part-time – Mama In Motion™

February 2: Sand, balance beams, and first words

February 2, 2012 by Mama K 1 Comment

Thursday. My day off with the children. I’ve been busy so far, and the day is only 1/2 over….

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

Red got changed into her new Dora outfit and was so excited. She then helped Twin Crazy get dressed. Big Bro was excited to wear his new T-shirt. He was also excited that it is my home day. He wanted to scooter into school today.

We all get ready really quickly. All kids ate and got dressed without a problem. Shoes on, socks on, no issues! I loaded Twin Crazy and Twin Husky into the stroller, and Big Bro got himself suited up for his scooter ride. I gave Red a big kiss goodbye and told her I would pick her up early.

We met up with the Motley Crew on the way to school. The Twins were so cute in their stroller. They sit there quietly sucking their thumbs, looking around, and looking at all the dogs. Big Bro did great on the scooter. There were no falls this time so I think his confidence is back.

After drop off, I took Twin Crazy and Twin Husky to a playground. Along the way we talked about trees, roots, saw dogs, and cars. At they playground they climbed up HUGE structures, pushed some swings, and played with sand. They are good with wiping their hands and not throwing sand. We talked about how to try not to get sand in your eyes. We had snacks. We had a great time but then it was time to go back since Twin Crazy had a water spill on her pants and got cold.

When we got home I gave them baths. They love the bath. Twin Crazy was cute scrubbing Twin Husky’s back. And Twin Husky was cute shampooing Twin Crazy’s hair.

We then did some laundry together since we had sand everywhere. They love to help. We talked about the water, the soap, and how the machine spins around to clean their clothes. It was so cute how they both sat together listening and learning. And how Twin Husky was holding on to his sister. I couldn’t get over the cuteness.

Snacktime! Grapes.

We then did some art activities. Stickers. Twin Crazy is really good at getting the stickers off by herself. Twin Husky needs some help. I tried to teach him how to bend the sticker on its edge so he could use his fingertip to get the sticker off. He kindof got it but not really. Then they added some coloring/markers on top of their sticker project. Twin Crazy was making funny faces at me.

Lunchtime!

A few minutes of playtime while I folded laundry. Then we read books and they took a nap. I cleaned up a bit and ate some lunch – leftovers – the story of my life.

Now I’m typing this up in Big Bro and Red’s room, right next door to them. I need to have them up by 2:45 PM so I can pick up the others – I signed them up for a gymnastics class today and am curious as to how that will go.

I’m having a fun day. We did so much already. And I feel like I can get things done around the house while they play; they kind of hover around me. If I’m folding laundry we’re still talking with each other as they are playing next to me. If I need to go somewhere else in the house I have these two little ones following me around. They really like to help and they are THIRSTY for looking and seeing everything I do. And Twin Crazy is adamant about doing things herself. And they are even cuter when they smell good and are freshly bathed. There’s nothing like holding a clean kid.

The funny thing though about these days is that I still have my mind on work. I think it’s because I know that we won that client project and that my time is going to be stretched thin. My phone also gets personal as well as work emails. So it “bings” and I’m checking email throughout the day. But I need to. I can’t be “off the grid”. I need to be available in case something urgent comes up. I need to make this arrangement a success for me as well as my company. So I never really let go of the reigns of work.

I’m also obviously thinking about the divorce. And the process. And the money involved. And how I wish we were just going through mediation without having the courts and lawyers involved. But I didn’t start it this way – so am forced to follow. The uncertainty is unsettling. This is my life but so much will be dictated to me. I just want what is best for my kids. If I can trust this process to trust that things will be decided that is in their best interest, then I can live with that.

After Naps:

Off we went! We picked up Big Bro first, and then Red. They were excited about going to the gymnastics class. They were a little bit reserved at first, but then they had a blast balancing, jumping, flipping…. at first I even had Twin Crazy and Twin Husky with me as Big Bro and Red were warming up. They loved running around and walking on the low balance beam.

We then went home and had some quiet time. I set Twin Crazy and Twin Husky up with some paper and markers. And Big Bro did his homework with me. HE READ ME A STORY!!!! THE FIRST ONE EVER!!! I AM SO PROUD!!!! I then read two other stories to him from the same book. I am still stunned.

The kids then played as I made home-made pizza. They were a bit grumpy towards the end so thankfully the food was ready and they all ate really well.

There was some more playing, then clean up, then bedtime. Twin Crazy and Twin Husky were counting. Big Bro read the entire book to me and Red – all 3 stories. Red had a hard time going to sleep and needed to hug me and rock with me and hold my hand.

It was an amazing day. I feel like all the kids are growing and developing so fast – they are changing it seems daily. I then feel like 3 are moving forward but one (Red) is regressing a bit. I think she understands more than what she lets on. I worry about her.

It was such a great day with great moments with each of the kids. I am still shocked that Big Bro is a “reader”. He is so excited and proud of himself too. I want that feeling to last for him for a long time.

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: gymnastics, parenting, part-time, playground, reading, working mom, working mother

February 1: Breakdowns

February 1, 2012 by Mama K 1 Comment

Today is so unusual for so many reasons! Right now I am working in an Audi dealership, where our car is being serviced for a recall. They have comfy couches, a starbucks coffee machine, and snacks. I love it (for now). I’m working 1/2 day and will have the kids in the afternoon.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

I woke up tired this morning. Last night, at 1 AM, I heard Red crying through the “kid monitor” (a baby monitor that we call “kid monitor” so I can hear them in the night while they are upstairs and I am downstairs in the guest room). I went to her. I couldn’t understand what the problem was. She was pushing me away. I finally just grabbed her and picked her up. She had peed herself. So I got her changed, said it was OK, and stripped her bed. It was too wet for her to sleep off to the side. She wanted to sleep in Daddy’s room so I brought her in there.

It was a typical morning, kids eating and getting dressed, while Big Bro slagging behind. I think it would help if we had a fourth stool – but at this point I’m not going to go ahead and buy anything – unless it’s out of “family funds” and we are short on cash flow at the moment.

Twin Crazy wanted to put her socks on and off, and also tried to put Red’s pajamas on over her own. She did the same with a pair of Red’s underwear.

NO LUNCHES FOR RED! Starting today at her daycare, they are providing snacks and lunches. So no lunchbox for her! YEAH! (Although she did adore her Dora lunchbox, recently purchased).

