Working while the kiddo is sick...

Today was kind of a tough one for me. Yesterday I got to stay home with Angelica while she was sick. Yesterday she woke up running a fever with a bad cough, so we stayed home and watched movies and ate soup and snuggled. She usually bounces back quickly, so I was kind of surprised when she was still sick today. I only have one sick days left until August, so in the interest of saving it, Scott took over and stayed home.

So naturally, being a mom, I worried about Angelica all day.

She was fine. When I walked in the door she shouted, "Mommy! You're home!" Would you believe I actually got a hug and a kiss? TWO kisses? She is normally so reserved with her affection that I was really pleasantly surprised.

It's not that I don't trust Scott to take care of her...quite the contrary, he's really quite an awesome dad and I wouldn't trust her with anyone else. It's just the feeling that I wasn't fully there for her that left me feeling kind of sad. She's doing much better...running a low fever and still has a cough but better. (The after hours pediatrician is getting a call tomorrow if she's STILL feverish, though!) They had a great day together, evidenced by the arts and crafts supplies strewn about the house and the mountain of toys and books we cleaned up before bedtime.

It's just that mom guilt. She hardly ever gets sick, and this was the first time I've had to be at work while she was home sick. And it was tough to be away from her.

My poor sick baby, sleeping, being comforted by Mindy. From my day at home with her.

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The End of Maternity Leave

One year ago today, I returned to work after a seven week maternity leave. Angelica went to daycare for the first time four weeks later, when SuperScott's paternity leave ended. (No, his leave didn't last longer...he just saved his for when I returned to work so Angelica could stay home longer.) It's a strange thing to reflect on.

A year ago today I was still in the process of learning how to be a mom. On top of that, I had to learn how to be a working mom. My own mother was a stay at home mom, so I had no frame of reference to reflect on. It was a challenging thing, returning to work and having family members and friends who stayed home with their children saying, "I don't know how you can stand to work/have someone else raise your child/be away from home/miss out on all the milestones/be so selfish/etc!" (This is the flip side to the idea that stay at home moms watch TV and eat bon-bons and play all day - definitely not true.) The truth is, in my younger years I had always envisioned myself staying at home with my children, and words like that made me feel extremely guilty about working.

Fast forward to today, I know in my heart I could never be a stay at home mom. I love being a working parent for many reasons. Today I don't carry that same guilt that I did a year ago. I know what I'm doing is best for my family - not just for me, but for all three of us. I've also since added the task of completing my masters degree on top of all of it. It is a juggling act, balancing the responsibilities of deadlines, doctors appointments, assignments, readings, tests, chores (we don't have a cleaning lady) and more but my life is full, and all three members of this family are happy with the situation. (This is not to say that stay at home moms don't juggle responsibilities - we know you do too!)

So today, I dropped Angelica off at daycare and kissed her on the head, like I always do. She looked up, smiled and waved to me and said "byeee!". I got into my car and went to work. And I didn't feel bad about a thing.

Tuesday Timesavers: Lunchables: They're Not Just Kids Meals

Tuesday Timesavers is a weekly feature, posted on Tuesdays, listing conventional and unconventional ways that we can save time each week!

Today's might make some of you laugh. It's a trip back to elementary school, but a way that I've managed to save both time and money every week.

A few weeks ago I wrote a Tuesday Timesavers piece about ways to save time in the morning. After that, I got to thinking - what are some ways to save time throughout the day? Later that night I was grocery shopping, and suddenly, it was staring me in the face, making me laugh like a ten year old girl.

It was a Lunchables display.

Okay, before you think I'm totally off my rocker, let me explain. One of the things that eats up time in my morning is packing a lunch. You have to get all the parts together, make the sandwich/grab a frozen meal, grab a drink...or worse, plan to grab fast food for lunch if you don't have time to do that.

So, feeling kind of silly about it, I decided to give the Lunchables a try. I hadn't had one since elementary school, and since then, they've started packaging them complete with a drink and a snack size candy bar.

For example, the one I have with me today is a Low-Fat Ham and Cheddar, with a snack size fat-free Jello pudding and a Capri Sun fruit punch. 360 calories. I tossed a banana in the bag with it to get my fruit/veggie for the meal and I'm set!

Another great thing about these is that they don't need to be microwaved. No need to wait in line in the break room for the microwave, no need to wait 5-7 minutes for a frozen meal to cook. Just pull this out of the fridge and eat, or if you're really pressed for time, put it in a lunchbox with an ice pack and keep it at your desk!

If your child or children are school aged, this also could save time at the grocery store. If you buy Lunchables for their school lunches, grab a couple for yourself too so you don't have to go elsewhere in the store to pick up yours.

Finally, each one costs about $2.50. That's about the same, or less than the cost of a frozen meal, and definitely cheaper than fast food. It may not be the 100% healthiest thing in the world, but if the alternative is fast food, the Lunchables is a better option.

