New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year everybody!  This is my last day of vacation, as I go back to the grind tomorrow.  But I like change and a regimented schedule will do both my son and me good.  I'm not good at following a schedule during my breaks and it can be both relaxing and chaotic.  As I start a new trimester in this new year, I have created some goals, not so much a New Year's Resolution, though it is admittedly comparable.  So, here they are:

1.  Create a fitness routine and stick to it:  I'm thinking of 10 minutes of strength training in the morning and a walk or jog in the evening.  We got a new puppy, so the walking will definitely happen!

2.  Do the 52 Week Money Challenge:  Put a specified amount in a jar once a week, and have nearly $1,400 by the end of December!  I plan to use the money as "fun money" for the family.  I'll probably redo my son's room, give my husband a chunk to do whatever, and revamp my wardrobe with my share.

3.  Build My Savings Account:  It's getting somewhere, finally!

4.  Travel to Florida in August:  We haven't had a family vacation ever, so it's time.  We have good friends down there and my son will be old enough to enjoy it!

5.  Help my son establish bed time independence:  we have unwillingly become co-sleepers with our toddler and plan to claim the bed back!

6.  Grow at work:  I hope to be ready for my next promotion by the end of 2014!

7.  Make responsible eating choices:  Really, I just need to say no to the goodies offered at work!

8.  Pay more attention to my husband:  Parenting usually takes precedence over the relationship.  I want to remember the relationship more.

What are your goals for 2014?

I'm Busy

I love this time of the year.  Not necessarily because of the holiday season, which I overall have mixed feelings about, but because the high school at which I teach is on a trimester schedule, which gives me almost the entire month of December off!  Vacations from work are great!  I think everybody should get them.  They give us the opportunity to relax, spend time with loved ones, but also cross items off of our personal agenda.  I particularly enjoy my December vacation because it gives me time to reflect on the past year.  So what has been going on the past year?  Since I haven't posted since the beginning of this year, I'll fill you in.

So, in my last blog, I mentioned some changes I have been working on with my family, as well as my intention to turn this into a research blog.  Although I had been doing the research on nutrition and color analysis, I have not been blogging about it.  I have a toddler and a full time job.  I'm busy.

Since my last post, I am completely back to my pre-pregnancy weight!   One of the things I love about December (and the other two breaks I get per year) is that I have what seems to be an infinite amount of time to meal plan.  I make my best eating decisions during these months.  Overall, I have made wishy-washy eating decisions, but I am more informed about what I'm putting into my body.  Next year, I hope to reserve Sundays for meal planning so that I can be more consistent about what goes into my body as well as my family's.

I have donated all my big clothes, as well as colors that don't look good on me.  I am not happy with my current wardrobe though.  I haven't had the time and money to spend on buying clothes and accessories that I enjoy wearing, however I do notice a difference in my color choices.  Even though I do not necessarily like my clothes, I do get more compliments than ever.  I do attribute that to the color analysis theory.  Through my wardrobe makeover (or is it a make under, considering I didn't really get new stuff, I just threw away a lot), I have developed an interest in home organization all around.

My newest obsession is purging and organization.  I hate the clutter my family and I have lived in, and I was the main culprit.  My great grandmother was a hoarder, and although I wouldn't necessarily categorize myself as such, I have exhibited tendencies throughout my life.  Do you remember my post, My Life is a Mess?  It was my first blog post.  I have come a long way since then, and it has required a lot of research.  Seriously, I read the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons in its entirety as well as two books by Donna Smallin called Cleaning: Plain and Simple and Organizing:  Plain and Simple.  It really helped me break some of my old habits.  Although my house isn't spotless--it never will be, it has come a long way.

I was inspired to create another blog called {The Intrinsic Value of} Downsizing.    However, I didn't actually add content.  I just set it up.  My intent with that blog, like this one, was to record my progress on a goal that was important to me.  Although I have been meeting these goals, I've been doing an awful job of actually recording its progress.  Again, I'm busy.

Overall, I have been doing well at being busy, however I have neglected one of my original passions:  writing.  I barely wrote this past year.  I always have ideas for essays, novels, songs, and plays, but never do I lift the pen (or laptop, after all, it is 2013!).  Maybe that should be my next area focus.  Let's see when my next post will be!

Long Time, No Blog

It's funny what happens when your baby becomes a toddler.  Life goes by way too quickly.  You don't have time to stop for a breath.  You certainly forget about the research blog you ambitiously took on.  Well, maybe not you.  But this certainly happened to me.  So here's what's going on with life as a working mother.

Although I haven't blogged my progress, my husband and I have made some very healthy lifestyle changes.  He works out 3-5 days a week.  I must admit, I probably work out about 1 day a week.  Does stair climbing with a toddler count?  If so, I'm good!  I have, however, completely made over our diets.  We're not on a diet.  We just do our best to make more nutritional choices to make every calorie count.  Yes, we still have cookies in the house and make dumb choices almost daily, but with those dumb choices come great choices and we have noticed a difference.

From these small changes, I now fit into many of my pre-pregnancy clothes.  Although it was tempting to burn all the over-sized garments I've worn over the past year and a half, I'm in the process of organizing my closet and donating old clothes.

