CrAzY Working Mom: Working Mom

Showing posts with label Working Mom. Show all posts

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Confessions of a First Time Homeschool Mom

As I write this post, we are 5 months into our homeschooling journey. I began teaching my pre-schooler, 2nd grader, and 5th grader from the comforts of our own home at the beginning of the second semester this year.

Tyler came to school a/k/a the kitchen table like this.

We began a new year and a new chapter in our lives in January of twenty-fourteen. I had struggled with the fact that I felt God was calling me to home school my children for quite some time. I didn't know if I could be with my children twenty four hours a day, seven days a week (and I still don't!!). I didn't want to lose that freedom I had during the day. I take care of the office side of my husband's plumbing business from home. With that comes responsibilities, but I can take time during the day when needed for pedicures, shopping, etc. I also had plenty of time to keep up with laundry, dishes, and housework. How in the world could I ever fit in teaching my kids...and the biggest excuse of them all...I'm not smart enough. The kids are home with me in the summers. We "home school" then...we just don't have books in our laps when we do. We take field trips to the zoo, movies, and visit the water park. We do community service, and attend camps. Life always goes on even when the kids aren't doing time in public school. So, why should it be any different from August to May?

I finally gave in to all of those preconceived notions this year and decided I'd give it a trial run for a semester. I ordered curriculum, made schedules, planned, and we were ready! The first week went by like clock work. The kids were excited about the change in their routine. Every day they got up without fuss, got dressed, brushed their teeth (yes, home schoolers still do all of that!!). It was an amazing time. Then slowly and surely, they wanted to sleep in later, forgot to brush their teeth and wanted to do school in their pajamas. I tried to be a stickler to rules, we needed to get school done in a timely manner. We have to complete so much work per week. We can't be failures. The world is watching...or at least my parents are!

When snack time and Science collide! Experiment time.

If I could go back five months, I'd tell my worried, stressed out self that "home school" is nothing more ~~structured~~ learning scattered throughout (most of the time). I would not be overwhelmed with trying to get a month ahead on "lesson plans". The truth is, I have found that the kids will do much more work when I just tell them to do however much they feel like they can get finished today instead of giving them "X" amount of pages to complete. I would toss the books aside on a pretty day or better yet, take them to the park and get a few pages in between the merry go round and teeter totter. Yes, we still set goals and strive to achieve them, but in the end it's not about "making the grade" or getting finished at a certain time. It's about learning things that they will take with them for a life time. It's about being realistic and letting the kids explore and seek out what they enjoy. I'm not saying that they shouldn't do math, grammar, reading, etc. But, sometimes they will do a lot more if you aren't shoving it down their throats. There will be days when you may not get much accomplished. The sunshine and cool breezes can trump school sometimes. There will be plenty of time to make up that missed day of work in the winter when it's minus ten and the ice is frozen solid, provided there's no snow, 'cause then we'd have to call a snow day. ;)

While I won't say that every day is bliss, I do not regret the decision to pull my children from public school and teach them at home. One of my home schooling girlfriends put it best when she said, sometimes your "pros" are also your "cons" when home schooling as far as being with your kids all of the time. We do have to have trips to grandma's house...or sometimes mom just has to get in the car and drive around the block when Dad gets home because she needs to clear her head and have some Jesus time. I get a little emotional when I think of all of the wonderful things I missed out on by sending my kids to someone else for 7 hours a day to get "educated". I know that I have really gotten to know my kiddos this last five months. We laugh and cry together, we play and learn together. We still do drama, baseball, softball, church, and community service. We still have sleep overs, birthday parties, and the likes. They still have friends, and while they do miss some of their public school acquaintances, I believe that they are some of the most socially interactive kids you'll meet.

School at the park on a sunny day.

With that being said, I cannot imagine ever sending my kids back to public school. Although circumstances could some day change and the need may arise where it is our only option. I pray that God will continue to allow me to do what he has designed me to do, and that is to raise God fearing, loving, caring, self-sufficient, well rounded, properly educated children.

