Working full time. I have to say that I love it! I love my job - I get to develop health and wellness programs for our employee population as well as manage our team. I find it interesting, engaging and I love the people with whom I work. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta truly IS a great place to work, especially for a mom. They give me flexibility when I need it. And what other company has holiday decorating contests for its employees? Between that and parties to celebrate the Super Bowl, Thanksgiving and Summer, my inner child comes out often and that's just fun. And ultimately, we are all there to serve the patients whom we serve day in and day out. Talk about a wonderful place to work...
At home, I have help consistently from three people - Isa, our nanny whom we've had since Brooke was 4 months old, Lynnie, a mom of three grown kids who wanted to help out a couple days a week, and Mimi, my mother-in-law, who watches the kids on Fridays. This system works really well - so far, at least. As my friend, Margaret, put it, no one person is with my kids more than me. Perhaps I knew that subconsciously when I was figuring out the whole childcare thing - I can't really say - but as it stands currently, my kids are happy and it's working for us all.
Isa cleans once a week for me which is a HUGE HUGE HUGE help. I really love to clean. I get this from my mom, though if asked, I'm not sure she would say, "yes, I love to clean" - but she has cleaned her house all her life with no help and she's done it really well. I find it very rewarding to clean - it keeps you moving - gives you a chance to organize a few things - and the finished product (a clean house) always feels good. Nowadays, though, I just don't have time to do a full cleaning. I want to be able to lay on the floor with Brooke and play Lego's or princesses. I want to be able to crank up the Christmas music and dance with the kids. I can do these things now! Now if I could just find someone to cook...
That's where things have fallen off a bit. Cooking. It used to be so easy but now when I'm strolling in at 5:30/6, I don't have a lot of time. I try to prepare some things on the weekends. Today, for example, I made meatballs, and we'll eat those one night during the week. If my audience of eaters was more interested in food, I might be more inclined to put some more effort into what I cook, but the truth of the matter is, they would be totally fine if I picked up Subway every night for dinner for the rest of their lives. I still cook, but not as much.
Do I feel guilty from time to time? You bet I do! Years ago at preschool functions I looked at dressed up women and thought to myself, "I wonder how that mom does it? How does she not kill herself with guilt at being at work instead of being home with her kids?" And now, I'm that woman. I'm the one with a full time job, two nannies and I'm getting home at 6 on some nights. But I would say to my younger, more naive self, "I AM their mom - I spend great time with my kids in the evenings - I put notes in their lunch boxes - I bathe my daughter and read stories to her at bedtime - we paint each others' nails and dance to Christmas music... " It has just been interesting going from one side of the spectrum to the other. We're all doing the best we can - there's no RIGHT way, I don't think.. My family dynamic is working and that's what matters, right?
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| This was Brooke in her Halloween parade at school. At the last minute she decided to swap out her princess costume for her ballerina attire, and she loved being on stage. So fun! |
So, that's the full time working mother update. I like being busy - even though some days I'm falling short as a mom or as an employee - it all balances out. Both at work and at home, I am surrounded by people who believe in me and also understand that I'm human.
Happy Christmas to you... what a wonderful time of year - my favorite time of year! Right now I'm sitting next to our little 4 foot Christmas tree that we put in our family room. It's so perfect and small and beautiful with it's perfect shape, few ornaments and sparkly lights. The Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack is playing and I'm just as happy as a lark - desperately wishing that each day would last longer than the one before it so that we'd all get the most out of this wonderful time of year.
Brooke and I recently made these little Christmas treats, the recipe for which we got from Allison, my sister-in-law. As such, I think I'll appropriately name them Allisonites. Allisonites are easy to make. You only need pretzels, candy chocolates, and M&M's. First, you lay out your unbroken pretzels on a cookie sheet, careful that none are overlapping. Then you place one chocolate on top of each pretzel.
Don't you wish you had a cute little sous chef like I do? We had so much fun making these together... well, fun until I told her she couldn't eat any more of the white chocolates at which time she dissolved into whimpering heap on the floor. Back to the recipe... you pop the cookie sheet of pretzels and chocolates into a 350 degree oven for precisely 3 minutes - not a second shorter or a second longer.
When they come out of the oven, put one M&M on each chocolate. Let them cool (I put mine in the fridge which expedited the solidifying process) and then bag the Allisonites in cute little Christmas baggies - tie them up with a ribbon and give them to friends, neighbors and teachers with a holiday lottery card attached. So fun! They are sweet and salty and oh so festive. You can really produce a lot of these if you work quickly. While Brooke was doing her part, I was putting a sheet in and taking one out of the oven every 3 minutes. We made several hundred.
Speaking of Christmas-for the first time in their 12 and 10 years on earth, I need gift ideas for my boys! If you have ideas, comment on this post by going to www.christabdavis.blogspot.com or email me.
I have several items to share with you on my next Friday Favorites post, but I can't wait til then to tell you about the newest Disney film that we saw this weekend. FROZEN. It was excellent! I loved every second and so did Brooke (and Champ and his friend). It's right up there with the Disney greats - so treat yourself and your kids and go see it!
To close out today's blog post, here are some Christmas card outtakes...
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| My sweet family. The boys were on their way to a Bar Mitvah when I snapped this quick photo. |
