Things I've learned from being a Stay at home mom and a Working mom

I'm in a very interesting position of being both at SAHM and a WM all wrapped up into one.  I realized the other day that I have learned so much by being on both sides of the fence.  Here are some nuggets... take it or leave it, but it's been what I've seen from my experience.
From the SAHM side:
-Hardest.Job.Ever.  Hands down.  There is no paying job out there that could live up to the amount of energy, dedication, time, and stress that staying home with children does.
-Most rewarding job ever.  Worth every second.  You get to experience all of the firsts, watch them grow and learn, be there to scoop them up when they fall and get all the love and cuddles you could want. 
-Most SAHM's I meet carry some kind of guilt about not "providing" for their family.  While they know how valuable what they do at home is, they're still a part of them that feels the need to ask their husbands about any purchase that's for themselves. 
-We do not sit at home watching TV and eating bon bons all day contrary to popular belief.  The to-do list never ends.... never.  Cooking, cleaning and raising smart, self-sufficient children is no easy feat. And the next day, you have to wake up and do it all again.  Whoever wants to invent something that keeps the house clean after you clean it once can go ahead and do that now. 
- We appreciate our husbands.  I can't speak for all marriages but most SAHM's I meet all carry the same sense of love and admiration for our husbands.  While we do work hard at home, we know that our husbands take on the financial strain when we choose to stay home. 
- Time out of the house with friends is vital.  Even if we have to bring the kiddos with us, it's better than being cooped up in the house all day with nothing to listen to but Dora and Elmo.  We don't have coworkers that we get to have conversations with.  No lunch breaks.  Nothing to recharge.  My friends are the reason I'm sane (most days.)

WM side:
-The option to stay home full time isn't there for most of us.  Bills, bills, bills!
-The guilt when you leave never leaves you.  While I'm fortunate to not have to leave too often, it's still hard when I do and she gets upset.  I always remind myself why I'm doing this.  It's for my kids.  Nothing else.
-The last thing you want to do when you come home from work is clean and cook, but someone's gotta do it!
- We miss out on a lot of the fun daytime activities you can do with kiddos while you're working.  Park playdates, zoos, etc are more difficult to do in the evening hours. 
-It's easy to feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions.  You leave one thing and you have to be "on" at the next thing. 

From both sides:
-We're way to hard on each other as moms.  Formula vs. Breastfeeding, cloth diapers vs. disposable, co-sleeping vs. crib, working mom vs. stay-at-home mom.  When you're a new mom and you're already feeling incredibly insecure, the last thing you need is for other mom's to be judging your decisions.  Be kind to one another.
- I find myself playing the blame game when I get frustrated... on both sides.  Yes, I too am guilty of this.  "Ughhh my SAHM friends just don't understand that I can't make it to everything all the time." "My WM friends treat me like I'm some silly little housewife."  It comes back to being kind to one another. 
-We all just want our kids to be happy and healthy.  And we go about that the best way we know how.
-We all are insecure with our decisions.  I have yet to meet one mom that is 100% confident in her decision to either work or stay home and never questions herself.
- As someone who's on both sides of the fence my realization boils down to this:  The grass is not green on the other side.  The grass is green where you water it.

Make the best of your situation!  And be an advocate for the moms of the world.  We need each other more than you know.