Working Mom

When we were looking for daycares for Weston we had a really tough time deciding whether to choose a place close to home for ease of drop off/pick up for both Matt and me, or a place close to my work for easier visits and response time in emergency. We ultimately decided to do it close to my work, and now I can’t imagine him being 35 minutes away during the day. I get to visit him every day during lunch (a practice which I had only intended to do for a couple weeks but has now been happening for 6 months). It’s fantastic! But this arrangement certainly had its hidden strings. On one hand, we’re so close! On the other hand, we’re so close. If he ever needs something at daycare, it falls on me to leave work. Keeping up with his supply of diapers, clothes, food, pacifiers, and bottles is all me. Doctor’s appointments? Yeah, those are on me too. Most of the time, I really don’t mind all this. In fact, if you ask Matt, he’ll tell you my inner control freak LOVES it. Sometimes though, the battle between Mom and CSI Gross is overwhelming. Like right now, for instance. I have shrugged off many training opportunities at work because traveling out of baby range was out of the question. Well one day last month I was feeling particularly brave. I got all gung-ho about this training and registered myself and a coworker. Well sometime between then and now, my bravery high-tailed it out the back door. How is my little booger going to handle not nursing for three days? How is he going to sleep without it? If he doesn’t do well, how is Matt going to handle the lack of sleep plus all the added responsibilities? Is Weston going to be sad that he doesn’t get to see me at lunch? I am a total worry wart. And I am suffering from a bad case of working mom guilt. I am trying not to dwell on it so I keep reminding myself how excited I am for this training. It will open a whole new world for our departments fingerprint work- my favorite! It will give Weston some quality time with Dad. It will give me a break from mommyhood. It’s only three days- I can do it!

I am so beyond thankful that I have such a parent-friendly working environment. I could brag on MPD for hours on so many things but this one hits home with me. It’s really the only reason I could continue to work while having a baby because, even with their support, being a working mom is a tough gig. It’s work, work, pump, work, work, nurse, work, work, pump. That’s my 7-4 day. Then I get home and it’s play, change, nurse, make bottles, clean, cook, clean, play, undress, redress, read, nurse, put down, shower, bed. That’s my 4-10 day. Wake up at 5 and repeat. It’s quite exhausting but there are a few things that make it so worth it. Like when the work that I do allows us to identify and arrest a suspect. Like the way Weston crawls (yes, crawls!) over to me just to give me a slobbery, open-mouthed “kissy”. Like the pat on the tush I get from Matt when he comes home and I am cooking dinner. It’s the little things for me that make this life I lead so incredibly rewarding.

Don’t misunderstand my temporary anxiety though, I CHOOSE to work. Certainly, if it were something I really wanted, we could make it on Matt’s salary alone. I applaud all you stay-at-home moms. You, by no means, have a cake walk. I know you desperately want 10 minutes alone to shower without playing peek-a-boo with your baby or wondering why your toddler has suddenly gone quiet. I know that most of your life occurs within the four walls of your house while the rest of the world is out scurrying about. I can imagine how lonely you feel at times despite that you are never alone. I know you are so much more than “just” a SAHM. You are a chef, a maid, a safety officer, a cheerleader, a nurse, a chauffeur, a therapist, a janitor, and numerous other occupations. I know you do all of these jobs even when you are so sick you can barely drag yourself out of bed because, as a SAHM, there are no sick days. You see, although it is financially beneficial for my family if I work, part of the reason I do it is for ME. It keeps me sane. It keeps me motivated. It’s my “me” time.

There are so many different family dynamics in the world! That’s what makes it so great. And every dynamic brings with it a set of challenges for everyone in the household. It’s really about finding what works best for any particular set of circumstances. Despite the stresses that I feel (and I am pretty sure every working mother feels at some point) I wouldn’t change anything about it. It’s my perfection.

Upcoming events: Nephew's camping birthday party. Training in Austin. Weston's first haircut?

He's only figured out how to go backward so far.

Pop Pop came to visit!

Weston and Pop Pop taking a selfie.

W and his girlfriend Hailie.

Such a water baby.

They love each other.

Beautiful weather meant a day in the park!

Mardi Gras celebration.

Weston's new cheesy smile.

