Thursday, March 3, 2011

Staying Home

Over the past month I've had a lot of people ask me about staying at home with the kids-. 2 things mostly- how can I afford it and how do I handle it.

Well, the jury is still out on how I handle it! Some days are great...some days I'm lucky I didn't gain 25 pounds from stress-eating of chocolate. Before I had babies my head was filled with a montage of photos of how blissful and carefree each day would be. In those photos my kids all looked like me.

Obviously a dream on sooo many levels since my kids look so much like their dad.

Little tricks (like making a double batch of oatmeal and eggs) help a lot in the mornings getting Isabella off to school. I get up early to workout and shower, or do it during quiet time. When Isabella & Liana were little I would put Lia in a Snugli, Bug in the stroller and I'd do my walking with them. It was great to get out in the fresh air, and they loved it!

It was so much easier for me when they were little, because we'd just enjoy the day. Playing in the yard, finger painting, hide and seek...fun little kid stuff. As they grow, play time is more complex, attitudes need adjusting and school is thrown in the mix. But with three kids, they are constantly learning and so am I.

Life is messy! It's not clean and perfect and precise. So I try to roll with the imperfections. Don't we all? I'm not nearly as together, my house isn't always clean and I forget things if I don't write them down. But it's getting better.

One book (I actually did the audiobook) that was a wonderful tool and I would recommend to every Mom at home, is 'In Praise of Stay At Home Moms' by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. It's wonderful!

As for how I can afford it? Hmm...that deserves it's own post. So I'll save that for tomorrow.

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