Saturday Playdate - Life With Rylie

I love Saturdays! We get to sleep in (well, as much as you can with a toddler and a baby), we don't have to go to work and we have all kinds of fun! We usually have some kind of playdate planned, whether it is a birthday party, playing at the park or a cookout with friends.

The only downside to Saturdays is that my blog gets ignored. I don't usually have time to get online. So I have decided to host "playdates" here! Every Saturday you will get the pleasure of meeting a new blogger. I have some wonderful ladies lined up to come play over here!

My first playdate is with Torie from Life with Rylie.  I first came across her blog when I saw her post on another blog I read.  The name of her blog caught my eye.  Imagine that.  So of course I had to go say hi.  Torie is a SAHM to a beautiful little girl named Rylie, who is almost 8 months old.  It turns out that they don't live too far from us, and I think I see a "real" playdate in our future.  She also makes adorable baby bows and other accessories for little girls that she sells at her Etsy shop, On Top Baby Bows.  She recently started making head bands for big girls too.  Make sure you stop by her blog sometime and say hi!

And now for our playdate!  Who brought the snacks?

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Thanks to LeeAnn for letting me be the first to have a “play date” on her blog today! And while we are on the topic of play dates I want to say how much I love them. I mean I really do love them. Now that my Rylie is getting more mobile and able to “play” with other babies (which means squealing and grabbing them) I jump on the opportunity to have one. When you spend 24/7 with someone who can’t talk, needs their butt wiped, and plays in a puddle of their own spit up, you find that any time spent with an adult is precious. Because I am a stay at home mom.

Now before you start throwing things at me or calling me names under your breath, I did not choose to be a SAHM. All my life I have dreamed of being one, but I ended up here unintentionally. See, I worked for a very small, family owned business that didn’t offer maternity leave. I took a couple of weeks off (unpaid) after having Rylie. Upon returning I found out that I had to be cut back to part-time. After about a month working part-time from home, I was laid off. So to make a long story short (I could go into more detail) I had no choice, but to become a stay at home mom.

To be honest, I love being a stay at home mom. I love that I never miss a moment with her and I know she is in good hands every single day. I get a lot of good moments caught on camera, I know exactly when she poops, eats, and naps, and I get to play all day long. But all this comes with sacrifice. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice is living off of one income. We use to eat out at least once a week, maybe catch a movie, or if we wanted something (with in reason) we would pick it up. Those days are long gone.

The other sacrifice is adult interaction. Don’t get me wrong, I love being with her more than anything, but there are some days I would like to get up, go to work and talk to grown ups. There are some days where I would prefer not to sing silly songs, change poopy diapers, or redirect her away from the dogs bowls for the 50th time. But when I really sit down and think about it, the rewards greatly out weigh the sacrifices. I guess what I am trying to say is that it takes a lot out of you, but as soon as I hear her giggle, smile, or say “dada” I am so glad to be there in that moment with her. There is no other job in the world that I would rather have (when my kids are older I might be singing a different tune).

If you are a working mom I give you many props. It must be hard to be away from your little one(s). If you are a stay at home mom I give you props as well. It is hard to tend to a little person 24/7. But no matter what you do, it all comes down to love for our kids. We all do what we do because we love them. A love that will always remain.