As I mentioned in my earlier post, I"ve started a new job as of July. While some might not think of it as a true "job" that is really what I'd been equating it to. It has all the earmarks of a real job, even more so than my nursing job had, such as 7-5pm hours 5 days a week. This is a new schedule for me and I entered into this with a little trepidation about a number of things, schedule included. I also wondered about the impact this would have on my family and how our budget would feel about me only working occasionally as a nurse.
After about a month on the job, with a little time-off for vacation, I can say that the verdict is in and the truth is, I just love it! I have lots of time to marvel at how well things are going and what the things are that are really selling me on this new career path I'm on since these two baby boys I get to hang out with are such good babies. These are just a few things that have made me already love my new week:
1. Spending 5 days a week at home has done wonders for our budget. I probably didn't realize how much all the trips through the drive-thru, walks through Target or the mall, and extra grocery store trips added up in terms of money out. Now we stay home for 90% of meals and there are no impromptu trips anywhere which means that as I make money I'm also saving quite a bit!
2. Spending 5 days a week at home has also done wonders for my housekeeping! As I'm home all day, I keep up on dishes, laundry, toy pick-up, and vacuuming. Sounds dreamy, right? When I worked at the hospital, it was just tougher to get the motivation to do all that on days after I worked. Who feels like unloading the dishwasher when you've been up for the last 44 or 48 hours? Not me! But the babies don't begrudge me a few household chores while they're sleeping!
3. Having babies in the house has brought out lots of independence in my own 2 boys. Eli is just the biggest helper and is almost always willing to fetch things or do silly dances to keep one baby happy while the other is being tended to. And Henry is just growing up before my eyes. He demonstrates moments of sharing that I know his brother hadn't grasped at that age! This doesn't mean that Henry doesn't struggle occasionally when his mommy is busy with another little one, but he's so genuinely excited to see the babies in the mornings when he gets up, I know that he'd be having some 'struggles' without any extra kiddos around- that's just a 2-year-old.
4. The best thing I have discovered since staying home with my kids like this is that I am spending so much more quality time with them! As the babies are young, we do a lot of sitting on the floor and playing, or swinging or quilt-play in the yard. Because this is my "job" I don't have any guilt about just playing instead of doing something like reorganizing closets or tackling my massive picture printing project. This means I'm not only playing with the babies, I'm also playing so much more with my own boys and I think we're all loving it!
Come September, I am adding one final full-time baby and I know he will fit right in to our crew of boys just perfectly! Now those of you with kids realize that the days are not all sharing and sugar and light! There are definite moments of craziness and tears (although not mine.....yet!) But these have been few and far between. At the end of the day, I really feel like all 4 of the boys under my roof have great days with lots of fun, lots of hugs, and in return I get lots of slobbery kisses and gummy grins!! What's not to love in that?
