How did Carol Brady spend her day?!?!?

[pjlippert]

Seriously, sure she had six kids BUT SHE HAD A LIVE-IN HOUSE-KEEPER!!!! And grown children to watch the younger ones and a husband who could "telecommute" before anyone knew what that was!!!

No, REALLY!!!!! What did she do with her day?!?!?!? Most mom's I know working or not are in a constant state of being overwhelmed and underappreciated!

What do you think she did.... oh yeah- and she CLEARLY did NOT workout! Hmph!

Pam

 

[BeethovenRocks]

Can't believe you've now got me wondering about this as well Here goes

While the live-in did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, I'm guessing in the realm of 'TV Land' Carol was busy

-helping with homework
-keeping track of the children's school and extra-curricular schedules
-volunteering at the children's school and/or community service
-answering correspondence by hand, making/returning phone calls, trips to the post office (remember no quickie texting or email in those times!)
-grocery shopping
-banking
-sorting out cocktail, dinner and/or birthday parties
-clothes shopping for the family
-general household shopping (appliances, furniture) when necessary
-planning vacations
-visits to hair salon, manicurist (as expected!)
-last but not least, always on stand-by to give sound, wholesome advice to the family unit, keeping them all loving and laughing until the next episode

Different scenario, but I'm reminded of Samantha Stevens, also a homemaker, but who juggled a full-time 'career' in witchcraft

 

[fitdeb]

What about Caroline Ingalls on Little House???

She had 4 kids (remember Albert - what a trouble maker), she chopped wood, plowed the fields, made their clothing, hitch and un-hitched the wagon, raised chickens, substituted for the school marm, made bread from scratch everyday, washed clothing in the river, and then on top of it all she got a job runninng Nellie's Hotel and Restaurant - all though for the life of me I can't imagine why Walnut Grove needed a Hotel and how in the heck did all those dirt poor farmers manage to have the money to go out to eat!!!

Just saying we are all wimps!

Debbie Russo

PS and oh my no Starbucks or automated coffee makers with a milk steamer attached!

 

[pjlippert]

Debbieeeeee- don't give Cathe any ideas!!! Oh great, I can just see it... let's work those cow-milking & bread making muscles- so go get your five lb hand weights!, time to "plow the fields"... I'm thinking that might look like shoving our loaded weight-racks across the floor! ALL while wearing a 20lb vest!

Pam

What about Caroline Ingalls on Little House???

She had 4 kids (remember Albert - what a trouble maker), she chopped wood, plowed the fields, made their clothing, hitch and un-hitched the wagon, raised chickens, substituted for the school marm, made bread from scratch everyday, washed clothing in the river, and then on top of it all she got a job runninng Nellie's Hotel and Restaurant - all though for the life of me I can't imagine why Walnut Grove needed a Hotel and how in the heck did all those dirt poor farmers manage to have the money to go out to eat!!!

Just saying we are all wimps!

Debbie Russo

PS and oh my no Starbucks or automated coffee makers with a milk steamer attached!

 

[pjlippert]

But, but, but Shelbyyyyyy we all do this stuff PLUS hold down careers! Good list, though! I swear, somedays my DS seems like there's six of him!!

Pam

Can't believe you've now got me wondering about this as well Here goes

While the live-in did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, I'm guessing in the realm of 'TV Land' Carol was busy

-helping with homework
-keeping track of the children's school and extra-curricular schedules
-volunteering at the children's school and/or community service
-answering correspondence by hand, making/returning phone calls, trips to the post office (remember no quickie texting or email in those times!)
-grocery shopping
-banking
-sorting out cocktail, dinner and/or birthday parties
-clothes shopping for the family
-general household shopping (appliances, furniture) when necessary
-planning vacations
-visits to hair salon, manicurist (as expected!)
-last but not least, always on stand-by to give sound, wholesome advice to the family unit, keeping them all loving and laughing until the next episode

Different scenario, but I'm reminded of Samantha Stevens, also a homemaker, but who juggled a full-time 'career' in witchcraft

 

[BeethovenRocks]

Awww, your son x 6 = 6 times the effort, and 6 times the love, right?

Shall we start a new spin-off series? Here's the story of a lovely lady...named Pam

(Cathe was just a wee toddler in Carol's time or maybe she would have fit in some cardio/strength training as well )

Yep, no doubt I never get tired of saying 'hats off' to the huge number of mothers working within, without and about the home.

I agree with Beyonce: Who Run the World? (Girls!)

But, but, but Shelbyyyyyy we all do this stuff PLUS hold down careers! Good list, though! I swear, some days my DS seems like there's six of him!!

Pam

 

[pjlippert]

Awww, your son x 6 = 6 times the effort, and 6 times the love, right?

Shall we start a new spin-off series? Here's the story of a lovely lady...named Pam

(Cathe was just a wee toddler in Carol's time or maybe she would have fit in some cardio/strength training as well )

Yep, no doubt I never get tired of saying 'hats off' to the huge number of mothers working within, without and about the home.

