Being a Stay-at-home Mom so Far

I've been a stay at home mom for two weeks now and I am loving it!  I am glad that I went ahead and made the decision to quit.  I think I've gotten a lot accomplished in the last two weeks than I would in probably two months if I was still working.  Of course the main reason for staying home is to take care of Kylie.  I didn't want to miss out on anything and I love being able to play, feed and just be with her all day now.  I did notice while I was working that things at home were being ignored.  I wasn't cooking much anymore, so we ate out quite a bit for reasons that I didn't prep for the meal early enough or I was too tired to cook.  I also had a hard time keeping up on cleaning the house.  Also, any projects that I wanted to do kept getting put to the back burner because all my time when I got off work went to taking care of Kylie.  It was hard to split my time up between responsibilities of home and responsibilities of mom.

I just never really felt accomplished in anything at work or home.  It is amazing how more relaxed I am being home now.  I know that being a stay at home mom is not easy, but having the stress of work taken off my shoulders makes it so much easier.  I still struggle to figure out a routine and make good use of my time, but things are so much better.

For example, last night was the first night we went out to eat in 2 weeks! Which is quite an accomplishment considering how much Scott likes fast food and how often we were doing it before.  While working, it was hard to keep up on my meal plans, but this week I stayed true to my meal plan for 6 days!  Some of the meals took some effort, like making home-made fries and biscuits from scratch.  I am actually starting to enjoy cooking again!  Yes, I taught cooking at school, but since that was my job it made it hard to want to do it at home.  I love being able to try different recipes and try my hand at making things from scratch where I would normally just buy already made.  I might even try certain weeks where I only make recipes from pinterest or from a certain cookbook.

This is a banana and peanut butter sandwich covered in chocolate and frozen. Pretty delicious!

Speaking of food, I am also enjoying making Kylie's baby food from scratch as well!  I think it saves us money in the end, although I am not opposed to buying baby food in a jar.  So far, Kylie has already tried bananas, squash (the only one from a jar), avocados, sweet potato, zucchini and apple.  We just have peas and pears left to try until 7 months when she can start her next set of foods.

When it comes to cleaning, I struggle.  I've always struggled with cleaning, this isn't a new thing since having a baby.  I made up this cleaning schedule, but I haven't exactly followed it yet so I hope to start following it soon.  Scott says that it doesn't bother him when the house is a little dirty and I shouldn't worry so much over keeping things clean, but I truly do like a clean house so when I do clean it's because I want to, not because I have to.

I've also been able to get a few projects accomplished and I'll do a separate post on those.  I think the goals that I set for this year will actually get accomplished!  I do have to remember to not get down if I don't get to something that I plan to do.  My first priority is taking care of Kylie and if that takes away from extra projects and cleaning for the day, then so be it.  I have days where I'm more productive than others.  I like that there is flexibility right now.  Some days, I will do things during Kylie's naps and then other days I'll nap with her or just watch t.v. while she's sleeping.

This e-card is too funny!

I just have to keep reminding myself that I don't need to be the mom I envision myself to be right now.  Again, it's only been two weeks! The transition between working mom and stay at home mom will take some time.  I think I am taking steps in the right direction though and I am happy with what I have done so far.  I am also just happy in general. :)

Kylie is growing fast and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to enjoy every day with her.