Home is where my heart is...

Question: What are your favorite parts of being off work during the day? Least favorite?

Answer:

When I made the leap into working part time, I was oh so excited! I still am more than thrilled that I can be home with Jude all day, but as with ANY THING there's obviously it's ups and downs.

There are the obvious perks of being a stay-at-home-mom (do I really fit in that category since I work at night? I'm not sure exactly what I'm considered...) such as spending ooddles of quality time with your little one - and the obvious down sides of minimal adult interaction and too much free time. But here are a few of the ups and downs I've found:


Favorite...

- Quality Jude time!!! (with out a doubt the best part! I just can't get enough of him!)
- Being able to make appointments for ANY time I want (everyone else is trying to get in before work, during lunch or after work)
- Not having to wake up and rush out the door (but there are plenty of mornings I wake up early)
- Not having to pay day care (even though things work out roughly the same, at least I'm not working certain hours to specifically pay for day care)
- Not having to pump regularly (I really did NOT like doing it regularly, but stuck through it for little man)
- Not having to work every day ('nuf said) and the ability to request more (or less hours) depending on present needs.

Not so favorite...

- Being off when everyone else is working (or working when everyone else is off - or not having a set schedule). So, you're either bored at one point or another or everyone's having fun without you.
- My new ability to want to spend money every day (when we don't always have it to spend). It's not easy when you're bored to want to walk through the mall, browse online, go grocery shopping (i grocery shop more now than ever), etc. It's easy to say you'll do other things, but even a fun trip to Milburn or a museum will cost you money to some degree.
- Not feeling like I 'contribute' enough (financially that is...)
- On the very rare occasion that Jude wakes up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, I am without a doubt the one to wake up with him (most of the time Ryan will wake up to get him out of the crib, but he then comes to me and I get him back to sleep). I know that he will eventually fall back asleep and I'll get my rest then. Being that Ryan has work I would feel 'bad' asking him to wake up instead.
- Feeling 'bad' if the house work doesn't get done. It's much easier to say "with working full time and a baby, things just get behind". Obviously I'm busy with Jude-Man, but I sometimes wonder why I can get SO behind if I'm home most of the day (see bullet number 2 in the 'not so favorite' section on what I'm doing the rest of the time). However, a day or two focusing on attacking little things around the house usually gets me right back on track.

Some people will tell you "being a mother is the hardest job there is". I personally think that's bull sh*t (but my son is only 4 months old and pretty well behaved in comparison to some of the horror stories we've heard - my opinion may change). I have enjoyed every minute of it and try to very rarely complain about anything. I think giving my little guy all the love, patience and attention he needs is one of the EASIEST things I have ever had to do.

I would however agree, that it's probably one of the most important things you can do. Whether you're home full time, part time, see your kids on weekend or every other week, every second spent with your child should be helping to shape them into stable, loving, intelligent and compassionate people. Without a doubt every moment spent with him or her will affect them to some degree in the future. So, it's not about quantity, it's quality.

But I'm all about wanting tons of both!!!

In conclusion, I love our current situation and look forward to him getting older and being able to teach him much more!