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Living my life as a SAHM has always been my end goal.

Before I even met my husband, I dreamed of one day staying home to raise my children. Then, seven years later when we found out we were having twins, my dream was about to become reality.

Between the cost of childcare for two infants and my husbands urge for me to stay home with them, we ultimately decided me becoming a SAHM would be what is best for our growing family.

Going in to becoming a SAHM, I had a lot of expectations. I figured I could do whatever I wanted all day long, the house would always be clean and that I would always have the time to make a home cooked meal. Well, yeah lets all laugh along with me. Almost none of what I expected turned out to be true.

Sure, I can do whatever I want all day long, but what about the feeling of necessity to contribute to the family? So on top of taking care of two infants, I am still going above and beyond in all things household? And trying to do so in the little chunks of time I have during naps?

Being a SAHM is a lot more work than I thought it would be.

And I think it is something that is overlooked by most parents. Everyone just assumes you stay home in your PJ’s and play with babies all day. Well, no not exactly. I might be in PJ’s because I haven’t caught a break to go shower.

I have two infants, and as hard as I try to keep them on the same schedule sometimes they stay awake opposite of each other. So I literally have no downtime. Like I have said before, if anyone were to stop by my house at any given time, odds are I have at least one baby in my arms. And that is so true.

Today for example, I made the pups some pumpkin dog treats for Christmas. I made them while holding Kendall the whole time because she was awake and wanted to play, and I needed to get those treats baked. It’s not a complaint, its just how my life goes with twins.

I kind of expected to have to entertain babies all the time before I decided to stay home, but keep reading for the 7 things I really didn’t expect.

7 Things That Surprised me After Becoming a SAHM:

• The electric bill rises

  I was not prepared for this one. When I saw the first electric bill after staying home for a month I was SHOCKED! Our budget was already pretty tight without me working, so I had to do some re-working to figure out how to balance it. But after putting some thought into why I was so much higher, it made sense. Lights are on all day long, the heat is always flowing, and the tv is constantly on and off. Another bill that rose was the water bill.

• SO many dishes

  And the dishes are why the water bill rose. Think about it- you are now eating all of your meals at home, plus washing laundry constantly, and then mix in all those bottles. It is a lot of water. I try to save water as best as I can, but it seems like the only real place I am saving is by taking a shower two or three times per week (I wish I could take more).

• All of a sudden your house is a pigsty

  My husband asks me why I am always cleaning now. Well, its because after staring at every inch of your house day in and day out, it’s disgusting! I used to think I kept a pretty clean house, but now I see every dirt mark on the wall, dog hair on the couch, and stain on the towels. I don’t know if it’s just my new mom brain, or the home life craziness, but my house just disgusts me now.

• Going anywhere is out of the way

  I have always been the kind of person to plan out my trips. I would plan my way home from work to hit the most places in one go. But now, everything is out of the way. It is really hard for me to justify leaving the house just to go to one place. But I also can’t do a lot in one go before my boobs start to leak. This mom life struggle is real.

• You won’t have all of the time in the world

  I just kind of assumed that by not having a schedule written in stone, I would have time for everything. But turns out- taking care of two babies 24/7 is a lot of work! And at that, work that takes 24/7 too. Something that has been hard for me to cope with is the lack of downtime. Even when my husband gets home from work and can help with the kids, I still have a lot to do that I didn’t get done during the day. Then it is a constant cycle.

• Stay home and do nothing weekends are anything but luxury

  Before becoming a SAHM, I lived for the weekends. Counting down to Friday was almost my hobby. I looked forward to staying home, getting some stuff done, and spending time with my husband. But now I countdown to the weekend so that I can get out of the house.

• Starbucks becomes the ultimate treat

  The last thing on my ‘what surprised me’ list is Starbucks. Before staying home, Starbucks was a part of my morning routine. I wouldn’t make coffee at home, I would grab something yummy on the way to work. But now that I am a SAHM, I drink about a pot of homemade coffee and creamer a day and have Starbucks maybe once a week on the way to the grocery store. So when I do get that handmade cinnamon dolce latte, it is the ultimate treat!

Are you already a SAHM?

What is something you have learned since becoming one? Go ahead and share below!