The 2-Hour-Mom Third Birthday

My child turned THREE today! I cannot believe that we have survived each other for three whole years. Lately, my work life has crept ever more into my 2 hours of mom-time and I desperately want it to stop. I find myself cooking dinner with my laptop in the kitchen so I can respond to the urgent requests - and even so I can respond to the not urgent requests just to keep up with all of the emails in general.

But my amusing 2-hour-mom story from last night was that my parents bought my son a Black and Decker toddler workbench with light up and noisemaking power tools. I had conference calls with Asia last night from 9 to 10:30, so I spent my evening with my trusty headset putting together my child's birthday present while conversing about metrics and post-mortem reports.

On the birthday morning, I had a 7:30am conference call and the birthday boy was just eating breakfast when the call started. Ever-disrespectful of my morning conference calls, he continued to beg me to play with him and talk to him throughout my call. Luckily the conference call participants were friendly and tolerant of my situation, but it was still not ideal.

To the folks who advocate that the World is Flat and globalization is upon us, I ask: at what cost?

Early morning and late night conference calls with large groups are generally ineffective. We are forced to multitask to keep up with the pace of our lives. But are global corporations too far gone to break the cycle? How can we adapt our lives so we actually see our families while maintaining the speed (and time zones) of business?

2-Hour Moms all working together

So myself and two other 2-Hour Moms are sitting in the workroom during an event chillin', relaxin', and working... and wining. Yes, wine-ing. A couple of us Skyped the kiddos today to tell them goodnight (we're on Pacific time and they're on Central time), so we got about 2 minutes of mom time today, but at least we got to share it with our friends in the workroom!

All of our bloggers have been so insanely busy since September that we haven't even had time to check in and blog about how crazy life has been!

Just want to end with a nice shout-out to my wonderful kid for being so awesome on 4 plane rides this past weekend and a wedding!!

What matters most...

My God, my family, my friends, myself.

The past few weeks I've had strong feelings of self-doubt. Especially at work. I've decided this evening to focus on the things that matter most to me and not let the other stuff get me down.

Sure, it's hard when someone at work sends you a crappy email that's out-of-line. After which, everything goes wrong when dealing with this person resulting in more things for them to point out as your shortcomings...sigh.

But what's harder is reminding myself that the person who made me feel bad isn't really who matters. This is my struggle that I vow to work at.

I'll begin by referring to the list above because they are what matters most to me...AMEN!

As my baby girl, Teresa, says every night, "Good night, mama....sweet dreams, mama....I love you, mama....sweet dreams, mama..." Repeat until the bedroom door closes.

SWEET DREAMS MY FELLOW 2-HOUR MOMS!

One-liners & memorable quotes

I feel like we capture life in Twitter spans now. I actually look for those awesome "what kids say" moments and immediately post them to Facebook. My child is 2.5 and is currently amazing at one-liners! Here's a sample from just this past week:

• "Mommy, you're old. I need a new mommy."
• Me: "Reilly, are you a monkey?" Reilly: "I not a monkey. Monkeys don't talk."
• "I a big boy toddler big flashlight guy."
• Me: " [something something]... your father." Reilly: "That's not my father. That's my Daddy. His name is Jeff." Me: "What's my name?" Reilly: "Um... I don't know. You don't have a name."
• Me: "How'd you get so cute?" Reilly: "Daddy." Me: "How'd you get so smart? (say mommy!)" Reilly: "No! Daddy!" Me: "Well what did I do?" Reilly: "You make me dinner."

Then there's this note that came home with him from daycare yesterday:

Ahhhhh, the moments we live for!!

Why social media scares me

I long to be this amazing goddess of social media and events. A maven, if you will. A guru. One who can write a book and not market it and people will flock to Amazon to buy it based on my name alone.

But then I read this post on Social Media Today about this blogger's schedule. She starts her morning at 7am with an hour of blog work. She then goes to her real job, and checks back in for 15 mins around 10am. Then spends her whole lunch time working on blog and Twitter stuff. Then another 15 mins at her break at 2. And then evenings from 7-8:30 blogging, consulting, etc.

So obviously, she is single. Or at least doesn't have kids. And she didn't even mention her Facebook account!

This makes me sad... how will I ever find the time to truly be amazing if I have to go on having a family? That settles it. I will have to give up having a family. Somebody notify my husband and child, while I sneak out in the middle of the night tonight! Hmm... but should I take the dogs with me or leave them here?

