Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Workin' 9 to 5, What a way to make a livin'

Mama's going WHERE??? How was I not consulted in this decision?

Well, today it happened. Mommy went back to work. Well, "back to work" is probably not the right term. Perhaps we say instead that mommy "re-entered the working world" today. I am really blessed to have a wonderful relationship with a former boss who is bringing me on to do some contract accounting work for her a couple of days a week. It'll mostly be working on projects from home as needed, but I'll actually go into the office as well from time to time. Today, I went into the office for the morning.

We are beyond blessed to have had an amazing woman from church, Lizzie, agree to come to the house to watch Bodie while I'm working. (I could go on and on about Lizzie, how she's the Nursery Director at Sierra's preschool, how she used to watch Sierra, how amazing she is with kids, but the reality is that I don't want any of you moms of young kids who read my blog to get any ideas about stealing her). She rocks and we love her. Nuff said.

Anyway, this was a huge step for our family. I may have mentioned a time or two on the blog that Bodie, how do I put it delicately, is desperately dependent on mama and loses his mind anytime mama is more than arm's length away. The term "separation anxiety" just doesn't quite do it justice. We have never left him with a babysitter. We have never even left him in the nursery at church. We've done trial runs for 5 or 10 minutes, but each time we have to retrieve a coughing, sweaty mess of a child who has successfully scared every nice lady in the nursery with his gasping-feel-sorry-for-me-how-am-I-supposed-to-live-without-my-mommy-oh-and-don't-forget-I'm-a-cardiac-kid-so-you-really-should-get-my-mommy-QUICKLY cough. Honestly us not leaving him doesn't really have anything to do with his cardiac condition. Of course, his history I am sure explains why he's so clingy. But medically speaking, he's completely stable. He eats baby food, he drinks from a sippy cup, he takes naps - all the normal kid stuff. The only thing that really makes him different is that he takes meds 3x a day, but each time he gets 1 syringe, kind of the equivalent of giving a kid Infant Tylenol or Motrin. So yeah, he should be able to be left with a sitter by now. But alas, we haven't been able to try. Until now.

Knowing I would have to go to the office this morning, Lizzie and I did a little trial run on Monday. Sigh. Bodie made it unequivocally clear that he was NOT happy with the proposed change in our life. He cried most of the morning (I was home doing stuff in our office/spare bedroom, so I would come out and comfort him as needed), only warming up to Lizzie for moments here and there. (As an aside, this kid totally wears his little heart on his sleeve.) Lizzie, the sweet glutton for punishment that she is, was undeterred and came back for more today. When I left for work this morning, I. WAS. WORRIED. Despite the fact that I left him happily playing with Lizzie, Monday had freaked me out a little bit. But I figured he couldn't cry for 3 hours straight, right? Eventually, he'd have to warm up to her - or fall asleep crying, right?

Oh mommy, please come back soon!
Well, I needn't have worried, because Bodie did AWESOME! He played with Lizzie happily all morning. And he even let her feed him lunch! (Seriously, this kid will only take a bottle or babyfood from me!) This was BIG for him...and us. Our general consensus? Bodie likes to mess with mama when she's around. Silly, silly boy.

I had a great time catching up and getting back into "work" mode. It was refreshing to have conversations about accounting and financial statements and reporting structure, instead of cardiology appointments and transitioning from bottles to sippy cups. Hey, we all have our gifts and talents - mine happen to be in the accounting and financial realm. ;-) I love working with this woman and am really excited for the projects she needs help with. She asked me at one point whether I had a hard time leaving Bodie, if I had cried when I left him (I absolutely cried when I went back to work when Sierra was 3 months old). I honestly laughed when she asked. You read what I wrote earlier, right? Dusk and I have not been on a date.IN.A.YEAR. I can count on one hand the number of times I have left Bodie with someone else for more than 5 minutes. I love Bodie, but c'mon - mama needed a break. Today was a wonderful break, and the start of a new chapter in our lives. It's a welcome chapter. I loved working part-time after Sierra came along and I'm really looking forward to doing it again now. It's good for Bodie to get interaction with others, and it's good for my sanity. :-) I love getting the chance to work, while still knowing that my kids spend more time with me than anyone else.

And, in totally unrelated news (but since I already have a captive audience), here's a few pics of the fun we've been up to lately...

Getting his smolder on... Showing off his beautiful blues
Playing piano with Dylan. We LOVE Dylan's parents. His mom, Gina has been one of my best friends for years, and was my maid-of-honor. His dad, Colin, is a cardiologist, so of course, he's one of our peeps now. :-)
Came into the kitchen to find Daddy with some adoring fans, just WAITING for ice cream.
So excited
Is there any doubt this is Dusk's kid? (and no, just to clarify (in the event this picture ends up in the wrong hands), he did NOT drink any of this, and we took it away immediately after the pic)
Put the kids down for their nap yesterday, only to hear "tee hee hee...tee hee hee" over the monitor. I went in to find this - silly Sierra had climbed into Bodie's crib and they were both just cracking up...so sweet!
Thanks as always for all of your prayers for our sweet little warrior!
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5 comments:

  1. The last pic is too cute. Love the Dora PJs! Congrats momma on a day at the office. Hopefully you'll get a date night soon as well!

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  2. I ADORE the last picture. That's what siblings are all about, right? :) I'm so glad Bodie did well! Maybe this is the start of something great?? Date nights with hubby? Weekend away with the girls? I'm just sayin'... ;) I'm sure it does feel good to be back to work. I know we talked about it and I don't know HOW stay at home mommies do it. I LOVE my daughter more than life itself, but this mommy would lose her mind at home. I just don't have what it takes. I'm glad you're able to get back in the game and use those skills that earned you ALL those degrees decorating that wall. ;)

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  3. Amy, I love reading your blog! You are really inspiring. Your family is adorable. I'm happy for you that you get to go back to work part-time. Sending love and prayers as always. :O) Jill Woods

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  4. Aww, so cute! Glad Bodie did so well with her!

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  5. Bodie is SUCH a cutie! It is so nice to have part time work. I still go into my office 1 day a week and honestly, it's a nice break from SAHM, so I totally understand your thoughts =) Glad you guys are doing great and that Bodie did so well on his first day without his momma =)

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