Big Bro was still sulking about his Legos. We had to go to the mailbox together to check that they were not in there. I asked Daddy to please talk to Big Bro about when they will be delivered so that Big Bro can at least set his expectations. These tantrums every single day is draining on me and he should have been told this up front. He does fine when he at least knows what day the items will arrive.

Drop offs were fine. Red and I dropped off Big Bro and I lifted her up to the window so she could see how Big Bro takes out his lunchbox, picks out a snack for the basket, and then goes into his classroom. Red and I walked together to the car for her drop off.

There was a lizard “dragon” in her class today. He is the pet of one of the teacher’s sons. It was so cute to see all of the kids circling around the lizard. As soon as Red walked into the room her friends started telling her about the dragon. It seems like she has a lot of “friends” there in her class. It was so cool. It ate a mouse last night. I’m thinking a “dragon lizard” will not be my pet of choice for the kids in the future.

As I was leaving Red’s pre-school the Associate Director asked me if everything was OK. I guess the look on my face said it all. I’m worried about the kids. I’m seeing some effects on Red already. She is so clingy. She peed her bed last night. And things didn’t even really get started yet for our family. I am still in the same house with them. We are not shuffling back and forth. I just sat with this woman and cried for a bit, feeling for the kids and telling her that they don’t know anything yet so it will just get worse for them, but I would keep them in the loop with everything so that they can help support Red if/when she needs it.

So now I’m at the Audi dealership, waiting for a recall servicing. There are limited outlets so electricity may be an issue. I hope I am productive today at work. I need this job. I need to get things done today. My goal is the meeting minutes for the planning meetings for the Forums – I need to get a jump on planning those meetings because I have 2 other initiatives to push forward and it looks like we will be starting a project soon….. so, I need to take advantage of this time BEFORE the project starts or else I will be crushed [I can’t let that happen].

Highlights of My Working Day:

Just check out this setup!!!!

I did some sales outreach for a forum we are launching, and also followed up with a client who we prepared a proposal – it is in a holding pattern due to a corporate-wide reorganization. So we’ll have to be patient.

We won the project from the power-meeting I went to two weeks ago. We start on the 13th. Oh shit. Now I’m going to get busy….. I don’t know whether to be happy for job security or cry. I just need good staff to work the project – otherwise I get crushed. So fingers crossed…

I don’t remember what else I did today. I don’t think I was very productive for work. I will likely work tonight a bit to feel good about my day.

Rest of the Day:

I picked up Big Bro at 1:30. We ran an errand, and then we went to Ross. He’s been rejecting all of his shirts recently and wanted Star Wars shirts. They had Lightening McQueen so we grabbed two of them and he is happy. While we were there I saw a cute Dora princess outfit for Red so got that for her.

We then went to pick up Red; from there we went to pick up their ceramic sculpture paintings from the other day. Red’s “Angry Bird” bank is toooo cute. Big Bro liked his truck.

We stopped at Trader Joe’s quickly and Big Bro had a melt-down. Full fledged. I never saw one like that from him in public before. He was just too tired I guess. Too much running around. I got some stuff and left quickly.

We picked up Twin Crazy and Twin Husky at 4:00. We went home and played. Big Bro put together a new Star Wars Lego set all by himself (and was in a MUCH better mood). Twin Husky, Twin Crazy, and Red were playing stickers. And doing manicures with kid nail polish. We played trains. We played cooking. They ran around and I tickled them. Red was pretending that I was shopping and she was the employee and I had to sign to buy things from her.

We had a great dinner of fish, quinoa, peas, tomatoes and cheese. Everyone ate well. The kids really like fish.

Afterwards we played some more – Twin Husky loves the trains and Twin Crazy loves interrupting his play. Twin Crazy worked on puzzles. She went 1/2 poop in the potty. Twin Husky walked around with a huge bag filled with stuff – a bag man.

Bedtime was cute. Red’s bed is clean. The older kids read quickly and talked about the day. I held Twin Crazy for a bit in dark and rocked her. Twin Husky was patting some dolls in his bed and asked me to cover all of them.

I’m in my room, listening to Big Bro and Red through the monitors. They talk about Legos and family members and about tricking each other and about poop. Then Big Bro eventually talks to me through the monitor: “Mommy, we’re going to sleep now.”. So cute. They know I am there listening to them. I say “I love you” from my room but I bet they can barely hear me since they are upstairs. I had a great afternoon with them.

Now I hear their slow breathing. They are asleep. I am close behind them.

Till tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: divorce, dragon, flex time, parenting, part-time, Ross, working mom, working mother

January 31: A very rough start of the day

January 31, 2012 by Mama K 1 Comment

Chocolate Tuesday! What a morning. Hated it. Absolutely hated it. I am so frustrated now as I type.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

3 breakfast kids (Twin Crazy, Twin Husky, Red) are busy eating their breakfast and enjoying chocolate Tuesday (Nutella with bread, tortilla, bagels, etc.).

Big Bro on the other hand, has trouble waking up, is whining from the first 30 seconds up, whining for his clothes, whining that he’s tired, wining that there’s no stool for him (I’ll give him that, we only have 3 stools), on and on and on….

We all broke into laughs (even Big Bro) when Twin Husky was waving around a HUGE banana. We were all cracking up. I want to post a picture but it could be interpreted as adult-rated…. you get the idea. Awh, here it goes:

Clothes changes went well, but we were running late.

I threw in a load of laundry.

Finding Big Bro’s jacket held us back a bit.

I dropped off Twins and Big Bro; I HAULED ASS to the ferry. The parking lot was full. I had 2 minutes. I circled the lot, over and over, in hopes that a spot would miraculously appear. The last time I did this I parked in handicapped parking at got a $335 ticket. So, the boat pulled away. Doesn’t the driver realize that we have four children to get ready, 3 drop offs, and we simply do not have time to get here an extra 10 minutes early to ensure we get on the boat???!??!?!?!??!?!

So now we are driving into the city. This ferry is the most unpredictable and unreliable source of transportation. Cancelations are frequent. And now this. Filling up. If you miss your boat, you wait 1 hour, unless its the 8:30 boat (which we take), and then you’re shit out of luck. That’s the last boat for the morning. SUCKS!!!

Anyway, I’m at least glad that I ate some breakfast this morning. I asked Big Bro and Red to remind me to eat this morning. They asked me last night why I don’t eat breakfast and wait until I get to work. I said, you know you’re right. I shouldn’t ask YOU to eat breakfast in the morning when I’M not doing it too…. that’s not right. I need to eat breakfast TOO. Remind me tomorrow, OK?” So they did. So I ate. So is that what it comes to? When I take the time in the morning for myself we wind up missing the ferry???? Ugggh.

