I stay at home, and I don't go to tanning booths or country clubs.
Even if I did, I figure I deserve it. I have 3 kids, 2 of them are twins. I went on 3 months of complete bedrest to have the twins. It was a lot of hard work to even have the twins.
Then, my twins got sick and almost died of a respiratory virus. One of them has brain damage. The other one had severe asthma. The one with asthma, had to have breathing treatments every 2 hours for a year. Both of them had physical therapy several times a week. At 9, they are both still in speech therapy. One of them also had occupational therapy on top of all the other therapy.
We barely managed me staying home, but the doctors told us that the twins could not go to daycare.
Also, insurance does not pay for speech therapy. It cost $300/week for my daughters to go to speech therapy for 4 years.
I couldn't afford nice clothes, so I ran around in sweats most of the time when they were little.
I couldn't get babysitters because I couldn't find anyone who could handle 3 young kids, one with brain damage.
I am so thankful now that I actually have a few hours to myself while they are in school. However, from about 2-9 pm it will be crazy. If I manage to go to the mall occasionally for a few hours or eat a few bon bons, I deserve it, and so do all the other stay at home moms that make sacrifices for their children.