Reading!

Reading is my favorite hobby! I try to read a little every night before bed, but obviously since having children, my nightly hour of reading is down to a few pages most nights. But if the kids are in bed and my husband is watching a show I do not care about (or, worse, working late), I'll head to bed early and cozy up with my book!

My favorite author of all time is: Jodi Piccoult
I own every single book she has written and can barely contain myself from heading to the store the day a new release is on the shelves.

My favorite book of all time is Pillars of the Earth
I really like most everything Ken Follett writes, but this book is my favorite. I used to think it was because my dad gave it to me and said "this is my favorite book", but have since discovered a lot of people consider this a favorite!

My guilty pleasure is romance novels. I also own almost every book (because seriously, she has written a LOT of books) by Nora Roberts
My other guilty pleasure (in the romance, comedy, mystery section) is the numbers series by Janet Evanovich

What I am reading right now...Lowcountry books. I have been a fan of Pat Conroy for years. I just discovered his wife, Cassandra King, is also an author! And, my mom just discovered two authors I am obsessed with right now: Dorthea Benton Frank and Mary Alice Monroe. If you do not know about Lowcountry books, they are fictional novels based in South Carolina low country (marsh, beach area), and are generally interesting, romantic, historically based, novels about family, life, love, and generations.  I have read about 5 of their books so far and plan to read as many as I can this summer!

If you think I am kidding about my love of reading, ask my husband about our honeymoon. Some people packed handcuffs and other such fun "honeymoon" toys; I packed 10 books. And read about 6!

Question: Who has more time? Answer: No one!

In yesterday's post about balance, I mentioned that I work full-time. I want to clarify that I do not think a SAHM would necessarily have any more balance than I do, though if she does, kudos to that mom!

I have a group of girl friends that I love dearly.  This group includes two working moms (one is me), one SAHM, and two working single women (one is my sister).  I know the two working single women often feel as if the rest of us think they have more time and less responsibility.  While it may be true the lack of children gives them less responsibility, I do not think their lives are easier at all.  First off, I get to share all my chores, my issues, my everything with my husband.  Single people do not have that luxury.  Even if you have a roommate, she is not co-invested in your life the way a spouse is.  Secondly, they are career women.  I consider myself to be a career woman as well, but my focus is split between my career and my home.  My sister works so many hours doing so many things to advance her career and build her network, I totally think she deserves a cleaning person and a cook as much - if not sometimes, more - than I do.  And lastly, most single people are looking for a spouse.  This is no futile effort.  I think if I were single right now, I might drive over to a convent and sign right up, because watching my single friends do this dating dance disaster thing is frequently more awful than awesome.

I have been thinking about staying at home lately (another post for another day), and imagining this amazing world in which my house is clean, my laundry is done, I am an amazing cook, and so on.  Obviously I know this is not the case.  I do think if I stayed home I would have more time to do those things because I will not be commuting or working all day.  But, the reality is, I would not get up at 5am and use the 3 hours before my kids are awake to be productive; I would be sleeping too.  I might not work 8 hours a day, but I would be taking care of my children 16 hours a day.  16 hours a day is a LONG time.  I like my kids, but I also like time away from kids and happily send them off to daycare - there are weekends when Sunday night cannot come soon enough for me.  I read a blog post by A Shorter Mama about time and balance as a SAHM - she recently went from a working mom to a SAHM and thought all these same things I did/do.  But, the truth is, her days are just as busy, but they are busy with different things. 

Sometimes I think working moms have it easiest.  Because of work, my days are naturally routine and scheduled; therefore, adding laundry and cleaning to schedule is relatively easy.  If I go to the store on Monday night, I know I will not have time/energy for other stuff, but if I make extra for dinner Monday, I know that I can use dinner prep time to clean on Tuesday.  If I were a SAHM, there would be nothing pushing me to this type of schedule because for the most part any schedule we would have (with the exception of scheduled activities) would be self-imposed and easily changed. 

In the end, I just have to realize while the grass usually looks greener on the other side, it is important to stop and realize that my yard is just how I want it to be.

Balance?

I quite one of the most irritating conversations with my mother a few weeks ago, so irritating in fact, that I am still stewing over her words! We were chatting and I was telling her all about our weekend. We did whole bunch of things - saw family, played with friends, went to new playgrounds. I thought it sounded like a really great weekend. But, then my mom asked "when do you get your laundry and cleaning done?" I half-jokingly said "never", but then clarified and said, "at different times, sometimes Saturday morning, sometimes through the week, and sometimes it does not get done." So, then she says in her mom tone of voice that means I am saying something nice and normal but it is mean and hurtful: "It is great that you do not care if your stuff is done. That would really bother me, but it sounds like you do not mind if your house is not clean and your laundry is not done. That is great."

My feelings were hurt. Really hurt. Does she really think I do not give a hoot if my house is unclean? Really? Of course I want my house to be clean. I want my family to have clean clothes. I want, I want...But the reality is, I am a mom. I have to manage the kids, the household, chores, bills, etc, and I work a full work week, which requires me to commute 37 miles each way. I want a lot of things, but mostly I want the energy, time, and motivation do them all!