How about a little progression over 3 months...

 He's crawling!

Closing out 2013

As my Mom often reminds me, I am way behind on writing my blog post. This one ought to be a doozy since we have been insanely busy for the last couple months. In mid-November my good friend Camie came to town and we went to the Baylor/Tech football game. I sure had missed that girl and meeting her sweet family was so much fun! We had to teach the kids how to do a Sic’em, it’s a Baylor tradition! Then came Thanksgiving… all 3 of them! We had a dinner Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with different parts of our family. Weston was battling a fever but still managed to say “DaDa” for the first time (he’s saving the best for last).

After Thanksgiving we began preparing for the Christmas marathon celebration. We spent an awesome 5 days in Arizona with my family. Weston was once again battling sickness (dang daycare!) but did better the last few days. We celebrated Christmas early there, and he got his first stocking and unwrapped his first present. He was pretty uninterested in the wrapping paper but thought Uncle Nick’s plastic cups were the best thing ever. We also managed to squeeze in Zoo Lights, the family Christmas party, and visiting my bestie’s new house. Once we were home, we had our celebration with my Mom and Doug followed by our celebration with Matt’s family. Our house looked like Toys R Us had exploded inside.

Watching the ducks with Pop Pop.

He may or may not be a bit spoiled.

Since then we have celebrated our friends Kevin and Claudia’s first anniversary, New Year’s Eve, and Matt’s mom’s 50th birthday. This weekend is our niece’s 5th birthday party! Whew!

Weston is 7 months old now. I’m growing ever confident that God gave me the happiest baby he ever made. West loves everything and everyone, but especially loves baths, strawberries, standing up, bouncing, and his Daddy’s scratchy kisses. He calls everything “DaDa” and claps his hands in delight. He has discovered the ability to fake laugh and does it quite frequently (he’s a nut). Most of the time when he’s sitting, he crosses his right foot over his left foot- never the other way around. I find it adorable. We started swim lessons again and we were able to join a class with my friend Natalie and her daughter Hailie. These babies are destined to be friends! Weston still hasn’t shown much interest in crawling so I am definitely procrastinating on our baby proofing. I am sure it will bite me in the tush one day when I wake up to a mover.

Starting swim lessons at a new place!

It’s pretty amazing how proud I can be of a baby. In all reality, he eats, poops, plays, and sleeps but in between he finds ways to make me incredibly proud. My dream for him is just that he enjoys life. As a kid, I was always the cautious and overly responsible one. I hardly went out, rarely drank (although there is one story my mom loves to tell!), and got anxiety at the thought of making a B. Even now, this is something I struggle with. There is some upside to that I suppose but I’ve also missed out on a lot. I played it too safe. I want Weston to graduate high school with an overflowing bank of memories. I want him to be confident and unafraid. I want him to take chances. I want him to have more friends than he has time for. This isn’t to say that I want him to skimp out on his responsibilities just that I want him to have a solid balance of work and play. It’s hard to tell what his personality is going to be so early, but if the last 7 months is any indicator, he’ll have no problems with any of it. I gave birth to a social butterfly. He’s never met a stranger. “Mom? Who’s that? I want the stranger that just walked in the room.” When other Moms go in to daycare, Weston smiles and lifts his arms up as if he’s saying “No, No! Pick me!” I love that he doesn’t need me around to be happy, though at some point we will have to discuss stranger danger. He just seems to love his baby life. I know personalities can change quickly in babies but for now, I’m pretty confident Matt and I nailed it with this kid. Perfect 10.

We did a trial day at Gymboree. We're going to hold off until he's a bit older.

I don't remember what this was for but I sure love him!

Matt and I bought our house in December of 2011 and I never put a single thing up for "decor" in our guest room. Decorating is not my strong suit. The barren walls have always overwhelmed me... where to begin? Well, I finally decided! I started with a headboard. Being the penny pincher that I am, I wasn't about to throw down $300 for a stinking headboard so I decided to make one. Of course, it's not perfect but I am pretty dang pleased! There's lots more I want to do for the room so whenever I finish it (it could be months), I'll post a picture of it all together. Here is the finished headboard. I spent right at $150 (including the jigsaw I had to buy!).