This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Disney Junior at Walmart for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Many of you are aware that my life changed drastically last Spring.  I went from working full time as a reading specialist in an inner city school district living in NY to a stay-at-mom living in NC.  Our move and my reasons for leaving teaching were not taken lightly by anyone in our family.  It was a scary decision and one that I have not regretted because being a stay-at-home has saved my family and me.

How being a Stay-at-Home Mom Saved Me

I have to tell the entire story for you to see the whole picture and please understand that this is not a rant against working moms or how being a mom that stays-at-home is the only way to live.  It is just what saved me.

Our lives actually went through a huge shift 3 years and 9 months ago.  We were at a time in our little family of three where we felt very comfortable.  Joe and I had come to the decision that Riley {my oldest} was going to be an only child.  I couldn't bear going through the trials of trying to get pregnant again and we fit together perfectly as a family of three.  Riley was in daycare close to our house, which made it easy to stay late at school but still be there to pick her up no later than 4:00. You could say we were in a routine and I was looking to make some real change in the school district that I worked in.  We were even talking about me going back to school to get my doctorate so that I could have a larger impact.

Then, over Labor Day Weekend of 2012, our lives titled and changed forever.  We found out that I was somehow pregnant and due in May of 2013.  It was as if the second we stopped worrying about getting pregnant it just happened.  The doctors at the time thought I was 10-11 weeks along and there were scares along the way with no heartbeat and a baby that was not developing the way that a 10-11 week old should.  We later found out that I was only 4-5 weeks along and it also helped the doctors determine why I had such difficulty getting pregnant. Fast forward nine months and Avery was born on Mother's Day of 2013.  She looks and acts just like her daddy, but she has been attached to my hip ever since she was born.  She is my "MinnieMe".

Her love for all things Minnie Mouse runs deep just like it did for me as child.  The girl would wear Minnie Mouse clothing each and every day of the week if I'd allow it.  Luckily, you can find all these Disney Jr. Minnie Mouse items at your local Walmart.  This Minnie Mouse Toddler Girl 2-Fer Dress is one of her favorites.  You can usually find Avery within an arms length of me with some sort of Minnie Mouse paraphernalia not far behind.  She loves to snuggle and tell you that she likes you.  She literally says, "I like you mommy."

The fact of the matter is that this little girl put our universe into a tilt that continued to turn us upside down when my small elementary school closed and I was forced to move to a much larger school.  The direction of my district and education in general was in a downward spin and I began to loathe my teaching position.  I felt unappreciated, but most of all I missed my girls.  We now sent both of our girls to my mom who lived forty-five minutes away from us.  I would drive forty-five minutes out to drive forty-five minutes back in the morning and then again in the evening.  It was putting a strain on me as a mother, wife and lastly as a teacher.  I was miserable and just about everyone around me knew it.  I started missing out on preschool activities for Riley and not getting home until 4:30 every single day made it difficult to get dinner together.  I had all the feelings of missing out on Avery's milestones like I did with Riley, but now I felt like my soul was getting crushed a bit more each day at work where I dealt with the inability to service my students because I was handed a case load of 250 students when the school only had 500.  That was half of the students in the building that needed services because they were performing well below grade level.  My inability to do my job was too much.  I needed a way out!

My girls deserved better than I was able to give them when I was a reading specialist.  The guilt ate away at me and I started to really question our family situation.   My girls, my family, I deserved better and I became determined to become a stay-at-home mom.  I know that this is not viable for everyone.  Some people love their jobs and flourish in it.  I was not that person any longer.  Other people cannot afford to be a stay-at-home mom.  I could not either.  That was if we stayed in NY.  We made one of the hardest decisions of our lives to move away from all that we had ever known.  My parents and siblings were mystified by our decision.  It still brings tears to my eyes every time I think of how it broke my parents heart to tell them that we were moving.  Unfortunately, I wouldn't have lasted another year in that stage of our life.  Something would have broken inside of me.

Now, I live a life where I miss my parents and siblings, but I get to give myself to my family.  I have found out more about myself in the past year than I ever thought imaginable.  I have learned that I am an absolute master negotiator and probably could talk down the worst criminal.  More importantly, I have learned the true depth of my motherly love because even after the negotiations that end in someone very perturbed, she always tells me that she likes me down the road.

She's picked up my love for all things girly as well as sitting on the couch with her ankles crossed. My soon to be three year old may look just like my husband, but she is my "MinnieMe". My girls have made me into the mother that I am and will be some day.

Being a stay-at-home mom to them saved me and I am forever grateful for that.  With Mother's Day still fresh in everyone's mind, I hope you'll also celebrate your "MinnieMe".  Just think how cute you're "MinnieMe" would look in this Minnie Mouse Toddler Girl Tee and Skirt Outfit Set that Avery has on in the above picture.  You can find the perfect products to celebrate them at Walmart.  One of Avery's favorites is this Minnie Bow-Tique Fancy Bows Dress with Headband that she has to wear when playing with the Disney Minnie Bowtastic Kitchen Playset because you have to be Minnie when you're playing in the kitchen right?  Plus, I'm sure they'd love the Minnie Mouse Toddler Girl T-Shirt Dress or Disney Minnie Mouse Toddler Girls’ Peplum Tunic and Leggings Outfit Set.  Which would your "MinnieMe" love?

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