Today at work should be good. I’m going to focus on planning for the 3 events I have going in April. I like this part. This is the looking forward, seeing what the day could be like, seeing what is possible, and beginning to pull the pieces together. And the office will be filled with people again. So I’m looking forward to that.

Highlights of My Working Day:

I had a reasonably good day. I hooked up my replacement computer, which gave me the opportunity to clean off my desk of all of the dust-bunnies all over my desk. It feels good to be clean and free of dust. I also found some old pictures of Big Bro (2 at the time) and Red when she was a baby. So cute.

I had a sell conversation for a client prospect for one of the forums we are trying to launch. It was only me on the call – and he is interested!!! He needs to socialize the concept internally and I will follow up with him in ~2 weeks to see if they would be interested in coming to a first meeting.

I also worked on marketing/communication materials to solicit interest to a forum we are thinking on launching. We’ve settled on target audience and now we just need to go to market and see what kind of response we get. I’m glad to have started that and sent off a first draft to our team/partners.

I also followed up with a set of stakeholders to see if they wanted to play a larger role in the initiative above – hopefully they agree.

Now I’m on the ferry, headed back to a car that is parked a long way away from the parking lot. I can’t wait to see the kids. I didn’t have enough time with them last night. I have chicken defrosting in the refrigerator so they will have a good dinner. I’m looking forward to tonight.

Dinner and Bedtime:

Pick ups for all kids went fine. We were home, shoes off, jackets off, etc. by 5:30. Even Twin Crazy can now take her jacket off by herself and put it in the closet. She was so proud of herself tonight. She is so independent and can do so much by herself already.

I made tandoori chicken with yogurt tonight – this time with boneless chicken breasts which I highly recommend. I had all kids by myself. NO MOTHER’S HELPER (we need to find a replacement). For some reason, all kids were crying at some point during the dinner preparation. Twin Husky over train tracks, Big Bro about not getting his Lego set in the mail, Red under the table crying for I don’t know what reason, and Twin Crazy because of a bite incident from Twin Husky over the train tracks. It was nuts.

Everyone started to settle down after dinner started hitting their bellies.

After dinner, I did a quick cleanup, ran the dishwasher, and got the kids to clean up all of their toys before sitting down to watch some Spongebob together.

Twin Husky preferred to play by himself and build with Legos.

I played with Twin Husky as he pushed his kid stroller with his Tigers towards me, and then I pushed it back to him. We kept doing this over and over and this little guy was having so much fun. We were both laughing.

Twin Crazy had fun “eating” my nose and also Red’s nose. So cute.

We had a grape snack and then off to bed.

It was a good day with the exception of the ferry and the dinner prep. I’m feeling good today. Work was good and productive which gave me some balance. I’m looking forward to tomorrow where I’ll get to spend time with Big Bro and Red. They’re already looking forward to it. I hear them now on the monitor and they’re not talking… they’re trying to go to sleep. So sweet.

Till tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: flex time, nutella, parenting, part-time, working mom, working mother

January 30: Am I going Up or Down??!?!?!?

January 30, 2012 by Mama K 5 Comments

Monday. It was a usual. No major breakdowns which was great.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

I woke up early and headed up to the kids. Each got to bed early the night before so they all seemed well rested this AM.

I can’t really think of any particular highlights. Things just kindof flowed. The 3 ate, Big Bro was a bit tougher to get started. But the older kids got dressed and were cooperative. Clothes were prepared, bags were packed, jackets were out, shoes were gathered. It just sort of worked.

Red helped Twin Crazy get dressed into clothes since Twin Crazy said that her PJs were dirty. We taught her about “tags” and how they go into the back of the clothes. She was patient and she listened to what Red and I were teaching her. I loved that. Twin Crazy listening, Red instructing, and then Red having Twin Crazy do it by herself. It was wonderful. I love the interaction between these sisters (at least at this point in time….). I think they are at a point where they can share shirts. So I think my project over the weekend will be to cull down all shirts that are on the smaller side for Twin Crazy and consolidate all shirts between Twin Crazy and Red.

The split for drop offs was tough. Big Bro did not want to go with Daddy. I took Red and she arrived on the early side. Her teacher had painting set up for the kids since there were only a few of them. She had a hard time pulling away from me but I could tell from the look on her face and her eyes that she was looking forward to the painting activity.

Now I’m on the ferry. I brought with me my new eyeglasses that are a bit on the trendy side for me so I’ll see how I feel in them. It should be a reasonable day at work, I think. I need to type up the minutes to our planning meetings from last week for the two forums I am leading. I will need to start to reach out to guest speakers (and eventually guests for one of the meetings). I need to think through the realistic possibilities of our other forum we want to launch – I feel like we are tight on timing. Finally, I need to do admin things like performance reviews. They were due last week. I need to get something pulled together on that ASAP. OK. It actually looks like I am going to have a VERY busy day….

Highlights of My Working Day:

I had fun today. All of the directors are in town for a firm-wide Directors meeting. So I’m seeing people I have not seen in over a year. Other people shake hands. I give hugs. Yes, I give hugs to these people. That’s the way I feel about the company and about the people who work here.

I spent the majority of my day on technical isuses – my laptop screen broke off. So they are replacing it. So I needed a loaner computer. So I was not very efficient today.

I spent time doing performance reviews. They are a bit late. But at least I did them. I feel good about that. One was a “self review”. I feel good about the breadth of skillset that my new role can offer me – in terms of project management, client relationships, presentations, cultivating new sales opportunities, and being recognized internally as a leader in this function. I feel good about my self review for perhaps the first time in a very long time.

I spent some time on some personal things too, unfortunately. I go up and down. Today I was down looking at the financial picture. I honestly cannot afford to live where I live. I knew this. But now I am FEELING it.

So now I’m on a train to my appointment. I think I need to put a change in place to save on cost – I just don’t know. People all day were coming up to me and saying “I just don’t know how you are able to manage with the work and the family…. how DO YOU DO IT??!??!”. Don’t they realize that I can’t? I haven’t been able to? I was crushed? My marriage fell apart? We are divorcing??? Yes let me say it for the first time here, we are DIVORCING. And it will soon get WORSE for me in terms of financial and personal struggle???!?!?!? Am I going up or down? How can I do this??

