August 12: Taking my crew on the ferry


I decided to work from home today since I went out-of-town yesterday, and I have my work computer with me.   This changed things up a bit:

Morning and Commute:

  • Red remembered about my promise of going to Big Bro’s school on a day when I work from home.    When she found out I was working from home today, she started to get excited and slowly started to communicate the change in routine.   I was patient with her and let her finish her thoughts…..”Mommy… you work from home today?   So [Twin Husky], [Twin Crazy] and me go to [Big Bro] school?    And we look at Daddy go on Ferry?”    “Yes sweetie.  We can do that if you want.”   She was excited.
  • Big Bro was still sleeping hard because there was a pee-pee accident last night.   He downed 3 glasses of milk before bed — poor kid.   Accidents happen.   Because of this we let him sleep a bit longer – we also had more time since we didn’t need to make the drop offs before the ferry left.
  • I got four sets of clothes ready for the day; changed everyone, got on shoes, everyone’s excited.
  • We get the kids in the car and drive to the ferry station.  The kids go wild when they see the boat.  I get reprimanded by a “rent a cop” that I’m blocking the way where I am parked.   “Come on man, I got four kids that are excited to see their daddy get on the Ferry.”   No luck.  I loop around and find another spot, less conspicuous.   The ferry sounds its horn and begins to back up.  Smoke fills the sky.  Twin Crazy says “hot”.   Twins are pointing to the boat.   We all wave bye-bye to daddy.
  • We all drop off Big Bro.   All kids go onto sidewalk and hold hands.    Big Bro wants to get dropped off in privacy so I set up the other kids in the “community play room” and drop of Big Bro solo.  He appreciates this.
  • I play with the Twins and Red at the daycare center for about 45 min.  They loved it – legos, baby dolls, doll house — we received a lot of attention.   We want to send Red here in September although it will be much more expensive for us.
  • OK time to go!   On the way out I see some legos in little hands so we go back and put everything back.  Twin Husky was not a fan of this but he soon got over it.
  • Drop off at daycare went fine.   They all looked a little tired and maybe needed a snack.
  • I’m back at home and will start my day – I will need to finish the proposal and send out to the client by end of business tonight; I would also like to start on the “best practices” deck as the hand-out to those people we interviewed during the last project as a “thank you”.  It should be easy to do.   I already know how I’m going to set it up.
Highlights of my Working Day:
  • Ate a yogurt; set up for the day in my home-office.  This included my iPad, my work computer, and the Apple home computer.  I also had my cell phone nearby and my home phone.   It looks like I’m a day-trader.
  • Wrote commentary on my morning, since I did not have a commute trip this morning
  • Discussed status of proposal with two Directors.  Made some last changes and I sent out to the client.   I at least know that he read my email because I received a “read receipt”.  Hopefully we’ll hear something back soon.
  • 1:30 PM:  Went out to lunch by myself and brought my iPad.   Wrote a piece that I will post on Sunday night.
  • Started and finished the Best Practices document that we can send to interviewees from our last project.   I think it’s ready to go but I sent it to a Director for comments/feedback.
  • I plan to wrap up early today….   get the kids, head to the ferry, and meet Hubby in the city for dinner.   If we leave early enough we’ll all be able to make the 7:30 Ferry from the city back home.   Kids are free on the ferry on Fridays.   They absolutely love it.
  • OK, gotta run and get myself ready and also pack a bag for the kids!    Some PJs, diapers, 4 small cars for entertainment at the table.
Dinner and Bedtime:
  • I picked up Big Bro and told him that we were going on a ferry and we both started running to the van
  • I picked up the rest and told them the same thing — -“Daddy… daddy…. boat….”   How cute.
  • Got to ferry parking lot in plenty of time — they looked so cute and anxious waiting for the boat.    They went nuts when it arrived.

