being a working-stay-at-home-mom (WSAHM) : by amy

I'm taking 5 months of maternity leave-- did the same with Logan, but I'm enjoying my leave much more the second time around.  Logan is going to day care full-time, so that leaves me with just one child at home to look after for most of the day which is a total luxury!  Logan gets to be engaged with music, books, outdoors play and socialize all day, and I get to take a productive "break" during the day when Charlie is napping.  ("break"= shower, eating, tidying up the house, laundry, cooking) This is a totally different stay-at-home experience than I had with Logan.  But there is one thing I learned about myself this time around: I am a very expensive stay-at-home-mom.

What do I mean exactly?  Learning from my first maternity leave, I know I can't stay in the house all day.  I need to go out at least once a day.  Fortunately for me, I live in the most convenient location of arguably one of the most convenient towns in New Jersey.  I live <10 minutes from every major retailer, Wegmans and Korean grocery shopping and restaurants; 5 minutes from a decent mall, 15 minutes from a nicer mall, and 25 minutes from a "baller" mall.  Oh, and Uniqlo just opened up in 2 of those malls.  Now that I'm somewhat nap-training Charlie, I make a field trip during his 2nd nap.  Today, I went to HomeGoods.  Yesterday, I went to Target.  Friday, I went to Nordstroms and learned that it was their half-yearly women's and kids sale.  Gap keeps giving me 40% off everything.  I double-stacked coupon codes at Piperlime and got $260 worth of stuff for only $60.  My co-worker gave me the Friends and Family coupon for PB Kids.  Restoration Hardware and Bloomingdales just had their Friends and Family sales.  Oh, and did I mention that Uniqlo opened up in 2 locations near me?

Aside from the food shopping, all of this "window shopping" and sales alerts have got me spending more than I did when I was actually going to work.  I don't actually shop every time there's a sale, but I definitely am tempted to buy more stuff just because it's on sale!  I used to be a bit of a sale-aholic before having kids, but once I had kids, I somewhat lost interest in shopping unless it was for food or for the kids (my mom calls it "maturity").  And it doesn't help (or perhaps it does) that I'm still getting a full-time paycheck.  But now that I'm at home, I feel like retailers are coming at me!  Hey, welcome to the SAHM world!  We have a sale so come spend your money here!  After all, you deserve a little retail therapy!  Even though I've been spending a bit more than usual, I feel like it's mostly been constructive spending.  Perhaps it feels like I'm shopping more since I actually have the time to get things that I've always been meaning to get,  like flannel sheets and a nightstand for Logan's room, picture frames for new family photos, fall and winter sweaters for Logan, a bigger diaper bag, a new hutch for the dining room, black ankle socks and stretchy transitional pieces for me as I slowly start to lose the baby weight, more Heat-tech shirts for Charles (the last 3 things were all from Uniqlo).  These purchases don't sound too bad, right?  When I was working, I typically did all of this discretionary shopping online if I had a lucky few minutes during mental breaks...or I just didn't buy them at all.  Is this what all SAHMs do?  I doubt it.  Since I'm a WSAHM (meaning, I'm a temporary SAHM), I'm not making any effort to join any mommy groups to make new local friends or sign up for baby classes at my local Gymboree.  I'd rather have a relationship with my American Express card.  Just kidding, sort of.

I actually had a conversation with my father-in-law about me being an expensive WSAHM.  He laughed and told me I was truly living the life as "Mrs. Chang" (my mother-in-law has always been an expensive SAHM).  The husband and I (and my father-in-law!) agreed that it's better for our bank account and my social life if I return to work in February when my leave ends.  From now on, I'm focusing more of my energy on reorganizing rooms and cleaning out stuff in our house.  It's therapeutic, something I likely will never do once I return to work, and way cheaper.  Too bad I don't get Amex points for it though.

Tangent: Uniqlo has been my savior during these post-baby days.

 This Heat Tech lounge dress is like wearing a toasty cloud.  Winter must-have for only $30.

 Post-pregnancy magic pants.  Stretchy denim leggings that come in S/M/L with an ahjumah-style elastic waist band (which I shamelessly love).  The best part?  Only $20.