Don’t Let Yourself Go

Happy Monday! 

It’s almost been two months since I’ve quit my job (Wow, time is flying by!) and taking on my new career as a “stay at home” wife. I’ve been loving every second of it and I cannot thank Kevin enough for giving me this opportunity. Things have been going great (besides our ER episode) and my husband has never been more supportive of me. Since I’ve been cooking 21 meals, our diets have improved 110%, we feel better, we’re happier, the house stays clean, there’s always fresh clothes to choose from, and I wake up every day loving life again. What a blessing it’s been for me to stay home!

There is something that I did personally decide when I became a housewife, and that was to never become lazy in regards to my appearance.

Are there some days I would rather stay in bed all day, or sit on the couch and watch movies? Of course! Who wouldn’t? Kevin and I have this joke that if he ever came home from working all day and found me in my PJ’s sitting on the couch eating Fritos while watching soap operas that I would have to go back to work.

Although it’s a joke, I silently made a vow to myself to never become a lazy wife. This means not only making sure to not neglect my “chores,” but more importantly, to not let myself go. It’s so very easy when you stay home all the time (and with having no kids), to just want to stay in my jammies, throw my hair up in a bun, keep my slippers on, and call it a day, but I personally feel as this is almost disrespectful to my husband. He gets up, showers, and cleans himself up for work so why shouldn’t I? After all, being a housewife is a job too!

The Small Simple Things I Keep Up With In Order To Not Let Myself Go:

• Get out of bed. Sleeping in is one of my favorite things to do and when I first started staying home, it was so tempting to see him off to work and then get all cozy back in bed. I’ve stopped doing this. I now try my best to stay on my husband’s sleep schedule for two reasons: #1. When I would go back to sleep after he left, naturally by the time he came home I would be well rested. Well, when he came home from work (exhausted of course), I didn’t want to sit down and watch a movie with him, I wanted to go out and do stuff. That in itself is a problem. #2. When I would sleep in, I would stay up late and not come to bed long after he was asleep. When I walked into our bedroom at 3:00 AM, it would wake him up and I felt guilty. Not only was I missing out on quality time with my husband by being on a whole different schedule, I wasn’t getting enough things done during the day. Now when my husband is ready for bed, I join him and we get a little cuddle time in. And when we wake up, he gets breakfast every morning.

TIP: I have found that making the bed as soon as you wake up will mentally help yourself from wanting to get back in. 

• I always will do my hair and make up. Even if I stay home all day, I make sure to look presentable for my husband when he returns home. Sure I might leave my PJ pants on and leave my hair in a bun while I’m blogging or meal planning (shhhhhhhhh), but I make sure to change before Kevin returns home. For some reason I feel like I should have been born in the 1950’s. I loved the way women were expected to be housewives, to cook the meals, and take care of the house all while wearing a dress and heels. *sigh* Alas, this is no more the way things are. “Women can do everything a man can.” Eh, to each her own. I prefer to be the woman my husband can come home to, feeling peaceful within a clean home, and him knowing that he will have a hot meal once he walks in the door.
• I do little things that Kevin never expects but he appreciates. Pay attention to your husband and the sweet comments he makes. One time Kevin and I were out to dinner, he softly looked down at my hands, and made a comment about how much he loved the red color on my nails. What to take from that? I make sure I keep up with my nails, keep them painted. It’s not something he expects but I know he appreciates the effort I put into keeping myself “pretty.”

I’m not saying that you should have you should have your hair curled, put tons of make up on, and have heels on your feet, but I like to try and stay pretty for him in a simple way. I’ll at least put on a bra, straighten the hair, and wear a little mascara. I feel like I can work better when I look more presentable too, so it’s a win/win!

*Please note that this post is completely my opinion and my honest way of living as a housewife.* 🙂

What about you? What are some ways you like to show your husband that you still care?