I agree with Beyonce: Who Run the World? (Girls!)

Well said, Shelby!! Girls totally rule the world! Happy Friday!
Pam

 

[CeciFifi]

This is what I never understood about the brady bunch:

dad is an architect, a family of 9 including alice and he designs a house with only three bedrooms? and only two bathrooms? one bathroom for all six to share? with adjoining doors on either side and they aren't even related? the other is in carol and mike's bedroom and there is no known bathroom on the mainfloor!!!!

this is the sign of a successful architect who can afford to support a family of this size? he made more room in the house for the stair case than the kitchen!!!!???? oh yeah, i forgot. it's not real. oops.

 

[maddiesmum]

One of the more entertaining threads I have read in a long time! Thanks ladies, love the analysis, especially of Caroline Ingalls!

I don't necessarily think life has gotten easier for mothers just because we have technology to "help" us. Caroline Ingalls' kids did not need her to drive them all over the state for travel soccer, or volunteer to organize banquets for the school music association, or type minutes of the PTSO meetings, not to mention actually attending the boring meetings, or feel like she is getting a PhD in psychology as she helps her tens deal with today's world (and the never ending round of which classes to take, how to get better grades because who needs to worry about things like that in a town where the school has one classroom fits all ages and there is no university so the GPA doesn't matter), and still come out as well-rounded, well-educated, smart, sensitive, empathetic, good people. Yes, she got her hands a lot dirtier than we do, but when the sun went down they all went to bed. Not so around here! Often, that's when my day begins...endless paperwork, emails that need sending or answering, another job application to send off, etc.

Perhaps the most unrealistic aspect of either show is how "nice" both Carol and Caroline remained when they should have been screaming their heads off with stress and kids' bickering and never picking their shit up and expecting their mothers to do everything in a house with no or only 2 bathrooms!

Fun thread.

Clare

 

[paulababy]

Of course she spent her day going to the hairdresser to keep up her cool shag haircut! Now you know we all wanted that haircut!!
Paula

 

[pjlippert]

One of the more entertaining threads I have read in a long time! Thanks ladies, love the analysis, especially of Caroline Ingalls!

I don't necessarily think life has gotten easier for mothers just because we have technology to "help" us. Caroline Ingalls' kids did not need her to drive them all over the state for travel soccer, or volunteer to organize banquets for the school music association, or type minutes of the PTSO meetings, not to mention actually attending the boring meetings, or feel like she is getting a PhD in psychology as she helps her tens deal with today's world (and the never ending round of which classes to take, how to get better grades because who needs to worry about things like that in a town where the school has one classroom fits all ages and there is no university so the GPA doesn't matter), and still come out as well-rounded, well-educated, smart, sensitive, empathetic, good people. Yes, she got her hands a lot dirtier than we do, but when the sun went down they all went to bed. Not so around here! Often, that's when my day begins...endless paperwork, emails that need sending or answering, another job application to send off, etc.

Perhaps the most unrealistic aspect of either show is how "nice" both Carol and Caroline remained when they should have been screaming their heads off with stress and kids' bickering and never picking their shit up and expecting their mothers to do everything in a house with no or only 2 bathrooms!

Fun thread.

Clare

Amen to ALL of this, Clare! Especially the fact that technology definitely DOES keep us busier- my clients and candidates can pretty much reach me any time of day or night- thankfully they don't, but that doesn't stop me from popping into my home office to peek at my email.

Oh yeah- Carol in particular must be having a couple of martini's at lunch not to lose it with that many kids! Or she had a stash of Xanax- who knows!

The bathroom thing is just too funny! I'm gonna have to find the B-bunch on TV and look for that again!

This thread has gotten to be very funny!
Pam

 

[Terina]

I love Peg Bundy!!!!! I relate more to her :0 what does that say about me? Oh no!

 

[Zbridget]

Alice must have had her own bathroom- her room was off the kitchen. I am thinking of the Brady Bunch movies when Sam the Butcher was caught making a late night meat delivery to Alice!

As for buying clothes for the family, those were some pretty far-out clothes, even by the 70's standards!

 

[fitdeb]

Don't forget that in the 70's bathrooms were not what they are today. It was very rare for a middle income family to have a house with a powder room, master bathroom or guest bath. Most homes just had one bathroom.

I remember going to a friend's house in the early 70's and her parents had their own bathroom. I thought that they were millionaires!

In the 80's the master bathroom became a must, but they were pretty small, usually a single sink and a shower stall.

Today's master bathrooms are bigger than your average bedroom. Heck my master bathroom is bigger than my parents' 1960's kitchen!

I do agree though that it was pretty creepy that all 6 (unrelated) kids shared a bathroom. Gregg did get the attic converted when he was older, but I don't think it came with a bathroom.

Debbie Russo