How did I get myself here? All I wanted was to feel “normal” and to tone down the stress. I needed to scale back. I needed affordability. I needed a husband who understood. I needed to be with my children. And my kids needed me (and still do). Taking more time to care for the kids is still hard work – I knew that – I didn’t care if I was tired, but I needed to spend my time on the RIGHT things. I needed to REBALANCE my life.

But now I begin again… and yet so many decisions are left to be made and most of them will be thrust on me…. and how can I ever imagine being able to afford living in this part of the country as a single mom with four children???? And still be the mom I want to be???!?!??!?!??!??!?!?!?!?

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: divorce, flex time, parenting, part-time, working mom, working mother

January 27: Good luck for the new year

January 27, 2012 by Mama K Leave a Comment

Today was a rushed morning – I have to go to work today for a client meeting relating to an initiative that we are trying to launch. So it was rushed this morning.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

I woke up early and got the Twins so I could be there for Twin Crazy for her to go potty. Again, no progress but I did say great job and we’ll try again tomorrow.

Big Bro came downstairs completely dressed all by himself. He was so proud. I gave him a long, strong hug.

Red had problems this morning. She seemed a bit out of it. I sat with her on the floor and hugged her and rocked with her for quite awhile. I love how she wraps her arms around me and plays with my hair. We rock in silence and this gives both of us a boost afterwards. But she still had difficulty getting dressed this morning – she didn’t like her shirt. I found her favorite butterfly shirt clean in the laundry and that worked for her.

Twin Husky was walking around with his pajamas half unzipped.

Twin Husky went into my room and turned on my radio. He came into the kitchen with a cute look on his face, knowing he was caught doing something wrong and playing with buttons. We went back into my room to turn off the music and said that it was no problem, the music is now off.

Drop offs went well. I’m looking forward to Red’s school’s Chinese New Year parade – families are welcome to see it. Red wants all of us to be there. I was at a minimum going to bring Big Bro, but she also wants Twin Crazy and Twin Husky to be there too.

Now I’m in a car traveling into the city for a work meeting with potential partners for a new initiative. Once we have this meeting we’ll be in a position to craft the language and solicit potential participation for the proposed meeting in April. So, this should be a good meeting and will give us a sense to move forward more quickly.

Highlights of My Working Day:

I don’t usually work on Fridays but came in today for one face-to-face meeting which I needed to be there for…

I got into the office and put make up on, and also pulled my hair into a loose bun with decorative clips – much more professional than my usual pony-tail. I am dressed to impress.

We had a 3 hour meeting about our potential initiative. We have the support of an industry leader. However, our focus and ideas on audience keeps changing. I am now getting a bit concerned about the timing. Can we pull this together and get the right commitment from presenters and attendees in less than 3 months time??!?!??! This is something I need to talk about internally on Monday. I feel like we have more questions than answers but want this meeting to be successful – getting the right focus and the right people will be critical to make this successful….

After the meeting we headed back home to see Red in her Chinese New Year Parade. I even wore a red suit jacket to help support the festivities. We were running way late. We rushed to pick up Big Bro but did not have enough time to pick up Twin Crazy or Twin Husky. Pity. If I had drove myself into the city I would have made it back in time to have all of us there.

The parade was so cute. I’ve been to these before. Each classroom comes out in their own set of decorations and theme – Red’s had music-maker tubes and paper plates that they were waving around. She looked a bit quiet but she did not cry. She held back her smiles when she saw me and Big Bro. So sweet. Afterwards they had a group of entertainers do a Dragon dance – they were good and I didn’t see many tears in the audience which was good. They threw to the audience tangerines and lettuce – for good luck. Big Bro was brave enough to be a scavenger and hunt for pieces of lettuce on the ground.

Dinner and Bedtime:

I stayed with Red and Big Bro at their request while daddy went to pick up Twin Crazy and Twin Husky. Red and Big Bro wanted me to stay back with them and play with play-dough. They asked me again what I wanted to eat and then worked away and making the stuff for me. Once the twins arrived, they got excited about the play dough too so all four of them were “cooking” with the stuff. At dinner, Twin Crazy brought a play-dough chicken leg with her and pretended to eat it. So cute. She cracks me up.

After dinner we played. I wrestled with Big Bro. I rough-housed with Red. I held Twin Crazy (who asked for “Mommy time” for the first time today!!!). I listened to their parade music and drums and danced to their music. I helped Twin Husky with his Tigers. I gave the kids chocolate milk for a Friday night treat.

I’m in my room now and am in mixed moods. I don’t know how I feel about the weekends anymore. We are dividing up birthday parties since Big Bro has two this weekend. I don’t know how to divide the rest of the time but it is best that I focus on the kids and not spend too much time around their father.

Have a great weekend all –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: Chinese New Year parade, divorce, parenting, part-time, play dough, working mom, working mother

January 26: A child’s creativity

January 26, 2012 by Mama K 2 Comments

Today was a home day for me. No work. I had the Twins. I picked up the older kids early. We had fun – but it was a rough morning for Big Bro.

Highlights of the Morning:

I got ready early and again ran upstairs to see if Twin Crazy would go to the potty. Again, I got there too late, her diaper was full, and no pee came out. But she tried. And me, Red, and Twin Husky were together (with them sitting on my lap) with her to support her efforts.

Red said to me this morning: “Mommy, look at ME….” She was already dressed in her clothes for the day, that we got out the night before. She was so proud of herself and I could have kicked myself for not noticing sooner.

Red helped Twin Crazy pick out underwear to wear over her diaper. Too cute. They love being sisters already.

I got the twins dressed since we were going out today. I took them to the Discovery Museum.

Twin Husky was having fun saying “I see you” as he was looking through and hiding behind Big Bro’s sandwich container. Too cute. I find comfort in knowing that the quietest of the crew still will go out of his way to act silly and do things to make me laugh.

I think the rest of the morning was uneventful, I think. I don’t remember. It is now the end of the day….

Big Bro went with his dad for drop off and threw a fit. He wanted me to drop him off. And he was jealous that the twins were staying home with me all day. He was so pissed. He was screaming, and apparently unbuckled his seatbelt and almost opened up the door on the way to school as his dad was driving. I feel so bad. Why can’t I just be there for everybody??? I want to, really I do. It kills me that I cannot.

Twin Crazy, Twin Husky and I dropped off Red. She was a bit clingy, but overall did well.

