6.14.2015

The hats I wear...

Still cleaning out my drafts folder. This is from at least 3 years ago. Had you told me I could handle an even more thriving career plus a few more babies, I would laugh. But our capacities increase...what a beautiful thing.

From 2012:
There is no doubt that I thrive on borderline chaos. I like a lot of irons in the fire. I like challenges and the feeling I get when I overcome them. I joke that my life as a mom and career woman can be best explained as spinning plates. I have a lot of things (plates) spinning in the air that need careful attention. If I let one plate wobble too much, the others will start to wobble too. Let one plate fall and they all come crashing down.

I have to be completely honest and say that I don't think I could be a full time stay at home mom. I'm not patient or creative enough. I feel so blessed to have the best of both worlds. I stay home with Decs M-W-F and have childcare Tues/Thurs. There is A LOT of tagging in and out with Mark and I. If someone would ask me how I maintain a busy career and mommyhood (and sanity), I would say- hands down- Mark's steadfast support. I'm gone a lot of evenings and weekends (did I mention my other career is photography...another profession that is done in "off" hours) and Mark hardly ever complains.

My tips and tricks:
-Multitask, multitask, multitask. Throw in a load of laundry in between errands or appointments or 3 year old shenanigans. My iphone is my brain and I set alarms for everything from mundane activities (give dog's heart worm medicine, take out recyclables, etc etc) to important appointments. I even put my work outs in my phone so it's blocked out time. Whenever Decs and I get out during the week I try to think of what area of town we'll be in and knock out a couple real estate related trips. He even accompanies me to appointments from time to time.
-Be intentional with the time that you do have as a family. I try really hard to plan out activities that we can all do together. I want to make the most out of the time that the 3 of us have together. I try hard to be intentional with Declan. I ask him randomly during the week what he wants to do that morning (if we aren't on a play date, at the gym, etc). Wednesday he wanted to go to Trader.Joes so he could push the little cart. Um, okay, TJ's it is!
-Know your boundaries. I get to "flip out" stage during peak busy times. I try to communicate to Mark when the train is heading off the tracks. Sometimes I need a 3 hour block to go to Panera and edit photos. Other times I need a couple uninterrupted hours at the office to catch up. These aren't specific appointments but just extra time to get on top of things. I know my boundries decently well and try to stay within them and say "no" if something doesn't fit in my world.

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