Transitioning From Staying Home to Working Outside the Home

I know this is a slightly different type of post than I’ve been doing lately but since it is where I’m at in my life and my motherhood journey, I figured it best to share. I know I’m not alone in experiencing transitioning from staying home to working outside the home. I have been blessed to have stayed at home with Mason for almost 3 years. It’s not like I haven’t worked though, as I’ve been running Have Need Want “full-time” or as close to full-time as I can being a full-time mom. Mason has always been my number one priority and at times it was a struggle to balance the desire to work on the blog and mom life.

But then something amazing happened, Mason started preschool! It’s been almost a full year since he started going to preschool 3 mornings a week. That freed up a good amount of time for me to focus solely on my blog. I was able to dedicate working hours during the day to creating content, pitching myself to brands, taking care of the business side of things, like finally becoming an LLC, and keeping on top of my finances. I was finally in the groove and gearing up for even more time to concentrate on the blog as we were planning on getting Mason in preschool 3 full days a week this upcoming preschool year. But then…an opportunity came along that I wanted to explore. A job that I had never considered but couldn’t be more perfect for my skills and love for fashion was brought to my attention and offered to me all within a matter of days!

I wrote about what it’s like to be a brand rep recently because that’s the new gig I took on. I started out working full-time and quickly realized that wasn’t going to work right now for me or our family. It was such a hard transition going from spending so much time with Mason to only seeing him mornings, evenings and on weekends. I feel for all the working mamas who had to go back to work right after maternity leave. While I struggled with being away from Mason and Justin so much, I also struggled with my blog. I had no problem juggling a full-time job and my blog before Mason. I would work long days and then take nights and weekends for the blog.

One major takeaway I’ve had from this transition from staying home to working outside the home is how much I long for my family time. There is nothing more important to me than spending time with Mason. I love that with the blog, I can include Mason in my work. Justin and I often take him along with us on photoshoots. He either stays in his stroller or plays nearby us. I could take him on most of my trips and he accompanied me to a number of events. The time I had with him, I cherish so much and I truly appreciate and feel blessed for the time I was given to be home with him so much these first few years of his life.

There are many exciting things about this job and the opportunity for growth is great! I now understand the pull mothers feel when they have a job outside of the home that ignites and excites them. While I’m still currently feeling out this role to see if it is truly the right fit, I am so thankful that I have been given this opportunity. And, I have been able to drop down from full-time to part-time.

Being a fire wife and military wife has its challenges when trying to work in another set work schedule. The fire schedule is pretty amazing! Two on Four off is really nice!! yes, Justin is gone two nights in a row and doesn’t usually come home till late morning (or afternoon when he’s scheduling training after work) on the day his shift gets off. But then we get four days together as a family. But, a rotating schedule does pose some challenges too. Especially if your job requires travel, which mine does. PS I love to travel and have been traveling quite a bit since having Mason for the blog and for fun. But, when it comes to traveling for the blog and family travel, I can work it around Justin’s schedule so it doesn’t disrupt too much! With trade shows the schedule is already set, so we’re having to lean on our family a lot to help out when they interfere with Justin’s schedule.

And with military life, I’m just thankful Justin was able to go on leave while going through the fire academy. Now that he’s back in it, we’re back to our one weekend a month two weeks a year gig. Which isn’t all that bad either! I know that another deployment is most likely going to happen if Justin wants to continue to grow in his military career and retire in 10 years, which I know he does. It just means more time away from the family and more days to cover in case I have to work. Before the job, if Justin needed to go away or had to take an overtime shift, it just meant that I was on mommy duty by myself longer and had to find ways to squeeze in time to work on content for my blog.

Alright, I probably rambled a bit too much but there’s been a lot of changes and a lot to juggle recently! I guess that’s really the life of any parent and all families go through changes as their kid/s get older and activities change or life changes happen. I’m definitely trying to keep an open mind as I navigate everything and trying to decide what’s going to be the best for my family in the end. I love being about to write it all out and share with my community. I’d love to hear your experiences with staying at home, working from home, or working outside the home and how you handled those transitions when you started your family or had a change in your work situation kind of like what I’m going through right now! Feel free to share in the comments or you can email me. I love hearing and learning from you guys!

Sheer Blazer: Nic + Zoe (currently on sale!). Bodysuit: Yummie c/o. Jeans: NYDJ. Sandals: Sam Edelman. Bag: Brahmin c/o. Sunglasses: Tom Ford c/o.

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As always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! I hope you enjoyed the post!!