Yeah, that just won't work. Guess I'll have to go on being average. Have a job and two blogs that only get posted to a couple of times a week. I guess I can settle for not being famous... for now.

Such a pushover!

I have been working insane hours these past couple of weeks, preparing for executive review after executive review - an endless number of executive reviews! So today was finally the big 5 hour Ops Review and I got it all pulled together and represented my global colleagues who couldn't be there, and it went really well! Presented some cool social media activities we've been working on, some cool ideas for more social implementation at upcoming events. Really cool stuff. So now, I am just pooped. I plopped the kid in front of the TV for some Dora the Explorer time while I let the dogs out, prepared him some dinner, etc.

But I couldn't pry him away from the couch to eat. "I wanna eat here, mommy." Yeah, cause mac and cheese is so obviously 2.5-year-old on-the-couch-eating food. Not likely. But I had such a great day that I absolutely don't want to end it with a fight with the kiddo. We already fought over the fact that I only gave him a bite of the gigantic cookie I brought home from work. So I proceeded to sit with him on the couch and feed him mac and cheese while he watched. Great parenting, I know.

But he's happy, he's fed, and he's not screaming at me. And now I can get him to take a bath and go to bed and still claim to have had an awsome day!

Reilly just yelled, "What are you doing?" I said, "I'm writing a blog post about how I'm a bad mommy." He said, "I talkin about Loki. Not about you, mommy." (Loki is our dog... apparently she was bothering him).

Vacation and back to work

I'm pleased to report that I successfully logged off for 11 days! It wasn't a huge vacation trip, just a little cross-country drive to visit the grandparents. It was such a wonderful week! It was all about seeing the world through a 2.5 year old's eyes. The swimming pool. The "beach" (at a lake). Catching fireflies. It was so wonderful!

Then back to work - luckily, I was pleasantly surprised to find only 500 emails in my inbox!

The kiddo had a bit of a struggle getting back into a daily routine with boundaries. In fact, we're still struggling with the bedtime boundaries that went out the window during vacation.

I'm two weeks back from vacation and have had a headache for the last 4 days... how sad to already need a massage after just 10 days back at work!!

Weekend of happy mom memories

I got up bright and early (7:51am) on Saturday as it was "my day" to wake up with Reilly. I decided to get us dressed and go run some errands, and had the brilliant idea to call a friend and her son who's a year older than my little one to meet us at Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A is by far the best rainy Satuday lunch spot on the planet. Not only do the kids get chicken nuggets (classic diet staple), but they get fruit and milk and a book. AND there's an indoor playscape built for the little kids. Our kids played for a SOLID one and a half hours! Leading to a 2.5 hour nap afterwards. So awesome.

Then on Sunday, we went to a co-worker's house who has horses and she showed my kiddo how to brush the horse and then threw a saddle on him (the horse, not the kid) and let Reilly ride around her property. And then took him around the property again, after a very happy "I wanna go again!" My favorite moment was when he yelled "Giddyup!"

I felt like an awesome mom this weekend. Truly memorable moments.

Then Monday rolled around and we were back to the "Hurry up, honey, mommy has to get to work!" routine. *sigh*

Two more weeks until family vacation! Jeers to British Petroleum for ruining our beach vacation, but we'll still have a good time at the grandparents' house since they have a pool! Not looking forward to that 16 hour drive, though...

Constant Stream of Noise

Today was rough. It was a clingy and chatty day for my son. It was like I had the TV on all day but never saw a thing. A constant stream of noise but none of it amounted to any substance. He ends all sentences with "Right?" and replies to all comments with "Why?" If I use the Mommy tune-out he will continue to repeat his statements until I acknowledge some recognition. My auto-pilot now includes random interjections of "yes", "that's right", and head shaking. I've tried several techniques for a little quiet but none of them seem to work. He follows me around while I do house cleaning, talks over the vacuum (and usually pulls out his extremely loud lawn mower to help with the job), he even talks between bites while eating. Naptime is usually the only peaceful time in this house and now those are lost since I have to nap myself. When he's home there's no time to myself.