Shelby reading from a tree.

Now, to brag a little bit...my pre-schooler is on her 4th book. She's learning to read and that is astounding to me!! My 2nd grader has some difficulties reading, but he's a whiz at math and I love to see his brain work around those numbers in ways that mine doesn't process. He doesn't like to read, but he does LOVE to be read to and his favorites subjects of course are math, history, and science. My 5th grader is my little book worm. She's constantly reading. We frequent the library and she will check out (and read) at least 3 books a week! All three of my kids, from the 5 year old to the 11 year old can recite (in order) all of the books of the Old and New testament in the Bible. They continue to amaze me at all they absorb and I pray that God will continue to lead me on this amazing journey as a home schooling mom of three.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

The Boss

Emily was home from daycare yesterday because she's had a pretty bad cough. Sunday evening and Monday morning she just didn't act like she felt that great so I kept her home with me. After we dropped the big kids off at school, she seemed fine so I didn't call the doctor's office.

This morning she woke up coughing worse and now has a bump behind her right ear which I am guessing is probably a swollen lymph node. So, she's home with me again today.

This is the second week for me to be "working from home" so to speak. I moved our office from the shop in town back to the house so that in occasions like this, I could still work and be home with sick children. We are also expecting "significant amounts of snow accumulation" tomorrow so it looks like they will all three be here tomorrow.

I can't get Emily in to see the doctor until 3, so I have been doing a little bit of office work and house work. She has found herself a little roost in the spindles between the office and living room. She calls that "her spot". She plopped down there this morning and told me that she was "in chawge". It was too cute. I am glad to have some company. I am not sure how it will work out this summer with all three of them home, but I am going to give it a try. As long as I can get Emily back in to daycare when school starts back, I plan on keeping her home during the summer as well. We'll just have to see. Spring break will be a good time to try it out.

For now we're prepared for the expected snow. Emily and I got milk, bread, and coffee creamer this morning. Bring it on, baby!!! What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

Monday, March 01, 2010

How Do I Do It - A Day in the Life (Part One)

How do you do it? I've been asked this question many times. How do you keep up with the responsibilities of raising three kids, co-owning a business, and everything associated with it? The answer is preparation and planning ahead! This is my motto. I live for planning ahead. Most of my day is spent figuring out my next move. In the evenings I spend lots of time preparing for the next day from choosing outfits for the children and laying them out to preparing lunches. A day in the life of a CrAzY Working Mom is indeed crazy and busy! There are a few things that I have found to make my mornings and evenings go much smoother.

Rise & Shine: Getting up first allows me to have time to wake up before catering to someone else's needs as well as get dressed, hair and make up done before having to do it with children at my feet. I wake up at 5 AM. Although I do not have to leave the house to begin the transporting of the children to their various destinations until after 7, I have lots of work to do before we can get out the door. Thank goodness we invested in an auto-brew coffee pot a few months back. My coffee is brewed and greets me with a sensational good morning as I stumble out of bed each morning. This prep-work is done at night as I clean the kitchen after dinner.

Lunches: Making things ahead can be very helpful for saving time in the mornings. I have to make lunches for both hubby and oldest child. I usually prepare what I can of their lunches the night before. This includes getting their thermos filled with sweet tea and having it in the refrigerator so that all I have to do is put it in the lunch box and go. I also put snacks and chips (non-perishables) in the boxes. This just leaves me to make the sandwiches (which could become soggy if you make ahead) and add in the ice packs in the morning. This could shave up to 5 minutes off my morning. When you're getting three kids and yourself ready, five minutes could make or break you!

Getting Dressed: Choosing your clothes and accessories the night before will save you valuable time getting dressed and avoid melt downs!! In the evenings, usually after baths Shelby and I (or her father) will choose her outfit for the next day. We have found this to be more productive. It gives her time to look through and choose what she wants to wear and we're not pressured for time. If she wants to wear something new and different, she has time to try it on. We gather everything from shoes and socks to accessories so that it is all in one place. That way when they begin to get dressed the process is not delayed while looking for something! With the younger children, I also lay their clothes out, but they are not picky (yet) as to what I choose for them.

