Getting work done is so challenging just now. Selene’s all the way up to walking while holding just one of my fingers in one of her hands, so you know I’m about to enter the toddler years. And she already gets into everything!

Makes working at home really interesting. And not just because I’m sometimes blogging while half asleep.

Blogging while Selene’s trying to pound on my keyboard is interesting too. So is preparing meals while she’s trying to eat whatever random something she pulled from an obscure part of the floor. So is trying to home preschool my son while she tries to simultaneously eat his papers and crayons.

It’s a good thing the benefits of this job are good. You don’t get such sweet smiles or sloppy kisses from just any job. At least I sure hope not!

Working at home with a crawler/soon to be toddler is an adventure. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done it before or if it’s your first time. Babies at that age are a challenge to the work at home mom. To the work at home dad too, for that matter.

There’s the interrupted train of thought when she start crying.

The messed up sentences as she pulls up on my desk and pounds on whatever part of the keyboard she can reach.

Taking a break from work as she breastfeeds.

Running to doctor’s appointments, dealing with the classes for the older kids, doing all the work it takes to keep the house running. And sometimes even trying to get to bed at a decent hour, hah!

Yet somehow it all comes together. There may be weeks where it seems like not enough gets done, but other times things run more smoothly.

There’s the fear of working too much and the fear of working too little.

There’s trying to decide whether to work or take a much needed nap when she takes a nap during the day after being up half the night.

There’s all the self questioning that all parents go through.

There’s that favorite pan lid, being banged on by that favorite wooden spoon.

Being a work at home mom is an amazing opportunity to learn just how much you really can get done. There aren’t many other jobs that can teach you to make the most of a few spare minutes so quickly, whether it’s a few minutes to play with the kids or a few minutes to just type something, anything up. Some days the pressure is amazing while other days things are so laid back you can hardly believe it’s real.

Sometimes money issues get in the way of being a strict stay at home mom. You have to find ways to bring in more money. Sometimes that means taking on a job outside the home while your husband is home with the kids in the evenings.

Does that make you any less of a stay at home mom?

It can make you feel that way, even if you’re there for all the time the kids are up. After all, you have less energy for them during the day, not to mention less time for your marriage. It’s a rough way to live.

To me, a lot of being a stay at home mom is in your intent, as well as what you do. If you’re there when your kids are at home and awake, you’re enough of a stay at home mom for what your family needs.

You do, of course, have to think through the consequences of what you’re doing. Even part time work at the times your kids don’t need you can add to the strain of your day, even if it also gives you a needed break outside the home or the money you need to keep your family going.