Highlights of the Rest of the Day:

The twins and I left for the Discovery Museum immediately after Red’s drop off. They were ready for it. They love that place. It’s a long drive for us now, but on the way we talked about the birds on the electrical lines, various choo-choo trains, crackers, boats, stuffed animal tigers, and shoes. They refused to nap on the way.

Twin Crazy did something really funny today. She said to me “eat your nose” and I didn’t understand her but I did understand “nose” so I went in to kiss it, and that’s when she bit me on my nose ever so gently. Then started cracking up. So I “ate her nose” too and we continued to do that throughout the day. I’m not sure if she picked that up from her daycare provider or if that’s just something that she invented on her own, but it is really too cute./li>

While at the Discovery Museum, they painted, cut with scissors, built art with magnetic shapes, jumped on water-bed lilli-pads, played with stuffed animals, built with foam blocks, played with hula hoops, and banged on xylophones. They had a VERY full day – lots of creativity and I took too many pictures.

Home for naps, then snack. Then I picked up Big Bro and Red.

The five of us played with a play-dough kitchen set from my mom. This play lasted for at least 2 hours and was good entertainment regardless of kids’ ages. I love play-dough for that reason. They were so cute, all cooking and making food together. I loved it. I loved interactivng with them and pretending to eat their food.

We had a great dinner and played, read books afterwards. I taught Big Bro about Silly Puddy and also about wrestling, how you have to pin the other person’s shoulder down for the count of 3 to win. He’s good. He’s strong. He’s only 5 1/2. I’m envisioning a wrestling scholarship. Do they have those?

So now I’m in bed, thinking about the day, and thinking about how the kids need mommy time. I was just in a position to give them more of me and now a big part of me might be taken away from them. I feel bad for that. I can’t think about that now – so much is out of my hands. All I can do now is love them and hug them and laugh with them and console them and go to them when they need me.

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: divorce, parenting, part-time, working mom, working mother

January 25: Creations

January 25, 2012 by Mama K Leave a Comment

It was an easy morning – everything just seemed to flow…

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

I woke up early and got myself ready. I made it upstairs by 7 AM to get the Twins up and also sit next to Twin Crazy on the potty, as promised. When I picked her up, her diaper was full so I knew it was too late. But we sat there anyway, and a teeny bit of pee came out – so we were all proud. Twin Husky was of course looking over with curiosity.

Red came in while we were in there and she was holding back a smile. She is proud too.

Downstairs, the clothes are already out in piles. Breakfast was cereal.

Twin Husky was strolling around his “tigers” again and also trying to maneuver with a baseball bat and ball. He is such a boy. So cute.

Twin Crazy was playing with stickers. She put some stickers on Big Bro’s backpack and he got very upset. He then suggested that she could put the stickers on his OLD backpack (Toy Story) so that worked fine for her. WAY TO GO BIG BRO!!! I love how these kids are empathetic and are actually becoming very good at problem solving and working through conflict. They continuously surprise me and make me proud (but of course there are times when their fights are too much to bear…. ).

I woke up Big Bro – who got to sleep WAY too late last night. This poor kid needs more sleep. I tried to coax him downstairs with the promise of apple juice and also the activity of packing up his backpack (which we received yesterday). That seemed to get him moving. He had a HUGE breakfast of banana yogurt with bananas. I went shopping yesterday (thankfully) so we have food in the house again.

Kids got dressed without a problem. Red was hoping like a bunny because of her bunny shirt.

Drop offs were so easy. I promised Big Bro that I would pick him up at 12:45 (after Kindergarten) since I have a 1/2 day today. I also promised Red that I would pick her up today after her nap. I want to spend some time with each of them today and take advantage of my short day. I miss them.

So, now I am on my couch, with a big pot of coffee after eating the kids’ leftover breakfast. I have chicken defrosted in the refrigerator already. I have to revise our proposal and I can maybe start to put out some planning calls for our conferences. I also have to start thinking about and preparing the communication language that will go out to invite potential clients to a “formation meeting” that we will have inbetween our conferences – for a potential forum that we are trying to build. Crafting this communication will be critical and I need to start thinking about the positioning, who to contact, and start those recruiting efforts….

Highlights of My Working Day:

I had to address several emails this morning so got that taken care of.

I then had a 10 AM conference call to prepare for. It was an informative call.

I then focused on the proposal. I needed to price it down which meant cutting out scope. The trick is, you can’t cut too far – otherwise the client does not get a valuable piece of work, OR, your firm winds up investing extra time to MAKE it valuable but you don’t get paid for that time. Either scenario is not great. So I worked on price and reduced scope. I think we can do it.

I then got myself out of the house since it was my 1/2 day. I went to pick up Big Bro and felt the stress leave my body as soon as I saw him.

The Rest of the Day:

We talked about what we wanted to do for the day. We went to a garden at his school and sat on a bench. He couldn’t decide despite my various suggestions.

Then I got THE call. I needed to work on the proposal a bit more. So off we went, back at home. It only took me 15 minutes so that was good.

Big Bro was busy entertaining himself with Legos. He asked me to sit with him and build something. I gladly obliged. He is really good at Legos. He follows the directions, page by page, but he makes decisions as to what he wants to do and what he doesn’t. So he doesn’t follow the rule book to a T and in fact deviates based upon his own thinking. He also adds to it. Today, the space shuttle that he was working on actually turned into a space helicopter. And he wanted the man to sit on the helicopter and I suggested that maybe the man’s face was too close to the blade. So together we thought of a solution to extend the ship outwards in the back, and create a ledge where the man could safely sit. I loved that time with him, just us.

By that time, it was time to pick up Red (early). Her class was waking up from their naps. I packed some snacks and off we went to pick her up. She was happy to be “stolen” from her class early.

I took them to a place where you pick out pottery shapes and then paint them – the place then puts them in a kiln and you get them back all shiny. Big Bro picked out a tractor trailer and Red picked out an Angry Bird. They were so cute. I took too many pictures. I love looking at their faces as they are busy creating. They each picked out the colors they wanted from the palate of choices and picked out their different brushes. I had a blast watching them and I actually think the creations will come out really nice.

We then picked up Twin Crazy and Twin Husky early. I wanted them all home with me. We played for a bit and I did a lot of horsie-back rides. It is so cute to see all of the kids “in line” for their ride, and hearing “my turn” from the twins. So cute. They really did wait their turn and no-one tried to go out of order.

I then I started dinner and also did a ton of dishes. The kids were playing by themselves, which was working out OK but for some reason Big Bro was teasing EVERYBODY. It was so bad that I had to send him up to his room for some quiet time. He was much better afterwards.