I was blessed with a child that is motivated by mommy and daddy's approval. He has a STRONG moral compass and wants to make sure (every second) that he is on the right path and that he is thinking the right way or doing the right things. I know this but it still wears on me. I have tried answering his questions with questions rather than definitive answers. It seems to help but it takes more effort on my part and is very exhausting. On day's like today I can usually only muster up "Yes's" and "Uh huh's".

I have only 2 hours a day and 2 days a weekend to set, correct, and maintain proper behavior. It is a constant science experiment to see what is ACTUALLY going on. I know from my bachelors degree in child psychology (and watching a few episodes of Super Nanny) that almost all childhood problems stem from parenting. Fix the parents, fix the children. It's just really tough to do in 2 hours.

Happy hour guilt

Sometimes I leave work at 4:30 and have a margarita. This is called Happy Hour, and it generally is just that - a single, happy, hour with friends from work. At 5:30, I must depart to pick up the munchkin from daycare.

Since my morning started with a 7am conference call, a lunch meeting (at least lunch was provided), and it's now 10:30pm and I'm still working (taking a short break to blog about it), and tomorrow starts with another 7:30am call, and then my sacred 2 hours of 2-hour-momness is being unforgiveably interrupted for a call with a VP who happens to be on a trip to Asia therefore her schedule trumps mine, apparently, I think I deserved to leave work at 4:30 and have a margarita. But I still feel guilty about taking that hour away from staring at my keyboard frantically trying to keep up with the incoming emails.

So as I think about this, and type about this, I'm noticing a trend among our posts. 2-hour moms sure carry a lot of guilt. Perhaps we need to work on asking for help. Delegating. Expecting more of other people, instead of expecting everything from ourselves.

I got SO angry with my husband yesterday when he hollered down from the balcony, "Are the sheets done in the washer? Can you move them to the dryer?" Are you kidding? Have I ever asked him to do part of a chore that I started? No. I do my own damn chores. I clean up for the housekeeper (I used to really make fun of my mom for that when I was a kid, but now I get it. No, she is NOT here to pick up my crap. She is here to clean the things that otherwise would never get cleaned by me, like toilets and floors).

Obviously, I came to the realization that I was never actually going to clean my own house that having someone else do that level of cleaning was worth my money. And we agreed that instead of spending every summer Saturday mowing and weeding the lawn, a lawn service could that for us so we could PLAY on our lawn. So my brain gets that it's okay to exchange money for time-saving services. But to ask someone else to help with something, and not have anything to offer in return just seems impossible.

I have team members that I've handed projects to who have done *nothing* on them, forcing me to do the work anyway. I feel like they should do these things simply because I asked them to and they agreed, but I really have nothing to offer them for completing these projects other than a big huge "thanks" for allowing me to get other work done. That seems like not a very good reason to press them to complete the projects. Hubby made dinner tonight, therefore HE should clean up the kitchen (since he makes me clean up when I cook). But he's on a 10pm conference call, and I know he won't do it before the housekeeper gets here tomorrow.

So how do we get things done without actually having to do them ALL ourselves?

• I think the housekeeper might just have to clean up the kitchen tomorrow.
• I think the team members might just need a reminder that they agreed to take on these projects.
• I think I will continue to take a Happy Hour every now and then to have a guilt-free moment.
• And I think I will go to bed early tonight.

The Bedtime Dance

It's Sunday night, the kid is in bed, and I managed to make it downstairs to my computer.
Actually, she's in her room and in her bed, but she's not asleep. Ahhh...now begins the Bedtime Dance. The dance occurs between her bedroom and ours. She steps out of her bedroom, proceeds to ours, I guide her back into her bed. She steps out of her bedroom again, proceeds to ours, and yada, yada, yada...you get the idea.

I'm downstairs now and can hear her through the baby monitor making her escape. When I go upstairs I'll find her either curled up at the top of the stairs (there's a baby gate that would keep her from rolling down!) or right outside of our bedroom.

I'll take any advice anyone has to curtail this routine...I'm tired of this dance!

2 Hour Mom By Choice

I am a guilty person by nature. Guilty that I had to move 400 miles to separate myself from my family, leaving my mother behind. Guilty that I found a passion in life and was able to make a stay-at-home career out of it (which pays me enough to afford some wonderful luxuries in life), leaving my husband to the daily grind of the 9-5. And, maybe the biggest, guilty that I am a 2 hour mom - by choice.

