Dianne’s SAHM Lifestyle Est. May 2019
Stay at Home Mom Life is the best life yet. After experiencing the traditional working-world post-journalism degree for 16 fulfilling years, I am thrilled I get 5 ahhhh-mazing days at home with my girls (Natalya & Victoria) each week. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love the balance two days of preschool/daycare per week provides for their social & educational life and my part-time TV hosting and SAHM blogging career. The lunch dates with my rockstar ag banker husband Andy are the icing on the cake!
I’m fortunate to have the time to dabble in things I enjoy such as travel and new experiences with my family in Billings, Montana and beyond, DIY home improvement projects, cake decorating tutorials, makeup and beauty tutorials and R & F’s life changing skincare. These are the topics I enjoy writing about, and I also aim to provide useful information for you.
SAHM LOGISTICS
How to make it work if you want to do it all.
- Acknowledge – NO ONE can really do it all…but here’s some great tips for the best attempt!
- Be present. Enjoy every minute with those babies. Set time aside just for them.
- Take time for yourself. Allow 1-2 days/week where your kids are away. Our provider requires 2 paid days/week to maintain enrollment.
- Choose a flexible daycare/preschool solution. (We selected a rotating schedule where we can switch which 2 days the girls go each week. This varies due to vacation, travel schedule, special time with each girl, etc. We must submit our schedule to the provider by Friday for the following week. We do pay a little extra each day for the flexibility. And…if we get in a jam, they allow drop-in days for a higher price.
- Special time. With multiple kids, try splitting up the days with one at home and one at school. This has allowed me to work with our oldest daughter on things like swimming, the trampoline park, room re-decoration and painting, etc. It has allowed me the time to work with my youngest on things like reading books to her, “baby” nursery rhyme songs and other projects that our older daughter doesn’t enjoy as much. I’ve seen our 1-year-old’s vocabulary improve since I started spending one on one time with each girl each week. I’ve seen my older daughter excel at being extremely active and strong (ninja warrior) and…wait for it…less jealous.
- Don’t take on too much work. That’s my struggle right now. Switching from mom mode to work mode is much harder than I thought it would be. Baby steps until you get this whole SAHM lifestyle figured out.
- Gig jobs. Gig jobs are great for the extra income. I’m able to pay for our 2 days of daycare/preschool per week with my gig jobs + pay for my hobbies like fashion, skincare & beauty…and fun experiences with the girls. Luckily my hubby takes care of the rest. Praise Andy. Eliminating one of our incomes was something we had to prepare for several years in advance.
- Preparation Tips:
- Don’t over-leverage yourself. Although we don’t live in a “dream home” it is a perfect 2900 square foot home for us, and it’s in a great neighborhood with amazing schools. It’s also the special place we brought our sweet babies home to from the hospital. We’ve taken our 1975 home and made it our own over a 10-year DIY remodel period. We always shop the market for something a little more modern or with a better view, but ultimately we decided to spend more time with our girls (as a SAHM) than to spend more $ on a mortgage that would require 2 full-time incomes.
- Become payment free. No car payments is a big budget-saver for us. As my former stock-broker hubby always says, don’t finance a depreciating asset. No credit card payments. Set a budget and stick to it. We use our Costso credit card each month for cash back and pay it off each month.
- Lower your bills. We cut the cable cord. Being on TV myself, I did hyperventilate for almost an entire week until we got an antenna for the local channels (I’m on the local CBS station). Check with your home and vehicle insurance annually to see if you qualify for any discounts. Same with your cell phone company.
- Utilize kid-friendly venues if you find yourself facing a deadline with your online-based gig work on in-person meeting work/networking. We have a great place called The Art of Play that is a big play room that my oldest loves. She can entertain herself for hours and use her imagination while I get a little work done on my laptop. They have a coffee shop complete with healthy kids lunches and snacks, a bathroom fit for even the tiniest potty-trainers and multiple work station tables for those of us who try to do it all. **Make sure to vet the building security. I always make sure my daughter can see me and I can see her. The venue also has a secure entry/exit point that kids cannot open themselves. They are not as high tech as Chuck E. Cheese with the glow stamps that must match the parents’ stamps.
- Volunteer. Teach your kids about the importance of giving back. Volunteer with your kids. One easy idea to get started is Bright and Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup during Earth Day week each April. Clean your your own neighborhood park or streets. Start small, grow big minds!
*Editor’s Note: Even though I enjoyed a flexible daycare/preschool schedule, and it has been perfect for summer vacation and traveling to see the grandparents, I’ve switched to a two day/week set schedule so we have a better routine that the girls and I can count on. I’ve learned that routine is so important for kids this young. Also, my oldest still gets one special day/week just with mom this summer so we can do big kid stuff, but in the fall, she starts pre-K and the school recommends 3 days/week for her. This adjustment to our family schedule has worked very well. We are still allowed to do drop in days as needed. We’ve also used a babysitter for a few hours in the mornings when I book TV jobs outside of our normal schedule.
