Kelli is mom to Braxton, age 2, and partner to Mike. She is an instructor at the University of Oregon and a public relations consultant with her own firm. Thanks to growing up in a large family, she’s learned to manage chaos and still have fun. You can read her posts here.

I make more money than my partner. Significantly more in a given year. I pretty much always have, unless we count college when he was a server at Outback Steakhouse and I was mostly interning for next to nothing. But for all intents and purposes, I’ve always been the breadwinner.

When we got pregnant, that he would stay at home was an easy decision. I had almost no maternity leave (self-employed plus on a teaching contract doesn’t leave room for a traditional amount of time off); I think Braxton was about 3 weeks old when Spring term started and I went back to campus.

Ugh. That makes me tired just thinking about it. Moving on!

I thank God Mike was able to stay home and we were able to make it work. But there are still plenty of things about this arrangement that are difficult.

• I hate keeping score. Who did more housework, who was on baby duty longer… I try not to get sucked in, but it happens and I feel resentful.
• Just because I work from a home office doesn’t mean I’m not working. Too often, the minute I come in the door, the shift change occurs and I’m trying to both work and chase Braxton around to contain the toddler tornado.
• I would love to have “regular” hours. Because I am at home a lot, my projects get spread out over several hours (including interruptions), which means that I have to work late. And on weekends.

All in all, I really am very lucky. Mike is a great dad. Because he stays at home we’re able to live more comfortably than we could otherwise. And I tease him that he’s lucky to have a sugar mama, too.

I know I’m not the only one in this boat. I’d love to hear what you think! What are your challenges? How do you make it work.