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When Pets Are Your Coworkers

We all go to work every morning with our unconventional co-workers.  Children and pets are the ones we meet at the proverbial water cooler each morning.  But if you think about it, how crazy is this job?  Harkin back to the day when you actually commuted to work, dressed…wearing make up with your hair actually combed, and had discussions with adults.  Hey, it wasn’t all that great compared to your new office environment!

My children are packed off safely at middle and elementary school every day, however my matching set of cats and one year old Labrador Retriever are fine work companions.  Well, maybe not fine but they are very present and eager every day.

A friend recently reminded of the needy little monsters I’ve created in the cats.  My husband and I adopted them back in the early 90’s and they are hedging on turning 19 at this point.  I’m convinced they both made a deal with the devil-their soul for eternal life because the end is no where in sight.

That being said, I love them dearly but as co-workers they stink.  First of all, they both go into four alarm panic mode if their food bowl (I feed them dry food) is low.  Meaning, that if they’ve eaten their way through the top of the food they worry and fret thinking, “My God, we’ll starve to death…when is my next meal coming?”

That’s when I started with my co-dependent behavior and began to provide them with the gratuitous “top off.”  Yes, folks instead of ignoring their pleas I find the Cat Chow and top off the bowl. It gets them to stop whining and I can get back to work.

However, sleeping is also a little difficult.  Pets and children are the only co-workers who actually wake you up at 4AM because they suddenly NEED a treat.  My black and white cat, Soho actually has a “I need a treat, get your butt out of bed STAT” routine.

It begins with simple meowing at my side of the bed.  I’ve learned to ignore that and I think he understands that I ignore it because he seems to move onto step two pretty fast which is shaking the blinds in our room.  He takes his little furry paw and shakes the blinds furiously, while meowing.  I often picture him holding cat training classes with a white board, a pointer and a step-by-step diagram of “how to get exactly what you want” because there is an actual method to his madness.

I digress.  Now the pillow goes over my head in a desperate attempt to sleep.  When he sees the pillow, he knows that he must resort to drastic measures so he prances over to the full length mirror we have propped up against a wall and starts to slam that back and forth against the wall until I drag myself out of bed to locate the treats.

I know what you are saying and doing…shaking your head, rolling your eyes.  Hey, I’m doing it to myself!  But in my misguided attempt to sleep…just sleep and make it all go away I’ll do it.

Of course if that were my children I’d just simply lock them out of the room.  Is that bad?

….and I haven’t even started on the dog!  She recently returned home from having knee surgery and the pain killer they gave her provided her with the same look a 70 year-old woman gets after a bad face-lift obtained in Mexico.  Have a good day.

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Workouts for WAHMs!

If you want to cut your stress level without resorting to a bottle of wine, try an energy blasting, kick butt workout to re-charge your batteries.

I often find I’m tired, crabby and prone to eat things I shouldn’t on days when I skip the workout. I’m not saying that you should workout seven days a week either; however if you can fit in a 20 to 45 minute blast at least four to six days a week you’ll feel stronger, healthier and even smarter!

You already have discipline if you can accomplish your job from a remote location which is half the battle with working out.  There are also a few things you can do to encourage that daily workout:

1. Workout when your body is ready. If you aren’t a morning person, don’t try to drag your body from bed at the crack of dawn to do cardio.  You’ll only end up hurting yourself because you’ll still be sleeping!  I typically wait until I’ve digested my coffee and a little breakfast and have already packed the little darlings off to school before my workout.
2. Be nice to yourself.  Don’t go all Jillian Michaels on yourself every workout.  Sometimes you just need to tell start out slowly then build into your workout.
3. Do things you enjoy.  If you hate to run don’t do it.  You’ll resent your workout and avoid doing it even more. Some people do better going to a class at the gym whereas others like to grab a DVD and follow along at home.
4. Accommodate your schedule.  If you have babies who nap, workout while they are sleeping.  Or do 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening.  You can always fit in a workout no matter how busy you are-trust me!

I’ve been a fitness enthusiast for more than 30 years starting with playing soccer as a little girl.  By the way, I’m SHOCKED at what I saw on women’s soccer last week!

Anyway, I digress….I’ve tried my hand at a variety of workouts from running marathons to yoga.  I learned that it’s incredibly important to mix up your routine.  If you like doing Tae Bo, do your Tae Bo DVD three days a week and then walk or run four or five miles one day and try a yoga DVD another day.

Also, if you want to really get shredded and kick butt, try some of these new plyometric DVDs such as the Tony Horton PX90 or the new Body by Jake “Get Ripped” series.  Plyometric training is jump training such as jump squats. Many of these trainers use weights while you jump so be sure you are in top condition before attempting these.

Jillian Michaels offers some great 20 minute workouts for busy moms on the go.  Try her 30 Day Shred DVD. It’s three 25 minute cardio and weight blasting workouts that you can fit in between client meetings or naptime.

Try working out for at least a week and see how your work production level is impacted.  I actually find that I write better after a nice five or six mile run than before!!

Food for thought!