Breakfast: The snack sized ziploc bags are perfect for dry breakfast cereals, cheese crackers, or fruit and nut combos to make your own trail mix. Make up a few of those and keep them in a designated "snack drawer" along with pre-packaged muffins, etc. so the children can choose their on-the-go breakfast before heading out the door. Usually we do breakfast on the go. My children like to drink milk when they wake up. Emily drinks white, Shelby drinks strawberry, and Tyler likes chocolate. I buy the syrup and add it to the white milk. I usually prepare this the night before and have it in the fridge so it's easily accessed when they wake up in the mornings. They are cranky if they don't have their morning milk. Most of the time the milk will fill them up so they will eat something like a bagel, muffin or dry cereal on the way to school. The little ones are offered breakfast at the daycare and most of the time will eat there if they are hungry. Shelby takes after her father and just doesn't really eat breakfast. She saves it in the van to eat as a snack on the way home.

Off We Go: Keeping the things that you need by the front door makes things easier. Backpacks can hang on coat racks. Make sure each family member hangs their things on the same hook each time to keep from getting things mixed up. Put gloves, hats, scarves in jacket pockets if possible. This time of the year is tough when we have coats, hats, gloves, scarves, backpacks, lunchboxes, etc. I usually have to make a couple of trips to the van to get things out there (and start it to warm) before we actually all head out the door. By the time I fill my hands up with all of the "stuff" required for the day there's no room to help little Emily down the stairs from the house. If we're running on time, we take the little ones first because their daycare is before Shelby's school. We drop them off and take Shelby to her destination - 1st grade. If we're running behind we take her first. She has a tardy bell to beat, but the little ones have a 10 o'clock cut off time so we don't have to worry so much about them.

Of course while I am at working doing everything from auto insurance quotes to payroll, it's more like a quiet time for me away from my children! My job can be stressful at times, but for the most part hubby and I work very well together and things usually go very smoothly.

That is only a small part of a day in the life of CrAzY Working Mom. I'll touch on our evenings in future post. I hope that you all have a great Monday! I have some exciting PR news coming later on this week and a great give away that you are all going to want to come back for tomorrow!!!

Monday, December 21, 2009

CrAzY Working Mom - Top 20 Blog to help Working Moms!!

CrAzY Working Mom has been named in the Top 20 blogs to help working moms by Court Reporter School. You can read the entire article here. We're in some good company in this list. Thanks to the folks over at Court Reporter School for putting us in the same category with these great blogs!

Congrats to the other Top 20 listings as well, including a couple of my favorites: 5 Minutes For Mom and Work It Mom.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Theft of Bloggery!!!!!!

I received an e-mail today from another blogger alerting me that another website is publishing my feed without my knowledge! This website has NO permission to do so and the kicker is that they are running advertisements so they are making money from MY words!! This has been happening since June. 176 posts total before today. This is NOT COOL. I’ve contacted the site and left comments, but I also contacted the company who does the advertisements on the site to let them know. I am not the only "working mom" on this website, there are others. Kaleigh gave me the idea to contact the ad site. Hopefully this will help. Any advice on what else we can do?!?

So, if you were wanting to steal my words, pictures, memes, and thoughts...DON'T!!! My advice to you would bew to find a job or learn how to write yourself. You do NOT have permission to be publishing my feeds. This feed originates at http://www.crazyworkingmom.com. If you are reading this content on another site, it has been illegally copied. Please contact me if you are viewing this content from an unauthorized website.
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Update:

My feeds have been removed from the site. Unfortunately there are still 4 other "working mom" victims. If any of you read this, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I think that this site needs to be removed! It's deception at it's finest and should not be allowed!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Field Trip!

