Getting ready for elf time!

I needed a refresher in my elf ideas from last year so I don't repeat too many of them as I get ready to bring out my kid's "watcher" for 2013. So I thought I'd put together a compilation of images from 2012 and the fun times our elf had in the house.

Our elf's name is Zaphod. Here were his 2012 adventures:

Playing with friends.


Offering up a LEGO project.


An impromptu sleigh.


Doing some activities.


Fishing!


Marshmellow fight!


Hanging from the attic rope, after TPing Reilly's door.


Ate some cookies and used a medicine cup for some milk.



"Decorating Reilly's room.


He got into the advent calendar!


Offering up a fun activity!


Zipline!!!


Making snowflakes.


Snow angels in the rice krispies.



Spider elf dangling from the light left some magic peppermints to be planted.



Board game with friends - and you can see what the magic peppermints sprouted next to it!


A little mischief with the pictures on the wall and some dry erase markers.


Hanging out on the mistletoe.


Gift wrapped the toilet.


Playing scrabble with friends.


Decorating the Xmas tree with Reilly's underwear.



You can't see it because there wasn't much milk left, but the elf made the milk green.


Marshmellow bath in the sink.


Farewell letter.


So now I have to start the planning for 2013... any new exciting elf ideas out there?

Really? Elementary school secrets working mothers forgot to tell me

I must have missed the memo about how uncoordinated and poorly run public school activities are for working parents. I complained before about bad timing for daycare activities, but those were few and far between so they didn't require too much complaining or planning to work around. Now that I have a kindergartner, I'm indoctrinated into the real work of the horrible life of a working mom.

School ends at 2:45. Let's start there. Really? Who can get their kid every day at 2:45 and hold down a steady job? (especially at a commuter school like the one I'm at where you have to be in line by 1:55 for that 2:45 pickup!) Which is why some brilliant entrepreneurs started after school programs! Yay! Thank you!

Now what about the days that my kid has some sort of instrument class? Pick him up when he's done at 4:40? Okay, easy enough... I will plan to do that one day a week, no problem.

Kindergarten open house? Sweet! Let's go! Oh, wait - just got a memo that NO KIDS ARE ALLOWED? Really? REALLY? So either one parent can't go, or I have to pay $50 for a babysitter? Awesome.

End of year music concert for my kid with an instrument: 3pm on a Thursday? REALLY? COME ON!

And I thought work-life balance was tough with a little kid. It's even harder with a big kid!

Cheers to you, working mothers! I'm in awe that you have been managing this for so long. I'm in week 3 and I'm tired already.

Ditching for Donuts

Obviously, I'm a working mom. My husband is a working dad. We pay for daycare. Soon we will have a child in "real" school and the other still in daycare. I LOVE my daycare. They teach, they play, they create, they explore, they love. They are absolutely positively awesome. It is one of the best daycare centers on the planet, in my personal opinion. They also do great things like Muffins with Mom on Mother's Day, and Donuts with Dad on Father's Day, and Preschool Graduations for the kids moving on to Kindergarten, and random pancake breakfasts where parents can come spend a little time with the kids. They truly are an awesome organization. Have I complimented them enough to let the "but" loose?

But...Here's my problem: I'm a working mom. And my husband is a working dad. So Donuts with Dad at 9:30am is tough. Take kids to daycare, go to work. Have 3 meetings. Leave work to have a donut. Go back to work for the rest of the day. Of COURSE you have to participate in this, or your kid is in shambles all day that you didn't go. Of COURSE kids are more important than work... the vast majority of the time. But the reason the kids are in daycare is because we have jobs, so I'm just wishing for a little consideration on the part of the daycare - 8:30am is way more reasonable than 9:30 for activities like this.

And I know this is just the beginning - something tells me "real" school doesn't spend a lot of time considering working parents' schedules either, so I guess I'd better buckle up and hold on for the ride!

I'm not ready!

I am a suburban mom of two. That is the reality of it. Next year, my oldest will begin kindergarten and the prospect of carpooling is in our future. Therefore, I need a car that can hold a baby carseat, a booster seat, and potentially two additional booster seats. It will be the car that I will have for the next 7-8 years or so, and I'm certain my children will have friends that need to go places with them.

BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A MINIVAN DRIVER!!!!!

I am a suburban mom of two. I know I am destined to own a minivan. I should give in. Roll over. Submit.

My minivan-owning friends all say, "You're a suburban mom of two. Get a minivan and get over it. When they go to college, you can get a sports car."

My anti-minivan friends all say, "Get an SUV! Get a Ford Flex! You don't have to get a minivan! Don't give in! Fight it!"

*sigh*

I think I'm about to buy a minivan.

But in my heart, it's an adorable little sports car.

Idiots

On the way to t-ball yesterday, a car was going too slow for my husband's liking so he honked at him and said, "Reilly, I know I'm not supposed to call that guy stupid, but he is an idiot!!"

The 5 year old responded, "You can't say idiot, either, dad."

So my husband inquired, "Then what do you call a type of person who consistently makes bad choices and doesn't pay attention to the people around him?"

Thinking for a moment about the people he knows, Reilly answered, "I call that type of person Josh*."


*(note: the name of the child in question has been changed to protect him :-) )

Back to work

Last week was my first week back to work after 11 weeks of maternity leave. I tried to ease back in, taking 3 half days and working two full days. I think it was a pretty successful endeavor - though work was like drinking from a firehose, instead of the trickle of a water fountain that I was expecting...

My most stressful moment was a 5-6pm conference call. I had to pick up both kids from daycare early to be home in time to take the call (since the call was timed right when I would normally be picking them up). When I got home, the 5 year old wanted to talk, build things, show me what he built, play, etc. The 11 week old was crying because she was hungry. The dogs were whining and growling at each other. And I was having a hard time getting my phone off mute to contribute to the conversation due to the noise going on around me. Most. Stressful. Hour. Of. The. Week.

I *was* successful getting to work by 8:30 or 9 each day, so that was a huge win!

Work stress aside, the baby girl did great in daycare, and the awesome boy was soooooo excited to have his baby sister at his school!

So now it's time to settle in to the life of working parents with two kids. We should be alright... as long there aren't any meetings before 9 or from 5-6...

Bring it.

Supportive communities

After decades of parental advice books, better parenting blogs, and helpful tips on how to balance work and life coming from all sorts of experts, I'm pleased to report that I feel like I'm seeing a ton more supportive publications encouraging us to realize that we are real and do not have to try to be supermom (or superdad) all the time.

Here's a small collection of the posts and books I've seen lately that I feel offer much more supportive advice than the usual ones.

This one is written from the perspective of stay at home moms, but I found it completely relevant for all moms.
What we need when we say we need a break:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-king/stay-at-home-parent_b_2558642.html

This is a great reminder that you are very, very human, and you should forgive yourself!
To parents of small children: Let me be the one who says it out loud:
http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/03/12/to-parents-of-small-children-let-me-be-the-one-who-says-it-out-loud/

And another along those lines:
How to be a perfect parents in 5 easy steps... or probably never:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/una-lamarche/how-to-be-a-perfect-parent_b_2888253.html

A lot has been said about Sheryl Sandberg's new book Lean In and how it tells women to prioritize work over family. The people who are saying that have NOT read the book. I found the book to be incredibly supportive, real, realistic, and inspiring. I recommend this book if you have chosen to be a mother and also in rat race. If you don't have time to read (a true reality of motherhood...) then just watch her Ted Talk here: it's the same message, and most of the same stories. And its still really good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4

And I'll leave you with my favorite description of true life these days: