Re: WHEN PEOPLE GET YOU...
It never mattered to me much - UNTIL I had my boys. Then it became a very different story. When people hear "stay-at-home mom" they make all kinds of assumptions, mostly negative ones. And this can have a huge impact. For instance, at the doctor's office, the docs will tend to think the mom knows nothing and will dismiss concerns outright since they tend to think the mom knows nothing so it must be that the mom is doing something wrong. I could tell some real horror stories about that. As time goes on, I get tougher and meaner about the whole thing - I mean sometimes you have to get in their faces to make them understand so that your concerns are addressed properly. They only start to listen when you start quoting out of medical journals and this INFURIATES me.
and others...like friends and acquaintances who like to offer "free advice". They used to really piss me off at times. But now, I just tell them with a giggle and a smile that I get ALL kinds of free advice and the policy of the house is to place it in the container in the kitchen. (Its a garbage pail).