I am a working mom of 4 kids. Three of which are in daycare so when one is sick (which seems like every week) then they all stay home. I am very blessed to work for a company and boss who are flexible and allow me to be at home with the kids and work so I can hoard my vacation days like the miser that I am. Working at home while I am also watching the kids tests my patience in such a unique way. Does my husband stay home and help because he is my partner in this tiny herd we’ve created – YES – do I feel as the mom that the care of the kids is mainly my responsibility even though my husband has never indicated that – also YES. The balance of working and momming is such a fine line and usually drives me to dive into a SAHM / WFHM scenario and how we can make that balancing act work. I’ve thought very seriously about both options but can usually talk myself out of doing it for one reason or another. In my kids minds mommy is at home so she should be available for tea parties and snacks and Lego building and Pokémon battles and going outside; in my mind I need to be more productive so I can prove to work that I AM working AND being productive AND that they should have every confidence that work is getting done even though I am not physically in the office and that I’m sorry it seems that my kids are always sick so I am always out of the office.

So on this particular Monday morning after I’ve snoozed my alarm 3 times because at this time in my life I value sleep more than that morning workout. I roll out of bed to find that two kiddos are sick and will not be going to daycare. Because I’m lazy (or a genius) I decide that I am not getting out of my sweatpants and I am not driving one kid 30 minutes to daycare so everyone is staying home with mom. I put on a double pot of coffee and set up shop at our kitchen counter and turn on Magic School Bus because I know Blippi & Cocomelon are coming and I’m trying to hold off that torture for as long as possible. I would like to insert how incredibly grateful I am to have a surface – so I can connect to the wi-fi and work just about anywhere in the house.

The photo below is me at 11 AM with my second cup of creamer with a dash of coffee, rocking my caboose baby who we are trying to ween off bottles that needs a nap. At this point in my day I’ve broken up 3 fights, filled 6 chocolate milk cups, let the dogs in and out a 2 times, given out snacks, looked for a lost stuffy, changed a ton of diapers and wiped some kid booties. I’ve had a phone meeting, answered emails, answered work texts and IM’s, I’ve read through documentation for a meeting where we will possibly update a process later this week and gotten my notes together for an interview that I will conduct. I have ran through a load of laundry, cleaned up the dinner dishes, took lunch orders from the herd and have finally bit the bullet and turned on Cocomelon and I am not even half way through my day. Why am I telling you this? Because I see you momma. I SEE YOU and you are a damn rock star.