Three Day Skirty Challenge and Some Musings Too.

All righty, here I am in all my skirtted glory. The first day I wore a skirt to work. I looked odd and everyone wanted to know "what was I doing in a skirt?" So I told them about the blog challenge and then they all said "wow, you have a lot of free time don't you?". Well, no, not really. It doesn't take a lot of free time to wear a skirt instead of pants. The point was to do all the regular old stuff while wearing the skirt, not stop the stuff just because of the skirt. I made dinner before I left. Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dog Casserole. Yum Yum!

For day two I went with a black asymetrical skirt that I keep in my closet for when I'm feeling "skirty". Here I am cooking again, that's chicken that I'm waving at Jason. I made Buffalo Chicken strips and Cheesy Fries. Definately a repeat in this house! I also worked quite a bit on Jayden's Pink Frog Dress. Using the sewing machine is pretty easy in a skirt, though because of the chairs we have (wood) and the fabric of the skirt my legs would stick occassionaly, so I had to make sure it was pulled very much down. I've also noticed that people look at you a little oddly when walking around in a skirt and you aren't wearing a tank top and flip flops on the bottom. At least a tank and flip flops would indicate that you are a college kid or just coming from the beach or something like that. Why would a woman WANT to wear a skirt if not for those reasons?

For the third day I wore this red skirt. I had to mend it a little before putting it on. It's rather old, and it had gotten some small tears between the tiers. Brown comfy Mary Jane style shoes and a white top completed the outfit. We spent a good chunk of the day shopping. Picking up some needed items at the Wal-Mart that I work at. Again with the looks, and the questions of "what are you so dressed up for?" As you can see, Katy followed in the skirt wearing extraveganza. So did Jayden. Here Katy and I are making Monte Cristos for dinner. MMMMM MMMMM. They went over SUPER well with everyone, including James, the Pickiest Eater on the Planet. I didn't try with Izzy, he's not a meat eater for some reason. That is also the apron I have had for EONS it seems. That IS paint that you see on it. And all kinds of stuff. Because I am used to wearing skirts for lots of things, I didn't find any difficulties with getting tasks done. I have found, however, that I don't have skirts that fit me anymore. I do have patterns for skirts stashed away, but I've never bothered to get them out. I'm thinking that I should, and soon.

Now comes the musings. As I've been reading Country Mom's blog, I found a post about her 2 cents. About being a mother, a wife, a woman. And what she thought of all three of those. Country Mom is a very devout christian. I don't know if her faith is extreme or not, however she and her family have gone "off grid" to live in a community of like minded followers. They are modest God fearing people. They live off of the land as much as possible. While I would never personally do this, I commend them in their faith to be able to do so.

I have stopped to ask myself "have I been a good wife and mother?" I often before have asked myself this question. I've always wondered how a woman allows her man to feel as though he is a man, and still feel herself too? Can she truly be herself and be for him at the same time? She also mentions making a house a home. Keeping it neat and tidy. Making sure that everyone is fed and the clothes and dishes are washed. Things like that. She stated that men work at providing all day, they are tired. The last thing they want is to come home and be told to do more work. They want to take the time to relax, spend time with their children, enjoy the meal and home they provide.

At this moment in our financial situation, we can not afford for me to not work. I do know, however, that Jason would love to earn enough so that if I were to work, it would be for my own personal reasons, not because I had to so we could make ends meet. I know I don't do enough around our house. I haven't made our house a home. We still have boxes stashed away in the storage room from when we moved in. In my office as well. We don't have pictures hung on our walls or curtains on our windows. I've only finished painting one room, and even then I haven't completed the curtains or decorations for the room.

I am, hands down, one of the worst housekeepers on the planet. Not because I suck at doing it, which I don't when I actually do it, but because I'm too lazy and I don't care enough to actually do it. How does that make my husband feel? He knows I'm home all day. When he comes home and there doesn't appear to have been done anything, what does he think? Is he ashamed or upset at having me as his wife? I don't know. I do know he picks up the slack, and I allow it. I am wrong for that. I am just as physically capable of cleaning as he is. There is no reason for him to work a 40 hour week and then come home and clean all weekend. He should be allowed to relax a little. Does this mean he shouldn't do projects around the house, like fixing walls and weeding and things like that? Well, no. However he shouldn't have to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen and bathroom and do the laundry. Those are tasks that I am capable of doing on my own every day.

August 18. That is the day I stated I would start working on myself. On my phsical self. Isn't my home a part of that physical self? Shouldn't that be included? The answer, I believe, is yes. I want my husband happy with his help mate, his wife, his love of choice. I want him happy in his home. I want him to feel at home and know that things are going well. He needs to know he is providing well for us and I think that if he came home, and he could sit and relax and enjoy instead of clean and clean and clean, he would know that. He would know that I do respect him. That I do care for him. That he is worth the effort required of me, that I currently don't give, to keep things cleaner and tidier.

It's all good to say now, let's see how I hold out in practice. I will try. That I will do.