At first it was going to be two days of daycare a week for socialization. By the time we finally got in at 6 months I bumped it to 3 days for a break (and a little extra time to work). We stayed in 3 days for the next 2 years until I had a perfect excuse - a major project deadline. I thought "just this month I'll put him in full time". The most incredible thing happened - we were both happy. I had time to be productive, I didn't have to worry about filling the day with learning activities, and neither of us were wondering "what's next?". There was no turning back.

I think my son and I were implanted with some type of magnets early on. He is a very clingy child. He would much rather crawl all over me on the couch than play with the mountain of toys in his room. To get him to focus on something other than Mommy has been difficult. If Mommy is in the room nothing else matters. I even have play dates with other friends where we sit there and he hangs on me while his friends play by themselves. It's frustrating for a person like me who has an extraordinarily large personal bubble. He has actually improved quite a bit over the last two weeks. I can tell him to go play in his room and I will actually get some peace for about 10 minutes. I call that progress.

I am a bi-polar mom as well and it seems that, the majority of the time, even the two hours I am responsible for are a struggle. By the time I get him from school we have both had a full day, we're tired, hungry, unable to cope. It takes all the energy I have left just to feed, bathe, and do story time. All he wants is a little bit of my attention (well, all of it actually) and all I want to do is crawl up in bed and recharge for an hour. I have a hard time asking my husband for help. I figure I got to work from home all day - how can I ask him to do all the work when he had to struggle somewhere else with a job that he doesn't enjoy as much as I do? Of course that is ridiculous, but that's how my brain works.

I am sure that is quite enough for today. Just wanted an introductory blog to get the picture started. I use to write all the time and I always felt better. This may never be read but at least it is off my chest. I don't have time for my art anymore so I might as well put a little effort into some cathartic blogging. Thanks for listening.

3.5-hour Mom

Tonight, I was a 3.5-hour Mom! Unfortunately, the only way I was able to accomplish this was by depending on my ever-faithful friend, the Wendy's drive-thru!

I decided tonight I wasn't going to cook so I hit the Wendy's drive-thru on my way home. I know, I know...it's not healthy for little growing bodies and I did feel guilty as I ordered up golden, fried goodness for me and the kids, but I quickly got over it as I realized, again, I didn't have to cook, I wouldn't have a kitchen mess to clean up, and I'd have at least another hour to spend with the kids.

I spent 2.5 hours tonight coloring with my daughter and being covered in animal-shaped stickers. It was an AWESOME night! And as I put her to bed, she turned to me and said, "Sweet dreams, Mama," and my Wendy's drive-thru guilt faded away. I thought about the sweet little girl at the Wendy's window who handed me my food and said, "See you tomorrow!", and I thought for a moment, "You just might!"

Rinse and Repeat

I swear everytime my arse sits down at 10:17 every night I feel like it is Groundhogs Day, in the best of ways of course. I laugh at what today looked like. I woke up to my hubbie's best friend in from Colorado, fought two boys to get dressed, lunches made - ok so it was Lunchable day but still, you have to put it in the bag, car goes to the shop for service yet later to find out they failed to properly render, attempted to get a windshield fixed only to be quoted $600 from Volvo ( I didn't say a PLATINUM windshield turdbaskets, I said GLASS), a phone call to notify of death of beloved uncle unexpectedly, MANY calls from family to discuss uncle, 9 hours of pure email and phone heck ALL DAY -- no breaks -- to the point that EVEN when I am at home and I find myself eating Valentines candy for lunch you realize WORK LIFE BALANCE has left the premises. Car found its way back. Hubbie requests that I pick up kids from school and take them DOWNTOWN, yes DOWNTOWN AUSTIN by 5pm. It is very important and since it is rare that anything is VERY important to him, I think "I should do this". Ok, but 5pm isn't going to happen. It is 4:20 and I haven't showered. Haul arse, walk into school only to see my 5 year old with gloves on cleaning the bathroom. When one proceeds to throw massive amounts of hand soap from the dispenser all over the walls, counter and floor at a Spanish school, you clean the crap up yourself WHICH I agree with. WTHeck kid? Apparently he "really wanted to clean" so he says. Given his clean record, I make him finish cleaning, let him know this one will be dealt with by Dad and off we go. Boys in the car, sit on Mopac trying to explain lyrics from the Avett Brothers and Bon Iver that even I don't under... "Mom, what does 'murder' mean?" "Mom, I know, I know, I know what he says, he said you can't have your LIFE back not KNIFE back"... We carry on downtown. No Trey, the service entrance won't let me in but I love you so much, I will walk in the 90' heat in a parking garage with two hungry kids who are arguing over who toots the loudest. Next thing you know, I found myself in back of 100 people of the male persuasion at a CCA banquet tonight and realized NOT ONLY am I an award winning (self promoted) coach, mother, corporate slave BUT also, WIFE! They only had 150 or so for purchase and as I was inching closer and closer to a line that I really couldn't figure out why I was in anyway, men starting passing me up knowing these darn YETI coolers were running out. Finally I step up and grab the last VERY LAST 4 tickets to my husbands PURE elation (he will be the hero to whomever the lucky recipients are). As sweat trickled down my face I looked at my husband who had just handed the boys scoops of ice cream, handed him the prized cooler tickets and left the BUILDING! Next stop Guerros and date night with two of the coolest men I know. We color, we swing, we dance, we dabble in shopping, we hang out at the candy store, we go home. They decide they are ready to take a shower by themselves, I am no longer needed. I see a hint of light with this newfound independence of mine. Pajamas on, sugar bugs scrubbed extra hard, two extra kisses each for the goodness they give. I sit down. It is 10:17.