I now understand why my mom used to send us to school with these every day.

Disclaimer: The above is my opinion. I am not compensated by Lunchables or any associated brands for writing this article.

What I Love About Being a Working Mom

I've just returned to work after having a week off, and I have to admit, in spite of the fact that we moved, and Angelica went to daycare for a couple of days that week so we could move, I thoroughly enjoyed my week of being a "stay at home mom".

That's not to say I lamented returning to work this morning. While the idea of being a stay at home mom sounds really great, the reality of it is probably much different. It's one of those, "the grass is always greener" situations.

While there are definite benefits to both sides of the stay at home/working mom fence, and neither one is better than the other (I think that stay at home moms are also working moms who just happen to be underpaid!), I have to say that, while I love being home with my daughter, I also love being a working mom and wouldn't change that arrangement.

I started thinking today all the things I love about being a working mom (that's not to say that some of these can't apply to stay at home moms though). Here's a few of my own - feel free to comment and share yours!

• Contributing to the family income.


• Maintaining a "me" identity (other than "wife" and "mom").


• Adult interaction for the win!


• The look on my daughter's face when I pick her up from daycare.


• Making the best of each moment together because I know our time is short.


• Feeling productive and fulfilled (though being a mom is more fulfilling than anything).


• Seeing the "friendships" my daughter has made (as much as a 13-month old can make friends).


• Setting the example for my daughter that it is possible to balance a happy work life and a happy family life.

Petition to End Working Mom Guilt

I've read a lot of mommy blogs lately about the guilt surrounding being a working mom. Having been there myself when I first returned to work after Angelica was born, I understand why it happens. You return to work, people ask you why, they ask you how you can stand leaving your child to be "raised by someone else" (ugh), why doesn't your husband earn enough that you can stay home, or worst of all, why are you so selfish that you want to return to work (yes, selfish for wanting to provide for your family).

I say - enough! I say we end this guilt! We as moms (and face it, even stay at home moms are still truly working moms at heart) get enough criticism and ridicule regardless of our parenting choices. I refuse to continue feeling guilty for being a working mom - a "choice" that I felt was best for both me and my family. (I place choice in quotations because in many cases, it's not a choice, it's a necessity.)

Besides, would anyone say these things to a father who "chose" to return to work? (I'm sure that men get even more flack for being "stay at home dads" than men who "choose" to return to work).

Anyone else with me?

It's Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day...

...and the halls here are filled with the sound of silence.

I considered packing up my almost-11 month old and bringing her with me this morning, but alas, it was "Rock Star" day at daycare, and she was dressed the part, so off she went to school while I went to work.

When I was growing up, today was known as "Take your daughter to work day" and the day was used to introduce girls to a variety of careers. Today, parents of sons and daughters can bring their children to work thanks to changes in the program.

I remember growing up, going to work with my dad a few times and how much fun it was. When I was in school, my dream was to be a computer programmer (and a singer and an actress but then I grew up and became more realistic). My dad worked in this industry, so going with him was beneficial to me. I got a feel for what the workplace in this industry was like, and got to know the part of my dad that existed outside of the house.

Ultimately my career path took a very different direction...I got my degree in computer programming but decided it was very much not for me. But I am grateful, in retrospect, to have had that opportunity.

In a few years, when my daughter is old enough, hopefully she will want to see what mom and/or dad are like in the office.

Other parents out there - did you bring your children to work with you today? How was it?

New UK Law Promotes Flexible Work Schedules

As reported by Web Worker Daily, a new law in the UK allows workers to request flexible work schedules.

I wonder how long before something like this is implemented in the United States? With the current regulations on maternity leave and the state of the economy, a flexible environment like what is being offered in the UK would be beneficial to not just parents, but businesses as well.

Today found this mom working from home while tending to a baby with a fat lip following the morning from hell. See, my 10 1/2 month old daughter is now walking...but still very clumsy. We were at the hospital getting a CT scan done on her (she's got a cyst on her eye that needs to be removed so the CT scan was to get imaging on that), and she's running around the waiting room, seeing how fast she can go when...splat, mouth-first into the floor. Tears, screaming, blood and swelling followed. What better place for this to happen than at a hospital, right? She's fine now (I worked from home to keep an eye on her as a precaution). Our problems are minor and acute, but with this situation and the baby's impending eye surgery (as well as a surgery of my own in the near future), medical problems are always very stressful. I'm fortunate to have the option to work remotely on occasion, but I have an appreciation for the struggle faced by parents whose children have chronic medical problems, who need to work in order to keep insurance or pay for medical costs, and do not have the option to work remotely. But if we had a policy in place in the US similar to what's being done in the UK, it would be one less stressor on families whose lives are already stressful enough.

What do you think? Would broad-scale flexible work legislation be beneficial in the US?