My kids are in preschool a couple days a week, and the rest of the time they are home with me. I’ve been a ‘stay at home’ mama since my son was about a year old and a work-at-home-mom since he was two! That was when I started blogging and decided to turn this little site into my job.
While lots of my dreams have come true (sappy, I know) and I’ve been able to pursue a lot of really awesome opportunities since becoming a WAHM, I’ve also learned…it’s really hard. When the kids are in school I rush to get everything done for work (and never do). Then we play and go to the park and do fun things and I squeeze in more work between playtime and cooking dinner and cleaning.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Payless for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and the life path that I’ve chosen. But it’s challenging. (Just as being a stay at home mom is challenging and working outside the home… none of us are immune!)
Like many of us, I’m juggling my professional life with my life as mommy.
Which is why little things, are sometimes really big things for me. Any slice of time I can save, or any way that I can cut errands in half. Errands are the worst in my stage of life right now. I can’t give up work time (while the kids are in preschool) to run them, but the kids get tired of running regular life errands like trips to the grocery store PLUS extras for my job (grocery store again for ingredients for a post or grabbing things I need for a conference). Kids never like errands and it’s just hard when I need to pile on extras sometimes.
Even though it’s a little thing, it was a big deal to me two weeks ago when I was able to stop at Payless and get everything I needed. I know, it even sounds silly doesn’t it? But truthfully, my son was in need of new shoes. It’s getting colder and all he has are Summer shoes. He needed something to cover his feet and wanted to get them for him ASAP because you never know in Texas when it might suddenly be cold one day.
I was leaving for Orlando in a couple days and didn’t want my husband or mother in law to be stuck with a kiddo who didn’t have warm shoes if the weather turned cool while I was gone. In addition to needing kid shoes, I also needed dressier shoes for myself for one of the parties at the blogging conference I was attending in Orlando.
Normally, that would mean multiple stops, right? And crazy expensive prices on both. What actually happened was we stopped at Payless and I walked out with fabulous shoes for both of us for right at $50. My son, like every other little boy I know, has been super excited about the Avengers lately. Mind you, he hasn’t watched any of the movies yet… but some how he KNOWS how cool they are and has plenty of toys and clothes to keep him entertained until he’s old enough for the movies. When he saw these Captain America shoes it was all over. I knew he wouldn’t be happy with anything else. Thankfully they had a variety of size options in the store and we were able to snag a pair that fit him perfectly! My daughter was eyeing some Princess shoes also on that isle, but we were able to delay her shoe-shopping trip for another day. Then we walked down the “mommy size” isle and I was thrilled with how many options for cute boots I saw! I’ve been wanting some ankle boots for awhile and there were lots of colors and styles to choose from. I finally narrowed it down to some gray flat ankle boots (these) and some black ankle boots with a heel. I decided on the heels, because they felt fancier and I rarely get a chance to dress up… pretty much only at blogging conferences! So I wanted to seize that opportunity. I loved the way they fit and how they looked when I tried them on. They fit perfectly with my skinny jeans, which is what I ended up pairing them with at my conference. (super bummed I don’t have a pic from that night to share with you, it was dark and I forgot to snap one!)
Like I said, it’s such a small thing…being able to get what I need, at the price I need with one stop. But if that small thing means more playtime with my kids, that’s everything to me. If it means we are all a little less stressed and can have a lot more fun right before mommy goes out of town for a couple days, then that means the whole world! And if it means less time spent in stores, then I know every one will agree that it’s basically the best thing ever.
With the holidays upon us I know we are all trying to shop less, but somehow spending more times in the store than ever before. Thankfully,Payless has you covered. From useful gifts for your nieces and nephews (with fun characters on them that they’ll love) to shopping for your “on-trend” sister in law or buying things for yourself for Christmas parties or family photos.
They’ve got you covered. Making life easier one shopping trip at a time! PS follow Payless on Pinterest for lots of trendy styling ideas. I need all the help I can get and I’m loving all the styles they share there!!
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