My two-year-old exclaims, “I DID IT!” when he does something new and exciting. To be honest, he says it way more frequently than that as it’s his phrase of the week.
But, it’s his voice I hear when I tell you I quit my job.
“I DID IT!”
I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life. To have children and be able to stay at home with them has been my dream and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to do this.
So, January will begin my newest adventure and most prized title yet, “Stay-at-Home Mom.”
I am excited.
And equally terrified.
I am excited to spend my days watching my children learn, grow, and have fun! I am terrified I’m going to mess it up and become an overly stressed-out woman with bored and misbehaved children. But, mainly I am excited.
For me, I wholeheartedly believe staying at home with the kids, while rewarding, will be much more difficult than my current job. I don’t bring my kids to work with me so I get a solid eight hours of “me-time” while I work through emails and spreadsheets. I don’t have anyone holding onto my legs, asking for snacks, or saying, “watch this” seven hundred times.
Being employed outside of the home also allows me to go to the bathroom alone. This benefit is priceless! It should really be marketed more to parents looking to re-enter the workforce.
Leading up to our decision me staying at home, my husband and I would daydream about what life will look like.
No More...
Rushing out of the house in the morning, forgetting half of the kid’s things, and arriving late to work.
Mysterious bruises and bandaids on the kids when coming home at the end of the day and the guilt that follows knowing you weren't there to comfort them
Dropping off crying kids and feeling my heart shatter as they yell, “Mommy” when I walk out of the room. Thankfully, this is not a daily occurrence. They have fun at “school” but this routine can be hard for them too.
Dinner-time meltdowns because their day has just been too long.
We cannot wait to say goodbye to these things!
I don’t expect everything to be glitter and rainbows now that I will be home. The kids will have new reasons to cry and probably me too! But I won’t be late to work anymore!
Our three kids are aged three and under.
That was not a typo. Our oldest just turned three last month.
For full disclosure, we quit daycare last month and opted for a nanny to watch them for the rest of the year at home. So the kids are already adjusting to being home over the last few weeks and I am adjusting to the higher grocery bill. They may be little but not their appetite!
While daycare has its challenges and drawbacks, we liked the daycare center they were in. Educated teachers were providing an entire day’s worth of routine, balanced meals and age-appropriate fun and learning - without a TV and it included regularly scheduled naps. Everyone knew the kids’ names even if they taught in different classrooms and they cared about the kids.
I have approximately 90 days to process what my new life will be like as a stay-at-home mom and I cannot lie - my focus is starting to shift from excitement to fear. All the learning, routines, and balanced meals that were provided five days a week are now up to me. Everything is up to me and it's a little scary!
Snacks! If you have a toddler at home, you know prepping snacks can be a full-time job in itself!
But at the end of the day, I’m feeling much more excitement than fear as I leave my corporate job to raise our children. Even though the kids are still so young, I still feel like I’ve missed out on so much. I'm happy to leave those feelings behind along with my 8-5 job.
As I learn how to be a stay-at-home mom, I will be sharing my journey here! As Pinterest and Google become my new BFFs, I am looking forward to exploring the world of toddler learning, activities, and games (on a budget!)
So, welcome to my journey! Where my world is centered on kids, crafts, coffee, and laundry.
I honestly cannot wait.