My crew waiting for the ferry to grab dinner with Daddy

  • They were great on the ferry — standing up on the cushion seats looking out onto the water.   We were in the front of the boat so they had a great view of the city.   They were great.   Red gave the ticket to the ferry guy.
  • We met hubby and headed out for Mexican food — rice, beans, chicken, enchiladas, quesadillas, and BEERS.   All kids ate well.   Twin Husky sat in a booster seat while Twin Crazy was in a high chair.   We had a great time.   The kids were so well-behaved.
  • We walked a bit — Big Bro and Red pushing the stroller.   Twin Husky was mellow and Twin Crazy was going nuts jumping back and forth in her seat and laughing and cackling.
  • We shared two cookies from Subway since all the ice-cream stores were closed.   Big Bro took control of the water cup and all kids shared their water.   So cute.
  • Ferry ride back was fun; all kids tired.
  • As soon as we made it back the toddlers went upstairs.   I got milk for all; quick routine for Twins and they were out.   Quick routine for the big guys and I think they’re sleeping.
IT WAS AN EXCELLENT DAY….   felt productive at work and I had A LOT of quality time with the kids.   I absolutely LOVED today.
Going to watch a movie now with hubby –
Till Monday –
– Mama K

July 27: BIG meeting with Senior Executive VP at client


My morning and commute:

I had a great morning. I got ready for work – had to dress well for the Executive Presentation later today. I will do hair and make up while at work. Red and Twins were already downstairs with Hubby, who had breakfast under control

* Red and Twins were eating at the dining room table, Twins in their booster seats. This is because they were all eating yogurt. Twins self feeding with yogurt is a very scary sight. It was everywhere but they were doing great. They love the spoons. Yogurt was in their ears, hair, all over their faces and necks. Their arms were covered and their shirts soaked. Sooooooooooooooo cute.

Yogurt morning

* I ran upstairs to get extra clothes that were requested by daycare for Twin Crazy. Big Bro was still in bed. “Mommy…. can you help me?” “Help you with what?” “Getting up.” “OK.” So he needs some mommy-time. I went over and hugged and kissed him good morning. I felt the warmth of him cuddled in his blanket. I said “Ohhhhhhhhhhhh you’re so warm and cuddly…… do you feel lucky?” “Yes mommy!”. How cute.
* He had to pee but we decided for him to walk downstairs with me holding hands so we could spend more time together. He agreed. It was only one extra minute but I think both of us needed the extra time together.
* Red’s PJ tops got stuck on her head while getting changed. Her nose was in the way. So I took the opportunity to tweak her nose and get her laughing as we struggled to get the top off.
* It took several minutes to wipe down Twin Crazy and Twin Husky from their yogurt adventures. They loved it. “Is there yogurt HERE? Yes. Is there yogurt HERE? Yes.” We made a game of it and they had a good time getting clean.
* OK – Time to go! Twin Husky seemed to repeat this statement even with inflection. How cute. It’s harder for me to notice their level of speaking ability, compared to the first two children. I have less time to focus on what they are saying and learn what their sounds mean.
* We were running late. Had to run to the car without giving the twins diaper changes. So not only did we drop them off with hair sticky with yogurt, but they were also sopping wet with diapers sagging almost to the floor. Not only that, but she requested me to bring in more diapers and I forgot (I was too focused on the extra clothes for twin crazy). So I had to scour the mini-van and found 3 diapers. We really should have changed them ourselves this AM. I’m not sure how shes going to last with one remaining diaper for two kids for the rest of the day…..

Today at work I will need to focus on:
* preparing for the presentation this morning. It has been several days since I’ve seen the presentation draft and I need to refresh my memory of the content.
* working with our analyst who will be starting on Draft 1 of the white paper.
* if possible, closing the loop on the next steps from our partnering meeting yesterday.

Lots to do today! The sky is grey. We are approaching the city now. On the ferry I just met a developer for the iPad so am learning lots of crazy features that of course now I’m forgetting, but at least I know who to talk to if I have any questions on iPad, iPhone, etc. going forward. Gotta go!

