Stay at home mom?!

I won’t pretend it’s easy. My husband is a government employee. Also last fall he started back to school and is now a Collage student at 35 years old. Before this thing in our state call I- 695 where they took the car tab amount down to the said amount of $35.00 but I have never paid less then $60. Budgets were cut and his department was hit the most. ( I'll post this when I settle down a bit, it boils my blood)  But the pay is slim now in this economy especially with a family of four. He gets paid two times a month, and some months, our pantry and fridge are mostly bare those last few days. We make sure that the babies and pups have the food they need before Hubs and I eat anything more then sandwiches and noodles. 

Staying at home on a moderately lower income means that , we decided we’d  live in the 2-bedroom apartment we rent instead of paying several hundred more dollars a month for a 3-bedroom. That’s just beyond our means–and we strive to live at or below our means.

Staying at home means that we wear our clothes until they wear out–or we grow out of them. We never buy anything new unless its on the 75% off rack at Target. We do most of the clothes shopping at consignment shops. The only new clothing the babies get are from gifts or MeeMa. We personally haven't bought anything for them in a retail store. 

It means we don’t drive new cars, and, instead, we try to maintain the ones we do drive, so we can drive them as long as possible.

Staying at home also means that we don't get to shop regularly at Central Market or Met Market or Whole Foods or PCC. It means shopping at Grocery Outlet, Wallmart and sometimes getting still good to date baby food at the Consignment shops as well. It means hoping to be asked to go to my parents house for dinner or have them come here a few times a week so we can make our food stretch.

It means that I skip most moms nights out, and many of the playdates that cost alot because we have twins we have to pay twice to do anything. It means that hubs and I have coffee dates instead of dinner and a movie. We do Redbox or I will go to the Library and check out a movie there.

It also means that we no longer take vacations that we can no longer afford. We do a few day trips and we plan on going camping this year. When we do splurge it is to go see my sister, her husband and their son, my favorite nephew in the entire world Quinn in Colorado.  We are excited that they will be up this way sometime

No matter how much money I could have outside the home right now.... I wouldn't change it for the world. I get to be paid with belly giggles, sleepy snuggles, milk milk kisses, I get to read story's and go on walks with the babies. They wont always be little and that will be sad. When they grow up I want them to never doubt they were loved and I was there for them.