Day care?

There's a lot of things people forget to tell you about when you're getting ready to start a family.  I've learned this a lot in the past year.  Apparently you shouldn't only be thinking about how fun it will be to cuddle with a baby, play with toys, and dress him/her up in cute little outfits.  Amongst so many other things I should have been getting ready for, child care is at the top of the list.  Who knew?

Last year I had so much on my mind.  I had just put a lot of time (and money) into pursuing an entirely new career path, and while finishing my student teaching, I was also on the brink of parenthood.  And while I never envisioned myself being a "stay-at-home-mom", I certainly had no idea what a working mom would/could/should look like.  It was an interesting, new, and challenging place to be... but after having Benjamin, I pushed it all to the back of my mind and decided to just not think about it for awhile.  After all, being home with Benjamin was both awesome and difficult, and the thought of even thinking about finding a job and beginning my teaching career seemed almost too much for my fragile mental state.  (Hence me still being at home almost 11 months later.)

I probably could drone on and on about what I thought I could do, what I thought I should do, and what I actually am doing... which involves a lot of juggling, quite a bit of penny-pinching, a lot of thankfulness for Matt's job, and a tremendous amount of gratitude for friends who have stepped in while I'm in this weird in between state. Like many moms, I miss working when I'm home, but I miss Benjamin when I'm working.  I feel guilty that I'm paying down student loans for a career I haven't even started yet.  I love watching Benjamin grow and being a part of it all, but to be honest, I also go a bit crazy being home all day with just me, a baby, and a wild dog. I miss using my non-mom brain.

So for now, I work part time jobs as often as I can so that we can have a little spending money here and there, and I spend almost as much time working as I do fretting about daycare.  Seriously, this is something no one prepared me for.  Finding someone you trust (and can afford) to watch your child is HARD WORK, not to mention extremely stressful. (Thankfully, we have someone to take him most days I'm working now... out in Lafayette unfortunately, but it's something!)

At any rate, I don't want to drag on and bore you with the latest topic that has been the cause of many tears in my life, I actually did just want to share a couple cute pictures of some of Benjamin's buddies we've had over lately while helping friends who have been kind enough to help me when I'm in need.  I am SO thankful to have friends in the same life-stage as Matt and I.  And I am especially thankful that these friends are so kind and gracious (and have often taken Benjamin at the drop of a hat).  The old cliché is true - it does take a village to raise a child.  And I think it also takes a village to keep a mom sane!

Emme - let me play my beautiful piano music for you!

I'm so glad we're friends...