Highlights of my working day:

* decided to buy quick breakfast (breakfast tacos and HUGE hazelnut coffee) since I need the food/energy for my meetings today
* make up and hair in ladies room
* worked with analyst to make sure she is on track for outline and drafting of white paper
* quickly prepared for Executive presentation; had admin print and bind. Reviewed content to refresh my memory of issues. Coordinated with director on how to deliver and present the material
* I throw my heels in my bag and put my walking shoes on… it is sunny outside and we enjoy the sun on the walk over. Outside of the office I do the “shoe switch” but at that same moment I notice that I have dried yogurt on both sleeves of my dress. Shit!!! I quickly pick these off.
* presentation went EXCELLENT. The person was actually a Senior EVP and very high up the chain — very funny and personable guy. We established rappore immediately over small talk re: iPad. During the presentation he was very quick, very on-point. He kept me on my toes. Afterwards, we received great feedback and thanks from all clients. Director comment: “That couldn’t have gone any better than that. Great job Kim”. YEAH!
* We quickly run for sandwich; while in food court there is a farmers market. I of course seize the opportunity to buy strawberries, peaches, and cucumbers while waiting for my take out lunch.
* we run to office for another conference call with another set of potential partners for a different business development opportunity which could be huge for us. I was actually supposed to be in Seattle today for this meeting – half of our team is there and we took the call from our office.
* Worked with the analyst on the whitepaper to see the progress; made suggestion on visuals and how to package the content. Quickly crafted some visuals in powerpoint for use in whitepaper; we will meet with the client tomorrow to talk about the first rough draft.
* There was no time for me to follow up with the business development go-to-market approach as I had originally planned. Oh well, I’ve learned that I can’t do everything all of the time. This can wait until tomorrow or Friday.

Busy day!

I had an appointment in the city after work so Hubby is solo with kids tonight. Then I get the news…. the new, undependable mothers helper has proved herself to be undependable again tonight. Hubby is solo with all four kids. I’ll need to take care of him tonight. 🙂

Hopefully the kids will be awake by the time I get home; at least enough for me to read a book and tuck them in.

Till tomorrow –

– Mama K.

My first entry — week in Review


I had a rather hectic week on both a work and personal front.  Returned from a long-weekend vacation in Florida (I only took “Twin Crazy”) on Monday — I had to rush her to daycare; unfortunately I could not witness her reunion with “Twin Husky”.  It was the first time they were separated.   Daycare provider later told me there was LOTS of hugging and kissing.   Ran home for conference call with client, made changes to executive presentation.   Played with kids ALOT on Monday evening to catch up with their lives.

Tuesday woke up early, as did hubby.   Both had to leave early.   Got all kids fed and dressed and all were out of the house by 7 Am.   I head to airport — client presentation later that day.   Went very well.    It is the culmination of the strategy  project however we will need to go back for an executive presentation in 2 weeks time.   Caught earlier flight home; able to play with kids before bedtime.    Sing “twinkle twinkle little star” with sign language to Twins; I’d love for them to learn to participate.

Wednesday did some business development.  Relatively uneventful.  Dinner was great with kids.   “Big Bro” ate at least 5 servings of carrots (YEAH!!!).   Twins had great time using forks.  They were very proud of themselves.   Received bad news from our “mothers helper” that she found full time employment and next Friday will be her last day.   UGGGGGGGGGGGH.  She is wonderful.   We will all miss her.   She is our sanity life saver.   I will need to post something on Craigslist.    Went on date night and formalized thinking on website name and branding for this project.  Drank beer.  Ate sushi.

Thursday did more business development.  Secured client commitments for big meeting later this year.    YEAH!   Pack up my bag with my laptop and also some organic fruits/veggies for the kids.   I’m worried that each kid is not getting their required two servings of veggies per day!   Headed out for Girls Night for my belated birthday celebration.   I can’t believe I’m 41 (but I act like I’m 20 something).   Great time!   Thank you girlfriends!!!!

Early morning conference call so am working home today.   Another business development / proposal to prepare.   Need to also work on Executive Presentation from last project.   I was thinking about roasting a chicken tonight for dinner but it’s still in the freezer.   What are the chances it will thaw within 3 hours??????    Now what?????