what to do?

Something that has been on my mind for a long time now is daycare vs. stay at home with mom care.

Another thing that's been on my mind is working mom vs. stay-at-home-mom vs. work-at-home mom.

Waaay tooo many things to think about, so I'll make a bullet list.

Working Mom:
*makes more money
*more money means more opportunities for kids
*sometimes doesn't mean more money, just means doing what ya gotta do to get by
*kids have to have childcare, whether it's a nanny or daycare, or maybe stay at home dad

Stay-at-home Mom:
*doesn't make any money
*hubby better make plenty!
*budget may be tight
*kids are raised completely by their own parents
*kids don't get as much interaction with other kids
*kids don't get sick as much
*kids don't get stuck in a daycare with sub-par employees (not all, just saying...I worked at one for 3 yrs!)

Work-at-home Mom:
*makes money
*kids are raised by mom, not someone else
*kids may get bored
*mom may struggle juggling job and kids
*best of both worlds, or worst of both worlds?

My thoughts on the matter-  you gotta do what you gotta do. I know pinterest is full of cute little quotes like "Do what you love, love what you do," and I wish it were that simple!

Right now, I do what I have to do in order to do what I love- stay home with my boy. However, things are starting to get pretty chaotic and it has made me re-think childcare, which in turn makes me re-think everything. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Asher went to a place where he had structured actives during the day, friends to play with, things to learn. Maybe it would be better than having to sit and play by himself for hours while I work from the other room.

Then I get to thinking about all the working moms out there. My obgyn has two little boys. Her hubby doesn't work and he stays at home with them. I am thankful for that, because I love her and would much rather have a woman ob than a man. I also know that before women were accepted in the work place, they were stuck at home, viewed as less valuable then men, and not given equal opportunities to pursue their careers and dreams.

I never was a climb-the-ladder type gal. I thought about going to med school, or being a marine biologist, or picking a career that would potentially make a lot of money. But those thoughts were outweighed by my personality, personal dreams, and overall life-goals. I wanted to be a mom. I don't care to be rich. And I really don't care to work in a stressful environment, always trying to get a promotion or work long hours to keep my job.

Now that I'm a mom, I'm realizing it's WAY harder than I thought. It can get depressing being at home all day, with only a toddler to interact with. It's hard seeing other people out there getting credit for the awesome things they're doing in their workplaces. It's hard staying grounded and not wishing you were the one on the news getting kudos, or traveling to other countries making great sales, and it's hard sitting at a table with 4 doctor friends when you're the only one NOT a doctor. It's easy to start thinking you're not as important, or not making a difference like they are.

What I'm going to choose to focus on, and really the reason I've chosen to do what I do, is that the early stages in life (1 to 4) are so important. Nothing is more valuable to a child than the love of his parents when he's little. In everything I learned in my early child education classes, young children don't really learn how to play with others until they are 3 or 4. So until then, they play by themselves, beside others, and watch others. That CAN be done with me at home, in the other room, without a room full of other kids. And it doesn't mean my kid will be any less socially adept than kids in daycare. I want nothing more than to be the one to raise my kids, especially at the critical early ages, when what they need most is stability and nurturing.

And there ya go. My thoughts on that. Yes, there are days that I tend to feel depressed, but there are things I can do to counter that- leave the house, visit/call a friend, enjoy the freedom of being able to go out and take Asher with me, or go out and leave Asher at home with dad.

For now, I choose to be very thankful for what I have, what I do, and what I contribute to my family. News-worthy or not. :)

baby girl's nursery

I can't  help myself... Asher's asleep, house is clean, Chris is at work, and my back is killing me from this lovely little girl growing herself inside me. So, what better to do than design little girl's nursery?

My goal is to get this room done in the next 2 months. Unlike Asher's room, which took me 6 months to get around to finishing.

I was pretty much stuck with yellow in the room, since I bought an antique yellow ceiling lamp at a local antique store. I'm also pretty addicted to turquoise. And a girl's room isn't complete without some pink, right? Thus the yellow, teal, and pink color theme! Pink duponi silk fabric for the curtains has been ordered, ala fabric.com! I couldn't NOT buy yardage on sale for 4.95 a yard! Are.you.kidding.me? Yay for online bargains!

Here it is, in all its glory: The mood board. The wish board. The highly unlikely end result of future ms. layton's room. I just hope it somewhat resembles the picture I have in my mind. :)

Things that will never be the same after kids...

Here are some things that will never be the same after having kids...

(not including the cliche "your tummy" or "life," etc)


Your napkin holder:

I should add that he neatly threw away each and every napkin. Time to check the trash for other treasures...

Your bathtub:

Your kitchen floor:

Your nicely folded laundry piles:

Nap time:

Now on to clean above messes in pictures. And give Daddy a break. :)

Asher's room makeover

Finally, some "after" pictures of Asher's room. This was my project over my 2 week Christmas vacation. I sanded, primed, painted, and sealed a plain brown dresser, made several trips to Lowe's for paint, wood, and shelves, a couple trips to my favorite antique mall for some extra goodies, and was able to put together a room that makes me smile. 

I tried to stay away from a "theme-y" room, like all zoo animals or sports with basketball sheets, basketball art, and basketball knobs on the dresser. Not my style. It was hard for me to get excited about decorating a BOY room, but I do love eclectic design, so it was a lot more fun than I anticipated. I decided on a navy/gray/white color scheme with pops of red and light blue. One thing I'd love to add later on is our navy and gray striped wing back chair, but for now, I'll keep it safe from Asher in another room. :)

Antique clock with a "funt" on it :)

Dresser lovingly handed down from my parents, gave it a fresh coat of paint so it would pop in his room

Gave husband quote, husband came up with this. Love!

Special oil painting from my favorite antique store

Chris drew the alien artwork when he was little. I think it's absolutely adorable and adds a sweet touch to Asher's room

My sweet hubby framed the world map from Amazon.com; we just need to secure it to the wall a little better.

Idea 1: craft corner for under the wall space under the map, with boy colors of course

2nd Idea: paint a ship like this under the map

Just chillin' on his favorite animal while momma messes around in his room 

Daddy relaxing and Asher playing after a whole day of projects for this room. 

I love how his room turned out. If I had more energy, I'd figure out how to sew the curtains into roman shades, because he loves to tug on them and sit in them like a hammock. Another project for another day! I also know the bookshelf looks pretty bare, but there's honestly no such thing as organized arm's reach shelving in a 2 year old's room. All those pictures you see of nurseries looking so cute and organized with their baskets and books in low shelves or furniture- a LIE! The mom probably cleaned for hours before the photographer came over. :)

  For now, I can finally enjoy his no-longer-blank-wall room. Thanks to my husband for helping me with so much!

Christmas joy

This Christmas was filled with lots of love, laughter, hot chocolate, cookies, and good family times. We hosted 2 Christmases in our new house, so it was fun getting to play hostess, decorate the house, and bake lots of yummy treats! Lots of my decor this year was handmade, since we're on a budget. I look forward to collecting and making more fun Christmas decor over the years and maybe someday needing more than one tub to fill when Christmas clean-up time comes!

He wasn't sure about this crazy 3-wheeled contraption. 

Such a sweet photo of my cute future quarterback :)

Sheet music snowflake-another etsy project. 

Christmas mantle

Card holder- wrap a wreath form in yard, add clothespins

Hot chocolate bar! 

Anthropologie copycat tree- my sweet hubby made me this tree form, I cut out the squares, and we topped it with an Anthro knob

Learning the "piggy" song

Cookie mouth!

                                   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!