Oh that last post was so lovely I did not want to write a new one!!!! But I need some help friends! Did I only start a blog for you all to answer all my 'life questions'? Perhaps! Or perhaps one of you out there is the vehicle through which God is going to speak to me......oooooh wouldn't ya like it to be you!
So here is the deal, in case some of you don't know I have been job hunting for a while now. Before I had the penguins I was a career nanny. It prepared me for motherhood very nicely! I would love to be able to stay at home with the penguins full time but raising 3 of them is SUPER expensive. I have been on a few interviews and had hoped to find a job that enabled me to bring Small at least until he stops nursing. I would say by October or so I could probably leave him all day. So, I interviewed for a great job last week and they want to hire me but they have MAJOR reservations about me bringing Small. I guess I could pump and leave him with bottles IF he would ever take a bottle! Raise your hand if you have given Small a bottle and he took more than an ounce......right, *crickets* just as I suspected. For now he would need at least two bottles per day while I was gone to work. So what's a girl to do? Leave Small to starve for the good of the rest of the family? Hope his brain develops properly on green beans, pears, and oatmeal? Pray everyday that he finally decides a bottle is an acceptable substitute for his dear ole Mom? Stay home with Mr. Picky-Pants and keep making Lin and the lady penguins eat spaghetti? Someone out there must have all the answers, right? Well I am sure nobody (but God) has ALL the answers but you folks are all welcome to weigh in here, I'd love to hear your thoughts!!! Hope all my peeps out there are enjoying this crazy heat!!!
My two cents (only because you asked): I stayed home with my kids as long as it was possible. (The exception was Sarah, who was first - she was born in late December. I took 10 weeks leave from my teaching job, went back to finish the year but made arrangements with her sitter to bring her to me at lunch EVERY DAY so I could nurse her. I pumped during my breaks and left bottles for morning and afternoon as well. And once summer came, I quit teaching until David - the last one - was four.)
ReplyDeleteAnd my kids were EXPENSIVE. I understand that! I did part-time work off and on (piano lessons, Pampered Chef, sub teaching, music-related stuff) but I did everything I could to stay with the kids. That included VERY tight budgets, crappy cars, small houses and a lot of trusting God. Especially when I nursed them - I never forced them to wean. I didn't even think about working while I was nursing them.
I went back to work when I had to - I mean REALLY had to. There was no other income coming into the house. I had no choice.
My two cents, at this stage in my journey? Invest as much of yourself as you can in your kids when they are young. You will never regret. You can never replace it. Do everything you can to stay home as long as you can, if you can do so with a good attitude. If you're paying the bills, maintain. And wait. Trust God. Pray about this.
There you go...probably more than you wanted!