Maid Please

I used to have a pretty clean house. My friends would probably say I still have a very clean house, but HA! that is because I clean like crazy before you come over! When I used to work I always thought, when I stay at home I will have such a clean house, because what else is there to do all day? Silly me!!! Now I know that when you are home all day, you are there to make it messy, ALL DAY. Some days I refuse to clean stuff because it is all I do all day long and it doesn't seem to get me anywhere. Right now there are papers piled on the table where I have my computer, I'm pretty sure they have been here for days. And D-Man's scrapbook has been on this table since his birthday, which was almost two weeks ago. The dog dish is on the kitchen counter because D-Man won't stay out of it, and dishes are piled up from last night and this morning. The kitchen floor is covered in letter magnets and dishes that D-Man has pulled out of the cupboard, including his lunch dishes which he recently threw on the floor from his high chair. And the living room, oh the living room. The floor is COVERED in toys today. I like to think that if anyone came into my house right now they would say "they must be having so much fun playing today!" And if anyone came in to my house right now I would be ridiculously embarrassed because I am not okay with people seeing my house this messy! My "walking" friend lives down the street and I am pretty sure that her house is always clean. But her kids are kind of clean freaks now too, and although that would be nice I like to think that when kids are allowed to play instead of worrying about keeping everything clean they tend to be more creative. That's it! My house is a mess because I am busy being creative...Not that I don't think kids should CLEAN up, because they SHOULD! D Man just turned one and we are already practicing "put it away." But that doesn't mean I want him worried about putting things away when he is busy playing with them.

My cousin uses Thursday as house cleaning day, it keeps her from stressing about cleaning all week and instead spending more time with her kiddos. So it's Thursday and I think I will be using today as house cleaning day, it's Easter this weekend and the family is all coming here. So I must clean to keep up the charade that I live in a clean house!

Missing work?

Today I went shopping, which is pretty much totally against everything I wrote in the last post, but I did use coupons everywhere I shopped and I only purchased sale items, so I'm not going to feel bad about it! (that is until my husband finds out and says "can we really afford that" well, no, but I really needed a new bracelet, okay?) Anyway, I was shopping at my favorite Macy's, where I used to work. So of course I always bump in to a few people I used to work with. The woman working in the jewelry department commented on how big D Man is getting and as she rang up my purchases she asked "do you ever miss work?" I easily replied that I sometimes wish I could get out of the house but we have our routine and we like it. But later as I continued to think about what she had said I started to get offended. Like, what are you trying to say? That I SHOULD miss work? That I can't possibly be having a fulfilling life without it? And seriously, I DO NOT miss working at Macy's, I have a Master's degree. (side note: I also used this "I have a degree" line when I quit working at Red Robin because they wanted me to wear the Red Robin costume. Seriously people? I did not go to four years of college to put on a freaking costume.) I wonder if other women say these things because staying home was not an option for them, I know that there are people out there that do not have this option and I KNOW how VERY lucky I am to get to stay home. But still, I do not miss having to get out of bed and get dressed and put on make up all before 8:00 in the morning, hey we are lucky if that happens by 4:00 in the afternoon.

Sure I miss talking to other adults and not just a baby whose only word is "Hi" and a dog whose only word is "Feed me" (wouldn't it be funny if my dog could actually say that? ha!) But I get to spend my day taking care of my family and sure it may be boring some days, and honestly I often think that working mom's are so lucky to have that part of the day where they do not have to think about changing diapers or making sure a nap is taken, but I wouldn't change it for the world, and I certainly don't miss work!

Spending Less

One of my college friends was here earlier this week for a quick visit. She is still single and childless, which is something that all mothers know is a thing to envy occasionally. During our visit we talked about jobs and money, as I often do with my friends. She pointed out that when she took her current job it was almost a $10,ooo pay cut, when you consider benefits etc. Although difficult she gets to live near her family and friends and has the opportunity to start her own business. For the first time I said out loud that we had taken a $28,000 pay cut when I quit my job in December of 2009. Holy bad words. That is a lot of money. No wonder we feel like we have no money, because compared to what we used to have it's a B-I-G cut. So as you can imagine, and if you are a stay at home parent you already know, much of my job is figuring out how to save us money, or more accurately to figure out how to not spend money we do not have.

When I was in college I worked at Big R, a Ranch and Home Supply store. We just happened to sell Lucky Jeans which of course I got at almost half price. So I helped all my friends get cheap Lucky jeans too. Then I fell in the love with them and didn't like any other jeans, great I have expensive taste in jeans. Next I worked at Macy's, they also sell Lucky jeans so again I got them for a good deal. Well, a good deal if you consider that I had to put it on my credit card to get the deal and quickly discovered how to get IN to credit card debt (fortunately I also learned fairly quickly how to get OUT). But now here I am with no job to give me a deal on Lucky jeans and the last pair I have are patched in the crotch and have a gaping hole in the knee. I'm not much for wearing holey jeans and after trying several different brands and styles with no luck I was ready to shell out the (gasp) $80 for my favorite pair of Lucky jeans. When my friend, who was here to visit, told me that after I helped her fall in love with expensive jeans she found she could buy them used on E-bay for a great deal. So I decided to check it out.

I just bought my favorite Lucky Jeans Sweet n Low with a flare leg for $16 (plus shipping so a total of $22.50) slightly used and looking great! I was able to save my family over $60 and I still get to have my favorite jeans, I am one happy Mom at this particular moment, hopefully they arrive in the mail soon! In the future I will definitely be using E-bay and other on-line sources to find my favorite clothes second hand and on the cheap!

Hi!

I have been a stay at home mom for just over a year now. One of the most common questions I heard when telling people I was going to stay home was "but won't you get bored?" I have come to know several other new mom's who have decided to stay home and they often wonder, what do I do with all this spare time? I feel like I am going stir crazy! So I thought, why not share the things I do to get through the awesome (and sometimes monotonous) days at home with a little one! How do you decide to stay home? What do you sacrifice? What do you gain? As much as I love getting to stay home with my D Man, I know that staying home is not for everyone, but (most days) it is for me!