Friday, February 10, 2012

Show Us Your Life: Working Mama


Two linked up days in a row!

I'm linking up today with Kelly's Korner. Her Friday series "Show Us Your Life" features working mom bloggers, so I'm joining in the fun.

Hailey Erickson Photography

Hi, I'm Emily and thanks for stopping by! As a mom who works outside of the home, I have a lot of encouragement from my sweet friends and family, not the least of which is my wonderful husband who talks me down off the ledge when I get overwhelmed. In particular I'm reminded of the second Monday of January (the first one was a holiday) when I rolled over in bed and said, "I think I'm just going to take a vacation day and stay home." He reminded me that if I did it once, it would be too easy to do it every other Monday, and pretty soon I'd be out of vacation days.

When he's right, he's right, you know.

I should mention that this discussion took place at 4:30 AM, which is when I start my day. I commute across DFW which takes right at an hour one way. I'm in the office super early so I can get back home to my sweet, almost 1-year-old boy.

One of the sacrifices of working this schedule is being there in the morning to see my boy when he wakes up. He is always so, so happy in the morning, which I love. But I'm there by 5 to pick him up in the afternoon, so I get a full evening to play with him. It's my absolute joy, and at 4 PM I'm usually found sprinting to my car to get home. My favorite reason to work this schedule (9 hour days) is that I'm off every other Friday. It's worth it.

Some where in the middle of wifery, child-rearing, and working, we are heavily involved in serving the Lord through our church. That's our family here in our town, so we wouldn't have it any other way. I constantly find my nose in a book, even if it's just my default favorite Pride and Prejudice. And like other ladies, I take great pleasure in making my home a home and eating cookie dough. I excel at that last part, which is why I count my points.

So there you have it--my working-mother-life in a nutshell.


VIA

I found this image not long after I went back to work from maternity leave. It rings so true. I'm fairly convinced that I can do anything I want. I have so many great encouragers cheering me along my way, and by the strength of the Lord, I'm making it {with a lot of prayer, very little sleep, and one diet coke a day.} But one thing I am always reminding myself is although I can do it all, I should not do it all. That helps me guard the precious time I have with my husband and son.

Speaking of precious time, I'm off to enjoy my Friday at home and a fun Valentine's Day weekend with my guys. Have a great weekend!

42 comments:

  1. You are doing it all SO well. Working full time with a baby was hard, so I can only imagine adding that drive and the nine hour days. You are amazing! And I know Jack is so blessed to have a mommy that does such a good job balancing it all! See you Monday!

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    1. Thanks, friend. It is the Lord! He multiplies my time somehow. I'm convinced of it!

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  2. I'm impressed! You sound very disciplined. I'm sure I'd be up at 5:30 just throwing clothes on. : )

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    1. I do my fair share of hitting the snooze button. That is when I discovered dry shampoo. :)

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  3. Popped over from KK-SUYL. Great to read about other working moms and how they make it work!

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    1. I agree! This linkup today has just blessed my little heart. I am just about to go leave Kelly a note to say that!

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  4. Emily- I guess i am blogging challenged- I wanted to reply to your comment, but I guess I have that disabled or something ( not on purpose:) anyway...looks like we have a LOT in common- my little boy's name is Jack, too!

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    1. How fun! We thought the name sounded perfect for a little one as well as a gentleman. No family ties to it, although everyone always asks.

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  5. Hi Emily! It's nice to "meet" you through SULY! Like you, I try to get into the office super early so I can get home to my little girl! I'm a CPA so getting to the office early means I get to leave at "normal" closing time. I definitely miss my mornings with her, but her Daddy does a fantastic job! And, I love, love, LOVE the evening time that we get to spend together. I'm also a pastor's wife, which can sometimes be another job all together! I'm looking forward to following your blog!

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    1. Bless your heart. And it's TAX Season!

      Nearly every morning I text my husband to ask how Jack was and what outfit he put on him. My husband is so nice about it and does a great job too. :)

      I just added you to my Reader!

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    2. Ha! I don't let my husband pick out Kate's clothes anymore. My mother-in-law keeps her while we're both at work. After Kevin sent Kate in PJ's twice, and completely non-matching outfits a few other times, I started laying out her clothes the night before. :)

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    3. For a girl, that is probably a good move!!! :)

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  6. Hey Emily! I linked over here from Kelly's Korner. Your little boy is precious! I'm so glad Kelly did a SUYL for us working gals! I am a working mom of 3 precious kids - 8, 4 and 1 month. I love your 9 hour day schedule with every other Friday off. May have to suggest that to my boss. :)

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    1. Yes, that off day is like GOLD to me. My Company started that flex policy right around the time I found out I was expecting. Praise the Lord for that!

