Inner debates…
So I seem to be doing a lot of debating about my life lately: Diet, haircut, and now job stuff. I wonder what this means… Anyway, if you have been following us here at houseoflyons you probably read the ‘Seasons may change‘ entry and know about Jeff now working at home and following his dream of doing freelance video full time. It is going great! More info on that later.
Since then, my ‘job’ of keeping kiddos at home with me and Charlotte has changed too. My part-timer has moved to TX, I had to let one of my full-timers go for multiple reasons, and my other full-timer is moving back to MI at the end of February. In so many ways this is what Jeff and I wanted to happen – Jeff to do wonderful things with video and work from home and me to be able to be at home with Charlotte and just Charlotte. I feel very very blessed to have the opportunity to keep Charlotte at home and also be able to pull in a little income for my family, don’t get me wrong. But, I can very much see the stress that these extra kiddos have in my daily life. By the time 5:30 rolls around I am tired, worn out, stressed, and a lot of time needs Jeff to take Charlotte off my hands for a few minutes just so I can have some me-time and not go crazy. (quick aside: huge kudos to all you mommas that have tons of kids – or even 2 kids – this is hard work!)
Now, with Jeff still building up his freelance work and my income slowly disappearing, I am really having to debate on what would be best moving forward. We aren’t at the point yet where we don’t need an additional income from me, so here are a couple scenarios we are thinking through.
The first is the most probable one. I keep posting on craigslist and am trying to pull in a new kiddo or two to babysit. I have had an ad up for about a month now and have gotten a little interest but nothing has panned out. What if I get no one in by the time my full-timer leaves in February? I’m sunk then. I would loooove the free time of course, but our budget would not be happy. I want to be semi picky and find a child that is in the 6-18 month range so that they are similar in age to Charlotte. I don’t want to have to watch Charlotte every second to keep her from hitting a little baby on the head with a toy, or on the other end, to have a 3 year old to try and entertain while caring for Charlotte with her feedings, diapers, naps, etc. I know, I shouldn’t be picky but.
OR Should I get out in the overcrowded ‘work force’ and try to start looking for a job outside of the home? This might help give me a break from keeping kids for a while, put me into the adult world, but won’t I miss Charlotte like crazy and just want to be back home after a few months or weeks as a working mom? Plus, this means that Jeff will stay home with Charlotte. I totally think he is capable, but this effects his freelance abilities. Not only will he have less editing time during the day, if something comes up like a short notice trip out of town for a client (yes, it can happen – even as early as next week!) and I am working, it means he says no and stops growing his business, or I take vacation time from the new job. Neither sounds like a good option.
The other option that I would love to find but it rare, is a great work at home job. Like a virtual assistant or… well, I dunno what else, but I’d love to find something. Then I could have a little peace and quiet in the home, be able to interact with adults, but still be at home with Charlotte and Jeff.
Every option has pros and cons. I just have to wade through them all and come out on the other side! God has truly blessed us these last months – opportunities that have come to Jeff that have allowed us to keep our head above water but more importantly, they are building his business project by project. It is hard to see to the other side of this situation – is God blessing our family by providing an easy transition for me? What is that transition to? I want to follow His lead and do what is best for my family, I just can’t figure out which way I’m being led.
(sorry it is another text-heavy and even emotion-heavy entry! Here is a sweet photo of Charlotte from this morning – for all your trouble)
We are Jeff, Jordan and Charlotte Lyons!
Jeff and Jordan have been married since August of 2005 and live in Spring Hill, TN. Jeff works at home as a producer and video editor for his company Light and Story. Jordan stays at home with Charlotte and babysits some of Charlotte's friends! Charlotte was born January 23, 2009. She is the light of our lives, as you can probably tell since most of the posts are about her! Keep coming back to visit us here at House of Lyons!
hard choices! I don’t know what I would say is the best thing here. I know you had a bad experience w/the whole Mary Kay thing, but (and I don’t want to seem pushy at all with this) but I have had GREAT success w/Scentsy–it’s been super easy to do, I honestly haven’t had to do really anything to go over my minimum sales requirements, and I just found out that they do have an option for healthcare! (will let you know when I find out more about this). Just a thought…let me know if you want more info.
Beyond that, I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom so I would think that if you can do it, definitely take advantage of this time–you don’t want to miss out on any of her special moments! Just my opinion though, and not actually having had that experience I can’t say anything for sure.
Will be praying for you as you make all these decisions friend!