Today I get to get to ditch the computer desks and go on a field trip with Shelby. I really enjoy the freedom that I have working alongside my husband. I am the office manager for his plumbing business and it is working out well for all involved. I can take off when the need arises, like week before last when Emily was so sick. I could stay home with her and not worry too much about it! Today I am going to travel to the capital city, Little Rock to see "Three Blind Mice" at the Children's Theater. Shelby is pretty excited about it and so am I. I love to watch stage performances and I look forward to enjoying this with my six year old daughter. Maybe there is a possibility that she will discover a new love today as well.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Phones are Ringin'

I tell you what, people my nerves are shot. When I say this I am not saying it lightheartedly. I mean, that I am at my wits end with my family, this pregnancy, and just people in general. This morning after I dropped the kids off I had decided that I was going to come back home and take a day off. I did a few minor things around the house upon retiring to my King Sized bed. I cranked up the fan in the bedroom to create some room noise and just as my eyes shut and I felt the comfort of that nice, comfy bed the house phone rang. I did not get up to answer it thinking that when I woke up I'd return the call if it was important.

Unfortunately I had taken my cell phone with me to the bedroom because I thought if my husband needed me for something he could get in touch with me. What I didn't anticipate, however was certain members of our family panicking when they were unable to reach me (and hubby) on our cell phones. Apparently they thought that we had gone to the hospital and neglected to call them. Ummm...NOPE!!!

Brien was very busy trying to finish up what he needed to get done so that he could take off a few days next week upon the arrival of his newborn child. I was trying to enjoy one last day of peace and quiet before the 2 AM feedings begin! *sigh*

That phone call was only the beginning. The house phone and my cell phone rang alternately through out the remainder of my attempt at a nap. I was very frustrated but it was clearly my fault for not unplugging the house phone and turning off my cell. I will learn to do this when the baby gets here and I am trying to catch cat naps when she sleeps. BUT, for today the nap was down the tubes. Thanks to all of the family who called to check in, but really it was NOT necessary.

Yes, I am still pregnant. No, I have not had any signs of labor. I promise that I will call you if anything changes! Until then, let me rest...PLEASE! *sigh*
I can't wait 'till I can get some nerve pills after this baby is born. I think I'm really gonna need some strong ones...seriously!!!

Friday, August 22, 2008

The End

Today was my last day at my current job. It was bittersweet to say the least. My sister has taken over my former position and I have no doubts that she is the perfect replacement and she will do very well. I'm super excited for her and hope that this position opens many doors for her.

The good thing about her taking over is that she went shopping with the boss yesterday and today not only did he buy us all lunch (my favorite, Mexican) but I was also presented with a basket full of goodies for the baby which contained a $100 Wal-Mart shopping card as well as a very sweet card signed by my friends, co-workers, customers, and even hubby (he's a customer) and he wrote the sweetest message inside that got me a bit teary eyed. *sniff*

I will still have my "mommy" duties of getting Shelby and Tyler to and from school and pre-school so I'll still have to get up and at 'em every morning but to know that I won't have the pressures of the job that I was in will be nice for sure. I will help Brien out at his office after the baby is born and we have some recovery time. Next week I am going to try to take it easy and have some "me" time in preparation for this new little addition. Daddy and Memaw (my mother in law) will have to assume the chauffeur role for a bit while I'm out of commission with the new baby.

For now, we're just playing the waiting game. With little to no patience, this mommy does NOT like to play this game. Hopefully it'll all be over very soon. Stay tuned...

Saturday, August 02, 2008

About Me...

Thank you to all who have e-mailed me asking how I'm doing. Just so you know, I'm fine...no baby yet. I was home sick Wednesday with some sort of stomach bug, I suppose. I woke up Wednesday morning to get ready for work and felt horrible. I thought maybe that I was having my first EVER bout with morning sickness but then I suddenly realized that there were other side effects that were not part of pregnancy. Needless to say I was home sick all day on the couch. I felt so bad that I didn't even want to hold my lap top. Thursday was a day of catching up with work and then when I got home I felt wiped out again. Today was a busy day. I felt fine at work, but before I got home, I felt bad again. I think that the heat (101° today) combined with being pregnant is getting the best of me. I ended up going to bed at 7:30. I woke up at midnight hungry, thus the crazy early AM post. I am on the count down now with this pregnancy. I am officially miserable and just ready to deliver this baby girl so that I can share some of this misery with my husband. *insert evil laughter and grin*

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Baby Update & Stuff...

