stay at home vs the working mom

i have a neighbor that I mostly really like, but she continually rants about how much work it is to be a stay at home mom. These rants are peppered with snide remarks about nannies "raising the children" on the street, kids calling thier nanny "Mommy" and daycares and dayhomes being a threat to the safety of children everywhere. Of course, I used a dayhome with DS #1 and am getting a nanny upon my return to work, facts which she is well aware. We live in a well to do neighborhood, so she also comments that anyone living around us doesn't "need to work". Yep, guess I should quit my job and move to government housing - that would really give my offspring a leg up. This, from a woman who stops breastfeeding at 5 months because it's no longer convenient and feeds her baby canned food. We all make our choices.

I'm on mat leave with my second child, and to be honest, it is WAY less work than a full-time job, plus parenting & life maintenance (groceries,laundry,and all that fun stuff). As a stay at home mom, I read the paper everyday. I relish a coffee, often outside in the sun while my kids play in the sand box or climb up and down the slide. I have time to check my facebook account and time to write a blog. When I go back to work, most of these wonderful parts of my day will disappear. I get to make my kids breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have naps with them in a big pile of blankets. It's awesome, and I appreciate it becuase it is fleeting - I will be going back to work. Maybe being at home with her kids really is hard work, as I often hear her screaming at her children in utter despair, and god bless her poor husband, who gets home from work, makes dinner and then gets yelled at about every 10 minutes for not completely taking over the parenting upon entry to the house.

I wouldn't mind staying at home, but went to school for a long time to have a career that I really love and that pays me very well. Better than hubby makes. Financial stability and lifestyle choices result in me partly wanting to work, and partly needing to work. So I stare at the fence as she rants, and uncharacteristically say nothing, run to my blog and vent. Thanks for listening.