Since our move to Chicago, I’ve adopted a few different personas. “Chicago Jillian” likes to be called “Jillian” (not “Jill”) and wears her hip glasses instead of her contacts.

My second persona is called “1950s Jillian,” and she is single handedly setting the women’s movement back a couple of decades. 1950s Jillian cooks and cleans. She has lunch waiting for her husband mid-day, and dinner waiting for him when he gets home from work in the evening. 1950s Jillian “freshens up” before her husband gets home and makes sure the baby is quiet so that her husband can relax and have some peace and quiet after a long, hard day at the office.

Alright, I’m lying. I don’t freshen up before Josh gets home, and I certainly don’t keep Jude quiet for Josh’s sake either (though I’m sure he would love it if I did… especially the “freshening up” part. God knows when the last time I got to take a shower was.). But, I’ve been cleaning (a bit) and cooking (a lot), and honestly, I’m really enjoying it all. Stepping into the role of full-time stay at home mom has been a bit tough. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with the boy, and sometimes I can’t, for the life of me, figure out how I’m supposed to find the time to make a PB&H sandwich with a child underfoot (and often times whining), but I love it when I do get things done.

So, I guess what I’m saying is that I’m proud of myself. I’ve kept the kitchen, playroom, and downstairs bathroom clean for four consecutive days now. I’ve been cooking 90% of our meals since our second week here. I’m doing laundry fairly regularly. And, I’m entertaining a 15-month-old day in and day out.

I think I deserve a cookie. Or 10.