The Juggle

I'm at home with Miles today because he has a cold. His eyes were all goopy this morning and I had to use a warm, wet washcloth to help him open them. He would have been allowed to go to daycare, but who wants to go to school when you are sick? I decided to stay home with him and nurse him back to health. He always naps much better at home.

However, I realized at 7:15am that I told my office I would cover the front desk for the first 30 minutes before the receptionist arrived. I couldn't get anyone on the phone so I packed Miles up hoping he would fall asleep in the car and drove to work at 8:00am. Thankfully, this was before his usual morning nap. When I got to work my boss happily took over the job of covering the front desk, so Miles and I headed back home just in time for his nap.

While it ended well, this whole hour long saga was pretty stressful for me. Do you sacrifice your child's health and take them out of the house or do you stay good on your word? Of course, if Miles had been more sick than he is there would have been no question in my mind. But life isn't that cut and dry. I'm constantly looking for moms who can 'do it all' and make it look easy. I guess I've realized that even the moms who make it look easy may be having the exact same internal struggle.

My friend, Jen, told me about this blog http://www.askmoxie.org/ and it often speaks to the working momma struggle. This post http://www.askmoxie.org/2010/08/qa-im-so-incensed-i-cant-even-think-of-a-good-title-for-this.html really hit home. Thankfully, my work environment is very different. And I still struggle. Here's to all the working mommas out there!!

And here's a pic of Miles that was taken this weekend at a "baby weekend" at the Jersey Shore.

Can you see why I struggle. He truly is amazing!

Oh my...how time flies!

Ok. It is official. I'm a horrible blogger. So I didn't blog when I was on maternity leave--Miles just wouldn't have it. I thought that going back to work and having an actual 'lunch hour' would lead to blogging--it didn't. Weekends? No. I can't bear to look at a computer on the weekends. So here we are, 2 months have gone by since my last entry.

It seems that I'm overwhelmed by technology. I have a billion work emails to navigate (we all do, I'm sure), and I want to check in with friends and family on my personal account. And then there is facebook. And then my lunch is over. It's crazy and it isn't even our busy season at work. In today's world it is so seemingly easy to stay connected to one another, yet at the same time I feel like all of these mediums make my life more complicated. Keeping an online presence is a full time job. Perhaps I should count my blessings that I have so many people with whom I want to connect. I DO!! I just wish I could have a front porch (bigger than Jonesville, for all you ASP folks) and get to chat face to face with everyone I love.

I wonder what technology will be around when Miles is my age. Maybe he will be able to 'beam' himself to visit his loved ones. Well, until that time, I'll try to keep you posted on our lives. Afterall, that is really why you read this once in a blue moon, right?

These days, Miles is crawling and pulling up on everything. He's babbling up a storm and having 'conversations' with us. When we were in the car tonight, Scott asked him what he was doing and he answered "bah? Da? Grrrrraaaaaaaah! I'm not sure what he was telling us, but it is pretty cool to hear him respond to our questions. He is SO cute. I'm one lucky momma! And if my laptop was worth a darn, I'd post a recent photo. Ok, enough excuses...until next time.

Is it almost June??

I cannot believe that June is upon us. It seems like I just went back to work and that was three months ago. I'm inspired by my friends who juggle parenthood with full time jobs and have time to blog about it. I can't seem to figure out how to do it all.

Miles is growing so fast! He's sitting up, eating solid foods (well, sort of...) and babbling all of the time. Every morning when we are getting ready he sits up on our bed in a boppy pillow. However, that is going to be short lived because he is starting to move all over the bed. Can you say falling hazard?? I just ordered a foam play mat for the living and dining rooms, and I guess I need to figure out to do while we are upstairs. What on earth do you do with a mobile infant while getting ready?? My singing and dancing will only last so long...I mean I'm entertaining, but not more entertaining than crawling around a room. I also suppose the idea of sitting down to eat cereal is going to be a pipe dream. Ahh, growing pains!

In the afternoons I pick him up from school and we stroll home. We have a lovely stroll, past Independence Hall, through Washington Square and the historic neighborhoods of Philadelphia. I often forget how cool it is that we live in such a special place in our country's history. When I get home and juggle Miles and Pearl, I need to remind myself that this is all part of the fun.

The evenings are reserved for trying to get Miles to enjoy his dinner, which is a bit of a test. So far the only thing he really likes is applesauce. I tried to feed him sweet potatoes--here's the video...
( http://http://sharing.theflip.com/session/d42f87a9aef000a8b6ff6f64b20201dd/video/14137291) last week and he lost it in his bumbo seat. Perhaps it is time for a real high chair. Before I know it is is 7pm, which means a bath and to bed!

Of course those few hours are the highlight of each day. It's a juggle and sometimes it can be very exhausting but being a mom is by far the best thing I've ever done. Period.

Family photo (already outdated!!)

But too cute not to share!

The Party is Over...

Or at least I'm back at work. I've made it to Thursday and am still able to stand, though Miles did not sleep very well last night so we'll see how long that lasts. I do miss him terribly during the day, but thankfully Scott is home with him for 5 weeks so I can call every few hours and check on the boys. They are doing well, and Scott is doing an incredible job of getting him on a nap schedule. Something I could not manage to do, probably because I was too much of a busy body and we weren't at the house at the same time every day.

Overall, I'm happy to be back at work. I enjoy my coworkers and love what I do. When I have downtime I can check email and update the blog. Something that didn't happen very frequently when I was at home with Miles. So I suppose being a working mom has some perks.

Hopefully the sleep will improve...and since I'm obsessed with Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", I am confident that we will get Miles on a good night schedule and make this multi-tasking thing much easier!

Here are some photos of our trip to FL in early February and a sledding adventure with some friends...

Like Father Like Son...

A lot of folks have been saying that Miles looks like Scott. What do you think? We had a great MLK weekend with Jen and Matt at a friends' farm and Pearl did not want to leave. (Neither did we!) However when we made the trek back into the city during rush hour traffic we confirmed just why we live in the city. A simple commute=a simple life. Here's the latest pic of Noah and Miles. They are beginning to look more alike each day! I continue to enjoy my time with Miles and as February approaches I realize that my time is very limited. I will miss our days together and March 1 will be here before we know it! After a week of waking up throughout the night I am hopeful that Miles will start sleeping better--especially when I go back to work. Not sure how I will navigate career counseling on zero sleep. Oh boy!

Christmas Fun

We had a wonderful time in Alabama. It was great to see family and friends and show off our handsome son! Here are the highlights...
Miles was decked out in his finest day gown to meet the visitors.. He got to meet Aunt Katie...

Uncle Pete and Ella and Alex...

Nicole and Stacy and his new friends Landry and Eric...
Most of all he loved spending time with his cousins (pictured here are Anna and Noah), Aunts and Uncles.

The Littletons meet Miles for the first time...

He even had his own stocking with a picture of Pearl on it!

And last but not least, he got to meet the Davis family. Ann was quite taken with Miles. I think there might be something special there!
We also got to meet Aunt Ashley (I can't believe we didn't get a picture!!), meet the Gillespie twins, and many old friends in Birmingham. It was a great visit and I wish we could get down there more often.

We're back in Philly now and getting into our routine. Miles is sleeping well (from 10pm-4am) most nights and seems to be getting into a groove.

I only have 2 more months with him and I know the time is going to fly by. These are precious times!