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  7. I linked over from Kelly's Korner. Your little one is adorable. Wow that commute would be a bear!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by. If I didn't absolutely LOVE my job, I wouldn't be making the drive. I'm still at my right out of college job--10 years this summer.

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  8. I also found you from Kelly's Korner. I once had a blog post mentioning how leaving work has a whole new meaning after you have kids. I work too and struggle with getting out of bed some days. I once read someone that if your work life balance is off, set a date. Keep your current schedule and when your set date comes around, assess if you still feel the same. Then make a change. I look forward to reading posts from you in the future.

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    1. That is excellent advice. Their childhood is too short (too, too short) to be unhappy or miserable. You definitely have to find the thing that works for you.

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  9. I also miss the mornings, which I hate. But I love the evenings. Enjoyed your blog.

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    1. The length of time I have in the evenings makes it worth the wake up call. When I go in later and have to stay later, I feel like I'm home just in time to kiss him good night. I don't like that!

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  10. Here from Kelly's Korner. You little boy is adorable! I am also a working mom, part time teacher, so I am done by 1:30 each day. Love that you get every other Friday off!

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    1. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful blog you have! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi!

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  11. Hi, I stopped over from Kelly's Korner. My husband and I both work 9 hour days and commute an hour each way so we can be off every other Friday with our son. The long days are hard sometimes, but it is totally worth the extra time with him!Your little boy is a doll!

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    1. It is so hard, but SO worth it. Hang in there, Mama! Thank you!

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  12. That picture is AMAZING. Seriously gorgeous. I think you're doing great! This working mom thing is not easy, but you have it figured out!

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    1. Thanks!!! I definitely don't think I have it all figured out, but thanks for the ego boost! :)

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  13. So nice to hear all the other working mamas thoughts and point of views...I don't feel so alone out there! I have an almost 2 year old little boy and it would be awesome to get together for a playdate sometime...of course I only have weekends but maybe that would work for you too! Hope you have a great weekend with your boys too :)

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    1. I agree - it's great to see so many other moms juggling the two. Would love a playdate sometime. And the red velvet funnel cake was DELICIOUS!!! :)

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  14. Love reading about your story! I also noticed on your last post that you guys got engaged/married in February/July 2005--so did we!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog--glad to have met you. :)

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    1. Girl, we have a ton in common! I'll see you around the nursery with your sweet little one. :)

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  15. Hi Emily. I deleted your comment by mistake. I was using Blogger on my cell phone and my fat fingers managed to hit the delete key. Sorry! Its great to find other female software engineers! I bet we could write a blog on working in a male dominated field alone :)

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    1. Haha - I am one of 2 women on my Team. :) I have a pretty awesome work environment though!

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  16. Your work schedule is GENIUS! I love the every other Friday off. When we have studies I am sort of confined to the athlete's schedules, but when we don't have studies I get to make my own hours and I think I may bring up the 9 hour/every other Friday off schedule! Thanks!
    Oh and your family is adorable!

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    1. Your job sounds SO COOL! Do you get to meet famous athletes or is is mostly amateurs?

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  17. Hi, Emily. I had to check out your blog, because my mom is also "Mrs. Gentry". Anyway, I'm grateful that Kelly has opened this SUYL for us WOHMs to get connected. I, too have those morinings when I just think it would be easier to just roll over and not roll out! So glad to "meet" you!

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    1. Aww, I love being Mrs. Gentry. :) Me too - this has been such an encouraging linkup. Makes me LOVE blogging. Nice to "meet" you too!

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  18. Hey Emily, popping over from Kelly's Korner. I love the idea of your work schedule, I wish mine was as flexible. I am lucky that I am salary and there are days that I can leave early and still get paid for the entire day. Great post and your little boy is adorable! I am new to your blog, and just started following!

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    1. That's so nice that you can leave early some! The idea of a flexible work schedule at my office is pretty new and evolving, so I am just glad to take off every other Friday. My husband has the opposite Friday off, so our son is just at his daytime caregiver's Monday through Thursday. The whole setup has God's fingerprints ALL over it!

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  19. So glad to see other DFW moms at Kelly's Korner. I love my early hours too! Your little one is adorable!

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    1. I know--it's so encouraging! Your family is so precious!

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