How do those of you who are stay-at-home moms split the household duties?  Do you do something in your home to make money?  

Well for us I stay home and do all the household chores. (inside and out) If a car needs worked on, I schedule the service and get it there, the grass needs mowed, I do it, if it snows, I shovel. I only hire outside help if I can't do it. (which is very rare)

I do have a cleaning job that I do every 2 weeks. This is my money to spend on me. I usually spend it on the kids though. We are fortunate that MrGH makes enough money that I can stay home and we still have enough for a few luxuries. My cleaning job is more for my sanity then anything else.

What we do won't work for everyone though.  The years I missed with my girls growing up because my ex couldn't afford to pay for the basics made me appreciate the time I have now with lilGH.

My hat goes off to you MrsGungho.  Is LilGH cooperative while you go about chores and prepare meals or do you do it while he naps?

My late husband and I had an arrangement that worked well for us.  He preferred that I stay home with the kids (as did I) so he earned the money and I took care of everything else.  I am really independent so this was no problem most of the time.  I did however begin an in-home child care because I am one of those people who have to do everything and out of boredom (my late husband worked out of town and was gone from Sun morning until Thurs night).

I stay home and I have three home businesses that I manage.  I work about 3/4 of the time so I get lots of help from my husband and children.  I have two teenagers that help with house work and with their little brother [who is 6].  I am responsible for most of what goes on in the house while the hubby takes care of the yard and cars and any house hold maintance.  He's horrible at taking hints [i.e. there was no door knob on the bathroom for 3 years so I decided to fix it myself and hauled in a fair amount of tools [he collects tools or so it seems] from the shop and scattered them from one end of the house to the other.  Now he's fairly Johnny on the spot at fixing things so i stay out of his tools.

Patty

Quoted: My hat goes off to you MrsGungho.  Is LilGH cooperative while you go about chores and prepare meals or do you do it while he naps?

Thank You. Trust me, it was a big adjustment, I had worked and helped to pay my way since I was 15. Everyone keeps telling me I am still paying my way, just in a different manner.

As far as lilGH being cooperative, most of the time he is. I can do inside things all day long with no trouble. When it comes to outside stuff like the lawn and shoveling snow, I count on his sister to watch him or for his dad to get home. Nap time is STRICTLY relaxation time for me. Be it take a nap or surf the web, it's 2 hrs during the day I can say is all mine.

Then of course there was the night out with the lady arfcommers.... that was a sanity break I needed in a really big way.

Quoted: Then of course there was the night out with the lady arfcommers.... that was a sanity break I needed in a really big way.

youre implying we are sane????  

Quoted: Quoted: Then of course there was the night out with the lady arfcommers.... that was a sanity break I needed in a really big way. youre implying we are sane????

Compared to my home this past weekend?! Hell Yes!

Quoted: Then of course there was the night out with the lady arfcommers.... that was a sanity break I needed in a really big way.

+1  

/hijack mode off

Interesting question.

It wasn't anything that we set out to do, many years ago, but have fallen into a balance that works for us.

My husband works. He pays the bills. He handles the finances. He takes care of the maintinance of the house. He ensures that my car is filled up and clean. He makes the kids lunches for school. He drives the 2 middle kids to school. He writes the big checks.

I do the laundry. I cook. I make sure the kids have what they need. (Cloths, shoes, permission slips, sign-ups for activities) I stay home with the kids during the day. I handle all scheduling. I volunteer for their activities. I homeschool one of the kids.

I also have a part time job. I don't "Have" to work, but it is my sanity time. While I am at work, he takes care of the kids that are home. (I went back to work 6 days after having my last child--and he took over) I have my own little account for that money.  I buy the Disneyland passes, he pays the mortgage.

We both change diapers. Drive the kids to their activities. Attend big events for the kids. Take the kids to Dr. and dental visits. I usually do the ortho, and hubby does the big stuff, MRI's and CT scans.  We just check to see who has the lightest schedule.

He does the dishes, and the baths...I comb, and style the hair. I fill out the forms, he writes the check. I schedule haircuts, Dr. appts, school conferences, lay the kids cloths out, and oversee homework; He takes them to school.

It's almost like a dance. We work well together. We never "planned" the division of labor, it just evolved.

I think if we had tried to "plan" who does what, it wouldn't have worked as well.