Who Am I and How Did I Get Here?

For those of you who followed me to my new blog home, thank you and welcome back. For those of you reading this blog for the first time, welcome! While some of you know things about me already, like how I have three girls, a wonderful husband and a personal vendetta against Sears, there are so many aspects of who I am, how I got to where I am today, and where I hope to be in the future that I haven’t shared yet. So when Wendy asked me if I’d be interested in writing a blog for her website about how women’s careers are impacted by having children, I jumped at the chance.

After we got off the phone, my mind was reeling! I have so many thoughts and experiences I want to write about, like . . .

– How I was offered a promotion the same week I was planning on telling my boss that I was pregnant with my first child. Since his mug shot is next to the definition of “insensitive” in the dictionary, let’s just say the moment I shared my “big news” didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.

– How I grappled with my decision whether to work full-time, part-time, not at all, from home or some combination of those after having children. I had to try out all of the above before I could decide!

– How I was interviewed on T.V. about the process I used to find good child care, only to discover two weeks before the end of my maternity leave that the child care facility I chose had deteriorated rapidly after I enrolled my baby. Can you say panic?

– How I learned firsthand about the pros and cons of day care facilities, in-home child care, the Montessori program, and having friends and family babysit. Pay through the nose or impose?

– How I got pregnant again after I decided to switch careers and go back for a second Master’s degree. I knew going back to school would have its own set of challenges, but I wasn’t expecting to have trouble fitting in the desk!

– How it feels to be positively and negatively judged based on my career and life decisions. “That’s so great you’re actually there for your kids.” vs. “What do you DO all day?“

- How I’m building a business from home to achieve work-life balance. I want to build a business around my life, not build a life around my business.

– How challenging it is to work from home with a toddler and how that will become even more challenging when we have our fourth child. No, Mom. I’m not pregnant yet, but stay tuned!

– How I try to use my Master’s degree in Education and experience working as a School Counselor to “practice what I teach” when I’m grappling with school and parenting issues with my ten-year-old, seven-year-old and one-year-old. Knowing what to do and doing it aren’t the same thing!

– How my hubby and I work to keep our marriage strong while we’re both so busy parenting, building our careers, trying to keep up with the house and maintaining a full-time shuttle service to get our kids to their various extracurricular activities. Sex tonight? That would be nice, but isn’t it time to pick up the kids from soccer, drop them off at girl scouts and then go to the grocery store? Oh yeah. Then we have to check the kids’ homework, pack lunches and fold laundry. Maybe tomorrow night. Let’s hope.

– How I strive to balance productivity and playtime by reminding myself daily that I chose to work from home so I can spend time with my kids, not just be in the house while they’re there. Mom, will you be off the computer soon? It’s getting late and we’re hungry.

– How I need to do a better job than this at taking time for myself so I don’t get burned out. I went to pilates last month. I really don’t need to exercise, I need to create those email filters!

So if you too are walking the work-life balance tightrope without a net, let’s at least enjoy the circus together! Some days I love the view when I’m on top of everything, other days I’m clinging to the tightrope for dear life, and then there’s the days you can hear the “splat” when I’ve come crashing to the ground. Uh, little help?