Today was the day!!

Today was the day!!! The day I handed in my office keys, turned in my garage pass and walked out of the office of my last full time job!! It still hasn't fully hit me that I don't have to wake up at 6:15 on Monday, drive for an hour to get Lilly to daycare and then myself to work (through downtown traffic) to sit at a desk for 9 hours and do the same thing the next four days!! 

Ooooohhhh it's going to be grand! :-) 

*Me & Lil' before her 1st Birthday Party

However, I'm not going to lie. Getting to this point has not been easy or without second and third thoughts.  You see, I am one of those rare breeds that actually enjoys working, working hard and working a lot. I like to be busy. Plus, I have always enjoyed the fact that I made money---yes, yes I know I am married and what is mine is his and vise versa but still, I just enjoyed knowing that I was contributing financially to my family (and it may or may not have helped with previous pleas to get my nails or hair done.) With all of that being said, in the past month I have realized that there are so many other ways in which one can contribute to their family. In my mind, the decision I have made to stay at home with Lilly will contribute more to the future and legacy of our family than any job ever could. 

The most important job of a mother, other than simply keeping their child(ren) alive, is to mold and shape an amazing human being. Someone that is smart, kind, compassionate, patient and all of those other phenomenal adjectives we all want our kids to be. :-) To teach them about life--what is right and wrong. I by no means am saying that a working mother can't have a well rounded child--I have simply made this decision because I want to be the one shaping our daughter. The daycare our daughter has been attending since she was seven weeks old is PHENOMENAL and we have really built a great relationship with her teachers. I also believe that if she was to stay in that daycare that she would indeed turn out to be a great, well rounded little girl--I simply want to be the one influencing our daughter the most on a daily/weekly basis. It really became clear to me when I was in Vegas a few weeks ago and did the math that in a good weekday, I saw Lilly for 3-3.5 hours (1 hour of that in the car) while the teachers were seeing her for 7-9 hours a day. 

So as I sit here watching the Royals game with my husband beside me and our beautiful daughter sleeping in her room, I can't help but be in a state of excitement and awe. Awe of how everything has happened so perfectly in life thus far to lead me where I, no WE are today. Excited to start this new journey in motherhood and for our family. Am I scared about getting used to the new schedule of staying at home with a 12 month old everyday? Uh, DUH!  Am I nervous about going days without speaking to another adult human being besides my husband? You betch-ya! In fact, there is a small part of me that is even terrified for the transition. But with all change in life there is some discomfort. ;-) I am open to any and all advice that other stay at home mamas (or papas) have for me! From daily cleaning duties (I'm sick of spending a day or two cleaning ALL day-I want to set a routine to keep it clean ALL the time), recipes, kid friendly parks, kiddo learning activities, you name it--I want it!!! 

 I am also beyond blessed and thankful to have a husband who not only has an amazing job that allowed me to turn my gut feeling of wanting to be at home with our daughter into a reality but also is beyond supportive and so on board when it comes to adjusting our family budget to make this happen <3 He is our rock and I honestly can't wait to clean his house (more regularly), do his laundry (more regularly) and make him proud to come home each day after work. : D It may be cliche and some of you may  have thrown up a little, but this is my life. These are my dreams and I've decided to live a  life centered around what is most important to me: My family and God.