Earning my Betty Draper apron

For those of you who don't know, Betty Draper is the wife of the main character, Don Draper, on Mad Men.  She is the quintessential housewife of the 1960s.  She run the household and manages to look amazing while doing so.  She cooks, bakes, cleans, runs errands and is Don's trophy wife when he needs arm candy.  She always wears pearls and high heels and stays in shape by sustaining herself on red wine and cigarettes.  Aside from the cigarettes and red wine (except for the occasional glass) in a way I try to do the same.  Back when I was working full time, laundry and dishes were an afterthought.  Occasionally I'd throw a load in the washing machine on a week night but usually I would spend my Saturday shunting clothes from hampers to washer to dryer and back to the drawers, the dishes would be thrown in the dishwasher (sometimes after spending a night or two in the sink) when I got a chance.  The bathroom would be quickly wiped down when I remembered and same with the rest of our apartment.  Honestly, it didn't really bother me.  People understood that David and I worked long days and were raising a baby.  Working out was kind of an afterthought too.  But now that I'm home full time with Ri, I feel this overwhelming obligation to play June Cleaver, Betty Draper and a Real Housewife of Orange County.  For someone who has always felt too busy to really care, I'm finding I actually have the time to care and it's strange to me.  Who is this woman who gets annoyed if there is a dirty glass in the sink or if a bed is not made.  And a schedule for what laundry gets washed and when.  What is that about?  And, goes to spinning twice a week.  (Let me tell you, it's an awesome work out and it is a blast!)  And works out on a schedule too.  On top of that there is a play group twice a week that Riley and I both enjoy attending, trips to the park, trips to the grocery store and Target.  Tonight, I made blackberry jam.  From scratch.  This a bizarre!  But it was so much fun.  And it's so yummy.  Dave and I have been helping out some family friends by watering their plants and bringing in their mail while they're out of town and best of all we've been tending their incredible organic garden.  Last night we picked a tub of fresh blackberries and tonight we mashed and boiled and mixed and stirred eventually got fresh blackberry jam.  As I wiped down the counter and the stove and listened to the lids pop on the jars, Dave said, "Well, I think you've officially earned your Betty Draper apron."  Although we had a good laugh, I think it's kind of cool.  I'm slowly but surely learning how to do this. 

For starters...

I guess I'll give everyone a little snapshot of where I am.  My husband and I decided that in order to achieve your dreams, you obviously need to make sacrafices, but sometimes also have to take a step backward in order to be able to take a giant leap forwards.  So, in the name of chasing a dream, we recently went from being independent adults, complete with our own place, two incomes and benefits, to where we are now.  David's dream is law school, and I support him 100%.  So I left my job as an office manager, he left his job as a corporate slave, we pulled our son out of full time daycare, turned in our apartment keys, sold one of our cars and are back in my hometown, in the house I grew up in, living with my folks.  David interns for free with a local attorney and spends every spare moment he has preparing for the LSAT and perfecting his personal statements and adendums for law school applications.  I have taken a crash course is being a stay at home mom and feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it, between playgroups, playdates, laundry and washing sippy cups I manage to fill my days.  Stay tuned for our daily adventures as my husband chases his dream and I chase my toddler....