Why I Am Choosing a Different Path in Life

If you are a follower of my blog you know I've been hinting at this blog post for some time. I've been telling my readers that an announcement was coming.  Telling them that a change was going to happen soon.

Today I am finally ready to share this news.

You know being a woman and having a career can be challenging.  I truly feel we face different obstacles than men {just my opinion} and on top of that if we choose to have a family we are lugging double duty. Not that it can't be done.  Not that some women aren't fabulous at it.  Heck, even some women prefer being the bread winner while their spouse stays home and takes care of the kids.  For some families it works great.

But here's the thing.  It hasn't been working that great for us.  If you are an old reader I apologize, but if you are new to this blog, I want to share a bit of our journey, a timeline, if you will, to understand how we got to this point.

The husband and I got married in 2006.  We enjoyed a few years being child-free until in 2009 we welcomed our son.  One month prior to his birth we moved to a new town, where we still live.  Due to that move {who wants to hire an 8 month pregnant lady?} I stayed home.  I continued to stay home for the first year of his life.  During this time I started this food blog.  Which, to this day, I consider one of the best wild hair decisions I've made.

In March of 2011 we welcomed our daughter.  By this time I was back to working in a corporate setting. Three months after her birth, my department was let go and I landed a new part-time job the very next day. How it happened so perfectly I'll never know.  It allowed me to work only 3 days a week and be more hands on with my children.

This part-time job is where I am still working, three years later.  This position has given me endless opportunities.  I have made more professional contacts than in any other job I've ever been in.  It truly has been a joy working there.  I enjoy what I do and the people I work with.

In less than 6 weeks I'll be giving birth to our third child.  Another girl.

During the past year and a half, the husband and I have been working our tail feathers off scraping off our debt.  I'm happy to report that during this time we have chipped away around $14,000.  It's almost like we kicked an annoying family member out of the house!

A few months back we had to sit down and weigh our options.  I had opportunities come my way - a full time new position, a different position, it seemed like when I was at home trying to figure out what to do, everyone else seemed to think they had something for me.

But my heart just wasn't in any of it.

You know what I hated with a passion?  Rushing out the door on those three mornings at 7 a.m. with still tired kids and a crabby mom.  Sitting at my desk at 3:00 realizing I had nothing planned for dinner, yet had hungry mouths waiting for me.  Waking up on Friday morning facing a house that for the past three days was victim to a raging tornado.

I really disliked ALL of this.  So much so, that each week it took me about a day to recover, only to start the week again in a couple days.

So after putting the pencil to the paper and realizing that gas, daycare costs and my crabbiness was certainly going to take a hit come this summer we made a decision.

I am quitting my job and staying home starting next month.

There.  I said it.

I will officially become a stay-at-home mom soon.  Not because we moved and I was 8 months pregnant. Not because I lost my job.  But simply because I wanted to.

Will it be hard?  I have no doubt.  Will there by days I regret my choice?  More than likely. But I am truly hoping the good days outweigh the bad and that we've made the best decision for our family.

But you know what?  Here is what I am looking forward to.  Spending more quality time with my kids and not being so darn rushed.  Walks to the park.  More play dates with other stay-at-home moms.  Having a more organized home.  Prepping dinner during the day so I'm not rushing at 5:00 p.m. to throw something together.  Getting back into a fitness routine. Volunteering more time at my children's school.

And did you think I forgot?

Spending more time developing my food blog.  I've had to turn down some opportunities lately simply due to lack of time and energy.  I want to stop doing that.  I have recently made contact with a web-guru {not her official title} to do a little revamping of this site.  Not a ton of things that you'll see, but on the back end, boring stuff that helps bring in readers and money.  I want to get back to posting every other day and making even more exciting recipes.  I'm really excited about this.

So now is the time I ask you.  If you could be a stay-at-home mom would you?  Be honest.  I know it isn't for everyone.  Heck, it may not even be for me, but I will find out soon enough.

Give me your thoughts about this post.  I know I wasn't sharing anything about food today, but I wanted you to see another part of my life.

And don't worry I'll be back with some yummy bites soon!