Transition to SAHM

As I transition from being working mom to stay at home mom, by sending work emails, making last time calls and putting together lists for my replacement, all while planning dinner, doing laundry, changing diapers and trying to keep the chaos to a minimum, I start to notice some things. Things that I would have never been privy to notice before. I am witnessing my two year olds love of eating Mac N' Cheese and Strawberries with his swim goggles on, all while its a toasty 29 degrees outside. Just looking up from my emails to see him in this state puts the biggest smile on my face. Once done with lunch he makes a pretend call to his older brother (who is in Kindergarten) and talks to him about what he is doing. I notice just how well my two year old and his baby brother (15 months) play together. They share toys and babble on and on. Its amazing how much the baby already looks up to his big brother. How have I been missing these things?

Goggles\Pretend Camera

There has been some big changes in moods too. At daycare they get a strict nap time of around one hour. Everyday when picking them up it has been a nightmare of fits, crying and all around bad moods. Now that I am at home they get to nap as long as they need. On average they sleep three hours for nap and the change in moods is tremendous! They wake up from nap happy and are happy until bed time. There is also no more rushing. When there are only so many hours left in the afternoon after working all day, it is typically filled up with "have to's". Have to make dinner, do laundry, get baths done, clean up, prepare for the next day and get the kids to bed. No time for real quality interaction and everything is rush, rush, rush and no fun. This makes for frustrated kids and a frustrated mommy. While my to do list is never ending being stay at home, I can let things go and slow down. Slow down to spend quality time with my kids, spend quality time with my current chores, instead of just rushing through it and truly listening to what my kids are trying to tell me. My kids seem happier, the house is actually cleaner and more organized and I am calmer. While I am still just in the beginning of this SAHM thing, I really see some signs that make me feel good about my choice. Have other SAHM and dads, been witness to the drastic difference between being a working parent and a SAHP (stay at home parent)??