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I’m on Justin Long’s Side Now

There’s a feeling of both excitement and stress when you know that purchasing a new computer is imminent. A brand new shiny computer without the annoying pop ups, viruses, crashes and blue screens…endless, new possibilities with a faster, better and much cooler processor.  The Bionic Computer!

For years, we’ve been a PC.  I shared files with my bank clients who worked on PCs and my husband’s office is PC based.  In the past, when we’ve ordered a new PC the excitement of playing with the new computer quickly diminished once the thing arrived and it was time for set up.

The kids and I know what to do when a new gadget or electronic enters the house.  The minute my husband gets home we take our usual places-which means anywhere away from the new object.

It all starts out innocently enough.  The box opens, the Styrofoam peanuts hit the ground and we inhale the new smell of whatever it is that was delivered.  In cases of PCs from the past, we’d all smell the manual.

Like stage trained actors, we take our places once the manual is fully opened and the power chords are ripped from their small plastic bags.

The general mood at first is more of pensiveness.  My husband seems to study the set up and diagrams and initially everything seems to connect as indicated on the diagram.  However, simple quick studying quickly goes south as I begin to hear a few questionable words uttered quietly in the other room.

The kids and I know we are not to enter the room no matter what.  If you have to pee and the object is located in the path of the nearest facility you WILL hold it or fear the wrath.

My husband is generally an easy going guy.  He likes to garden, watch sports and will laugh along with the Adam Sandler movie flavor of the day with me. However, put him in front of an electronic and he becomes something else.

In the past we’ve been treated to a cacophony of keyboards smashing, tools being hurled across the room and unintelligible language shouted.  I think he’s even made up a bunch of words because the curse words were no longer cutting it for him.

So this time, when our newest computer arrived, we all began the typical mental preparation we usually do.  He took the new family computer into the den area we affectionately call the rumpus room and the kids and I stationed ourselves in our respective bedrooms.

We waited…nothing.  Certainly he must be baffled by the manual.  Then we heard the usual noises of a working computer.  This, I had to see for myself.

This was the first year we purchase a Mac.  The PC blue screen and crashing finally did my husband in and we went for it.  We Mac newbies didn’t know that it is literally plug and play.  This is a MIRACLE!!!

I have always loved those Mac and PC commercials.  I don’t know if it’s just because I love Justin Long, aka “the Mac,” but those ads always cracked me up.  Now…I really get them.  And my husband’s blood pressure stayed at a normal level for the first time after receiving an electronic.

My name is Gina and I’m a Mac!  (O.k. but I still have to work on a PC because my work computer is still functioning).

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Happy Halloween WAHMs!

I’ve got to admit it.  Halloween is my favorite time of year and sadly, I get far more into it than my kids.  I’m not sure if it is because it’s the season where it turns a little cooler (in some parts of the country), and the leaves change (again, in some parts of the country) or if it’s because all the great horror movies are played on cable.  But I love Halloween and am looking forward to the events on Saturday.

Funny how Halloween is one of the more expensive holidays too.  People drop tons of cash on costumes and decorations.  You can’t hit a local store in August without being assaulted with Halloween décor or costumes.

Personally, I like to kick it old school when it comes to Halloween.  I talked my daughter into the $9 witch costume from Target that we will “enhance” for a scary effect.  My son, still in a cast, may go as a broken skeleton or his idea, “a kid with a cast on.”  Party pooper.

Either way, I’m looking forward to having fun on Saturday starting with the neighborhood fall picnic followed up with trick or treating. Of course trick or treating down here in Florida is a little different than what I remember growing up in Michigan.

First of all I have no fights to put a coat over the costume.  In fact this year we will be “treated” to 90 degree weather.  So bringing water bottles to stay hydrated will be important.  We also don’t have colorful leaves on the ground and your pumpkin will turn moldy if you leave it outside for more than a few hours in the heat.

Seeing palm trees swaying in the breeze at night is also surreal and just so NOT scary!  I find myself almost waiting for a steel drum band to emerge from behind some house for a little Caribbean Halloween background music.

We also trick or treat in golf carts in this neighborhood which I’m generally against-if you are out to get candy you should at least walk and earn it! However, this year, the only way my son can go is on a golf cart so I’m giving in, at least this year.

So that’s my South Florida Halloween experience.  It’s different than what I grew up with but always a blast.

I would love to hear about what other WAHMs have planned for their little ones this Halloween.  Everyone has different traditions and routines which make this unofficial kick off to the holiday season fun.

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Where are the Karma Cops?

I’m going to talk about the big pink elephant in the room. It seems as though there’s been a disturbing theme in the media lately that I can’t shake and I’m wondering if our WAHM readers feel that same way.

What is going on with kids and their parents?  A few weeks ago a 15 year old boy was set on fire as a retaliatory move by a group of other boys.  This occurred only 20 or 30 miles away from where I live so our local news media has inundated us with every hideous detail including hearing the child scream in the background on the 911 call.  Five kids were arrested and are awaiting trial.

