Interview with a Stay At Home Mom, Mary Ann Llanza-Murillo

I always enjoy getting a new perspective. I also collect snippets of people's lives via interviews. Mrs. Mary Ann Llanza-Murillo has very graciously allowed me to interview her about her experience as a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM). As a working mom, I find it difficult to imagine myself at home all day long just as sure as many SAHM's have a difficult time imagining leaving their children all day to work. This is just a quick peek into Mean's life with her young son, Jacob.

Interview With a Stay At Home Mom

1. What made you decide to be a Stay At Home Mom?

To make sure that my kids is always safe. I want to make sure that he drinks milk on time, his feeding bottle is clean, he plays, and learn things.

I don't want to get a nanny yet because babies are very sensitive and  they cant speak their feelings yet so they can't tell to their parents what their nanny did to them all day.

2. What does a typical day look like for you?

This is my routine, as soon as I wake up I need to wash feeding bottles, then prepare my child for bathing time, then prepare his solid food, vitamins, then we play together till he falls asleep, while the baby is sleeping, I prepare my food then eat, feed my dogs and clean their cage, after that I take a bath too fast while my baby is asleep.

If he is still sleeping, I get that chance to clean the house, and wash his cloths (cleaning the house everyday is important because he has allergic rhinitis, and i need to wash clothes everyday due to milk spills)

In the mid afternoon, I wash feeding bottles again, we go outside to get fresh air, then prepare dinner, wash dishes, feed the dogs again.  I am doing those things if my baby is sleeping or quietly watching cartoons.  But if he is fully awake,  I need to be on his side all the while and wait for a chance to continue my chores. At around 8:30 pm I prepare him for sleeping, give him a sponge hot bath and change his clothes, at around 9 or 10 pm. that is the only time for my self or "Me Time".

You see, the baby is my Top Priority.

3. What is the most challenging thing about staying at home?

Every chores are challenge for me because I need to finish it on time or else it will file up the next day. But the most challenging is whenever the baby has a fever, it happens every month because of the side effects of the vaccines. In that case I can't sleep normally and I can't do my chores.

4. What is the best thing about being home?

Best? when I'm on my child's side and I get the chance to see his first smile, first laugh, "all the first thing that happens to him" those we're the times that I feel like a "winner" in lotto!

5. How do friends and family view your decision to stay home?

Hmmmm... my single friends view it as easy because they thought that I can rest anytime I want. But they are all wrong. I usually answer them with this, "You will understand, when you are already on my shoes." 

My family? They also thought that it's also easy because they always say that they've been there, done that. . But I'll just keep my rebuttal to myself which is..."Your time is different from our time".

6. Any tips/ words of encouragement to all Stay At Home Moms?

The experience to be with your child from newborn till he/she reach toddler stage is priceless. Why? because you can never turn back the time. And it is very important to them to experience that their mom is their first best friend, first love, first teacher, and their best doctor.

All in all, being a stay at home mom is definitely challenging but totally worth the rewards. Most days are awesome- I get to play with and teach my little boy all day long. Some days are bad and I feel like I am teetering on the brink of insanity. But this is the life I chose and I would not trade it for the world.

Mommy Mean with Baby jacob

Baby Jacob

Deliberatelymom with Jacob, Apupap and Mommy Mean