why is my job not considered a "job"?

Babies don't come with directions on the back or batteries that can be removed. Motherhood is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You can't "leave the office".
-Patricia Schroeder


It makes me upset (or if I'm being honest-really mad and frustrated) when someone asks me what I do and I say I'm a stay-at-home mom of two boys and the look I get is dismissive. Like I've given an unreal answer-"that's not a job-that's an excuse to put your feet up and eat bon-bons all day" kind of look.

I've worked and had "real" jobs since I was fourteen years old and I've never been so exhausted or so rewarded as I have been the last 18months. 9-5 is not an option; there's no paycheck every friday, but everyday I'm blessed beyond any monetary benefits; vacation and time-off is getting a hot shower without interruption; if I get sick I still have to have to "show up"; my bosses are 18 and 2 months old and mean business!

My husband owns his own business and works incredibly hard, which affords me the joy of being able to take care of our home and be with our boys full-time. I don't think I could ever do this "job" and enjoy it nearly as much as I do if I didn't have him. For those moms or even dads who don't have their other half to help with the raising of their children-my kudos. I have no idea how they manage.
My husband is the reason I'm so incredibly happy. God has blessed us with our beautiful boys who have made our family so full and rich.

My days are not always scheduled and I have to go-with-the-flow and that usually includes twice the amount of normal laundry because a baby got sick or had a full diaper that didn't stay in the diaper. Going to the grocery store with a toddler and an infant takes more planning and energy than I usually have. My quiet time is when I can manage to have both boys down for the night and I have about 30min. before I'm nodding off myself. If I can get my infant to take a nap at the same time as my toddler, therefore getting a nap myself-it is sheer bliss!! Watching my son be so excited with such simple things like chasing him around the house and giving horsey rides or reading a book together is the greatest!! My infant up and screaming to be nursed in the middle of the night and my toddler having the biggest smile on his face because he learned a new word are both enough to drive me to tears. Knowing that God has entrusted such precious gifts to my husband and I to raise is enough to scare the breath out of me.

I am constantly trying to become what God is requiring of me, but always fall short. Proverbs 31:10-31 is the woman I want to be and am growing towards. Being a wife and a mom is the greatest "job" God has blessed me with and all the tears and exhaustion are no match for all the baby rolls, kisses and laughs!!

*note*: if you are wondering how I managed the time to type this-Multitasking is a part of motherhood. ie: nursing the baby (and balancing the laptop on the boppy) while getting my toddler to fill up a bucket with all his toys, dumping them out and doing it all over again allows me the time to type (but not for long!).