Why I Decided to Quit My Job + 1st Day as a Stay at Home Mom!

Here are some photos of my first day home with the kids! I wanted to document my first day as a stay at home mom for a few different reasons.

First of all, I never want to forget the feeling I had on this day knowing I didn’t have to answer e-mails, phone calls or work on random projects when they were napping. It felt so free.

Secondly, we had our first 70 degree day this year. The sun was out and we spent the entire day outside! The kids were so happy and excited to have me home and off my phone and laptop.

Although I loved my  job, I am so glad to be able to take a few years off (or more). I hadn’t realized how much stress I had at work until I didn’t have to worry about it anymore!

A lot of you asked why I left my job and decided to stay home full-time so I wanted to talk about this a little on here today.

I’ve always worked since having kids. I worked full-time when Charlie was born because to be honest, financially I couldn’t afford to stay home. We had just bought and remodeled a house and were paying off the last of our school loans.

I didn’t mind working though.

I was happy to work knowing that we were financially stable and could still enjoy life: travel, eat out and have extra money to do things. We also always had excellent health insurance from every company I worked for which was huge for us!

Jason’s business was taking off (he was working a full-time job AND running a business full-time, he’s pretty incredible).  I knew that if I could contribute to our household income for a few more years, that he could really focus on growing his business and that it would lead to us both quitting our corporate jobs to pursue what we love.

Working full-time was worth every minute and I don’t regret it one bit. I was always proud to be a working mom because together with Jason, we were able to pay off everything and save money as well as travel and not be strapped for cash.

People say money doesn’t bring happiness and although I agree with this to some extent, financial security brings joy, stress relief, and overall a happier life. I didn’t want Jason to carry the entire burden of supporting us so that I could stay home. I knew that if I worked hard and was patient, my time would come.

When I got pregnant with Claire, we had paid everything off and talked about me either quitting or working part time. Jason’s business was doing great but I was able to find an amazing part time job with full health insurance, so it was a no-brainer.

I worked 2-3 days/week doing something I enjoyed, made money and had health insurance + an amazing schedule. I was also able to work from home which was the best part of all. It gave me even more flexibility when I needed it.

On January 1st, 2019 Jason quit his corporate job and is now running his business full time. I am so proud of him.

All of those long days of work that we both put in set us up for where we are today. He get’s to be an entrepreneur and I get to stay home with the kids and pursue blogging.

What I want to share with you is that if you are a working mom, don’t ever regret working or your time away from your kids. You are not only relieving financial stress from your husband, but you are also providing a better life for your kids.

I believe that God has his timing for everything. Sometimes we want things so bad that we throw in the towel but then we cause stress in other areas of our life. If I would have quit, Jason would have had to work more to cover for my loss of income. We would still have school loans and never get to go on vacation as a family or enjoy things that cost money.

There were times when working was so hard and I wanted to just give it all up. I’m so glad I didn’t. Looking back I see how my jobs were all such a huge blessing for us.

We had company paid health insurance and many times family members needed jobs and were able to nanny for us. By me working, I not only helped Jason and my own kids, but often times provided work for our closest family.

Working also taught me to be more intentional and present with my kids. I was away from them so much that I really cherish every single moment I have with them when I get it. Especially now!

So basically, the reason I decided to be a stay at home mom is because I feel like our family is finally ready for this.

We are financially stable, I have enough experience in my career where I can go back to work if I want or need to, and we have no debt.

Now I can TRULY enjoy staying home without it putting any stress on other areas of our life.

So there you have it! All the events that led to me staying home!

Thanks for all the love and support on this big decision! I love reading all of your comments and e-mails!