I finally used the basil

In my spare time (that 30 minute window I captured about 2 months ago one Saturday afternoon), I like to garden. Well, ok, no I really don't. I like to plant things in pots and then check in on them on occassion to see if they are growing. Miraculously, the basil, oregano, and thyme I planted during my 30 minutes of free time with the monster child back in March is growing like CRAZY. It appears to get the right amount of sun, and the perfect amount of automatic sprinkler action. Did you know basil flowers at the top when it grows really well? Yeah! it does! Cool. So tonight, after I bathed the kid, hubby put him to bed and I made a rustic pizza with basil that I grew and nurtured (or kind of thought about nurturing for 30 minutes two months ago) all by myself!

And it was good. So is this Pine Ridge Chennin Blanc - Voigner, by the way. Two thumbs up!

Me and My Fat Pants

Don't tell me you don't know what fat pants are! They're the pants or shorts you wear when Ole Mother Nature calls on you and the only relief to the bloating discomfort (besides an entire bottle of Pamprin) are your reliable fat pants. They have an elastic waistband and they can either be stretched up over or worn comfortably underneath your bloated belly. Yes...today I am grateful for my fat pants and the creator of elastic.

Perhaps after my 4:00 conference call, I shall pen a short, sweet ode to my fat pants.

But wait, after my call, I have to start dinner...and then pick up the baby from day care...and then finish making dinner...and then feed everyone...and then take the baby for a walk (hoping not to run into neighbors because I'll be wearing my fat pants)...and then bathe the baby...and then finish working after she's in bed.

Okay, no time for ode penning...this blog will have to do. Thank you, fat pants, thank you!

Sneaking Out

So hubby and I snuck out of work for 2.5 hours to enjoy a little escape at the new Gold Class Cinemas in Austin at the Domain. I offer my opinion:

Here's my official review of Gold Class Cinemas ($22/ticket if you sign up for the free membership, $29.ticket if you don't... why wouldn't you??): I arrived 30 mins early as the online order receipt asks you to. I put my credit card down for my "tab" to order food and drinks from. I was escorted to the appropriate swanky lounge area for my theatre (Iron Man 2), and a pleasant waiter came by within a minute to chat as I waited on Jeff to join me. Very courteous and said many times that our experience there was the most important thing for the waitstaff, so always let them know if we need anything. We ordered appetizers: bread sticks with 3 dipping/spreading sauces ($12) and some drinks. At about 5 minutes til noon, we were ushered to our previously-selected seats in the 24-person theatre and had the call button explained to us, as well as the controls for the reclining seats. We were offered a blanket and pillow, but it wasn't needed at the time (after I ate, I did ask for a blanket and it was a fabulous warm and cozy one!). I had the cuban pork sandwich ($11) and Jeff had the artisan pizza ($16). Really awesome food. REALLY awesome movie. Really comfy chairs. All told, it was a $100 movie, but if you calculate a night out at, say, The Melting Pot or equivalent-priced restaurant, then a move at a regular theatre, it's about even. My only complaint is that the tray for eating on is too small to share with someone, and their plates for the food are too large to go on the small tray. Other than that, the experience was delightful! Two thumbs up!

