While Mommy's Away

To A&Z: As you may (or may not) realized, Mommy is away for a week on a work trip to Dallas. This week won't be easy on any of us: Daddy, who has to take care of you both each night and over the weekend; Cora, who has to make your meals and get you dressed and ready for school each day; Sadie, who always misses her mommy; both of you and of course, me!

While I know you both have had your moments of sadness (Abby, crying the night before I left; Zach, crying when you woke up from a nap and I wasn't there), you can rest assure that I'm pretty darn sad, too. I miss being able to see your happy faces in the morning and kissing you goodnight before bed. I miss your huge hugs and smiles when I walk in the door from work. I miss seeing your pictures that you colored and the notes home from school. Above all, I miss YOU both terribly!

Traveling for work, especially for a really long trip like this one, is not my idea of fun. Yes, I stay in a nice hotel and sleep in bed without a dog laying on me and I get to eat every meal in peace and quiet without having to clean up after anyone. But what I miss the most when I'm away on a trip like this one is just being able to kiss you both and give you big hugs every day. I work to help provide a better life for you and I hope you know that I do this to give you the best that life can offer, even if there are some rough times in-between.

I will try my best to remember how much I miss you when I'm back at home and yelling to make you stop running around the house or screaming, but in the meantime, please keep missing me and know that I am missing you right back. And be good for daddy - he could use a little help :).

The Working Mommy Debate

Every now and then, usually when the weather gets better, I find myself aching to ditch my full-time job and work part-time or be a SAHM. While this isn't exactly feasible at the moment while my husband looks for a job, I feel the need to weigh the pros and cons of being a working mommy - maybe you have these feelings, too, or perhaps I just need a reminder every now and then:

Cons of being a working mom:
- Missing out on many "firsts" and fun activities: Zach's first time on a swing, numerous storytimes, lunches, playdates and classes
- Only seeing my kids for 2-3 hours at MOST each week day
- Squeezing in valuable family time on the weekends, in-between birthday parties and errands
- Not really knowing your kids' daily routines/activities - who they play with, how they play, etc.
- Saying goodbye in the mornings and seeing the look of sadness on the kids' faces when I leave

Pros of being a working mom:
- A paycheck! i.e. not having to worry what my husband will think if I want to buy a new pair of shoes or get a manicure
- I get to eat lunch, make a call and check emails in peace and quiet
- "Me time" - usually when I'm commuting, but time to myself that I wouldn't have if I were at home
- Being able to leave work at a certain time to get home to relieve the nanny (whereas you ARE the nanny as a SAHM!
- Seeing the pure look of joy on my kids' faces when I walk in the door after a long day of work
- Showing your kids that you are a super-mommy - able to do it all

There are many more pros and cons but these are the first that came to mind. While I enjoy all of the pros of working, I hope that one day I'll have the chance to have some more flexibility in my schedule and test out what being a SAHM is like (maternity leave excluded - being completely sleep-deprived doesn't really count)!