Household Changes

One large adjustment in our household lately has been me becoming a SAHM (stay at home mom). I always hoped that I would be able to stay at home when my kiddos were little...but I honestly never thought it would be possible. I consider myself very fortunate to be given this opportunity!

This transition hasn't been completely easy though! One challange I've been facing lately is the feeling like I'm losing a large part of my identity. For so long my profession was a huge part of who I am. At times I felt burned out at my job...and I loved to complain about the long 12 hour shifts...but I honestly loved being a NICU nurse!! I got to make a difference every single time I went to work. I got to have nights where I cuddled adorable newborns that were almost ready to go home as well as nights where I was running nonstop trying to keep that tiny 23 weeker from spiraling downhill. The ups & downs of ICU work is exhausting and exhilarating.

I've been told that this feeling will fade away once my sweet baby arrives. I really hope so, but at the same time I am determined NOT to let my entire identity be "mommy"! :) Luckily I will be able to start back up with my graduate classes in August (had to take the semester off due to travel restrictions) so I will still be in the nursing world, just in a different aspect! If I miss the babies too much I can always try to find a Per Diem job and work one night a week! I must say it is nice to have options and not worry about childcare since Dan only works 3 nights a week!

Another thing that has had to adjust since staying at home is the family budget! It is very strange not bringing home a paycheck and I have to battle feelings of guilt sometimes (brought on by me NOT Dan!!). These feelings are completely unfounded since our options for childcare if I did work were:

- Hire a nanny (our work hours don't work with daycare) which runs about $1500+ a month. Daycare is only about $150 cheaper anyways...talk about sticker shock!
- Work opposite days, which means we would only have one day together as a family. No way!
- Work the same days but opposite shifts. We would have more time as a family but would always be exhausted!! Working 12 hrs and then having to do all care for the baby before going back to work - No way! I have total respect for single mother nurses...don't know how they do it!

With those choices it became obvious that the best option was to have one of us SAH and we decided it should be me since Dan will soon be back in the military and I might not be able to work where we are stationed anyways! So now I have taken it to be my job to save money every way I can (helps lessen the guilt!). We have never really budgeted for anything so it has been really interesting to track our spending! Lets just say our food budget was horrifying for just 2 people! We eat out waaaay too much!

Now that I'm home all day I have been trying to cook much more (pause for your laughter at me cooking...). It has been going pretty well and we definately cut down on eating out but our grocery bill was still pretty outrageous for a family of 2 (and 1/2).

Everyone has been telling me that I really need to do a weekly/biweekly menu plan and use that to shop (only going to the store twice a month) and that it would cut our grocery bill drastically. I was pretty skeptic...I mean really how could it save that much? Well I am now in my 2nd month of menu planning and WOW does it save a ton!! No more impulse buys, no more food going bad, and I am able to look for deals to see which grocery store I should go to! Our food bill has already gone down by almost 50% and we are eating sooo much better! I am a believer now!

Here is our menu for this upcoming week: (I plan 7 meals though we only cook 6 and save the 7th day for eating out. The 7th meal either gets bumped to the following week or made as something to use for packed lunches)

1: Apricot Cumin Chicken with Grilled Asparagus and Carrots

2. Chicken Enchiladas with Mexican Rice

3. Turkey Chili with Cornbread

4. Chicken Lasagna Florentine with Side Salad

5. Guacamole Turkey Burgers and Baked Fries (so healthy but feels so unhealthy!)

6. Homemade Pizzas

7. Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta, and Pine Nuts


This menu will give us plenty for dinner, lunch, and something for Dan to take to work his 3 nights! The only other things I have to purchase at the store are staples (bread, milk, yogurt, fruit) and cereals & oatmeal for breakfast. I always have the supplies on hand for baking something should a sweet tooth arise! ;) Luckily our local farmers market should be starting up in the next week or two so we will be able to get cheap, fresh, local produce! Can't wait!!

Now that I'm getting a good hold on our food budget I'm looking for more way to save some moolah! Every dime saved is another dime in our travel savings! Just because we lost a paycheck does not mean I'm giving up my traveling!!! Hehe! 5 more months until our 3rd anniversary (wow!) and we won't let the tradition stop! I haven't been anywhere (other than home to TX) in 6 months due to the pregnancy and I am starting to go nuts! I think this might be the longest stretch in our married life without a trip! Must remedy that soon! This kiddo is going to learn to love planes, trains, & automobiles! ;)