that #sahm life

Life for me has changed quite a bit over the last several months. I was in school for 18 years of my life. I got my first job when I was 16 and worked every year after that. I started my career the summer after college and I worked for more than five years after that. Now, I'm a stay at home mom! I always dreamed of being a stay at home mom and I have to say, it's a lot like what I thought it would be, but it's a lot different as well.

Being a stay at home mom is a big talking point in the mommy wars. It's usually looked at as being easy or not a REAL job. I'm not here to argue that, as I have my own opinions on the subject, but I am going to jot down some of my thoughts on my new life.

Pros:

-managing my own time

-getting to spend time with Beau all day long and developing a close bond

-running errands during working hours (not having to deal with crowds or worry about taking time off work to get things done)

-taking my time when doing errands, chores, etc. rather than rushing through them

-developing a creative side on Etsy and here on the blog

-seeing family and friends that are available during working hours

-taking a lot of the burden off of Mark when it comes to managing the house

Cons:

-doing all the dirty work even when I don't want to (like doctor visits, waking up with Beau at odd hours, grocery store visits, etc)

-staying within a smaller budget now that we're on one income

-cabin fever

-disconnect from 'adult life' 

-weekends just feel like weekdays with an extra person to clean up after

...........

I feel like I have it pretty good. Even my con list is a little stretched. So far, I really like my new 'job' and I'm so happy that Mark and I agreed that it was the best choice for us. 

I do want to do a 'day in the life' post sometime but I'm not sure I have the focus to document an entire day, so I'm just choosing some snippets to show a few things that we do during the week. 

The days vary a bit. I typically see my mom and/or my sister twice a week (I go there one day, they come here one day). I'm also trying to get in the habit of going to my church's ladies class which meets on Tuesday morning. Some days have big outings, others are just a quick trip to Target. I've also discovered WalMart Grocery Pickup which is a lifesaver and I'm actually pretty excited about cutting an hour of grocery shopping out of my life every two weeks or so. Other days, I try to stay home most of the day except maybe for one little errand and I'm starting to really like those days. I think Beau has gotten accustomed to the days we stay at home and they are usually our best days!

Here's how Wednesday went down:

7:30am - up with Beau (fed and then cat-napped)

9:15 - up again, changed and play

10:30 - fed Beau and put him down for a nap. picked up around the house, got dressed, started the dishwasher and a load of laundry

11:30 - Beau is up. Changed him and loaded up to go to lunch and Target

1pm - back from Target and time for Beau to eat and play

2:05 - Beau is down for a nap, I iron some of Mark's clothes and dust the house

2:45 - Beau wakes up. He plays while I pack away the clothes that he has outgrown. Then I vacuum the house, make the bed, and finish the laundry.

(sometimes I have to be in constant eyesight)

4:30 - Beau eats, we play and straighten up the rest of the house

6:30 - Beau snacks and takes another nap, I pay bills and tend to other paperwork

7:05 - Mark gets home (late) and helps out, Beau wakes up.

Super exciting, huh?

Things are definitely different and it's taken me a while to get into a groove, but I'm pretty excited about this new gig and our lives going forward!