I am officially on the countdown! As of yesterday, we have one month until baby girl's expected delivery. NO, we still have not chosen a name. There are still tons of things that I need to do besides pick out a name for this baby. We have yet to complete her temporary nursery. I do have most of the big ticket items either bought or borrowed that I will need for her immediate arrival so that is a load off, (thanks to Becca and Charie). The other few things I plan on purchasing this coming weekend so that we can get her crib set up and be prepared should she come early, although I am NOT holding my breath on that one. My next task is to work on getting private health as well as life insurance quotes. It's hard to get an insurance quote from a company when you have to start out by saying, "Well, I'm pregnant BUT". They immediately say that they can't give you a quote until after the pregnancy due to complications that might occur with you or the unborn child. Thanks for giving me ANOTHER worry, buddy!! The good news is that I can carry my work insurance (for a higher price of course) for up to 18 months after my departure.

Anyhow, things are coming along and my replacement at work is due to start on Monday. I hope she doesn't back out on me before then. I am looking forward to getting her trained so that I can relax the week before the baby is due.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Thursday Thirteen -"P"

Archived TTs ~ TT HeadquartersSee Who's Playing Along

What is something that a pregnant woman does at least once an hour? Okay, the answer is NOT to eat ice cream. Although that has to run a close second, right? The answer I was looking for is to take a trip to the restroom. This time of the year when the weather is SO hot, the key to keeping cool is hydration. Unfortunately with hydration comes urination! This comes more frequently for a pregnant woman anyhow, but drinking lots of water to keep cool only makes it worse. Upon one of my many trips to the restroom today, a Thursday Thirteen post popped into my head.

Thirteen other words for the duty of relieving oneself of urine.

1. Peepee (or Pee)
2. Whiz
3. Potty
4. Piss
5. Tinkle
6. Urinate
7. Take A Leak
8. Use the head
9. Water the lawn
10. piddle
11. Wee-Wee
12. micturate
13. drain the main vain (hubby came up with that one)

What word do you use when you're at home, work, with the kids? Are they all the same? I have found myself telling my boss before we go to lunch, "Hang on, I need to go potty". That's not very professional, but I ask my kids all of the time do they need to potty and it's a hard habit to break!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Daydreams & Ice Cream

I have seriously considered having my baby in another country. If Angelina Jolie can do it, why can't I?! Okay, well besides the fact that she's a major superstar with a bazillion dollars? It has been 100+° here for the past few days and I am feeling the burn! I am miserable, I tell ya! My back aches, my feet are swollen, and I am just down right cranky! I have thought about just packing my bags and moving somewhere cold to have my third child, Antarctica for instance. It seems like a really nice place and the snow covered ice caps are really calling my name right about now. It is so hot here right now that I could fry an egg on the sidewalk outside! So, how would you like yours? I'm an over easy kinda gal myself. At least I'm not having to use Proactiv acne cream. My skin is clear and zit free (for now)!

Okay, okay, okay, I'll get my head out of the clouds. I'm headed to find some ice cream. Anybody want some while I'm up or is your fried egg enough to suit ya?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tyler and Chicken Little

One day a first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part where Chicken Little warns the farmer. She read, "...and Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said, "The sky is falling!!" The teacher then asked the class, "And what do you think the farmer said?" One little boy raised his hand, "I think he said: Holy Sh*t! A talking chicken!"

I can so totally see this being my son in class!! This morning as we were walking to the truck headed for daycare I heard him mumbling something under his breath. I thought that maybe it was a "bad" word, but I was unsure. I asked him to repeat what he said. He did and I was shocked to hear what he said. "Sh*t, Sh*t, Sh*t" was his response! I gently reminded him that he needn't say words like this and then asked him why he was saying that bad word. He was upset because his truck was wet. His battery operated Power Wheels truck was wet from a bit of rain we'd had the night before.