The truth is I feel guilty all the time. I feel guilty about my messy (and sometimes dirty) house, the lack of clean clothes, the lack of folded put away clean clothes, the numerous unfinished or even unstarted house projects, and the disorganization of so many storage areas. I also feel guilyy about only working my 40-44 hours a week. I am frequently the person in my group who works the least number of hours - I am more efficient than most of the team members, but quantitative data does not reflect my productivity in those 40 hours. I feel guilty every time I leave work early for a kid's doctor appointment or school show, and I feel guilty that I take more sick days because I have to stay home with my sick kids. I also feel guilty that my kids have to go to daycare. My toddler thrives there, and honestly, I would send her there even if I did stay home - provided we could afford to do so, but the baby I think would do better at home for a while. I feel guilty when I am home with my kids for one hour and get so fed up I want to send them back to school!

So, the guilt. It is always there. Sometimes it is crushing, sometimes all these guilt inducing things balance each other out and I feel fine. But I am okay with this. While I may feel guilty a lot, while I may never find a "balance" (aka, nirvana), I do feel content 90-95% of the time. As long as I maintain that 90-95%, I am okay!

Crazy Work Life!

I am really organized at work. My home, not so much (at all!), but at work, I am all over organization. I make to-do lists and I LOVE crossing stuff off my list. To the point that if I do something not on the list, I will write it down on the list just so I can cross it off the list! A few years ago I started using colored flags to color code e-mail into groups. This system was AMAZING.

And then I started my new job. For one thing, Outlook 2007 does not have colored flags - gasp! scratch my head! shake in fear! I thought I may need therapy. Then I discovered categories, and I was back on track! Now, I have all of my e-mail categorized into colored blocks. But, the flags were not the only problem at this new job. The MO of this organization is crazy. Almost daily I find myself saying "the circus is in session" to a co-worker. Everything is top priority. Everything on my to-do list is overcome by events. I went from creating a new to-do list every Friday to creating a new to-do list once a month, or whenever the paper had too many random notes scribbled in the margins to make any sense. My order here is all out of whack. And the worst part is, I cannot fix this system. I am as organized as I can be; I just do not have the time to get on top of these little things I want to get done!

I wish I could say I have a plan. Or that I know how to fix this. But, in reality, what I have is so much better. I have learned to accept that I cannot control how things work in this organization. I cannot worry about my to-do list because if those things were important, I would get them done. I do my job well and am rewarded for a job well done. It is okay to let my list go. My colors, though, I will never let go!

One thing I do like is that I work the early shift (6:30/7-3/3:30) - so I can get the girls from daycare earlier (my husband does the drop off). Getting to work in quiet hours of the morning gives me time to sort through e-mails and read documents that are too difficult to focus on during the loud, crazy time of day. By the time the office starts filling up, conference calls start going, and the volume rises, I can jump into the circus post-caffination. Because, really, morning coffee is all that matters! Now if only I could figure out how to organize my home life. I read about a home management app for the iPhone, but sadly, my blackberry does not get any app love.

Creighton Model

A while ago I wrote a post about NFP. I still stand by the awesomeness of the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and the website fertilityfriend. In that post, I mentioned that we may try the Creighton Model. We decided to do it about two months ago, and I am really happy we did; I am definitely a convert to this method! If you live in the Northern Virginia area, look at Potomac Fertility.

The two major benefits I see to the Creighton Model over the sympto-thermal method are the focus on mucous alone and the personalized approach to learning. I always found the temperature to be an issue with the sympto-thermal method. If you drink alcohol, your temperature changes, if you do not get a good night’s sleep, your temperature is affected, if your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, your temperature changes, etc, etc. How can you chart effectively if your temperature is impacted in so many ways??? So, I took the advice of my friend and ditched the thermometer in favor of mucous and internal cervix checks. This is effective, but can be difficult to read. The Creighton Model takes all the difficulty out of that – or at least in my opinion it does! For starters, there are no internal checks, so you do not have to worry about figuring out what your cervix is doing as it shifts position throughout the day. The Creighton Model only looks at external mucous. The sympto-thermal method allows you to write your own mucous descriptions – there are guidelines, but it is all very subjective and you use your own words. This seems good in theory, but how do you know that what you considered stretchy last month is what you are seeing right now? You don’t! The Creighton Model has very specific rules about charting your mucous, so you know exactly what to write down. Obviously, it is subjective in that you are doing the checks, but if your mucous stretches ‘x’ amount, you write down ‘y’ and there is no question about that. I find this specific nomenclature very reassuring. Also, unlike every other natural family planning resource I looked at, the Creighton Model has very specific rules for determining fertility while breastfeeding that can be applied no matter how you breastfeed - ecologically, on a schedule, pumping, etc. This is huge and I cannot wait to see how that goes...when we get pregnant again...in a couple years...no time soon :)

