Laughter is the best medicine

I have had a long week and it isn't over yet. I worked last week a normal schedule, then I worked all weekend at the ButterflyFest for the Museum, then a regular work week this week plus a special event this Thursday night. Then I am oh so lucky to get to work on Sunday afternoon/evening. I am already completely exhausted and it isn't over yet.

But coming home to my adorable little munchkin and hearing her laughter makes it all better. Well until I have to go back to work and leave her. :-(

As Time Passes

As I rocked Elsa to sleep tonight I got a little sad. I looked down at her and thought she will never be this little again. Tomorrow she will be a little bigger, and the next day bigger, and so on. Each day she will learn new things that she never knew before.  You fall in love with each stage they go through and have to grieve when they pass through it, and then fall in love all over again with the next stage.

Working vs home-ing

"In courting the always-on livelihood, we're turning our backs on rich moments of full focus and absorption, in favor of darting restlessly back and forth between two or more complex streams of life. The integrity of a moment is lost when we unthinkingly blend different parts of our life."

How this statement impacts my very existence. This came from an article titled "Smartphones Let Work Win Out." And it is so true. The home vs. work distinction has been blurred so much by smartphones. I started using a Blackberry in 2006 and found a way to get my work email on the phone. At that time my philosophy was to fix a problem before it becomes a problem. Rather nip it in the bud then take more time to clean up the mess. I used it so much that when Steve and I went on vacation in 2007 I was forbidden to use my phone for work, but I totally snuck a few email checks. I dropped my BB Pearl in the toilet AT WORK by accident and had to use an old phone and was without email for awhile. And honestly, it was such a relief. In 2009 we got iPhones. Oh glorious iPhone!! At first I was resistant to loading work email again, but eventually it just became necessary. 

I now have a reason to put the phone down...Elsa Anna. I informed my boss that my email will be turned off on weekends so I can spend quality time with my family. In the last couple of weeks I have realized that I also need to turn it off in the evenings. Working while home and neglecting my precious little girl is not an option. 

Read the full article here.

Nursing in Public also called NIP

So this post may not appeal to all of my 6 followers, but it is something that I have been thinking about lately. Today two different people on facebook that I know (but who do not know each other) posted a link to the same "blarticle" (blog + article, not quite a an article but definitely a blog). This blarticle talked about how to talk to children about breastfeeding when they see it in public.
Now I have I have a nursing cover, which Elsa hates. She thrashes when she is underneath it and fights eating. So if I want to feed her in public I sometimes have to just go "commando." Although I have used the nursing cover I really didn't think much about NOT using it. I didn't think to myself "Am I harming some child out there by allowing them to see me feed my baby from my breast?" or "Am I offending some adult out there for feeding my baby from my breast?" It is such a natural thing to do that I forget that people could be offended. But why? Why is it such a big deal to see a mother feed her baby? A friend of mine wrote this very matter of fact blarticle on the topic as well, and I am on board with NIP! Breasts are not "just" sexual organs (and that definition of sexual for breasts is a social construct not a biological one), they are meant to provide the best nourishment possible to our offspring.

So if you are offended by my actions, look the other way!

And watch this hilarious commercial.....

Where are all the intelligent people?

I cannot wait for the elections to be over. What has happened to the people I know that I thought were so intelligent? So many people posting propaganda on their facebooks for the parties and candidates without researching the information first. They are just making themselves look like idiots.

Snopes.con
Factcheck.org

Be smart look it up first.

FAM with a baby

Every year I attend the Florida Association of Museums conference. Each year it is in a different Florida city and we get to tour the various museums in the evenings after the sessions are over for the day. The last few years I have even had some sessions of my own and I assist with the Emerging Museum Professional track.  I truly enjoy my time at these conferences. I have learned a lot and have gotten to know some great people.

This year was the first one since Elsa was born. At 5 months old, I wasn't ready to leave her for 4 days and 3 nights yet. So I asked Steve to come along and bring her. He got excited for a bout a minute until I told him it would be in Tallahassee. Ha ha. I was a completely different experience having them there. I didn't network as much as I normally would, but it was awesome to have them go on the tours with me in the evenings. Now that I have done it with a baby, I probably wouldn't repeat it. It's hard to be fully engaged in the conference while also thinking about when the next time I needed to be back at our room to feed her was.

All in all, a great conference and I got to show off the Elsa! :-)

So she wouldn't stand up straight for a photo. Best I have though.  We were in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol Museum.

I'm a Working Mom

When Steve and I made the decision to grow our family, we knew it would come with some unfortunate choices. I won't use the term "sacrifice" because nothing I do for my daughter will be a sacrifice, I will do it because it's what it best and right to do. And how could that be a sacrifice?

We knew we would both have to work. We could not pay our bills otherwise, unless one of us doubles our salary or we win the lottery (personally I'm banking on the lottery). Knowing this I had to come to terms that this is the lifestyle our family would live. Mom and Dad working, baby going to a sitter or daycare. When the time came for me to go back to work I had to put my big girl pants on and accept it. To do otherwise would mean endless days of anguish, longing and ultimate sadness.

There are pro's and con's to this arrangement. Con's I miss out on a big chunk of Elsa's day, I don't get to be her only teacher besides her dad, and exhaustion after work does not mean I can check out and nap or whatnot when I get home.  The Pro's are that I get mommy time, some adult interaction on an intellectual and social level and I can provide for her (put a roof over her head, clothes on her back, diapers on her butt, food in her belly and so much more).

In a perfect world we would get one year of maternity leave and still be able to pay the bills. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, but it is the best world I can offer and live with.