How many hats?

I recently read a story about a wife whose husband left her so she took him to court for back pay on all of the jobs that she felt she should be compensated for. She was a stay at home mom and had sacrificed a career to stay home with her kids. Therefore, had a hard time getting back into the workforce and thought that her husband should pay her for the things she didnt make money doing over the years. As a stay at home mom myself, im always hearing that if moms actually got paid for what they do everyday, it would be OVER 100,000 year and that can add up!This begs the question, how many hats do you wear as a mom?

First there is maid. This is the one I struggle with the most. I hate it that my husband thinks the living room floor(of all places) is the perfect spot for his dirty, smelly socks that my dog then runs around the house with in his mouth! Gross!
Then there is the toothpaste issue. Im always cleaning, scratch that, scrubbing pink toothpaste out of the sink after the morning rush of everyone brushing their teeth at the same time. My daughters just dont quite reach the drain to spit yet and so it runs all along the side of the sink bowl!Oh and then the issue with dishes. I always get the evening dishes done and somehow when I get up in the morning, more dishes have miraciously appeared.

Next is cook. I always feel like a short order cook with everyone yelling orders about what they will and wont eat at each meal. And it is NEVER the same thing! Not only that but it is all throughout the day, not just mealtimes. I swear I have dreams about my kids saying "Mommy, I want a snack" every 2 seconds.

Then the job of scheduling. I have to schedule doctors, dentists and eye appointments around work for my husband, work at the church for myself and school for my daughter. Not to mention, soccer and dance practice thrown in the mix.

Lets add the job title of taxi cab driver to the above mentioned tasks.

One of the more important job titles, teacher. Doing homework and preparing my youngest for preschool are things that I need to be better at making a priority. Then there is teaching all the time with how you live your life. You need to teach them to be good people, sisters,daughters, americans,Christians!

I could probably name a few more like dry cleaner, ref, interior decorator, etc. but I have to add the best hat(s) to wear:

Mother and Wife!

I consider my payment of the formentioned jobs my kids smiles, or the way thier hair looks so cute in the morning or the way they snuggle you. There is no payment in the world equal to holding your little baby in your arms and the chance to experience that new baby smell. Or the way you can kiss a little scratch and make the boo boo go away. Even these things would not be as possible if it wasnt for my husband giving me the wife hat to wear. While I do ask for much more "payment" from him, it is always accepted with kisses, footrubs, and date nights. When I do struggle with the daily life of being a mom, hes always there to make sure I know I am loved and what more could a woman really ask for?