Anna Strode is a stay-at-home mom of 23-month-old identical twin boys.
She spends her days taking care of her toddlers, tending to her home, and maintaining her social media presence.
On top of taking care of her twins, Anna also works out every day — she's famous on Instagram for her photos and videos of working out while her boys play around her.
Oh, and she's pregnant — with her third child, a baby girl.
Needless to say, Anna's schedule is jam-packed. As a pregnant mom of two who is a total fitness guru, Anna must be constantly exhausted. Plus, with another baby on the way, her life isn't about to get any easier.
It's safe to say that Anna works her butt off (both figuratively and literally). There's nothing easy about being a mom of twin toddlers, especially when you're pregnant, but Anna somehow manages to do it with grace and dignity.
[H/T Huffington Post]
Anna posted this photo on her Instagram, with the following comment:
Last week someone made a comment on my page and, you know what, it upset me.
It cut me pretty deep and while I do my best to remain positive — this hurt.
It basically said, ‘I wish I got to stay at home all day and exercise with my child, instead I have to go to work and do WORK…’
Work?! You think I sit at home all day and twiddle my thumbs?
You think 2 x 22 month old toddlers just let me kick my feet up all day after I've done my morning workout?
You think I'm beaming with energy as I grow a new baby and frantically do my best to keep up with twin boys that run rings around me?!
Just to break it down… I exercise for 20-30 minutes a day.
Sometimes stopping 20 times throughout to fetch toys, bring food, stop hair pulling, break up fights over toys, and, some days, stopping two minutes in because it just ain't happening that day~
Other days we're so busy or the boys are so CLINGY / CRANKY (e.g.: this photo sums it up) the best workout I can get in is some squats, push-ups and tricep dips while they eat or we practice new words, counting to 10 or all the body parts we've learnt.
I certainly DON’T spend all day exercising.
My days are spent changing sh*tty nappies, dealing with tantrums, playing cars and trucks, making food that gets thrown on the floor before it's even tasted, walking the streets trying to get tired, grumpy children to nap, attempting to teach two little humans to SHARE instead of bite, pull hair, scratch or push each other, pushing swings, climbing up and down bloody forts that shouldn't even be in kids playgrounds since they are so damn unsafe…
… going for adventures to keep the bubs happy, vacuuming three times a day because of all that food that I worked so hard to cook wasn’t even considered eating [sic], oh and did I mention the constant battle of playing referee ALL day between two little cheeky monkeys that — guess what — DON’T ‘just play happily and entertain each other all day!’
For the record, TWINS don't do that!!! Maybe when they're older, yes! I hope so anyway ~ but for now, no — I literally, for most of the part, can't take my eyes off them!
They are best friends, but need constant management.
BUT — I do it because I LOVE it.
We are NOT rich! Me staying at home with our children means we have to GO WITHOUT a LOT of things!
We rent out a studio on the back of our house on Airbnb to help pay for extra bills. I have to clean this most days (wash sheets, make bed, clean bathroom and kitchen, vacuum, and mop) with Lachie and Sammy by my side.
I’ve worked hard to grow this Instagram page, hours upon hours with children crawling all over me, trying to get content filmed, videos edited and blog posts written ~ so it can contribute financially to our family.
Before having babies I worked in high management roles in Marketing.
The pressure and workload was TOUGH, but NOTHING like the demands of being a mama.
When someone implies my life is EASY because they go to work and I don’t ~ it upsets me.
Because you know what, on the days the boys wake up screaming at 5:30 a.m. and are still whining when Daddy walks out the door at 7 a.m. and won't be back until at least 6 p.m. — guess what! I tell you, I feel like GOING to work too!
PLEASE I'm begging you, NEVER underestimate HOW HARD 'stay at home' mums WORK!
We do it because we love it but we often do it with tears rolling down our faces, or heads in our hands crying and with a huge sense of loneliness from the adult world, too!
I'm not saying that I or someone works harder than another, what I'm saying is we ALL work hard!
One thing I know for sure though is I'm glad I chose this job and I wouldn't change a thing.
This job is hard, but it is by far the MOST rewarding.
What do you think of Anna's incredible statement?
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