...and Shelby won't say "shut up" or "fat" because I've got her convinced that those are bad words. This boy is going to try every bit of patience that I have isn't he?!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Girl's Day Out

Saturday was a wonderfully fun girls day out for myself and my five year old daughter, Shelby. My husband and our son went horseback riding. They left out around 7 am. Since I got them up and helped get Tyler ready I made coffee and stayed up. Shelby and I headed out fairly early. We got most of her school supplies. There were two things on her list that we couldn't find anywhere, so I will have to keep my eyes peeled for them in the coming weeks.

We got the school supply shopping finished up and took the loot back home to keep the crayons and the like from melting in the 100+ temperatures. After this we headed out for the fun stuff...BABY shopping. I had a gift certificate in hand from a lovely friend so it was most definitely burning a hole in my pocket. I stopped along the way and picked up my sister and her daughter. We had lots of fun shopping for a new baby. It's so amazing all of the gadgets and accessories that they have now versus even three years ago when Tyler was born. I was shopping for things that I knew I needed like bottles, pacifiers, etc. I don't have anything. I blindly gave away every single baby item that I owned after Tyler's birth swearing that I'd not need any of it again. Now, it's a fresh new start for us. That's what happens, I guess.

The photo shows the haul we made it home with. I was pretty excited about all of the items that we purchased and glad to know that we're getting a little closer to getting the necessities that this little one will be needing when she makes her arrival in late August (or early September). The following items are in the photo:
*A Glider Cradle I will take this to Brien's office after the baby is born when I begin my "new job"
*A trendy diaper bag This is why I took my sister. She is WAY trendier than me and she picked out the diaper bag. I'm a little worried that it might not be big enough.
*Pacifier(s) We got a couple of different styles hoping to accomidate the new baby's likes.
*Bottles - the new playtex vent aire to keep the air from reaching the baby's tummy because we all know how BAD that is!!! I've not tried these before. Any other new mommies have experience with them?
*A small bag to carry wipes and diapers in for a quick trip in and out.
*A Boppy Cover - my Boppy is old (a hand me down) and I've never had a cover for it.
*A hooded baby towl w/washcloth - although I do have these still on hand the one pictured was a really cute little gift set that I couldn't pass up. It was a hot day for shopping, that is certain but we enjoyed ourselves and with weather like this who needs Phentermine. The heat will certainly zap the pounds off of you. Well, that is if you don't stop at Sonic on the way home for a bananna split blast. Ah well...we'll worry about that after the baby is born, right?! It was worth every single bite.

So, how did you spend your weekend?!

Have you entered my contest?! Click HERE for details.

Monday, July 07, 2008

A Day In The Life

I am a working mom. This entails two different lives, the "working" life and the "mom" life. Unfortunately they both intertwine and some times the results can be frustrating while others they can be quite comical. My morning begins at 5:30 even though I do not have to report to work until 8. I get out of bed and make my coffee then I proceed to slowly come together with hair and make up, etc. I don't wake the kids up until I've seen the portion of the morning news that I want to see.

When it's time to wake the kiddos up, the television switches channels just as I do. Every morning is different in that I don't know who will be grumpy or not want to get out of bed. It's a toss up as to who will complain because the lighting fixtures are too bright, or the television is not loud enough. You learn to go with the flow. One thing that remains constant is the morning line up on the Disney Channel.

As I was getting ready this morning I had a laugh because as I was brushing my hair, I had a chuckle. When I first get out of bed in the mornings, I watch the clock to make sure that I am running on schedule. But, after I wake the kiddos up my concentration switches from the clock to the television. With curling iron in hand, I hear Jo Jo this morning singing her "Feelin' Good With Jo Jo" song and as I tapped my foot and hummed along I realized that every morning I listen to this same song as I curl my hair. If I am not in there fixing my hair when Jo Jo begins to feel good, I panic because I know that I am running behind. As those crazy bunnies from Bunny town begin to "Hop Hop Hop" I get the kids dressed. Finally when June, Quincy, and the gang lift off in the rocket ship it is just about time to head out the door. If Mickey Mouse begins to sing the Hot Dog song in preparation for the club house adventures, we're in trouble because we're late!

