I Quit My Job!

Yes, I did! I'm freeee!!! Well, at least kind of. I'm free from the daily grind of the office, but the new world of full time domestic life has it's downsides. There are multiple reasons I decided to leave my job, the main reasons is that I wanted to take a break to be with the kids and I didn't especially like how things were going with my career at that place. John has full time work now, so we figured why not? This is not a permanent situation, only a break. The main downside is it makes it more difficult to meet our goal of buying a new piece of real estate this year.

So here's the pros of cons of being a working mom vs stay at home mom, at least as far as I've gathered in the first week of the latter:

Working Mom:
Pros: It's awesome to converse with other engineers on a daily basis. Being an engineer is mentally stimulating. I'm free to go to a coffee shop, get lunch out, or do errands to take a break. The kids get to spend time with other family members. Ok now, here's the big one: MONEY! *sigh* I love to make money.
Cons: It sucks to be away from the kids all the time. Other people get to enjoy your kids (this is a pro and con). Sitting at a computer for 8+ hours each day is not healthy.

Stay at Home Mom:
Pros: Lots of time with kids! Daily walks/exploring time. I get to do cooking (something I love). I can focus on house projects. I can spend time on my Etsy store. The house is more neat and organized.
Cons: Not nearly as much social interaction with other grown-ups. The days are always kinda the same. Tantrums can really really get on your nerves. Finding things for the kids to do all day is draining. The feeling of being trapped because it's difficult to do things with two 20 month olds.

I think it will be more fun to be a stay at home mom when they are a bit older. Right now they don't really understand basic human boundaries like why it's dangerous to walk into the street, and how it's not appropriate to touch strangers or other people's things. Because of this lack of understanding, it requires a huge amount of effort to guide/teach them when going out into the world. For example, I'm really worried to take them to the park by myself because if they run off in different directions, Zoe could end up in the street while Val falls into the pond. It's really a two person job until they can follow directions better.

Here's some picures of our recent cooking adventure. I decided to tackle the giant banana squash we brought home from my Grandpa's garden. We cooked some into a bread and chopped up the rest for later. These are the types of memories I'm trying to cultivate while I'm at home.

Adding the squash to the batter

"Tasting it!" - Zoe kept exclaiming

Washing the mixer. Notice all the new splotches on the chair?

One thing I've been working on is my Etsy store! https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveIsMultiplied?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I started by putting some bird silhouette paintings I've done, nothing really fancy, but they are easy to make so I can price them low. So far no sales with those, but I did recently enter the pasty market, and that has brought in several orders! It's a long story about how I started making pasties (nipple covers), but these items get way more attention than the paintings! I've sold about 8 pairs so far, I have a couple Halloween ones that have sold. My goal is to put a new design up every week.

So, now that I don't have a job I'll be writing in my blog weekly, instead of quarterly. Stay tuned for next week's entry!