WFHM Round 2

I now contribute to the world again as I am a work from home mommer.  I spent a day and a half working with the tech support area trying to login to the system.  The people on the phone were all "does your internet work" and "close your browser" "are you sure you are typing in your password correctly".  I am all "YES I AM A MODERATELY TECHNICAL PERSON".  Please just listen to me and look at your little systems that provide access and find where I don't have access.  And they finally did.

And Wyatt climbed out of his crib while I was trying to work while both kids were supposed to be napping.   I knew the crib climb out was coming, but did it have to be today?  I kinda wanted him to get a very tiny bobo or get scared when he fell over the edge so he wouldn't do it again, but I don't think that happened. 

And Hunter is all "see you never" because he loves to work right now.  When he gets home its usually after we eat and we are both grumpy and just want to sleep but there are dishes and baths.  I could just go to chick fil a every night?  No dishes, cooking effort, and Wyatt will be happy.  Very tempting!  That is why I work right? To fund our chick fil a outings?

The moral of this story is I hope I don't regret working. I have 12 code reviews to catch up on and some exciting new action items with due dates in the next few weeks.

Sooo anyways, here are some exciting updates:

Wyatt:

• If he sees me without my phone or baby monitor, he brings it to me.  Signs of a bad mom, but isn't he sweet?
• He started sleeping with a blanket (tractor quilt) and teddy bear.  For some reason this makes me think he is growing up.
• He doesn't allow me to cover him with the blanket.  I hang it on the end of the bed, and then after I leave the room he pulls off the blanket and covers himself.  What does this represent?  It stumps me.
• He loves school right now (break from baby kate?) and loves peanut budder samiches.  
• He wore his first pair of heels and glitter purse while playing at our neighbors house with their 3 year old.  He had problems keeping the purse on his arm while clomping in heels and pushing his tractor in a shopping cart. 

Kate:

• She naps like a champ, plays happily on her play mat, loves bath time, and giggles/ smiles enough to make my day.  
• The statement above is only true if we don't leave the house for long that day.  My best guess is she doesn't like people, noise, or lights and don't mess with her naps! So crazy mama if we stay home all day and crazy mama if we leave the house. 
• Her routine....Wake up at 7, eat, play for 30 mins, nap for close to 2 hours....repeat, repeat, bath as soon as dinner is over, bed by 7:30.  I wake her up at 10 to feed her and then she wakes me up at 3:00amish.  Not too bad, but I would be ok with the 3 am going away.
• She loves bath time.
• Every time she wakes up, she rolls over immediately and then gets ticked off because she rolled over. 
• She stuck it out for about 25 minutes in a jogging stroller that wasn't moving the other day.  Do I dare take her on a run?

Sorry I am so slacking in the posts lately.  I do keep writing posts in my head and I do keep putting occasional items on my tumblr page http://funfiveminutesago.tumblr.com/ .  

How I Am Making It Work

I was scared to think of how life would be once I started working 20 hours a week, but life has not changed very much since I started.  Sure, the house is messier.  Yeah, I only do dishes before and after dinner. Ummhmmm, sometimes I even work while Wyatt is awake.

My windows of serious opportunity are before Wyatt wakes up, during morning nap, during afternoon nap, and after he goes to bed.  I can usually get in about 2 to 3 hours before I put him to bed.  Some/most of the time, I put morning nap towards a P90X workout.

Here are my measly tips for how to make being a WFHM (work from home mom) work.

1. Meal plan during the weekend so you don't have to do additional shopping and creating during the week.  Do one crock pot meal a week. Frozen vegetables are your friend. Salads are your friend.  Always thaw your meat one to two days in advance. Make use of marinades.

2. Track the time you work consistently.  Sometimes I think I will just sit down and work a few minutes while Wyatt is occupied, but then I end up getting in a nice 30 minute burst.  You might forget about this time if you don't track it. I am using the Free iPhone app called OfficeTime Lite. You can start / stop timers, track which project you are working on, and run weekly/monthly/daily reports. 

3. Don't feel guilty for working while your kiddo is awake.  This one was easy for me. :)  I think letting you child entertain himself helps to build independence and creativity.  Wyatt has no problem letting me know when he needs interaction. He crawls or walks up to me and that is my cue.  I put the computer down and spend time with him until he moves on to another toy or activity and doesn't need me.  Then I pick up the computer again.  Wyatt goes in laps...cruising around the room, investigating his toys, and banging things on the walls (yay for rentals). Then he looks up, sees me, and decides its time for some Mama. 

Those are all my tips.  I realize that I am in this magical window where Wyatt is old enough to not need constant attention but young enough to not be so active that he is going bonkers in our living room.  I also know that 2 naps is a luxury I will not have forever.  In the future, I will probably have to make use of early morning and late evening...maybe even some weekends.

I do struggle with feeling unprofessional while talking on the phone to anybody at work.  I am embarrassed when Wyatt cries/chatters while I am on the phone.  Most people that I work with don't know that I am a work from home mom that lives in Florida.   I wish I was stronger and could just think about how being a mom is more important than being 100% professional on the phone.  Maybe someday.  :)  Any tips for me?