How do they do it?

As I was driving from store to store today, looking for uncooked shrimp at a reasonable price, I found myself wondering how stay-at-home moms can get it all done.  I cooked a little dinner yesterday and am planning on having dinner on the table tonight and tomorrow night.  It shouldn't be so hard, right?  I have a very good baby who often will sit happily while I cook, a cleaning person to make sure the house is clean, and 4 whole days home every week.  Why does it still feel like it's a challenge to put a meal on the table?  I'm sure part of it is just laziness.  My days at work are so busy that I go into slowpoke mode when it's time to be home.  I often nap during Lydia's first nap.  I spend time on the internet, checking my friends' blogs, looking at facebook, reading my 50 or so daily emails (seriously...it could even be as high as 100!), signing notes from work.  But...I don't spend a lot of time getting myself looking nice, I don't watch TV.  So where does the time go?  

It does seem to take forever to go shopping.  Part of the problem is that I'm trying to be so healthy when I cook.  I'm watching my own weight right now, and I want to make sure that all of Lydia's food is good for her and organic.  Yesterday I made a big list and planned out 5 meals for the week.  This is a huge step for Don and me.  Our typical pattern was to find a recipe, go shopping, and then be foodless again.  A key part of the "stay-at-home mom philosophy" must be to be prepared.  As Lydia gets bigger and has siblings, a stocked pantry and refrigerator will be key.  This has been a major deficit for us in the past, and I am working on it.  So, back to the 5 meals--grilled portobella sandwiches last night, tonight Greek shrimp with feta, tomorrow butternut squash risotto made with farro, and then 2 crock pot meals for Don--macaroni and cheese and fajitas.  I went to Hiller's yesterday.  They're usually a good choice, as they have a good assortment of grains, organic food, etc., but they're not as expensive as Whole Foods.  However, I couldn't find any farro, and the shrimp was really expensive.  I next drove to Trader Joe's, as they're usually a good source for uncooked shrimp.  The place was packed, no buttermilk (?!?), and no shrimp.  I left with a couple of herbs and some cranberries and headed home.  Total time spent shopping with Lydia?  Probably at least 1.5 hours.  And I still didn't have buttermilk, farro, or uncooked shrimp.  The shrimp really need to be cooked today, as I bought crusty bread, and it will be stale if we don't use it today, SO I headed back out this afternoon with Lydia bundled up in a big warm bunting (SOOOOOO Cute!)  First we went to Whole Foods to look for farro.  It was really hard to find (fortunately I had looked it up on the internet and had read that it would be in the pasta section).  Finally I found it on the top shelf.  It was $7.99 for 2 cups, but I'd been looking for so long that there was no way I was leaving without it.  I also bought Lydia's YoBaby yogurt and some yogurt for myself.  Then back to Trader Joe's, since it's only a mile from Whole Foods and I thought the shrimp had probably been restocked.  I was wrong...I asked the "First Mate" and the shrimp hadn't been shipping because of a warehouse fire in California.  Finally I headed over to Meijer (3rd store of the day) and found the shrimp for only $5.99 per pound--lovely.  Still, probably another 1.5 hours spent shopping today.  These had better be some good meals!

This is a terribly boring post.  Stream of consciousness doesn't work very well for me.... oh well.  I'll post it anyhow.