Dinner was on the table shortly after 6 PM and I put Big Bro on chicken and string bean “duty” and Red on cous-cous “duty”. They loved having jobs. I think all kids really got into eating tonight because of it. They ate like champs. Twin Crazy went nuts with the cous-cous and was even stealing some off of Big Bro’s plate. Once a kid needed a refill, they asked the other child politely and then said “thank you”. I loved it. It was a really fun dinner.

After dinner I cleaned up a bit but then spent most of my time tickling the kids, wrestling with the girls, doing acrobatics with the girls. Big Bro was busy cleaning up all of the cous-cous. He was amazingly helpful and I think making up for his teasing episodes earlier in the day.

Bedtime was a breeze; Big Bro gave himself only a few magnets on his “responsibility board” since he knew he had some bad behavior today. His evaluation of his performance was right on track – I give him credit for that.

I have some personal reading to do and need to figure out a recipe for tomorrow.
Til tomorrow,
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: creativity, divorce, flex time, parenting, part-time, working mom, working mother

January 18: A power day

January 18, 2012 by Mama K Leave a Comment

I HAD A GREAT DAY!!!!!
I was solo this morning with the kids and I was excited about it. I had as much ready the night before as I could…. the extra clothes packed for Twin Crazy and Twin Husky, the jackets ready by the door, the shoes ready by the door, the lunch-bags out, the clothes piles ready, the coffee machine programmed….

So I woke up, got a shower, threw on some clothes, and started the day with the kids. It was so smooth and everything went great; Red had an issue with her socks again, but that was expected.

Highlights of My Morning and Commute:

Me changing diapers in the Twins’ room where it is sooooo much warmer compared to downstairs…. Twin Crazy mentioned “potty” so we ran in there and low and behold, there was a nickle’s worth of pee-pee in the potty. She obviously went in her diaper when she woke up, but I couldn’t get over that little bit of pee-pee in there!!!!!!!!!!! We were so happy.

Kids at the breakfast bar eating oatmeal, cereal, bagels, apples, blueberries

I turn around to see Twin Crazy unchanged out of her pajamas and putting on a pair of pants! Big Bro helped her with her socks. She picked out a shirt – one of Red’s shirts.

Red helped me pack up the car

I dropped off Twin Crazy and Twin Husky first; then Red and I dropped of Big Bro. I picked her up so she could see Big Bro going into his classroom.

Red had problems with her socks again in her school lobby. I tried to be patient.

I dropped off Red and had so much fun with her friends. I wanted to take a picture of her and her friends and then they wanted to see the picture so I reversed the image and I was also in the picture. The kids had a blast and all of them were hanging on to me and laughing. It was hard to leave… but I was working from home today and had a conference call to get to….

Highlights of My Working Day:

I grabbed coffee, and ate a Trader Joe’s frozen breakfast.

Conference call at 9 AM to do initiative planning for a meeting in April. We are getting closer. I secured two meetings with what could be key sponsors to the intiative. We have our first meeting on Monday and will need better materials to review with them. I asked our partner to put some thought into showing some case studies and also the benefit of bringing this industry collaboration group together in the first place. We have to sell the concept and that means there must be something “in it” for everybody involved.

I quickly got ready for my face to face meeting. Hair, make up, suit.

I had another conference call for a debrief on one of our forums. It was a good call.

I quickly hit the road for a face to face proposal meeting. Me and the Director met beforehand to go over our approach to the meeting. I lead a lot of it and felt good about our positioning. It was a great meeting; we did well selling ourselves and establishing a good connection with each of the clients. We have to make some refinements to the proposal which I will try to do before Monday.

On the way home, I rolled down the windows and blasted music. I felt great.

Dinner and Bedtime:

I met my mom at my house. She is here through the weekend for a belated Christmas celebration; and my brother arrives tomorrow. She loves my new room. I found her napping in my bed….

We went to pick up the kids. Red came running so fast to me that I pretended to fall over. We then made a big deal about the Legos at Big Bro’s aftercare program. Pick up for the Twins was cute since our daycare provider was taking them for a walk – they both came running over to us.

My mom played with the kids (Legos) as I cooked dinner. Twin Husky was cooking some dinner of his own.

After dinner we ran around a bit, did some acrobatic flips, made a game up about cleaning up our toys, and also did tattoos.

Red and Big Bro helped Twin Crazy and Twin Husky get changed for sleep. They helped with the new diapers and getting their pajamas on. I think even Twin Crazy helped with Twin Husky’s change. It is so cute how they all get along and help each other out. I love it.

It was a VERY relaxing afternoon after a power morning — with meetings and clients. I feel on top of the world. I had a great day at work – made a lot of progress and had a great face-to-face meeting – looking very professional and taking ownership of the meeting while positioning our firm favorably compared to other consultancies – to win, you have to know and believe in why you are different from the rest. I have this story down, and I believe it, having worked at other consultancies earlier in my career.

So now my mom is here, my kids are sleeping, and I am happy. My brother will arrive tomorrow. I’m keeping the kids home except for Big Bro. He is upset about that but I promised him a scooter ride to school, with only me. No-one else. And that seemed to satisfy him.

Til tomorrow,
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: divorce, meeting, parenting, part-time, presentation, working mom, working mother

January 11: out and about

January 11, 2012 by Mama K Leave a Comment

It is a beautiful day outside and I had a good time with the kids this morning. I decided to go into the office today to focus on personal things after my 1/2 day working.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

Red, Twin Husky, and Twin Crazy were sitting at the breakfast bar eating their cereal. They were excited to talk about their “Os” (Cheerios), milk, and spoons. I kissed each of their heads. One child wanted more milk, so then the rest did too. So I got a new milk from our garage (we have an extra fridge in there for overflow) and came out and topped them all up with milk. All seemed happy.

I went upstairs to check on Big Bro. I was worried about him. Last night he was sick and cranky. And at the end of the night it looked like he had pink-eye. So I put eye-drops in his eye in hopes that it would clear up this morning. When I saw him this morning, HE LOOKED GREAT (except for his nose). I asked if I could look at his eyeball and he laughed at that. It was clear. And he said that it didn’t hurt anymore. YEAH!!!!

Big Bro proceeded to show me little cut-outs of pictures of Lego sets that I guess he wants. He numbered the backs of the pictures to show the order in which he wants them. He is VERY meticulous – sometimes so much it worries me. I see a lot of me in him – the need to make lists, the need to have thoughts on paper.

