Feature Friday: Balancing Life as a Stay at Home Mom & Blogger

My name is Samantha Collins, I’m the creator and author of the blog, Samantha Elizabeth. My blog is a life and style blog with a lot of family, motherhood, and real life moments mixed in. In 2017 I quit my day job to be a stay at home mom. I currently stay home with my son Rowan who is 3.5 years old and my daughter Quinn who is 7-months-old. When I have downtime, which is typically between nap time, bed time, and when I occasionally have babysitters - I write my blog! It’s a little side hustle that I’ve been fortunate enough to have bring in a small income. I love that it provides me with a creative outlet that pulls together my joy of photography and writing!

Balancing Family + Blogging

Balancing family life and blogging is really a unique situation that has morphed year after year as my husbands’ medical training has become more rigorous and we’ve gone from no children, to one, and now two. Finding time to write and work on my blog means being very intentional and scheduled with my time and energy. The balance really comes when I prioritize what’s important. My dad once told me that when things get stressful and busy think of the word “WIN” – an acronym for – “what’s important now.” And then go from there. Focusing on the important things will always create a winning situation. I am a true believer that balance comes not when we are doing all of the things, all at the same time, but when we find out how to focus on what’s important and let the other things work themselves out as they come. Right now, my current season is being mom to two littles who need A LOT of me, all of the time and being a wife to my husband who is rarely home and needs a lot of support with the stress of his job. I definitely can feel a bit of strain when it comes to finding time for my blog…but I know this season will pass. And my family is most definitely worth it.

Prioritizing Personal Passions

It is still important to pursue personal passions and have goals outside of a full or part-time job or outside of the home. But I’ve learned that it’s equally important to realize that there are seasons in life when these passions will be more easy to go after, and when they will not. And for me, in this season, with small, demanding, and amazing little children…I know that this season will quickly come and go. Someday, they will need me less and I’ll find time I didn’t have before. Every time my three-year-old sons says “no momma, I can do it.” And then does whatever that thing is with ease…is a reminder that these little moments aren’t forever.

I was asked by a reader how a mother might pursue her passions without feeling selfish. And I too battle with this at times – but I always rest on the simple thought that… “this is not the season” or “this is what’s important now” and then I let patience and trust do the rest. I continue to dream, plan, find moments for those passions to manifest but I try not to waste my time stressing on timing or how things should look in that particular season. With that said. I definitely recommend finding reliable babysitters, family members, or work it out with your spouse to create some extra downtime for yourself. If you’re feeling a little smothered with all the mom things, then try to find ways to get creative with your time and carve out an hour or two a day or even just an hour or two a week - whatever is realistic – to do something you’re passionate about! It’s so easy sometimes to think we should be doing ALL of the things…and ALL at one time. That we should be a wife, mom, career aspiring, gym going, DIY’ing, house cleaning, menu planning, business launching etc…etc…woman. That we need to be constantly pursuing and hustling to deserve what this life has to offer. And in my opinion, that sounds exhausting!

Our family is also in a unique situation in that we don’t live near family and my husband works insane hours. A main priority when we moved was to find a babysitter who could come to the house regularly and get to know the kids. I have her come at the least every other week – but prefer weekly. We factor her into our monthly budget and I use this time to work on passion projects and set some time away for myself. I find if there is something I really have my heart and mind set on completing or accomplishing I have to schedule it into my calendar and either get a babysitter, plan for my husband to be home, or wake up super early to work on it.

Transition to Two Kids

I feel like this could be a post in and of itself. It hasn’t been the easiest! As with any big life change there are many things to get adjusted to. I’ve found that the time I used to have for myself has become even more narrow and harder to come by… having a babysitter and better time management are key things in keeping me sane and allowing me to continue to do other things I love. Right now, Quinn is sleeping through the night but at just 6 months old… this was not the case. We spent the first 2.5 months’ sleep deprived and when she finally started to sleep through the night was when I was able to start creating routines that allowed me to get more done. I was able to start waking up before the kids got up…that was until Rowan decided that 5:15 a.m. was a good wake up time…and then that threw those plans out the window for a while. Again, the word “seasons” comes to mind…in some seasons…my kids are sleeping great and I get coffee to myself before they wake up, I get to write, read, and browse the news and then in other seasons the moment my eyes open I’m changing diapers, feeding kids and playing on the floor. Kids keep things interesting! You just have to go with the flow and remember “it’s a season!”

For Those Interested in Starting a Blog

For those who are looking at starting a blog – and because I get asked this a lot – my advice would be to - just do it! Start writing, start creating, start putting yourself out there and just see what happens. But be realistic about what your end goal is and the timeline it might take to get there. I still remember when only three or four people read my blog! Don’t overthink it.

This post could keep going and going! I have so much I’d love to share. You can read more and learn more about me over at my blog, Samantha Elizabeth or find me on Facebook or Instagram!

We want to give a huge thank you to Samantha for doing this Feature Friday with us! We know a lot of you are mothers that have dreams and are passionate about other things as well. So we are so happy Samantha could share some inspiration, tips, and encouragement to go for them!

Another side note: If you are interested in being featured on our blog, feel free to reach out to us, we would love to hear from you!
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