Hi Vika! Good luck with your new life!! Right now I'm back to work (part time) but I was a stay home mom for a couple of years...

It's great to have a list, but after a couple of days you'll find your natural routine. Supermarket, shopping, all that is better between 9:30-12 because there's less traffic and people buying. I also used to go to the gym, and back home prepare lunch, clean the house, laundry, etc and that's pretty much all your day! The time will fly...you'll see!

Let me know how it goes, good luck!!

I wish I could give you a schedule, but it's never the same day twice. If you feel like you don't have a routine then you're right on track.

Generally I like grocery shopping and errands right after I drop off at school if it's my turn to do the carpool drop off. If I'm doing carpool pick up then I write, blogs or freelance columns, in the morning. I try to fit a walk in 5x a week.

I volunteer at the kid's school once a week, but that changes depending on the need. I include substitute teaching in volunteer category and that can be at least once a week.

You'll find that if you're home you will do more things to save money over time. For example I do all the home maintenance (e.g. pest control, mowing the lawn, grooming the pets) because I won't pay $120+ a month for those tasks when I can do them for nearly free.

The same goes for food. No instant oatmeal packets for us. I look at the frozen and prepared food aisle for ideas, but then I make the food on my own. All that prep work takes time. After awhile you decide for yourself your own cost-benefit threshold.

Good luck! I love staying home even after my youngest has been in school for 5 years. The Mister and the kids will readily admit they'd rather have me home too.

Elaine

i like all of these posts. thank you!

im having the same trouble balancing a huge newer, bigger, older, house (first time homeowner) and being stay at home "stepmom"

i could use advice on simple home appreciation :) i have always been a renter and find all of the new necessary tasks TOOO overwhelming!!

also,  both boys are teenagers and im having trouble disciplining them (they apparently need and seem to WANT me to direct them. they have expressed this openly)  . the only thing i have to draw on is my teen years which were less than 10 years ago! . anybody have some life experience about this one???