I only have 7 more days of Full-Time Employment (outside my home!)
Yes, I am VERY excited to be able to stay home with Cynthia (so is she!) At the same time, I am VERY nervous! This is totally new territory for both Josh and I. This whole process has been a faith building exercise for me. While I know that this is God's will for our family, it is hard to trust that the Lord will work out all the details.
For all of you other who are Stay at Home Moms, do you have any tips for me? Besides the normal house chores, what kinds of things do you fill your time with? Do you have any tips for me for learning activities to do with Cynthia? Any websites that have great resources along those lines?
Yes, I am VERY excited to be able to stay home with Cynthia (so is she!) At the same time, I am VERY nervous! This is totally new territory for both Josh and I. This whole process has been a faith building exercise for me. While I know that this is God's will for our family, it is hard to trust that the Lord will work out all the details.For all of you other who are Stay at Home Moms, do you have any tips for me? Besides the normal house chores, what kinds of things do you fill your time with? Do you have any tips for me for learning activities to do with Cynthia? Any websites that have great resources along those lines?
3:16 PM
Oh Shannon, You will not have ANY TROUBLE finding things to do with your time! I am amazed at how quickly the days fill up. One of my favorite kid-activity sites is http://familyfun.go.com/ They always have great ideas for parties, activities, snacks, and outings. You may not find ton's of stuff to do with Cynthia at this stage, but it will be handy in the future.
My life is centered much more around boys, so I spend a lot of time on Thomas the Train's website, but I am sure you will find some favorites of Cynthia's.
Oh, one thing I have been working on recently is once a month cooking. (Best if you have a deep freeze) Some terrific recipes can be found on the Taste of Home website - http://www.tasteofhome.com/
I don't do the traditional "once a month" cooking, but try to make larger meals and then split it and freeze part of it. It is GREAT to have on hand. I am amazed at how much there is to do when you are a stay at home mom, and sometimes cooking dinner is just more than you are up for at the time. Especially on Wednesday nights before church, etc.
Well, I know there are many more things that I love, but can't think of them now. I am SO EXCITED for you to be joining the SAHM ranks. Happy Wednesday!
12:49 PM
Oh Shannon, change is always difficult especially one as big as you're about to face. I don't think you are going to have as much of a problem as you think. It may be boring to you at first since you've been so busy for the past how many years going way back to High School! Anyway, you are going to love having all the time to spend with Cynthia! It also may be a little boring at first also because she isn't quite mobile yet, but just you wait! One thing that I may suggest is a hobby of some sort. I love making cards and would spend some of my time doing that. I'm sure you'll find things to keep you busy! Then you'll wonder why you ever worked in the first place, hopefully anyway! :) Some people just feel clostrophobic at home and it just doesn't work for them - they have to be going and doing and can hardly sit still, but I don't think you are quite that high strung. Keep us posted on the progress!
8:43 AM
You are in for an exciting change of pace, girl!
I did feel like I had a lot of free time when I only had Chloe. Now that's history. :)
I have a part time online job which I do during nap times. I HATE doing housework so I found lots of things to fill up our time. :) I'd encourage you to sign Cynthia up for a weekly library story time. Though it took Chloe a while to catch on to what was going on, now she's a story time pro! And it's so helpful to meet other area moms of same age kiddos. Plus the songs the librarian does in story time are age appropriate and great for brain building so we do (and did) those at home during the week.
Blogging takes a good bit of time too. :)
When Chloe was less than a year, I took lots of walks. That was great for both of us! This website (check the brain builders links down the page) was a great resource for me during those months too:
http://www.babiestoday.com/articles/guiding-babys-development-12
I second Janelle's suggestion. My hobby is sewing and being thrifty. Wish I had more time to do both!
I'm so excited you'll be joining the SAHM crowd. You'll find it incredibly rewarding (in the long run - daily it's not always so fun) to be at home with your precious little one!
9:47 AM
One of the great things about being a SAHM (I think, anyway) is the extensive opportunities for being creative. What that looks like is probably different for everyone, but for me it includes things like the satisfaction of ruby-red jars of strawberry jam, freshly prepared; seeing the gears turning in my little guy's brain as we build and knock down block towers; making my own cleaners so my little guys aren't exposed to all the chemicals (since they always want to help!); quilting; the list goes on and on! I'm sure you'll soon find out what brings that sense of satisfaction for you.
Once Cynthia is a little bigger, here are some websites you might enjoy:
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/preschool_activities.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/categories/preschool.shtml
http://www.akidsheart.com/
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/3446/keeplittleones.html
I've also heard that The Toddler Busy Book by Trish Kuffner has a lot of good learning activities.
Enjoy the precious time with her now; life just gets busier and busier the older they get!
7:11 PM
Hi Shannon!
I am so excited that you have to opportunity to stay at home with Cynthia! I have loved being at home with Noah; I did have my moments where I felt guilty when I was taking him to the park while Nate had to go off to work but the Lord brought a great book across my path called "My Heart's at Home" by Jill Savage and I also heard a ladies conference that she spoke at the Focus on the Family aired on the radio called "The Value of Stay-At-Home Moms which was a great encouragement to me!
Enjoy this time because it goes so fast!
9:49 PM
ha, i have no problems filling my days with things to do...
8:42 AM
r u home today????
8:59 AM
Sounds like a good time to work on your scrapbooking to me.
AND if you start to REALLY get frustrated....just remember how lucky you are to be married and have such a beautiful baby....some of us don't and wish we did. (not trying to sound bitter....i'm not....)