Not all husbands are perfect then?? They just seem to want everything done and expect it to be done because they work away from the home. Sometimes I would do anything to trade places with him and be the one that works. But then reality sets in and I realize that there is no way I would be able to keep up with that pace.

Basically men seem to be able to focus on one thing at a time. My husband admits this is the case, and says he could never work from home with the kids in the background. But I must be lucky, he is great at the ironing and even though he works away all week, he will still lend a hand at home. I guess he got fed up wearing my version of crumpled clothes! Still, I find it takes him ages to get round to doing anything and often do things myself just to get it out the way. He can be in the same room as the kids whilst they are up to mischief, and still not notice!! And at times I think he doesn´t appreciate how lucky he is... when we moved to Spain guess who learnt Spanish and now deals with everything, whilst he just about manages " Dos cervezas" at the bar!! He has no inclination to do it, and now has the ideal excuse - he can´t understand! Ah well, at the end of the day I´d rather be here than anywhere else!

Being a full-time mom is the best job I've ever had; I really love spending most of my time teaching Kieran cool things every day. I don't spend all my time doing the things that my husband's mother did (keeping a perfect house while Brian vegged in front of the tv). I basically spend the minimal amount of time to keep a clean and healthy home. It really sucks when Brian comes home from work and complains that he works all day to pay for our house, and it looks like crap because there is a pile of unopened mail on the kitchen counter and toys on the coffee table where he wants to set his beer. He doesn't even show interest or pleasure in what I accomplished, as if our kid would learn how to write his name from Sponge Bob so I could clean house all day. He complains about how it's all on him to pay the bills and we'd have so much more money if I got a full time job. But then, if he were to get what he wants, half my salary would go to child care and the other half would go to a maid service! I've always been a clutter freak, and for some reason Brian thought that I would change my cluttered ways once I became a "homemaker"! Ridiculous. I mean, the house isn't even in terrible shape, we aren't ashamed to have people over. But I'm never going to live up to the super-perfect standards that my mother-in-law set.

I really hate hearing the criticism... and I think it goes both ways. I really try to avoid nit-picking since I hate hearing it, but it is tough. Sometimes I am just in a MOOD and do it anyway...