Hi!!! Sorry I have been on sabbatical lately. It was purely unintentional and I am finally finding time and inspiration to write. :) Now on to my post about having a family and a job....
I was fortunate enough to work for a company that offered 12 weeks PAID (GASP!) maternity leave. I was able to tack on vacation time as well and take an additional unpaid leave to get me through the holidays. Mark and I decided it would be best for our family if I went back to work part time after the New Year. Mark works from home, so this seemed like the perfect situation--he would watch Michelle while I was at work and I would take over when I got home. Little did we know there were some flaws with our "perfect" situation.
I began to resent my situation because I would be gone at work for 4-6 hours and then come home and immediately start my other "job." I love love love being a mommy, but I never felt I had a break between my job out of the house and my job at home. Michelle also became much more demanding and was wanting a lot of attention. Mark was beginning to be unable to get anything done while I was at work. We had decided prior to starting a family that it was important to us to raise our children and avoid daycare at all costs. I am all for daycare for those that need it (and there are many benefits), but we felt it best for our family to not do daycare. After what felt like a week of hades, I came home one Saturday from work to Mark making me lunch and being very sweet (we had been in a little tiff earlier that morning). He proceeded to sit me down and asked me to quit work (Hallelujah!!!). He said he understood that I was not happy and he was not able to focus on his work.
Shortly after I had quit my job, my sister-in-law (LOVE YOU!) approached me about being her Client Coordinator for her makeup business. I was thrilled and I love what I do now. I essentially do all of the communication with the bride from the time of booking services to her wedding day. I am kept very busy and I don't have to leave my baby girl to get work done. She has an amazing business and you should take a tour of her new website at http://www.austinweddingmakeup.com/.
I have always been an independent person and quitting my job was more difficult than I had anticipated. I have worked since I was 16 and the idea of not bringing money into the household scared me. Mark tells me all the time to stop worrying so much and that we are perfectly fine. So I finally let it go, and you know what makes our new situation feasible? BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET! I cannot stress this enough. We sat down and created a budget that would provide for our family and still allow for nights out, savings, etc. What tool do I use to help keep us on track? http://www.mint.com/. Free and awesome! So this may not be what works for every family, but it's what works for us and I could not be happier!
