The Infamous Balance

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Balance.

I feel as though I have experienced two different worlds in my 2.5 short years of being a mother.

When Claudia was 6 months old, she attended home based care 4 days per week, 8-4pm. I worked, Hag worked, and our whole family/work balance was out of control. Looking back now it was HARD. At the time everyone told me having a baby would be hard, I was so nieve in thinking that this was how everyone felt and how it was supposed to be.

During this time, we didn't think about money, it came in, it went out, we brought whatever we wanted from the supermarket, we brought new clothes when we felt like it. We always had the money for whatever we wanted and didn't think much about it.

When I got pregnant with Sylvie I left work when I was 20 weeks pregnant, and have not returned. She is now 1 year old and I feel like Hag and I have this family life balance a bit more sorted.

I stay at home, Hag works and this is how we like it. We now think lot more about our spending, try our best to stick to some sort of budget, however still have all the money we need to live the life we want.

Getting some sort of balance for all 4 of us had been tough. We've spent a lot of time weighing up my secure job, Hags fickle professional cricket career, what we wanted for our girls, and how much money we really need. (It's not as much as you think it is!)

I am due back to work at the beginning of 2012 as my maternity leave has finished. However I knew from as far back as March last year that I didn't want to go back. But I also didn't want to quit my job that I love. Hmmmmm tricky.

So I took a loooooooong shot and applied for a Teachers Study Award, which would allow me to complete my Master of Education via distance learning, all the while getting paid my usual salary for it. I figured, it would give us the flexibility to not have the girls in day care, I could keep my job and give myself another year to weigh up going back to work, and get paid for it, bonus!

It was a really long shot, having already had over a years leave from teaching.

But I got it.

I got it, and I am so amazed, and happy about it!!

This year is going to be amazing for us as a family. Amazing and amazingly full on.

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However, something needs to give, which is why in the interest on gaining balance, I am saying goodbye to my blog for now.

At this stage, I hope to be back in 2013.

I will miss it, but I will still be around reading on how life is going for you, my blogging friends.

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