Working Mom

Well, the time has come. The summer is coming to a close, and in just two days I'll be returning to work. Matt will too. It's been a truly amazing summer for our family and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little heartbroken that I have to leave my babies and go back to work while they are still so little. Especially since I know this is the last time I'll be able to stay home with them (considering I'm not a teacher and don't get summers off, and that we are planning to stay a happily content family of 4).

Among the things I'll miss the most:

- Waking up to my children calling for me (vs. an obnoxious alarm clock).

- Being the one to feed Carson all day and knowing her every little nuance. It's hard when other people have to tell you how much your baby is eating, whether she isn't feeling well and if she's smiling a lot or doing something new.

- Having conversations with Riker. He's really become my little buddy this summer and is SO much fun at this age. We just play and talk and hang out all day long, and he's having a hard time understanding why it won't be like that anymore. I want to cry just thinking about the fact that some days I will only see him for a couple minutes, since I'll be commuting to the city a couple days a week.

- Not having any real agenda every day. I like that the days just take us where they take us, and it's okay if the only thing I accomplish all day is re-loading the dishwasher because my full attention is focused on one or both of the kids. 

- Ummm....SUMMER!

It's been hard to reconcile leaving my babies in order to go to work to provide for them, but I know at the end of the day it's for the best. And I'm incredibly grateful for the wonderful 13 weeks I've had with them, since so many women don't even get that long. So instead of dwelling on all the things I'll miss about summer and being home with my little ones, I'm trying to think positively about all the things we have to look forward to.

Things I'm looking forward to include:

- Getting back into a routine. Although I've enjoyed not having an agenda for the short-term, in the long run I feel a little out of control without a normal daily routine.

- Finishing a cup of coffee while it's still hot.

- Taking a shower before 3:00 - and taking a shower alone (you moms know what I'm talking about). While this will require getting up before the crack of dawn, I know it'll feel nice to be showered, have my hair actually blown dry (rather than being thrown up wet) and be wearing a nice outfit more often than not.

- Getting back on a normal eating routine. I haven't lost all of my baby weight, and I haven't let it bother me yet because I've been enjoying summer and not really worrying about eating breakfast every morning or getting all my veggies in. I've eaten plenty of takeout fried seafood and Mexican food over the last few weeks, not to mention several dinners out with friends.

I've also enjoyed quite a few cocktails and glasses of wine, as well as several trips to local wineries, since I stopped nursing Carson. No shortage of calories there.

It's been fun, but going back to work will mean planned, regular meals, fewer drinks and a healthier me. Always a good thing!

- Having daily adult interaction and using my brain to tackle challenges that don't involve baby or toddler issues. As much as I love being home with my children each day, I don't know that I would be happy being a permanent stay-at-home mom. I love the work I do at my job, and know I would miss working with people, writing and strategizing all day long.

- And...FALL!

Fall is one of my absolute favorite times of the year, so returning to work also comes at a time when we're on the verge of awesome things like pumpkin picking, sweaters and boots, fall scented candles, crock-pot meals and football. The nights are already starting to cool off, so while I love summer and am going to miss it, I'm getting that fall itch and will be ready for it when it arrives.

For all you working moms out there, if you've gone through some of the same mental struggles I have, just know how amazing you are for balancing the work/family life day in and day out. We do the best we can, and I've decided I'd rather focus on all the good times and precious moments my family does have together vs. wishing there were more of them. I'm going to cherish every moment I have with my children, lean on my friends and family, and always remember that Friday nights are never more than a couple days away. ;)

Happy Labor Day Weekend moms and non-moms alike!

Atypical Memorial Day

Happy belated Memorial Day! I have really been slacking on the blog posts lately so am pretty late on this one. I've been really tired and going to bed early every chance I get, and the days have been filled with trying to wrap things up at work and frantically getting everything ready for the baby's arrival. She is coming verrrry soon.

This wasn't our typical Memorial Day weekend, which usually involves pools and beaches and fun with family & friends, but it did feel great to get so much accomplished, and we were still able to squeeze in a BBQ and a fire with some good friends.

Among the absolutely gigantic list of chores and errands Matt and I put together for the weekend (amazingly, all of which got done), big items included furnishing the new patio, finishing the baby's nursery and planting our garden.

 I decorated the room in pinks, browns and greens, with lots and lots of owls. I love the way it came out! It's cute but not too cutesy, and girly but also warm.

As for the garden, this year Matt built raised boxes (4 in all) instead of doing our usual square plot with a fence around it. We didn't want to keep the fence up now that we have a nice large patio, but need the plants to have some kind of protection from Butters and other little animals. I love the way his boxes turned out; they add a lot to that little corner of the yard. And I can't wait for fresh heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, strawberries and all the other goodies to start cropping up.

Saturday was actually Matt's birthday, so after a long hard day of work around the house, our little family headed out for a Mexican dinner followed by some ice cream. They were his only two birthday requests. Not hard to make that boy happy!

Sunday we participated in our big neighborhood yard sale, and had some friends over to sell their stuff with us. It was actually pretty fun to hang out all together on the front lawn while the kids played and we tried to sell our wares. I think we all caught the sales bug - it's quite the little excitement to negotiate with yard salers and actually make money selling stuff you're planning to get rid of anyway. Matt and I made a nice little bundle of cash, and are planning to use it towards a new farm table we're buying for our kitchen area.

Sunday evening more friends arrived for some snacks and a fire on the new patio to celebrate Matt's birthday. Not a bad little holiday Sunday. :) I did wake up Monday morning feeling completely wiped out though, so after a few errands, Matt made me relax on the patio couch while he worked on the yard. He's so good to me.

I'm halfway through a new dystopian novel, Halo, and loved laying in the sunshine reading in the afternoon, dozing off here and there. Can't remember the last time I did that!

After Mexican food and BBQing all weekend, I wanted something fresh and light for dinner by Monday night. I had a bunch of red and golden beets sitting in the fridge, so I roasted them off and made big salads for dinner, which we ate outside. On the plate:

- Mesclun greens dressed with flax seed oil and pear white balsamic vinegar

- Red and golden beets

- Goat cheese

- Dried cranberries (I found organic unsweetened ones at ShopRite!)

- Toasted walnuts

- A drizzle of aged truffle balsamic glaze

Soooo good. Dinner may have been veggie-filled and healthy, but we quickly ruined that with a quick trip to the playground so Riker could play and then soft serve cones at our favorite ice cream shop. I forgot to snap a pic, but my small chocolate & vanilla twist with chopped peanuts was fantastic. Just the way I wanted to end the holiday weekend.

After such a busy weekend of chores, I am feeling a little tired but also now, for the first time, ready to have this baby. If she comes tomorrow, we'll be ready. Eek!

How was your holiday weekend?

Farewell Sweet Summer

It's been quite the fun filled weekend. My whole family came into town on Friday, including my mom, stepdad, grandma, sister, her boyfriend, my aunt and her two kids. A couple family friends came over to visit too. We had a packed house but it was a lot of fun being all together and enjoying everything the summer has to offer for one last beautiful weekend. It will still be summer for a few more weeks, but with school starting back up this week, chilly nights and early sunsets here to stay, and pumpkin scented candles already on the store shelves, fall is well on its way. We said goodbye to summer in style.

Happy Labor Day!