And let me say, what a nice treat to do this during the day to avoid the customary $40 babysitting fee that you incur on a Friday/Saturday night! Though I sure would have liked a glass of wine, which I wasn't comfortable partaking in on a "lunch break."

Guilt

So this strange Mary Kay lady gave me a catalog last week. I thanked her and told her I'd just replinished my Bobbi Brown makeup supply, but would keep the catalog handy. I did intend to put it in my makeup drawer. However, she left me a message that she was coming back to get it today. Why would you give a potential customer a catalog and then ask for it back?

When the doorbell rang, I told Jeff I didn't want to deal with the Mary Kay lady and to tell her I wasn't here... I'm sure I threw away the catalog during The Great Kitchen Cleanup of Monday Night. Why did I make Jeff lie to her (though I have to admit I didn't think he would - I figured I would be called to the door).

Do I need to call Mary Kay and order her some new catalogs?  I have plenty of things to worry about, but I'm obsessing about this lady's catalog now. Mary Kay's website doesn't let you order catalogs, they just let you look online at their ecatalog. Why do I feel guilty about this?? Ugh. I need some wine. And to clean the house because the cleaning lady is coming tomorrow. And the deconstruction on the bathroom continues as they try to resolve the leak/water/mold damage and it's really getting to me. And I am booked solid at work tomorrow from 7:30am to 5pm. And it's 45 minutes past the monster kid's bedtime and we're still playing "I want mommy no I want daddy" games.

And yet, this lady has lost what appears to be her sole means to sell Mary Kay to people in a neighborhood where she doesn't even live. And it's my fault.

My failing business

So I have this side business that I don't publicize. MACTO Sprays (http://www.mactospray.com/). Monster spray, ghost spray, and sleepy-doll spray (for when your dolls won't go to sleep but you have to... wouldn't want them having a late night party without you). Anyway, I have BOXES of spray bottles in the garage. Occassionally I sell a bottle. In fact, I just sold one on March 31st. The last 3 bottles that I have sold haven't made it to their intended owners due to me having no time to fulfill the order and get to the post office when it's open. I have had to refund all 3 orders.

How insane is that someone wants to give me $15 for a bottle of smelly water and I can't find the time to mail it to them? Something is wrong with this picture. I need a fulfillment house to send my orders so I can market the product. I can market anywhere, anytime. The post office, however, is only open from 8 to 5.

*sigh*

The overload is getting the better of me

My last few days in a nutshell:

• Master shower leaking into formal living room below – currently plastic-wrapped off like in E.T. so that we don’t breathe in mold. Plumbers got here this morning to begin deconstructing the master shower to determine the problem. Unknown timeframe for complete repair. Sounding like next Tuesday is the target completion date.

• Dogs had teeth cleaning and mole-removal surgery on Friday, so they are Frankenstein-looking creatures with splotches of fur-lessness and stiches.

• House is A DISASTER. Seriously – you would think we were robbed if you came in here right now.

• Beautiful kitchen with amazing counterspace currently has no counterspace because of said DISASTER.

• SOOOO excited for a Saturday night out – babysitter lined up, tickets bought (twice, oops!)

• 5pm Saturday, Jeff tells me that he doesn’t think he can make it through a 2 hour movie due to the stomach bug. Cancel babysitter. Make mad calls to get rid of tickets, but too late notice for everyone. Eat $18.

• Monday: Slow-moving toddler makes getting out of the house at a reasonable time impossible, and then when it is possible and you put on underwear instead of a diaper, he has an accident. Jeff already  downtown to industry conference, so no help.

• Garbage day, but did I take out the garbage last night? Nope. So I did it this morning while running around and nicked a bag getting it out of the garbage can and some unknown liquid (please god, let it not be chicken fat) leaked out all over the place. Dogs licking it up, Reilly going “Mommy made a mess! Mommy made a mess!”. Yes, thanks so much kid.

• 3 minutes late to global best practices call, 3 more minutes late due to ancient computer system that won’t unfreeze.

• Ready to do big training session but the Software as a Service site doesn’t work. Really? The system we use doesn’t even let me log in. Nice. On to Plan B – complete a nice 45 minute training by describing and showing previously-captured and out of date screen shots. Ha!

