Cuteday Tuesday

I caught one of Teagan's big smiles on camera - a very tricky thing to do. She's fast.
Sorry to my Facebook friends for the duplicate photo.

Here is Miss Tea playing in her Daddy's car. She thinks she can drive.

Have a happy Tuesday!

First Friday Off

So on our first Friday off Teagan and I slept in. While eating breakfast:

Teagan: "Dad! Where's Dad?"

Mommy: "Dad's at work."

Teagan: "N! Where's N?"

Mommy: "He's at school."

I guess I'm chop liver. 

We had a great day at home. We met her daddy and her uncle for lunch and made Valentines. 

Here's some photos from our day. Selfies with a toddler. Enough said. They make me laugh. 

The Hardest Part About Working

I've said this to many people but I realized I never blogged about the hardest part of working.

I believe the hardest part about being a working mom is sharing my child time.

The free time I have with Teagan is the same time that friends and family have to be with her too.  There have been evenings when I finally get to sit down and hold Teagan, someone else has their arms open wanting to hold her too. I have shown weakness. Sometimes I have said no. Then I feel guilty. Even when I am good and let other people play with her, I'm itching inside to love on her. Sometimes I'll leave the room so I don't feel sad. Others might assume this as I need a break. I want and encourage Teagan to have relationships with our friends and family.

There is the mom stereotype that we need a break from our kids. To me, this doesn't apply with working moms. I don't need someone to entertain her so I can get something done or eat a meal. I rather do something with Teagan knowing it will take me twice as long because I enjoy her company. And I eat plenty of meals without Teagan. I like having an interrupted or cold meal. It makes me feel like a mom.

Sharing is something I'm learning.

You know your a parti womom when....you dread Monday mornings less then a ftwm.

Kelly's Korner Connection

I linked up with Kelly's Korner SUYL today (http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/) for working moms.

I am a working mom of a cheerful toddler girl and I'm still trying to figure out the best work/life balance for myself and my family. I have always worked. I raised with the mentality "if you want something, you earn it." I started my first job at 15 (part time at good old McDonalds) and have never stopped working. I'm now a software engineer (think problem solver - more than tech geek) and I love my profession. I always knew I wanted to work, even while being a mom.

Then I had Teagan.

Being a mommy has changed my perspective on so many things. I never knew how much love I could have for someone. Working and being a mom has it set of challenges. I worked fulltime after Teagan was born and I found myself struggling to do it all. I started this blog to share stories of the life of a working mom. I recently (as in today) started to work part time. I'm now working 4 day weeks with Fridays off.

I hope you enjoy my journey.

Kim

ParTi WoMom

Today is my first official day off as a part time working mom! I have come up with ParTi WoMom for part time working mom. Too long? Another contender was Mom WHaT (Mom working half time). I searched the internet and I didn't find any acronyms for part time working mothers. I'll try out ParTi WoMom for a while.

A lot of people asked me what are we going to do on our first big day off? I was pondering getting stuff done off my todo list and thinking about places we could go. Its too cold to do much outside and there aren't too many indoor playgrounds near us. I was obsessing with what Teagan and I would do.

Then it dawned on me. We will do nothing special and just enjoy having a day together! Since Teagan and I will have more time together, I don't need to obsess with making every minute super special. So today we will just go with the flow. Maybe meet her daddy for lunch.

Sweet Tea

You know you're a ParTi WoMom when.... you stay up later during the week knowing your weekend will arrive sooner to catch up on sleep.

Cuteday Tuesday

Have I told you about Teagan's little friend N? I should clarify. I think he is more than a friend. He's really Teagan's little boyfriend. N is little boy that attends the same daycare as Teagan. He's about 2 months older than her. [N is just his initial]

Here are some conversations I've had with Tea:

Me: "Are you going to daycare today?"
Teagan: "N"

Me: "Are you excited to see snow today?"
Teagan: "N"
[Note we never got snow. Forecasters teased my hopes again. Teagan will be an adult before she ever sees snow.]

Me: "Are you going see Miss K today?"
Teagan: "N"

Me: "Can you say Miss K?"
Teagan: "N"

Me: "How was school today?"
Teagan: "N"


You get the picture.

The daycare owner calls them her Valentines. They tell me stories about how they hug and blow each other kisses all day. They get Teagan up from nap first, and she makes sure to point to N and remind the workers to get him up too. Last week Teagan kept asking "Where's N?" after he was picked up early. When I dropped Tea off today, little N saw her and starting running and squealing in circles. I find this so cute.

There is another handsome, friendly boy named T. He runs up and gives Tea hugs in the morning but she just pushes him away. When N comes over she starts to blush. I feel a little sorry for T. He's a very sweet young boy but he is not her N.

I wonder if Tea and N will cross paths when they're older and still have this connection. Some souls are meant to be together.

Off to the treadmill...its been two weeks. This will hurt.

BTW, I'm still working on a replacement for ftwm. Any suggestions?

Work Work Work, While I Sing This Song

Done!

With my crazy work schedule. And...starting this week I will have my Fridays off. :) :) :)

Week recap:

Down side: First day I saw daylight was Friday. Plus side: working early and leaving late has fantastic commute times.

I did not see Teagan at all on Monday. Sadness. I woke her up by accident on Tuesday morning when I checked on her. I just wanted to see her rosy cheek face. She clinged to me, and I had to leave hearing her crying. Ugh. I felt like my heart had been pierced.

Monday I gave another speech. It went well. Then I gave an impromptu second speech and I found myself not being able to catch my breath. I felt confident but my body thought otherwise. Thoroughly embarrassed. I hate showing weakness. I wanted to kick butt. I'm still working on getting over this.

There was an after work function Thursday that I didn't attend. I should have gone. I was a key player this week. I was so tired and really wanted to see my family. Are there any other working parents out there that have been put in this situation? Do you attend after hour functions or not?


Part time here I come!