She's Winning

I set my alarm for 5am, the alarm I hadn't set in 2 years.  I have 3 kids and as a stay at home mom I could always count on one of them to make sure I was up.  But today I needed to make sure I was awake even before my kids.  I had so many things to do and such little time to get them all done because today was my big day - the day that I would re-enter the workforce... I looked at the checklist for the morning and got to work: clean the floor clean the bathrooms pick up the poop in the backyard shower/get ready cut up fruit for the kids to have with lunch get the kids fed and dressed for the day print out the instructions for the nanny (even though I had sent her the doc days in advance) bring I9 docs for orientation don't forget to eat breakfast don't forget to tell the nanny about how Rocky sometimes gets stuck in the baby room and wakes her up, how the boys can play with the hose in the yard but they forget to turn ...

Because I think it's going to be easier?  <insert belly laugh> No, not at all! In some ways I feel like I've been experiencing a mid-life crisis at 35.  Or at least a point in my life where I felt it was time to stop, re-evaluate and re-invent myself. You can choose to let these moments pass and go about your normal routine or you can take the time to evaluate what the top priorities are in your life and make sure you are living accordingly.  After a lot of soul searching I'm re-defining what success means to me.  And here is how I made the decision to become a stay at home mom… I was a marketing chick long before I was a mom.  I say "marketing chick" because "professional" sounds too stuffy to me and I think my career has been pretty damn cool.  I'm not one of those people that hates their job.  I think marketing is the bomb-diggity and was definitely the right career choice for me. I always knew my husband and I w...

Featured on Scary Mommy I often reminisce my childless working days and remember the many working Moms that made it look SO easy. They had it all together; reports ready, prepared for the big presentation, with their hair tied back perfectly. I had no fear of the day I would become a working Mom.  If they can do it, so can I!  And then when it actually happened to me, I was completely dismayed as I learned more about what REALLY goes on behind the scenes. Life as a working Mom is like a secret club that you don't truly understand unless you become a part of it. But if you promise not to tell, I'll let you in on a few of our secrets... Before we get to work, we've already had a day.  We've been on our feet for hours. The baby woke up at 5:00 AM AGAIN for no apparent reason.  Will he EVER sleep in?  We raced to get a flash shower in when our other child started knocking on the shower door to, not-so-politely, ask for breakfast. (Kids aren't exactly patient ...

It's been 4 months since I quit my job to be a stay at home mom.  Let me start by telling you that I have not regretted this decision for a second.  My husband and I are both seeing such a positive impact on our children and our household.  It was absolutely the right decision for our family and we both agree that it's hard to imagine me going back to work again anytime soon. With that said, I would be lying if I didn't share the fact that I do miss my career at times.  Being a stay at home mom is a very selfless and often monotonous lifestyle.  I answer "why" at least 100 times a day.  I tell my children to stop fighting more times than I can count.  And I talk about poop and pee more than I ever thought possible only to do it all again the next day.  And beyond the monotony, it can even feel lonely at times because of the lack of adult interaction.  I often think about having coffee in the morning with my co-workers and miss that time ...

Month one flew by so fast!  It’s crazy!  I’m still adjusting to this new lifestyle but I’ve noticed that with each week I’m learning new tricks on how to be a successful stay at home mom.   And let me tell you, this job is not easy.  It’s hard.  It’s rewarding.  It’s exhausting.  It’s fun.  It’s so many things.  I apologize in advance that this post is all over the place.  It’s very representative of my current state of mind. THE GOOD I still feel that I am less stressed than I used to be.   Now I would like to clarify that this is not to say it’s  easier  or that I don’t have struggles.  I will explain my new struggles below.  We’ve gotten busier and busier as the month has gone on but the actual pace still feels much better than my previous pace.  We take longer to do every step now because I am in control of our schedule.   Well kind of in control.  My threenager would argue...

I’m flying!  And I’m wearing a beautiful, sparkling, Elsa dress.  I feel so freeeeeeeee and on top of the wooooorld.  I’m in full control of my flight and, wow, does flying feel AMAAAAAAAZING. Until… wait… who is screaming down below?  Is that Grant? POOF!  And I’m awake.  My two year old is yelling and ready to come out of his crib for the day.  My beautiful dress is gone.  It’s 6:23am.  I have bed head and a t-shirt & shorts that don’t even match.  But today I’m grabbing my glasses off my side table and leaping out of my bed and into his room feeling so refreshed after my awesome dream!   Today is going to be a good day! I hurried down to the kitchen with my little dude to tell my hubby about my flying experience before he left for work.   You have to hear this.  I had a flying dream.  Do you know what this means?!?   He appeased me with a little excitement but I know in these moment...

Thank you for the many messages and responses to my  post about quitting my job . I’ve received a lot of questions on what sacrifices and changes I am making with this transition.  I’ve really enjoyed chatting with so many lovely gals considering the same type of move and I hope to be as transparent as I can with this series “The Good, The Bad & The Savings.” One week in and I am still alive! It’s obviously way to early for me to pass judgment on this new lifestyle, good or bad, but I do have a lot to share from my first week at home. THE SAVINGS I am about 10x less stressed.   I love the much slower pace of my days, especially our mornings. Don’t get me wrong, my little guys still wake me up at the crack of dawn but that part was always just fine.  The easier part is knowing that I don’t have to rush them out the door and still be ready for my day at work. I enjoy having breakfast together, watching a few cartoons and then starting our first acti...

I did it.  I hit “send.”  There it is in black and white in my sent box.  I’ve been planning for this.  I’ve confidently, verbally communicated it to all of the right people over the last two months.  But today, as I’m two weeks out from becoming a stay at home Mom, I had to  submit my formal resignation saying farewell to my corporate life.  While I know this is the right move for me at this point in my life, seeing it in black and white has set off a roller coaster of emotions: I’m grieving.   I think I’m grieving the loss of a previous version of myself.  Perhaps it is the childless version that felt so passionate about her work.  It was the me that always felt like I had it all together.  And the me that viewed “success” as raises and moving up the ladder at work. I’m refreshed.   I’m refreshed when I remind myself that the person I’m grieving was the me that hadn’t yet realized that having children would change...