As the air gets crisper, the leaves begin to change and the unmistakable scent of firewood permeates my neighborhood, I am left snuggling with my baby girl and a pumpkin spice latte. Life can't get any better than this – coffee, child, Autumn: three of my favorite things in this world, all magically at my fingertips as this season begins.

{Content sigh}

I'm quite happy as I sit here, and I can't think about much to say on any subject at the moment. Just that fall is wonderful.

Join us for a re-run post of an oldie but goodie: Melinda's take on juggling one income, twins and SAHM life.

So, just to clarify at the start, this is not going to be a hard sell on giving up on a full time job to stay home with your children, nor is it a dissertation on how becoming a stay at home mom (SAHM) is easy (because it's not!) and better for children. This is just simply some opinions on the subject matter of a former two income household making it in today's world with one income.

Realizing the Need for Change

As MomVesting continues to cover stories related to investing within our own lives and within the stock market, we would be remiss if we did not cover non-traditional investments. These could-be cash cows include everything from side-hustle business ventures to lending clubs to investment properties (and so much more in between!). To begin our new venture, we'll take a look at investment properties.

MomVesting Readers, how I've missed you! As you all know, I've been away for a few months. No, not playing hooky. I took this time off from writing for one huge yet tiny reason: getting to know my newborn baby girl. And let me tell you: she's a doll. She has a full head of straight dark hair that I can now put into pigtails. Her huge, pink chipmunk cheeks and large dark eyes give her a Gerber baby appearance. And she's begun to squeal, laugh and otherwise “talk” her way through her days of flirting with the ceiling fan, kicking like crazy and asking to snuggle.

It's no secret that stress can make us all a little crazy. When I was working 80 hours per week a few years ago, everyone suffered. My co-workers knew that my hunched shoulders meant "leave me alone or have your head bitten off," my husband knew to treat me with kid gloves, and even my dog knew to give me a wide berth. Thankfully my husband is a very wise man who was able to keep the peace in the house through a few wonderful tactics, and I'd like to share the ways we found to make life more bearable when work overtook my life.

Pick Up the Slack

When my mother learned that my husband and I were expecting our first child, she was ecstatic. Obviously she was excited because grandchildren are always welcome. But she was also excited because I am her first daughter to have a baby – which means she feels freer to share her opinions about child rearing, including where her thoughts land on playing classical music, reading aloud and taking omega 3s during pregnancy, all which are thought to improve brain development in the womb.

When you and your partner both work demanding jobs, it can be difficult to stay in touch, even when you live in the same house. Long days at work, hectic family time at home and exhaustion can all make it hard to connect to those you love the most. But it doesn't have to be a lost cause; it is possible to reconnect to your spouse and children when life- and work-demands are crazy. Let's take a look at a few ways to stay in touch.

Embrace Technology

When I was young, my mother would loan me a few dollars here and there to buy a toy. It was agreed that I would pay her back when I raided my piggy bank upon arriving home. I always thought she was simply being nice by loaning me the money; I never realized that she was also teaching me a valuable lesson about the world of finance.

Now, looking back, I know that the simple introduction to lending became invaluable as I entered the adult world of personal finance. I learned from my mother's teaching tactic that money loaned is always expected to be paid back.

It's no secret that my Great Dane is my baby girl. I also don't hide the fact that I spoil her like there's no tomorrow. What I often don't admit to every person on the street, though, is that I do all of my canine treating as cheaply as possible. Let me run through how I spoil my enormous dog on a budget.

Toys

So you come home to a messy house after a demanding 14-hour day at work. The phone was ringing off the hook all day, your boss wouldn't stop hounding you about the TPS Report cover sheet, and problem after problem kept you from accomplishing your actual tasks for the day. In essence, it was the work day from hell. And now you have piled-up dishes, dirty floors, a mystery spot on the ceiling, a spouse relaxing with a beer and kids playing video games all staring you in the face. Grrr. How can you deal?