Tag: working mom

Circadian Rhythms

lissa10279Leave a comment

Happy New Year!! I hope you had a wonderful time last night and look forward to posting regularly here at least three times a week … starting … now!

When I lived in El Salvador, I had the world’s best work schedule.

I had just finished grad school at my alma mater (American University) and I didn’t have a job lined up. Luis and I had been dating long-distance international for over a year and wanted to experience living together for a bit, so I moved to El Salvador for eight months and taught English at a private language academy where I made $3/hour and was worked to.the.core.

That said, the schedule — while grueling — was the best because it gave me a ton of freedom and let me capitalize on my own energy levels … something I find myself longing for a lot these days. Continue reading “Circadian Rhythms” →

Advertisement

a walk down mommy guilt lane

lissa102794 Comments

CaptureWiz002

The caption reads: This face makes being a working mom so hard sometimes #motherhood #mommyguilt

I was grinning ear-to-ear, pushing the kids in the double buggy and Luis was behind me, walking Rocco when we ran into our neighbor and her dog on a cool July evening earlier this week. Though we had met the neighbor’s husband a couple times, we hadn’t met her yet. After exchanging pleasantries, chit-chatting about the unusually cold summer (#puremichigan), and telling us how adorable the kids are, she asked if I worked, her eyes darting from the two squealing babes in the stroller to me — beaming with pride behind them.

But with her question, my face fell. I found myself heaving a guilt-ridden sigh. And then choking back tears as she shot me a knowing glance and told me how she stayed home with her kids when they were small. How she has no regrets. How it wasn’t easy, but it was the right choice for her.

It’s a conversation like this that explains why I question myself every.single.day.  I don’t know it’s the “right” choice for me to work — but it’s my reality at the moment. Continue reading “a walk down mommy guilt lane” →

“Leaning Out” and “Reclining”

lissa102794 Comments

About a year ago, I blogged about how I was reading the book Lean In and how I was gleaning quite a bit from it — especially with how I would relate to my daughter and how I wasn’t so sure “leaning in” was for me.

A year and another child later, I still feel the same as I shared in this excerpt here on my blog last March. Continue reading ““Leaning Out” and “Reclining”” →

Nursing, round two

lissa102796 Comments

I’ve never judged mothers for their choice to breastfeed or not. It’s a personal decision — and one that isn’t always a “choice.” I’ve always felt like an outlier in the breastfeeding community because although I did a combo of nursing, pumping and supplementing formula, I was never in one “camp.” I just “was.” And for the nine months I nursed Maya, I didn’t really enjoy it (which I’m sure isn’t what some women want to hear, especially lactivists!).

I was stressed out because my supply wasn’t great.

I was a new mom who “thought” she needed to go/go/go 24/7, so the idea of sitting still for 20-30 minutes seemed like torture.

And I just didn’t love the act of breastfeeding. I knew it was good for her and that’s why I did it, but for the most part, aside from a few fleeting special moments with her, it wasn’t what I felt connected us — which was confirmed when I stopped nursing at nine months and our snuggle sessions at night were just as intimate — if not better — than they had been while nursing. Continue reading “Nursing, round two” →

Tuesday Musings

lissa102791 Comment

A friend of mine from college posted this New York Times article on Facebook today (Being a Working Mother Means Always Having to Say You’re Sorry) and as I read it, all I could do was nod.

The fact that I was nodding the whole time both saddened and infuriated me.

It saddened me because of how true it is … and infuriated me because it shouldn’t be this way. We shouldn’t have to feel the need to apologize for making choices that put our children first!  Continue reading “Tuesday Musings” →

Murphy’s Law

lissa10279Leave a comment

*Disclaimer: I believe ALL moms work … whether they are stay-at-home moms, work-outside-the-home moms, part-time working moms,  you name it … ALL moms work. Just wanted to clarify before you read the article I reference below.*

Of course, it WOULD be that the day I planned to blog about this awesome article I read — “What NOT to Say to a Working Mom” — would be the day Maya decides to throw me for a complete loop.

We were getting ready for school this morning and I asked her a question I ask her every morning: “Do you want to go to school today?”

Usually she grins and begins jumping up and down. “School!” and then ticks off her little friends she will see.

But today was different.

“NO. Want to to stay home wit MOMMY.” Continue reading “Murphy’s Law” →

The Great Diaper Bag Evolution

lissa102791 Comment

Note: I originally wrote this with the Babble audience in mind, but haven’t submitted it yet. Since it can take them months to post something, I thought I’d share it tonight here on my blog for kicks.
——-
As my confidence as a mom has grown, my diaper bag has shrunk. You could argue this inversely proportional observation is a silly one to make, but it’s completely true.

Before Maya was born, I carefully eyed the diaper bags I saw moms and dads carrying around. I saw some huge bags overflowing with sippy cups and Snack Traps, some cross-body bags, some backpacks, some bags that didn’t even look like diaper bags. At Babies R Us I was absolutely overwhelmed by the opportunities before me, and surfing around online was even more dizzying. Continue reading “The Great Diaper Bag Evolution” →

Setting the bar WAY too high

lissa102796 Comments

I’ve been struggling to form a firm opinion on the recent news that the newly-appointed Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer — who is set to give birth to a son in October — will work during her maternity leave.

This TODAY Moms article spoke to many of the feelings I had upon hearing her decision — mostly sadness that she’d miss out on so much of that early bonding time with her little one — but, as a WOHM (working outside the home mom) I also see the other side, too. And to be honest, it bothered me. Continue reading “Setting the bar WAY too high” →

There is No “Right” or “Wrong” — Only What Works for *YOU* (for now, that is …)

lissa1027915 Comments

Cozy up … this is a long one. 🙂

In spite of her warning, with an open mind, I read my friend Jodie’s recent blog post about being a stay at home mom, in which she writes,

“I have no idea what the @#@! we have done to ourselves in this country, but we’ve gotten to a point where we have kids, simply to say, “Great! Now who can I pay to take care of them so I can go back to work?” As if kids fit perfectly into our life pockets without making any sacrifices to the size and shape of the pocket.”

At first glance I was, as she cautioned some of her readers would be, a little pissed off. I’m a working mom who does, as she says, “pays someone else to take care of” my kid.

But then as I read it again, I felt sad — and then guilty … which made me feel even worse.

You see, for as much as I miss Maya during the day — and believe me, it’s more than I could ever express here — I work out of choice … not necessity. Continue reading “There is No “Right” or “Wrong” — Only What Works for *YOU* (for now, that is …)” →

Falling Into Place … Sort of

lissa102791 Comment

Do you ever have one of those days where everything seems to fall into place? You wake happy and well-rested, have a decent hair day, like your outfit, the weather is good, you eat well, check multiple things off your professional and personal to-do lists, squeeze in some exercise, get along well with everyone in your life at work and at home … ?

Yea, me neither! 😉

Continue reading “Falling Into Place … Sort of” →