Staying Home

So, I need to tell you guys something:  I quit my job.  Well, that sounds harsher than it ought to.  I retired?  At least for now.  I'm going to try the stay-at-home-mom thing (although, I prefer "leave-the-house-any-time-I-want-or-need-to-mom") and see how that works out for us.  And since I knew I wasn't going to be taking an actual maternity leave, I decided to be done a few weeks before my due date, to have some time to rest up and hopefully accomplish all the crazy little things that I want to get done.  And I'm glad I did, because I have had visitors for the last 2 weeks, and it has been awesome to not have to worry about work!

Warning- I might get a little ranty here...

It's really weird to explain the "stay-at-home-mom" plan to people.  I've learned that there are very strong opinions about this decision (as with every parent-related decision: it's insane!).  A handful of women go into rants about how it's the best decision ever, and they stayed home with their kids, and they just can't believe that everyone doesn't do it.  Another subset seems to think I have betrayed all women by abandoning my career for the menial task of taking care of a baby, and won't I be so bored?  And how will I pick back up if I want to start working again???  The good news is that most people seem okay with either option, and just say they are happy for me, and we go along on our ways.

To be 100% clear - I know plenty of amazing parents, some of them stay home, some of them work part-time, some of them work full-time.  They all love their kids and are doing what works best for their own families and their own situations.  (Apply this logic to pretty much every parenting decision anyone can make).

So for me, for my family, for right now, quitting my job is the right decision.  I'm super excited that I won't have an end date to staying home with my baby.  If 3 months go by (or 3 years), and I want or need to go back to work, maybe I will.  Or maybe I will never have a job again?  I really don't know.

And I might get in trouble for saying this, but I keep seeing posts on Facebook or wherever about how stay at home moms should get paid x-million dollars a year, because they are the daycare, and the laundromat, and the cook, maid, therapist, blah blah blah.  While I do think it's important to value parents who stay home, that kind of thing annoys me.  Moms and dads who work also do the laundry, right?  Also cook dinner?  Also care for their children the majority of the hours in the week?  I mean, I've been working for the last 8 years, and no one says I should get paid extra for vacuuming the living room on the weekends.  It's called being a person.  Sure, I could hire a personal chef to cook for me, and it would cost $13000 a year.  That doesn't mean I should get paid $13000 a year to feed myself.  Right?  Okay, don't hate me for saying that!

Oh, and I still get to like weekends because it means John isn't at work.  So Happy Friday!


*this is the outfit I wore on my last day of work, a couple weeks ago.  The blog is all out of order at the moment!

Cardigan: Gap factory
Scarf: JCF (top 10 remix item)
Tee: Target maternity
Skirt: Macy's

Tea Party Outfit

The best thing about this dress is that it was free.  The next best thing is that it was a little bit too big, so it still fits me when I am 8months pregnant!  I should probably have gotten it taken in a bit originally, but I'm glad I didn't, because I was very excited to wear it to the recent tea party that I attended.

Of course, I should be fired from blogging, since I didn't take any pictures at the tea party.  Just imagine a beautifully set table with pretty teacups at each place setting, and then imagine my friends all sitting around the table in pretty dresses, sipping tea and eating crumpets.  That's what it was like.

And then I went home and took pictures of my outfit next to the wall.

Jacket: Target
Scarf: JCF (top 10 item)
Dress: eShakti
Shoes: Target

Remix Kickoff - Two Favorites

Okay, kicking off the Top 10 Remix with 2 items:  navy dress and mint scarf!  

I have to make fun of myself a little bit.  I recently mentioned on Brynn's blog that I don't really like infinity scarves, and then I turn around and tie this long scarf into one.  The hypocrisy is great.  But something about this outfit on this day just looked better with a scarf/necklace than with a hangy-down scarf.  

Pay no attention to the sun/dust spots all over these pictures.  I tried to clean them up in editing, but I obviously don't know how to photoshop very well, so I gave up and left them as is.  It's artistic, okay?  SO FANCY!  

Scarf: JCF

Dress: Loft Maternity

Cardigan: Old Navy

Belt: NY&Co

Shoes: Old Navy

#15 - Navy Week - Floral Top

Navy Week is coming to a close, but never fear!  My 30x30 continues, and most of my outfits for the rest of August will have navy in them.  And you can still link up with me or Kate until Monday.  Be sure to check out all the links and visit each other!  It's a great way to find new blogs to read.