As I have come face to face with my old wardrobe, I realized that even though I fit in some of the clothes, in many ways I've outgrown them.   Now, I have too many clothes, many of which I don't wear.  Historically, I have always been frivolous with fashion.  I loved making bold choices, was never shy about showing skin, and couldn't resist a good deal--even if it looked horrible on me.

Now that I'm a prestigious working mother {intended whimsical tone}, frivolous fashion choices seem a thing of the past.  I began researching what looks good on me.  Though my research, I've discovered the color theory.  The color theory matches women's most prominent features (hair, eye, and skin) to clothing and make up colors that work for and against them.  I'm still new to this area of research, but am in love with it.

That's what reminded me that I have a blog.  I am coming across so many good fashion blogs that help explain the color theory, I thought why not store my research in a blog?  And I saw this blog, which was left unattended many months ago.

So I decided to post.

A New Focus

My son just recently reached his 10-month birthday.  For 8 of these 10 months, I have been among the 70 percent of working mothers (I’ve researched this statistic.  It was found in report entitled Employment Characteristics of Family Summary published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).  The concept of the working mother is a common reality in the United States; therefore, this blog is moot.

 

When I had originally created this blog, it was to help me sort through conflicting feelings I had as a working mother.  I have more than come to terms with my new lifestyle; I have embraced it.  The fact is, I have a great career and a loving family.  I am lucky.

I do feel a need to continue blogging, but with a new focus:  how does a busy working mother maintain a healthy lifestyle with limited time and a small budget? 

The Sleeping Mother

Robert Frost once wrote: "one can see what will trouble this sleep of mine, whatever sleep is." Any mother who reads this may feel that Mr. Frost wrote this for them. Not I. My son has been sleeping nine hours a night since he was two months old. Please don't hate me and continue reading.

My son doesn't get his sleeping skills from me. I have been a troubled sleeper all my life. Although I had a bedtime as child, I would not---could not---fall asleep. When everyone else was slumbered, I could polish a Babysitter's Little Sister book in one sitting. Into my adulthood, a typical bedtime was 4:00 a.m.

Given my prior history, I was not dreading going into sleepless nights with a newborn. But just as I was ready to return to work after 8 weeks, he started sleeping through the night. If that wasn't amazing enough, so did I. Motherhood actually brought me the best sleep in my life. Until recently. My last post, Career and Sick Baby, chronicled my son's first stomach virus. The sickness didn't end there.

This month, that stomach virus came through our family, followed by two sinus infections that eventually led to bronchitis, a fever, an ear infection, and one case of pink eye.  He also got a new tooth with his myriad of afflictions.  With these endless discomforts, sleep has been interrupted.  Every night.  Since May 3.

So I'm back to uninterrupted sleep.  But it's okay.  Because I know it's temporary.  I want to give thanks to my husband, for passing this gift of sleep onto our son.  And although you struggle with waking up in the night because you sleep sounder than the dead, you are kind when I do need to wake you, and you let me catch up on sleep when I need to.  

What amazes me--who amazes me--are my colleagues, my fellow working mothers who have pushed through waking nights, napless workdays, and preparatory evenings to do it all again the next day.  You are truly remarkable.

Career and Sick Baby

My blissful April vacation ended and I returned back to work last week.  It was a  pretty good week, except for the stomach virus.

The Sunday before returning to work, I told my husband, "The baby is going to get sick. He always does when he returns to daycare."  I was at work for three days when I checked on my son to find him lying in a puddle of his vomit.  In his defense, he was in very good spirits. 

At 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, I found myself on the phone with my boss to call off work.  I always hated calling off work.  It feels shameful and awkward.  But my boss was understanding and there I was with my son pretending I knew what to do.

I had no clue how to handle the situation.  This was his first stomach virus.  As his little body sat on my lap dry heaving into a towel, I consulted my Facebook friends.  I left a general status asking for advice on caring for a stomach virus.  They left great words of wisdom which I followed.   It left me wondering, how did my Mom survive parenting without Facebook?

I was encouraged to feed my son Pedialyte, but didn't have the car to make purchases.  My husband, who also had the virus, still went to work with our only car.  Luckily, a good friend made the stop for me on her way to work, and I kept my baby hydrated.

I was surprised how easy he was to care for.  He required hydration, sleep, and snuggling.  I actually got work done at home, so I didn't have to feel so shameful about calling off.

On Friday, we all returned to our normal routine as if nothing had happened.   It was a lovely weekend, except for my stomach virus.

Career and Vacation

I have one of the best full time work schedules imaginable.  The school I teach at operates on a trimester schedule, so I get 3 and a half weeks off 3 times a year.  I have been enjoying my vacation for a week now, and realized as stressed as I get being a working Mom, I am so not cut out to be a stay-at-home mother.

If you've read my blog before, you may recall my first post about how I'm a messy person in general.  Sticking me at home all day with a baby does not help matters.  I have all these great intentions to organize closets, redecorate and scrub baseboards, but the reality is, I'm lucky to sanitize the baby's toys and make his food. 

The house might actually be in worse shape than when I work.  At least then, toys and blankets aren't thrown all around the house. The house shows how much I am enjoying this time with my son. 

I recently started reading War on Moms by Sharon Lerner.  It compares U.S. maternity rights to other developed countries, and it exposes our country as one of the worst in terms of making fair maternity policies for women.  I feel extremely fortunate, that although I empathize and relate to many of these families, my career allows me to spend almost a month with my son three separate times a year.