Should I stay or should I go: The working mom

Making the decision to work can be a difficult one. It is my opinion, however, that it boils down to two questions that you need to ask: "do I enjoy working?" and "how does my working affect my family?". I admire strong women who have the talent and the passion to do the job they love and run a household at the same time. It takes a special mom to be able to keep up with it all and I salute those of you who do. I personally don't chose to work, but if you enjoy work and you have a system that works for your family, then I say don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. The idea for his post originally came to mind in behalf of the women who feel the pressure to work and don't want to; I want to share a bit of my personal opinion on this matter. If you would rather be home with your family, I believe that there is a way! I'm not going to tell you that it's easy. I'm not even going to tell you that it's possible for everyone. I do, however believe that in normal circumstances, if your husband has a decent job, it can be done. For starters, talk with your husband. Ask him what he thinks of you staying home. Ask him to sit down and look at the budget with you. Decide together what you can cut back on or do without. Maybe you don't need that second car or annual trip to Disneyland (maybe you do ;) ) decide together or even as a whole family. Become aware of everything you buy. Decide when its important to you to buy name brand and which things you don't mind buying off brand. If you don't know how to make things from scratch, find out if you're willing to learn. Ask someone to teach you or look online. There are TONS of blogs written by some amazing home cooks who give great instruction. I will be sharing some of my own recipes and ideas for things I make myself. If you want to stay home with your family, make it happen! Like I said, it may not be easy, but to me, the work I do at home is worth being able to stay home.