Shopping to Save Your Sanity

Shopping to Save Your Sanity

I absolutely love the privilege of being a stay at-home-mom (Sahm), however it is rare that anybody besides, those who are or have been, a SaHM understand the stress involved. Before I had my son, I would hear about these women who went out shopping while their husbands worked and I could not for the life of me understand how they could possibly shop every day. I must confess I did not think very nice thoughts towards the above mentioned women, I thought self righteously how I would never be one of 'those women'. 

I am one year into being a SaHM, and have been Navy Wife for two years. I truly love my life, but when my husband is working a twelve hour shift, the grandparents are 900 miles away and the little one is driving me nuts, sometimes the only way I can make it to the end of the day, is to get in the car and drive someplace.I am ashamed to say, that for awhile I went to khol's almost every day, and on days I wasn't in khol's I was at target. From October to December I used Christmas shopping as an excuse that I NEEDED to shop.

I was shopping because it gave me time in the car to listen to the radio while my son was happy looking out the window. Once I got to the store, I could just push stroller around and browse, when we got home, it was either time for a nap or dinner leading towards bed. Shopping was my only trick to saving my sanity on a rough day. Before I knew it I was spending all our "fun" money on "great bargains"  or items that we had "needed for a long time and just happened to be 50%off ". I am all about shopping clearance, and most times you do have to browse to find the good deals, but I wasn't really saving money when I was buying items, that yeah I wanted/needed, but hadn't budgeted to buy.

I still go browsing quite often, but when I look at something and instinctively think "I need that" I ask my self  why I currently don't have one and if I am still getting the job done without it, most of the time the answer is yes. Someday I will buy all the nifty gadgets like pizza cutters, a fancier can opener, and the holiday dish towels, but not today and certainly not everyday.

I have also found better ways to keep my brain going on an adult level, which helps me from feeling stir crazy. Libraries have audio CD's, which sounds nerdy, but are alot of fun to listen to while the little one is down and your folding laundry or cleaning the kitchen. I have probably been through 25 audio books in the last year, it makes me feel like I getting more done then just refolding the same clothes over and over and over again.

I have also started crocheting while my son plays. I can sit on the floor with him, be interacting with him while still working on something I enjoy, it is easy to pick up and put down and virtually harmless to have next to him.

Being a SaHM is truly one of the greatest blessings in life. In order to be that mom who happily sings silly songs with her kids, and is over joyed to play on the floor, you have to keep yourself at a minimum feeling sane but hopefully feeling happy and blessed.