All I Want for Christmas is My Entire Pinterest List

So, YAY, Bubbs got a job. A job in town, with no travel, and no nights and weekends (well at least not too many).

It is also a job that we sort of thought was a "dream" and a "long shot." It is essentially the opposite of what he did before (and what I do now), including going from wearing jeans to wearing a suit and working out of the garage and his car to working in a cubicle (UGH!). But, it is a new challenge, new financial security, and a guarantee that we can have family dinners most nights of the week. Even if they are twenty minutes of cooking, two minutes of eating, and two hours of cleaning.

I ran into an acquaintance from High School the other day. She's a a jeweler, a free spirit, and someone looking for a new adventure. She asked about my job and if there was a career path there. I answered something like, "it isn't boring, I have a lot of flexibility, and I have a defined benefit retirement plan. I don't really want to "move up" to have more responsibility. I want to retire at 60 and go wine tasting with my husband in Spain."

And, surprisingly, I truly feel that way. My family and my leisure is more important to me than saving the world. GRANTED, my job does help people. We both work for non-profits. But, I don't need to take on the world for my ego anymore. And I especially don't need to do it at the expense of my family.

Bubbs is totally on the same page with this new job.

Our plan is to continue to live on one income. We'll have to pay for daycare out of his salary - but otherwise, we're putting the rest away.

To be clear. I can't believe it, but I really loved him staying at home.

Our house was always TRASHED when I got home.

My guilt over time with the family vs. time working was IMMENSE.

There were quite a few things I wanted to buy but didn't - so we didn't see our teensy savings drop.

But.

We were the happiest we've ever been. After the first few weeks, all the normal "who does what" bickering stopped. Now, we were all in this battle together - our family against the world.

The boy was happy and we both felt closer to him. We realize that the more time we spend with him, the less frustrated we get with his antics. Which I would think would be the opposite.

Hopefully, we can take these memories and lessons and keep living like this.

I am excited for an hour in the morning to do laundry and dishes before I start work when he's already at daycare for the day.

I think we realized we like living on one income - it wasn't nearly as hard as we thought - and we were eating well and covering all of our needs.

But, as soon as I heard...I started shopping on my pinterest for things I had pinned that just weren't in the budget :)

Like these prints for the kitchen:

Source: etsy.com via Mama on Pinterest

Or these pretty winter scarves:

Source: etsy.com via Mama on Pinterest

Or these boots:

Source: garnethill.com via Mama on Pinterest