I kicked off Navy Week with a floral skirt, and I'm finishing it out with a floral top.  I really love this print from Target last summer.  I know quite a few bloggers had the skirt, which I wanted but never saw.  I really like the top, but it's starting to get a little faded, so I'm thinking it might need to be retired after this summer.  I hate it when my favorite items start to wear out!

Anyway, happy weekend!  And happy midpoint of the 30X30.  In real life, I'm wearing my final outfit today, so I'm officially done!

Top: Target (similar)
Scarf: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Shorts: Gap (exact, similar)
Shoes: Sperry (exact)

Goals Shmoals

So, what ever happened to my goals anyway?  I did quarterly check-in posts in 2012, and then monthly in 2013 - never with consistent success.  I intended to make some new 2014 goals and then continue the monthly updates, but then I just didn't.  And I'm okay with it.  I'm actually doing better with all my "goals" without them being articulated.  Apparently I just rebel against authority, even my own.  (I'll be like "I'm going to do such and such thing this year" and then I'm like "No one tells me what to do!") 

For example, reading 50 books a year has been my goal for the past few years.  I've just barely met it, usually reading a short book in the last couple days of December.  This year, I didn't make an official goal, but I've read 40 already.  That's ridiculous.  I always thought people were crazy when they said they read 100 books in a year, but if I keep up this rate, I'll be at 80.  And I don't even read super fast or spend all my free time in a book.  So I now believe the 100-books-in-a-year readers. 

Another often missed goal for me has been exercising on a regular basis.  I would set reasonable expectations like 3x a week and completely fail.  So I decided that I should try to workout every day.  Every.Single.Day.  And I did for all of January.  And now even when I fail, I'm at the gym 3-4 times in a week.  So failure now is really success.  And since I didn't officially make a goal of working out every day, it's not really failure.

These 2 things really work together, because I read while I'm riding the bike at the gym.  I don't like exercising, but I like reading.  If I make myself go to the gym, that's an hour of free reading time!  I'm bribing myself a little bit, but it works!       

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I haven't completely abandoned self-improvement activities, but I just no longer set myself up for failure.  Halfway through the year seemed like a good time to do that.  And now you know the amount of trickery that is required to get myself to do things!
Dress: Old Navy (option, option)
Scarf: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Sandals: Carlos Santana (option, option)

Dressing Room Inspiration

When I bought this scarf, I was wearing this skirt.  I happened to try on a navy/white striped sweater with the scarf, and I had this skirt on, and I even Instagrammed it!  And I thought it looked really cute, so I filed it away in my list of outfit ideas.  Which is a good thing, because when I am running late, I need to have something easy to throw together!

And for a little weekend recap - I mostly watched tv shows while folding and ironing clothes.  Saturday evening we hung out with John's parents and played Carcassonne.  My mom bought it for John for Christmas, and then his mom bought us a couple expansion packs, so we had to try them out.  If you are into unique games, it's pretty fun!  Sunday after evening church, our Sunday school class had a little dinner hangout, which was also fun.  And there was cake!

Tee & Scarf: J.Crew Factory
Skirt & Shoes: Old Navy

Floral Week - Dresses (and a guest star)

So remember how I went to Minnesota over the weekend for my cousin's wedding?  I should be fired from blogging, because I took exactly 2 pictures at the wedding/reception.  Not of the bride and groom, or anything wedding-related, but of my dad and his brothers, posing by a tractor license plate.  They are so silly.

We got back to the hotel and I remembered that I was supposed to take pictures of this outfit for floral week.  So, we are stuck with grainy indoor pics and a hotel room background.  But there are some bonus items today to distract you from the picture quality!

First up - Who Wore It Best, featuring my niece in a dress that my mom made 23 years ago!  Delia has worn it quite a bit over the last few years and doesn't seem to mind that it is SO early 90s!  The turquoise tights really help modernize it!  

Me in 1991 and D in 2014

 Second bonus - a silly picture of us!

You still have a few days to link up your florals (after the jump below)!  It seems like spring has arrived in Nebraska, so I hope that is true wherever you all live!

Scarf & Shoes: J.Crew Factory
Cardigan: Old Navy
Dress: Gibson & Latimer
Tights: Target