25 YOUNG!

 Dinner @ Public House was delicious and well worth the wait!

 New camera - still getting the flash under control so we are a little squinty!

 Love these two!

 Ronnie & Kacy!

Friday, the 17th wee headed out for drinks and dinner with some friends to celebrate 25! It was exactly what I needed and pretty mellow :) Love spending time with all of them.

Love my Shann!

Shann & Vince were vacationing in San Diego and made the trip up to Temecula last Wednesday to see us. I definitely do not get to see her enough so this dinner date was long over do! Miss you Shann!

Letting Go.

Loves of my life.

So the past few weekends I have felt like I have so much to get done that I am spending my time with Olivia running errands instead of actually spending time with her. I decided sometime in the last week that something had to change.

I love grocery shopping (No, I am not kidding. I love looking at all the different foods, brands, and prices) blame it on my type A, controlling personality. But I was starting to dread it - my toddler in tow, who loves balloons (why does every grocery store have a million helium balloons?!) - it could not be done quickly. I decided to give it up and pass the duty to Alex. (With lists.. detailed list).

Since then my weekends are completely transformed. Yes, there are still things I don't get done but I get to enjoy a trip to the park instead of to Ralphs, Henry's & Target before nap time. And no, I have not quit the grocery store completely but it's much easier to run in and grab a few things then have to shop 4 stores so we have everything on hand to eat that week.

Being a mom (working or staying at home) is challenging. Like everyone else I am just trying to find ways to make my life less .. chaotic (if possible) one small

Week in review

Love these two bugs!

YES! She has to go down the slide by herself. Sigh.

Love getting pictures like this while I'm at work.

 

A few things I've learned about micro-managing my weekend time:
1. It does not work. Olivia is apparently unaware of all the things Mama has to get done (in 2 days). Other than playtime she is not prepared for any long trips to the mall or store UNLESS she is allowed to walk up and down the aisle and shop for herself. Sassy and Independent. (Another Sigh)
2. There is not enough time to manage. Seriously. Between napping consistently and making sure we are eating meals at a consistent time..

Chaos. Ok.. we're not that extreme. I am just type A and used to being able to schedule my days and I am learning that my schedule revolves around the cutest little bug I've ever seen. And I would not have it any other way.

Besides wouldn't we all rather be at the park than at the grocery store anyway? Exactly. That feeling just does not work come meal time.

A quick moment.

I often wonder how other career moms of young children get through their days. Like myself, I assume they are busy. Caught up in emails, workplace chatter, meetings and seemingly endless projects.. sometimes my days go by rather quickly and I don't really have a moment to think
about what I am missing at home.

Those are days I don't mind being a working mom.

But some days I find myself staring at my child's face on my computer screen and a crushing wave comes down on me when I think of all the time I am missing with her. My eyes get wet and I blink several times to hold back the splashes. I find myself praying that no one will come looking for me in my office at that moment. I can't help but think about what it will be like when I have that second baby I'm longing for. This time around I won't be able to take a year off work. When I think about the trade=off I know working pales in comparison to what I would be asking my children to give up in return. The life Olivia's father and I are working hard to provide for her is well worth those heartbroken moments at my desk.

Eventually Olivia (and her future sibling) will be in school and so busy that she will hardly notice that she only sees me a few hours a day during the week. Selfishly I think that might be worse for me.