Only in the life of a CrAzY Working Mom, right?!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Big Announcement

For quite some time now I've been eluding to some big news to come at our house. I could not let the cat out of the bag because there are people who read, have access to, or knowledge of this blog that didn't know the news yet, so I couldn't post it here. It has now been made official so it can be announced!!

After the birth of our third child I will not be returning to my current place of employment! I have mixed emotions about this decision mainly because I really do enjoy my job (most days). Shelby will begin Kindergarten shortly before the baby is due. She will have to be taken to school and picked up from school. School will start after I begin my work day and end before I clock out, so I would have to shorten my hours just to be able to get her to and from school. Tyler will still attend the pre-school/daycare in which he is currently enrolled. I would not want to put my newborn in a daycare facility. I love the place where my kids have gone but they didn't start until they were old enough to talk so that they could keep me informed if anything happened that was out of the ordinary. I just wouldn't feel right putting a teeny tiny baby there. I understand that there are situations where parents have no other choice. My mother in law would have gladly kept the new one (and Tyler as well) so this would mean two, or possibly three stops every morning and every afternoon. With the skyrocketing gas prices, I don't know if I would even be coming out ahead! Mainly the reason I have worked for the last few years is for health insurance. My husband owns his own plumbing business. He has paid someone to do his clerical work in the past. As of right now there is no one filling that position. That is part of my job at my current employer. In weighing the costs of each we will come out ahead if I do his clerical work for him. I will have a lot more at stake when making decisions than an hourly secretary would because the continued success of his business will keep food on our table and a roof over our heads.

Taking all of the above factors into consideration it was still a very hard decision. I work for a family owned and operated business and I love the people that I work with. My boss is a good friend and he has always treated me right. He is already down one person and I knew that leaving would put him in a greater bind, but he understood that it was the best decision for me personally and the well being of my family. So, in the end it is going to be great for our family.

There are prospects for my position. We hope to get someone in at the begining of August so that I can train them for a few weeks before my final departure. Look for future posts on this subject to find out more. I think it's going to be exciting too, considering the prospects. That's all I'm sayin'...my lips are sealed. *grin*

Friday, May 23, 2008

Friday Morning Funny

I got to sleep in a bit this morning. It was nice. I got up and made a cup of coffee and actually sat to drink it while watching the morning news. I checked my e-mail and approved a few Entrecard Ads (thanks!!). My hubby runs his own business and he had some paperwork (billing, bidding, etc) he needed to work on so he told his guys to take the day off so they get a four day weekend. I let the kiddos sleep in and he was going to take them to daycare when they all got out of bed. I got a call around 9:15 and was informed that I had forgot to leave him the car seats for the kids. I left work and took them to him. On the way home, there was a small turtle on the road and I stopped to pick it up. When I got to the house, the kids were outside. I grabbed the turtle, who by this time was completely encompassed in his shell. Tyler came over to me and I told him that I had something for him. He reached up to grab it and about that time realized that it was something that was alive. He quickly jerked his hand back. I explained to him that it was a turtle and he asked where it was. I sat it on the ground and told him that when they get scared they go into their shell. If you are quiet he will come out. So, Tyler watches him for a minute and we see the grass begin to move around him and Tyler sees a foot stick out. About that time he YELLS, "Mommy he's coming out!!!" Well, he was coming out.

