Home sweet home. 

Home is where the heart is. 

There's no place like home.

So why is it that I can not stand being home?  The key to happiness for me and my children is to get out.  On days off we wake up, get dressed and head out for an adventure of some sort.  At the end of the day, I return home with sticky, dirty, exhausted children and I consider my parenting skills and my time with them a great success.

This past week we had alot of rain and needed to stay in.  I literally thought I may have a nervous breakdown.  For one, I am surrounded by things I "should" be doing.  Laundry, dusting, sweeping and it is all there staring me in the face.  Secondly, as I try to make some of that progress around the house, I have three children destroying the place around me.  It is like shoveling the driveway in the middle of a snowstorm....no progress.

The dynamic between the children is off as well when we are at home.  The older ones are bickering and whining to the point that I start making my usual empty threats about not going to the birthday party that they know damn well we are going to attend because we already bought the gift.  Caroline is particularly cranky with less excitement than usual to keep her stimulated.  Staying home is the worst!

Eventually, I give up on my quality day with the kids (it's 10 a.m.) and jump on the computer while they cause a tornado around me.  I catch up on work and read about important world events making news like Kristin Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson (what a dumbass).

As I surf the internet with my earplugs in and a beer in my hand (kidding), I wonder what other moms do on those days they can't get out.  I picture these moms in their super clean houses with super well behaved kids sticking to daily "schedules" -- breakfast followed by craft time, then a nap, lunch, a half hour of TV, storytime and so on -- and I wonder if these people exist?  I think they do and I think I know (and very much like) some of them.

We are all different.  I have never really been a homebody and always felt better and more productive out and about doing things.  For some people, taking three kids to a restaurant or to the beach by themselves would be more stressfull and chaotic than staying home with the kids is for me.  People are sometimes shocked to hear about the things I am doing out and about with all three kids and ask me how they heck I handle it.  The truth is, I find it easy to take the kids apple picking or out to eat but I can't stand being in the house all day with my children.  Can't. Stand. It.

My husband arrives home later that day to a really sad lookig home and a wife and kids still in their PJ's.  I cringe as I hear him pull in and feel kind of bad that nothing was accomplished.  As the door opens, the kids jump up from their games and run to greet him. 

"Daddy, daddy we missed you!"

"I missed you too," he says as he bends down to give them hugs.

"It's good to be home."

As we all gather around to eat the pizza he brought us for dinner I realize that yes indeed, there is no place like home:)