Ultimatums – This or that; black or white;  on or off; right or wrong…

Most of the time there is a spectrum in between the ultimatums, but we are often times blinded by the two extremes. I’m guilty of thinking that I had to choose:

CHILDCARE or TAKE CARE OF MY OWN CHILD?

I’m a teacher, so I take care of other peoples’ children for a living. When my partner and I found out we were pregnant, one of the serious conversations was about money. Diapers, medical bills, food, clothes, and childcare were all new expenses. My desire was to be a stay-at-home mom but in Seattle, we needed two incomes to survive. Childcare in the Seattle area (and surrounding cities) is around the same cost as rent/mortgage. Oh, and infants, they are the most expensive.

From in-utero, October 2013, until a few months ago, April 2016, my partner and I thought we HAD to choose. We chose childcare – Kaden’s grandma twice a week and a sitter for three times a week. We worked hard on shaving down our finances to try to afford one of us staying home with our son. We cut out our monthly personal budgets, sold my car, cut off the cable, applied for loan forgiveness grants, and paid more towards the principle of loans, in order to save a mere one year salary. Kaden was almost two and we STILL had not saved a year’s salary.

Then my grandma passed away. One of her life mottos were, “One day at a time.” Life isn’t always about having it all together or the adverse. God will provide all of your needs.

So we got out chart paper, markers, and our monthly finance book and began writing pros/cons and crunching numbers. We realized that I could do both – be a STAY-AT-HOME MOM and WORKING MOM! 

If I worked 1 – 2 times a week as a substitute teacher, we would be able to survive lol!

Plus I wouldn’t have the countless, extra hours of school work on a weekly basis to juggle at home. As a sub, I’m still doing what I love, but also taking care of my own child majority of the week.

What are your creative ways to spend more time with your kids? Post your comments below.

Resources: (Click) 15 Streams of Income

Why do people with children tend to be unhappy? Read this article: Studying Parent Unhappiness

Exert: “Well, the study’s findings seem to come about not because, as some would assume, having a child is this soul-crushing thing that zaps you of all your time, money, and energy; but rather, it’s because of the lack of policies set up to provide affordable child care and opportunities for employees to spend time with their kids. “

Shout out to Kaden’s selfless grandma, Polly Sutton, for making this possible – we appreciate you.