• Oh – should I throw in the real work stuff? Nah, enough stress at home to not even think about work stress. ;-)

I think I need a hug. And a massage. Maybe a hug from a massuese.

Accumulation of crap

So we moved from 1800 square feet over to 3300 square feet back in November. Other than the guest bedroom and bath, which gets used like twice a year, we actually use MOST of the rooms in the house. The "formal living room" is the only really unused room, but I plan to make that into a nice reading area eventually. Reilly's playroom gets minimal use simply because I prefer him playing in the family room so I can see him while making dinner or whatever.

Anyway, the point is that we almost doubled our house size after purchasing a dining room set and a family room set, we actually filled up all of our rooms with stuff from the other house. AND we consigned some furniture and donated like a billion dollars worth of stuff to Goodwill. Over the last week, I've started paying attention to the things that sit around unused. Three wicker boxes of toys under the coffee table that haven't been touched in about 3 weeks. At least 6 kitchen cabinets that haven't been opened in months. The stuff in the guest closet hasn't been used at all. Boxes in my closet not opened since we moved in. Why do we have this stuff? I don't get it. Neighborhood garage sale coming up May 1st - I might actually participate in that this time!

Also love this post by Dad Labs on the topic.

A full 72 hours of motherhood

So on Easter weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to spend 72 straight hours with the kiddopotomus! Daycare was closed on Good Friday, and Gangee and Poppo (my parents) flew in from Atlanta. We did the egg hunt at the Austin Farmer's Market, lunched at NoRth at the Domain, and generally played around all day. Dyed eggs on Sunday and had a lovely roasted leg of lamb. An amazing 3 day weekend!

Unfortunately, my exhaustion got the better of me and when I had a headache Saturday night, I layed down at fell asleep at 9:30... only an issue because the EASTER BUNNY was supposed to show up that night. Luckily my dad stuffed some eggs and took care of it for me so Sunday morning was a blast. It was nice to take a little vacation from 2 hour momming it. I think my favorite part about all that is that it is now 2 weeks later and I'm just now getting a chance to write about it. :-)

One of my colleagues just told me that her 2 Hour Momness got out of control last night when the TOOTH FAIRY forgot to show up at her house. Oh my. Can we start a service of "Special Occasion Filler-inners" where we can order these things to happen?

The Mostly Unplugged Vacation

My husband just forwarded me this article entitled The Mostly Unplugged Vacation. What a great article. I'm planning a week-long vacation at the end of June, just before the July 4th holiday, and I'm already freaking out. How can I be away for a week? Won't the world crumple up and implode if I don't answer every email within 10 minutes?

I specifically like his comment about his 50 voicemails... the first 25 telling him about huge emergencies, and the last 25 telling him "nevermind, we figured it out." Admittedly, this is what happens when emergencies arrive and you happen to not get the memo. Other people actually think and actually solve problems... or they realize the problem can wait a week until you return.

I have every intention of heeding this advice come late June. I will check email 3 times, for 30 minutes, and only during the kid's nap.

At least... that's the plan.

Because I just don't have enough to do...

Am I an overachiever or glutten for punishment? Or do I just want to vent to others who know what I'm going through? Whatever the reason, I've just created a new community blog for working mothers, The 2-Hour Mom.

While pregnant, I thought I would surely be a stay at home after I had the kid. About a month into maternity leave, I realized that I just wasn't cut out for full-time mommydom. I'm a multitasker. I needed to work in addition to being a mom. So I work. But I work a lot. Workaholism runs in my family, so when I work, I WORK. Early morning conference calls with colleagues overseas. Full days at work that don't allow me to leave until 5:30. Leaving me to parent on weekdays between the hours of 6 and 8pm. I am The 2-Hour Mom.

My two-year-old is thus far well adjusted, even-tempered (mostly), eats well, obeys reasonably (for a two-year-old), and meets or exceeds all major milestones for development. So this blog exists to reassure working mothers that while we're not SuperMommy, we can have careers and amazing children at the same time. And there will be problems, too. Tantrums. Illnesses at the WORST possible time. Sleep problems. Yep, all of it. And we will still get up and be on that conference call at 7 am. Or at work by 9. Or both.

My friends will also share their stories here, and we encourage you to share as well! Community! Therapy! And it's free! :-)