult conversation all that often. It was pretty much standard first date conversation, and then the female started talking about someone she knew (her sister, I think.) And she said, "She's a stay-at-home mom. Her husband works, and she gets to stay home all day and do whatever she wants."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. Really, really loudly. Because, while I'm really thankful that I'm able to stay home with my kids, I have never, ever, EVER wanted to clean up vomit. But I do it. Sometimes several days in a row. Sometimes several times a day. (My son has a majorly sensitive gag reflex.)

Then a few weeks ago, a friend was telling me about how a neighbor who is in college was talking to her about being a stay-at-home mom, and she asked, "So what do you do all day??"

So apparently, there's still some mystery surrounding what stay-at-home moms do all day. And really, I should probably just let the mystery remain, because, well - most of us pee with the bathroom door open; this is the only mystery we've got left.

But an idea came to me in the shower (which is where all my ideas come, pretty much, because it's the only place I can hear myself think) that maybe we stay-at-home moms could maybe pull back the curtain and let the world in on the glamorous, fun, exciting world of what we do all day. So I started a new Instagram account called "What does Mom do all day?" And this is where you come in. If you're a stay-at-home mom, you're invited to take over the account for a day! I'll email you a temporary password, and for one day you can post between 2 and 10ish funny, interesting, or teeth-grindingly awful (because, you know, be realistic) glimpses into your life. I'll also periodically post photo "challenges" (like "show me your kid's biggest mess") for moms to post on their own Instagram account, and I'll repost some of my favorites. You can also submit one-time "stay-at-home mom slice-of-life" photos to be posted on the account by emailing them to bejaneum (at) gmail (dot) com.

(Just for the record, this is not a "stay-at-home moms are better or more busy or more hard working than work-outside-of-the-home mom" thing. Working moms are amazing! I just think that if you work outside of the home, people maybe ask the question "what do you do all day" less frequently, because, you know, people assume they know what you do when you tell them what your job is. Unless your job is confusing. Like transpondster*.)

Here are the guidelines:

1. You must have an Instagram account, public blog, or public Facebook page (and be able to verify that it is, in fact, your account) or you must know me in real life. (I just need to make sure that you're not going to take over the account only to post 100 pictures that say "Buy discount designer sunglasses!")

2. You should be a stay-at-home mom. (I'm not going to come to your house and check or anything, though.) And if you work part-time or work at night but stay home with your kids all day or freelance from home or something, that's totally fine. Just, you know, if you're a full-time TV news anchor or a member of Congress, you might not fit in the population we're looking for here.

3. Please don't use the account to try to sell anything! If selling something is part of what you do in the course of a normal day, you're welcome to include a relevant picture, but please don't post anything with the sole purpose of selling something, getting people to sign up for an email list, etc.

4. Try to make it funny, interesting, unique, etc. But you're not being graded on this.

5. Feel free to tag (and invite people to follow) your own Instagram account at the end of some (or all) of your posts! If you're looking to grow your Instagram following, hopefully this will help!

6. If the response gets overwhelmingly crazy, I might switch this to an email submission only thing.

Interested? Email me at bejaneum (at) gmail (dot) com and I can send you more details.

So... what do you do all day??


*Please tell me someone recognized that Friends reference.