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The Stay at home mom's guide to staying sane: Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? As a stay at home mom to one year old twin girls and a five year old boy, I am surprised that I can actually call myself sane; however I will for the sake of this article. Being a stay at home mom is tough, and trust me you do lose brain cells in the process but going insane seems like part of the deal. However if you really want to "try" to stay sane, there are a few ways that you can do that before you turn into that crazy mom that embarrasses their kids.

SCHEDULE
As a stay at home mother, you need to schedule your time. It has been proven that children thrive on schedules so why not make it easier on both you and your little ones by setting time guidelines. It does not have to be a strict and by the book schedule because that would make you insane. Just write out general guidelines, such as what time meals and snacks will be as well as naptimes. This way you can also plan for household chores to be done during naptime and you can even get dinner started while your children are playing.

ORGANIZE
As a parent you are inundated with playdates, doctor appointments, Gymboree, class mom duties, teacher conferences, and so much more. There is no way that you can possibly remember everything therefore you need to buy a planner and write all of these appointments down. You can even write simple things down such as when milk money is due or when you have to return permission slips for field trips to the school. This will help you avoid trying to take care of those last minute items two minutes before the bus is due to arrive.

PLAY
Get on the floor and play with your children. It is definitely a stress reliever and they will love to see mommy on the floor building a tower of blocks or playing dress up. If your child is old enough to color, then sit at their kid sized table and color with them. Play their favorite board game with them too; kids love it when mom is sitting on the floor with them playing Twister or Monopoly. If it is nice outside, go play tag or swing on the swings at the park with your child. It really is a nice release for you and fun for your child.

LET THEM WATCH TV
I am not saying plop them in front of the television all day, however an hour of Sesame Street or Blues Clues won't hurt while you are doing laundry or trying to take a shower.

CALL YOUR FRIENDS
Call one of your adult friends once in awhile for some adult conversation. It gets tough when all you spend your days trying to reason with a two year old about why he can not wear his superman cape to the grocery store. I know for me it is tough to get alone time out of the house without my children, so if you can, try and join a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group where you can meet up with other adults and still bring your children. It is like a playdate for moms.

DO NOT FLY OFF THE HANDLE
When your husband comes home and asks that infamous question, "What did you do all day?" try not to fly off and hit him with a frying pan. Instead, calmly explain that you may have a messy house and kids still in their pajamas, but you have happy kids and best of all you didn't run away today.

Learn more about this author, Adina Carter Allen.
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