My favorite thing about the Creighton Model is the individualized approach. You have a Creighton Model teacher, who you meet with regularly. At first, it is every few weeks/once a month, and then you go longer periods between meetings for the rest of the year. At each meeting, the teacher goes through a booklet of questions, quizzing you on how/when you are checking, how you are using the stamps (they are used to show periods of fertility/infertility), and makes notes on things you know 100% and things you are still learning. At the next meeting, the teacher will review the things you were not 100% about last time to ensure you are 100% confident in your use of the Creighton Model. Then, the teacher goes through your chart, asking about your notations, marking it up with a red pen where you put a stamp incorrectly or forgot to record something. To ensure you know how to use the nomenclature properly, the teacher brings along a “Picture Dictionary”, which may seem like TMI, but really, when it comes to charting your fertility, is there such thing? This is super helpful! I reviewed it the first time, and then kept that in my mind to help with the charting. During our second appointment, I was able to use the picture dictionary to look for a mucous reading similar to a confusing one I had. It was a great reference. So far, I found the method to be easy to learn and I feel very confident in our use. I would recommend this to anyone. Again, we use Potomac Fertility in the Northern VA area.

Chatty Toddler

Holy S! the toddler is talkative.  I realize I should be grateful for every minute of this - but seriously, it is a blessing and a curse.  Maybe even a double curse because with the amount the toddler talks, the baby has no need to get vocal and then we get frustrated because she cannot communicate her wants.  I love love love hearing my toddler's voice and I love her curiosity and amazement with the world.  Hearing her voice her every thought definitely gives me an interesting understanding of how she views the world and the things she sees when she looks around.  It is truly amazing.  She is amazing.

But, wow, there are a lot of questions.  Going to the bathroom last night..."mom, what are you doing?  mom, where are you going?  you are going to the potty?  why am i not going?  why do i not have to pee?  why does the baby pee and poop in diapers?  did the baby poop?  baby, you did a stinky poop!  mom, do you need my potty seat?  mom, what are you doing?  did you pee?  did you wash your hands?"  I took me minutes to go to the bathroom and yet, she managed to get out at least twenty questions/statments.  It it like this ALL the time.  I do not know how one person can have so many thoughts!  And be able to voice every one of them!  WOW! 

So, yeah, I love my toddler.  I love that she talks and communicates so well.  But, sometimes, I wish she came with a mute button!

Talent

Last night I went to dinner with an old friend.  We had the most fascinting conversation about talents.  While on vacation with her parents, they got to talking about talents, and her parents each offered what they view as her talents:
1.  Getting things done
2.  Managing things - not necessarily people, but managing different roles and responsibilities

At first we both agreed that these do not seem like talents at all.  Everyone has to do stuff, and most people have a lot of roles to play.  Talents are things like playing the piano, writing, or painting.  As she talked it out with her parents, she started to see their point of view, and as we talked it out last night, I also agreed.  Playing the piano, writing, and painting are creative talents.  Those are great, and I am thoroughly jealous of people who have them.  I do not possess one stinkin' creative bone in my body!  But I am very much like my friend.  We both multitask and manage our roles - working, home life, parenting, schedules, appointments, activities, etc - with relative ease, and we are very good at getting things done.  At first I thought these were not talents because they seem more like an inherent part of my nature.  However, as I thought about it more, I realized, these are skills I honed and continue to work on improving.  They may not be talents I can sell like a painting, but they are talents that have great value to my job and my family.  I regularly tell people I have no talents, but now I see that is not true. 

I see people at work every day simply pushing things off to the side when they do not want to work on a project, or letting things slide because there is an issue they cannot work through easily.  I do not.  I keep a to do list on my desk and update it weekly (if not more often).  My e-mail account is my organizational toolbox - every project is color coded, every e-mail I read and address gets filed in a folder.  If I encounter a roadblock or an issue comes up, I will push through.  I will not let things slip or be forgotten, and if I do get  behind on something, I get anxious and stressed about it until I am back on track.  I generally realize I am behind on stuff and have it rectified before anyone else even realizes there was a delay.  This may sound conceited, like I am tooting my own horn, which I am, but it is not vain.  I just never realized this was a talent I have, and not something everyone can do.  With this knowledge, I am going to try and see people I work with differently.  Perhaps their talents lie elsewhere.  Obviously not being talented at getting things done is no excuse to slack off and I will still complain when things are not done, but I will use my talent to help others instead of looking down on them for being behind.

My ability to multitask is also something I did not see as much of a talent, but rather a necessity given the many roles I play.  It is both.  My husband also has many roles to play, but he does not multitask as well.  I am going to try to relax a bit when he forgets something on the schedule and not be so angry that he cannot keep track of things the way I do.  He has a lot of talents he brings to the marriage (most notably right now, the ability to fix stuff so we do not have to shell out tons of cash at the mechanic!), and I am going to focus on those positive things instead of being so negative.

Last night's conversation was very enlightening for me.  I am excited to see things in a different light, and to realize that for once, I do not have to answer "I have nothing" when people start discussing talents!