Twin Husky needed me so I held him and hugged him while making bagels for the kids. Big Bro normally gets a bagel and recently both Twin Crazy and Twin Husky have been asking for bagels too. They were excited. They both kept saying over and over, “Bagel. Cream cheese.”. Cute.

Twin Crazy was busy cleaning up. She was looking around for trash, old tissues (and some new tissues) and other random small things and running back and forth to the trash.

Big Bro got changed without a problem. He was exited to use his new lunchbox today (it arrived last night – thanks Amazon!)

Red, as usual, had a problem getting changed this morning — despite my washing and drying her FAVORITE butterfly shirt, and despite 12 pairs of her favorite socks arriving last night. I just don’t know why its always such an issue with her. I hugged her first, that seemed to help. (And then Twin Crazy said she wanted a hug so she came over for a mommy-time hug). Eventually I got there with her. Once the rest left and I was alone with her, she was fine. She was my helper, and we were talking and laughing together.

My drop-off with Red went great; she was happy to be wearing her favorite butterfly shirt (and one of her friends had a shirt with lots of butterflies so they were talking about that) – and also to show off her new Dora lunchbox. She gave me a huge hug and was clingy to my legs a bit, but then she sat on her teacher’s lap to read a book with her friends and she seemed great – all smiles.

So I had a great morning with the kids. I feel like I miss Twin Crazy though a bit. I’m glad I had some time to hug her hard this morning. It’s hard to feel like I’m giving the amount of time that I need for each of these kids. Especially on mornings where I go to the office. It’s usual for me to feel a bit dis-connected to at least one of them but I try to make up for it in the evenings.

So, now I’m on the ferry, headed to the office. I will need to follow up on some outstanding invoices from our clients. And I also need to start thinking/planning for the upcoming meetings in April. I get excited about thinking forward, and planning ahead, versus the boring clean up for things that have passed. So I think I’ll have fun at work today. I am going to devote some of this day to personal items as well. I’m working 1/2 day today and need to focus some time on some issues in my life right now.

Highlights of My Working Day:

this will be brief because I left ,y keyboard at work!!!

started to organize planning meetings for our spring forums

got an analyst to convert our word proposal to PowerPoint for our presentation to our prospective clients next week

started to set up another planning meeting for a different initiative

spent time on personal stuff during the 1/2 day off.

drank fruity V-8 Splash in a plastic champagne cup, for fun.

Work was good, but picking up Red and/or Big Bro early would have been better.

Dinner and bedtime:

we went to a school event with all kids at big Bro’s school. We took all kids. There was pizza and an art/craft activity. Kids did well. Twin crazy was acting silly the whole time. I spent a lot of time with her. Big bro was being meticulous with his project and whining. Twin husky was intense with the project. It makes me feel guilty because I’m fairly sure our day care provider does not do this kind of stuff with him. Red was quiet during her project and serious.

bedtime. Was quick. I got both twins dressed and read to them. Actually, twin crazy read one of her picture books to me. I need to do more of this with them.

Ok I’ll sign off now since this touchpad thing isn’t fun to work with. I had a good day. The kids were great out in public, as usual. I felt like I got a good amount of time with the girls, and felt good about my time with the boys.

I’ve got my new heating blanket cranked up and also my new fuzzy rug all set up. My new room is almost complete!

Til tomorrow,
-Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: arts and crafts, divorce, part-time, working mom, Workong mother

January 10: A new day.

January 10, 2012 by Mama K 2 Comments

I was REALLY having a rough time this morning waking up. I went to bed late last night and the past couple of nights have given me spotty sleep. It’s catching up to me now. I had a really sweet morning though with the kids – some really magical moments that still have me thinking that I have the most wonderful kids in the world.

Highlights of My Morning and Commute:

I showered quickly and threw on jeans. It will be a jeans day in the office today (self-proclaimed). Red, Twin Husky, Twin Crazy were already at the counter eating cereal. I gave each my morning kiss on their head, and we talked about the shape of the cereal. Are these triangles? NO. Are these squares? NO. Are these circles? Yes these are circles. Good. Circles. The kids are very funny when they really exaggerate the “NO’s” to this routine – shaking their heads back and forth. Then for some reason Twin Crazy started talking about monkeys – “Oooo oooo aaahhhh ahhhh”. I asked her where the monkeys were? Outside? She pointed to Twin Husky. Is Twin Husky a monkey? NOOOOOOOOOOOO says Twin Husky shaking his head back and forth. So cute.

I go up to wake up Big Bro and gather the clothes for the day. Big Bro jumps up from his bed, and then proceeds to jump on the bed, straight up and down. He only did it for 10 seconds or so – I asked him if this is his normal wake up routine and he said Yeah, laughing. I laughed too. It was kindof like he was shaking the sleep out of his little body. And then he was ready for the day. Smiling. Awesome.

Big Bro remembered that it was Chocolate Tuesday – so Hubby had a second series of breakfast to get ready. Next I looked all kids were devouring chocolate bagels, chocolate tortillas.

Twin Crazy coming into my room to show me her tortilla with her chocolate on it. She scrapes off the chocolate and asks for “more chocolate please”

I didn’t have my coffee yet but I was trying to help the kids – it looked like they needed some water with all of the bread they were eating so I offered it to them. One of the plastic cups “jumped” out of my hands and there was flying water all over the place. I asked the kids if they saw that and what was that cup doing flying out of my hands? The kids were laughing. I said it was an accident and I didn’t do it on purpose – that it was no problem because I’ll just clean up the mess. I asked if anyone took a “shower” from my spill as a joke and all of the kids said No, seriously. (cute)

Kids still laughing about “Fish Ranch Road” and how we didn’t see any fish on the road from the weekend

Red asking if I can take her to school today since I took Big Bro and Twins yesterday. Then Big Bro gets upset since he had to share his ride with the Twins. These kids are aching for more one-on-one Mommy time. And they are doing great about talking about their feelings (I am really focusing on that now with them)

Red had a breakdown over her clothes; she wanted to wear her butterfly shirt again (it is now her favorite). I was REALLY trying with her but she was being her red-haired fiesty self. One of my tricks was asking if I could take a picture of the butterfly shirt (knowing that I was going to write about this). But then Big Bro came up with something genious. He surprised me. He suggested that maybe she would take off her butterfly shirt if SHE took the picture (IT WORKED). Fist pumps to Big Bro!! I am still smiling at how empathetic he is, and how well we can act as a team – I continuously talk to them about how we have to help each other out – that is what family means; we all need help from time to time and it is our job as family members to help out when we can. These kids get it.