Brien informed me that they wanted to go spend the day with Grandma instead of school. I thought she'd just LOVE it if the kids brought this new found family member to her house for the day. I went into the house and found a box that he could fit into with pretty high sides on it so that the little guy wouldn't get loose in Brien's truck. I put the little guy in the floor of the truck between each of the kids. As I buckled them into their seats, Tyler began to scream because the turtle was out of his shell and of course he was trying to crawl out of the box. You could hear his little claws against the cardboard box and by this time Shelby began to scream as well. I couldn't help but laugh. I calmed them by telling him that turtles couldn't scale walls and that he couldn't get out of the box but that he felt safe in there since he was out of his shell. So, they thought that was cool.

I thought by now that I would've had a phone call from my mother in law thanking me for my generosity, but it must've slipped her mind because she hasn't called yet. *wink* I'm sure when I pick the kiddos up this afternoon she will show her gratitue.

Friday, December 14, 2007

My Day

This day started out very grand. My five year old daughter, Shelby woke up screaming at the top of her lungs that her "gummies" (gums) were hurting. Then she went on to be more specific that her jaw was hurting and her ear. As the morning progressed, I was getting ready for work and she was still crying that her ear was hurting. I took her earrings out thinking that maybe that's what was causing her grief. Finally I deduced that she must have an ear infection even though she was not running fever. Brien took Tyler to day care and I called the doctor to make an appointment for Shelby to see her pediatrician. No sooner than I had hung up the phone, Tyler could not have been at school longer than an hour, the daycare called and Tyler had vomited and was crying. He wanted to be held and was holding his right ear saying that it was hurting. I finished getting Shelby ready. We went by the day care and picked Tyler up and headed to the doctor's office. When we got there I told them to pull his chart as well. Turns out that both of my kids had non-contagious ear infections in their right ear! How coincidental is that?! I have an amazing pediatrician who is so good with my kids. I tell ya what, that sure means a lot to a mom having someone that you can trust to care for your kids. I also have awesome in-laws. I know, you don't hear that very often but seriously I do!!! They met me at the doctor's office and took my sick, whiney, infected children to their house so that I could go in to work! I got in a little more than a half a day of work. Since I also have an amazing boss, I got paid for a whole day. So, in spite of it all...I am a lucky girl.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Blog vs Life

I am so sorry that I've been a bit scarce commenting on your blogs lately. My husband mentioned to me the other night that he has forgotten what my body looked like from the neck down because he usually just sees me looking up over my lap top when he is speaking to me. That really hit home. At first I denied it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was true. Then I brought up that I am making money blogging and you have to work to get good opps. He smiled and then said that this was the case even before I began doing the paid posts. This is true. But it was a valiant effort on my part to defend my blogging addiction.

I do love blogging. I love the people that I have met. I love the thought of keeping an online journal of my daily thoughts and interactions with my children. I love the fact that they will be able to see how I felt on any given day in twenty years just by typing in Crazy Working Mom in any search engine. But, this is taking away from my family life. I do not want them to look back in the future and say that they're glad I kept a blog, but sorry that I didn't interact more with them on a daily basis. So, I realize that I am not visiting some of you as often as I once did. I apologize for this and hope that you'll continue to come visit as time permits in your busy life as well. I don't have a Dell Memory but I will stop by when I get a chance and can remember, but for now I have realized that my family needs my lap, so I've got to move this lap top over for a while and set some parameters for myself to keep so that I can still do a fair amount of blogging while maintaining a healthy relationship with my family.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The McDonald's Mommy

Last night was hell on me. There is no other way to put it. Since hubby has become a travelpro with this out of town job that he's been working on, it's been really tough on us all. I know it's hard on him being away from the kids and myself so much, but it's a definite challenge for me because I have to tend to the daily house hold things, my job, and children all alone. Our evening routine is pretty consistent with or without Brien most days. But, when you throw a sick kid into the equation it makes matters much more difficult. Tyler ran fever all weekend. I had to take him to the doctor yesterday and it turns out that he has a throat infection. Last night he was not in the best of moods. He whined for me to hold him most of the night and didn't want to sleep in his own bed at bed time. This made getting up at 5am extremely difficult, nearly impossible for me.

My saving grace is that with no hungry husband at home in the evenings, McDonalds has quickly become a family favorite making clean up a breeze! ;)

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