As soon as the rest left and it was just me and Red, her mood lifted considerably. We were talking about my coffee, my keys, jacket…. as I was getting things together she was my cute little side-kick. All smiles. Laughing. It’s amazing how quickly those moods can change. From tears to laughs.

On the ride to her pre-school, Red asked about the “clocks” on the front of the car. I talked to her about them – that they are not clocks, but each of the dials do measure certain things. A clock measures the time. These dials measure how fast the car goes, how hard the engine is working, how much gas we have in the tank, and how hot or cold the engine is. I love these simple conversations with the kids. But even better, I love the questions that they ask. They are VERY inquisitive and I encourage that. I say that is a great way to learn – to ask questions. That is how they learn about the world around them.

Wow. I wrote a lot. I think its because I didn’t get much time with the kids last night. So I always seem to take more in on these mornings… I think I am more apt to pick up on smaller things that I would otherwise overlook.

I am on the ferry now – I will have a busy day. I need to get the proposal off to the client today. I really need to get the conference meeting notes done (from 3 months ago, damn it). I have to follow up with some billing issues. I have loose ends hanging over my shoulder that I need to just bang-out.

And I have a mountain of preparation to do on a personal front. Forensic kind of stuff. Documentation of assets leading up to the birth and ultimate death of a marriage. I’m not looking forward to this at all. Hopefully we treat each other fairly so we can still be good partners for our children in the future.

I remember walking off the ferry and walking to work. The sun was shining and it felt wonderful on my face. I held my head high, closed my eyes, and looked up towards the sun while walking. I was taking it in. The air, the sun, the walk, the motion. The breeze through my hair. I am ready for the day, and feel much stronger than yesterday. Could it really be the result of the dose of the children?

Highlights of My Working Day:

I’m going to keep this part very brief.

I worked on the client proposal and it finally went out!! Yeah!! It would be great to win this for my sales efforts, but the delivery of work scares me. I feel like I have a lot going on and a big client project may complicate things a bit. But I need to win it. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

I had a conversation with a peer about the meeting minutes… He’s not doing them either!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! Everyone has agreed that they are too detailed, no-one asks for them, and no-one ever has questions with them after they receive them. So why bother??? Yeeeehoooooo!!!!

And alas, I hate to say it, but I was sidetracked a lot today on personal stuff. I got the ball rolling with requests of information I need to obtain; but it needs to be well thought out and complete. I only get one chance at this. I need to make sure I capture the right information and its complete. I have a meeting with my lawyers this week and I want to be extremely efficient at this next meeting. I want to have everything organized for them so that they don’t waste time and therefore keep their charges reasonable.

I almost missed the ferry. I looked down at the clock and it was going to leave in 10 minutes. I have never tried to make the ferry this late before. I freaked. I shut everything down and hauled ass out of the office. On the elevator I took my shoes off, positioned my bag, shoes, and jacket, and then proceeded to RUN full steam ahead to the ferry. I made it just in time! Whew!

Dinner and Bedtime:

I’m on the ferry, and the sun is still shining. My heart is pounding from the run. I sit and catch up with a neighbor. I’m thinking of the kids and also dinner. Chicken?

Pick up from Red was terrific – she ran into my arms and actually jumped up onto my body – all smiles, huge hugs. I LOVE THIS.

We quickly got Big Bro. He looked terrible. He is sniffling all over the place, and his face was all blotchy and red. His poor nose. And his eye was all red and sore from rubbing it. OMG please tell me no it’s not pink-eye. The daycare provider said that he was not himself all day long. 😦

Pick ups for Twin Husky and Twin Crazy were fine. Me and Twin Husky were talking about the beautiful sky. [He repeats, “beautiful sky”]

I run in and get the kids unpacked, shoes and jackets off, and set Big Bro on the couch to watch some TV. We don’t do this often but he needed it the poor guy. Twin Crazy and Red were interested in watching some with him. Twin Husky was interested in exploring, turning off the lights, and helping me cook. Then Twin Crazy and Red started to help me cook. So cute. They were smelling spices and stirring and Red was fully responsible for the vegetables, putting them in the bowl and closing up the bag. We made Tandoori Chicken tonight, which again was a HUGE hit. Big Bro had three platefuls. I was amazed. Big Bro and Red were fighting over who could sit on my lap. They are both lobbying hard for more one-on-one time with me; and getting more aggressive about it.

Twin Crazy and Twin Husky were using children’s knives for the first time. They were soooooooooooooo excited!!!

After dinner we rough-housed and I swung them in circles and we were all falling on the floor laughing. Twin Crazy and Twin Husky were busy playing with the kitchen and “eating” ice-cream.

Chocolate milk!!!

Pink eye medicine! Ugggh. Poor guy.

We opened up a package today and it was the kids’ new lunchboxes. Red was thrilled but Big Bro got upset that he didn’t get his backpack yet. Why can’t he ever be satisfied with what we do with/for him? Ugggh. I know he’s sick but this is ridiculous.

Kids went to bed quickly because they were tired and not feeling well. Big Bro found a piece of his work that was thrown out by Hubby in the trash can and he started to flip out. I asked him to talk about it with Hubby when he returned from putting the Twins down. Big Bro asked me to help him. So I did. And Big Bro did great at telling the pieces and I commended him for talking about it with hubby, telling hubby how it made him feel, and then coming up with a solution for the future [Hubby ask Big Bro going forward if its OK to throw away certain items.]

I had a great day. I am feeling much more on my feet. I am tired, but I somehow feel like things will be OK for us. The hardest thing that I will have to go through is helping my children navigate through this now and in the future. It will not end. I will need to make sure these kids are getting what they need and that they are getting the healthiest environment possible given the situation. I will fight for them. And right now I feel ready.

Signing off for now to get some sleep –
Until tomorrow –
– Mama K

Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: consulting, divorce, flex time, mommy time, negotiation, parenting, part-time, pink-eye, working mom, working mother

February 2: Sand, balance beams, and first words

February 1: Breakdowns

January 31: A very rough start of the day

January 30: Am I going Up or Down??!?!?!?

January 27: Good luck for the new year

January 26: A child’s creativity

January 25: Creations

January 18: A power day

January 11: out and about

January 10: A new day.

Mama In Motion

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