Next we were “entertained” by the mad adventures of the balloon boy and his insane father.  Aside from the fact that this story is disturbing on so many levels, what really freaked me out was watching the six year-old, Falcon say on national television, “Who the hell is Wolf!?” when being introduced to Wolf Blitzer.  I guess the karma cop was busting his family a few minutes later when he told Wolf the whole thing was “for the show.”

For me the final straw hit closer to home and made me really start questioning what is really going on at home with many of these kids.  My son recently broke his leg during a skateboarding escapade.  He is in a hip length cast, on crutches, but is making it work. He does his best to hobble around his 2,200 student middle school and has managed to keep his GPA despite being out with a broken leg then having the flu.

When I picked him up on Friday he seemed upset because an abundance of random students are taunting him for being in a cast and are calling him “cripple.”  One student even came up to him and kicked his cast before shouting cripple.

As he was telling me this I was trying to pull into car line, gave the car behind me and smile and gestured if I could get in which was promptly met with an obscene gesture.

O.k., where are the karma police at this point?  I have witnessed numerous acts of incredible kindness from strangers so I know that the world isn’t completely going to hell in a hand basket but is it me or does it seem like kids are being raised by The Family Guy and Call of Duty?

Are parents so busy trying to make ends meet that kids are falling by the wayside or do parents not care anymore?

So much anger coming from our smallest citizens.  The child who was burned may survive but will never be the same again.  What about the balloon boy?  If my kid ever spoke that way, especially to an adult, he would be on “house arrest” for a considerable amount of time.

My children are by no means perfect. Remember, I’m the mother of the kid who glued his fingers together with Gorilla Glue on a $5 bet.  However, it’s the anger and belligerence coming from children that is worrisome.

I guess that’s why I wouldn’t trade my work at home for an outside job.  I could get a great job outside the home making more than double what I do right now.  However, the fact that I can keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on at home seems to be more valuable than having more money.

Understandably, we can’t all work from home.  However, especially these days, the choice of less money but working from home seems more logical than ever.  I would much rather be the one to teach my kids right from wrong than having Peter Griffin from the Family Guy do my job.

Side note:  nothing against the show Family Guy. It’s funny…just not for anyone under age 18!

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Rise and Shine!

If your house is total chaos getting everyone off to work and school everyday then you can relate.  The backpacks, the lunches; everything is a rush to get out the door.

Today was a little “special” and extra “fun.”  My girlfriend came to pick up my son for school and she and her daughter were laughing at my dog in the front yard.  Apparently Alley met up with a baby squirrel and was chasing it round and round the base of one of our palm trees.  When Alley took a break from chasing, the squirrel took a break.  Round and round they went until finally it dawned on me that my dog really wanted to eat the squirrel.

So the scene in the front yard was me trying to wrestle the dog to the ground, my neighbor with my broom and my son and his friend each with one of his crutches in their hands trying to get the dog.  I found out that labs are extremely fast, especially when they want to be.

Finally I body slammed Alley to the ground and dragged her into the house.  The poor squirrel lay there, playing dead but we could still see its eyes blinking and it breathing.  I finally got it to get up and run away.  Whew, crisis averted.

Part two….I was dumb enough to think the squirrel would have gotten the message, packed its bags and moved onto another dog free yard but no.  Alley went back outside, since she loves to sit outside, found the SAME squirrel and is now outside taking pride in her kill.  I still tried to chase her around the yard but of course she out ran and was a very efficient bobber and weaver, much like a skilled football player.

I know she is a dog, I know it’s in her nature but ewwww….. what a way to start Wednesday morning.  On a side note, she has a knee condition where the knee joint pops out when she gets too excited.  I noticed that she was limping a little which gave me a little satisfaction that karma still sees what she did!

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The Flu

It’s here, in all of its glory…yes folks the flu is back.  Currently I’m blogging from the pediatrician’s office.  Oh yes, my son with the broken leg felt that he didn’t miss enough school this year and decided to catch something really nasty.

Of course I’m being facetious, but when it rains it pours.  This year we get to navigate through an even more fun strain of flu…the swine flu.  I’ve had a few friends deal with the swine flu.    Not a good time.  One friend’s daughter caught it and her husband is immune deficient.  Everyone but my girlfriend and her daughter had to move out of the house for seven days and she now has pictures of her and her daughter in masks and gloves as a souvenir.  Another friend discovered the positive impact of having swine flu because she managed to drop a good six to eight pounds.

Amid the swine flu hysteria I’ve all but forgotten about the other junk the kids catch such as strep, stomach flu and throat infections.  Today it could be a myriad of things.  In fact my neighbor let me know that mono is now going around the middle school so we can count that into the mix.

But so is life.  Some friends seem to sail right through flu season while others catch every virus under the sun.  I personally think we all get to take turns.  My kids have managed to dodge the flu for the last few years so maybe this year is our turn to catch a few bugs.

After this appointment, I’m off to buy more hand sanitizer.  Bath and Body Works has some great smelling stuff!

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Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

That David Bowie song keeps running through my mind lately, you know the one about facing uncomfortable changes.  The current economic environment has dictated that many of us make changes, whether we want to or not.

Too many people have lost their jobs after making a comfortable living after several years or even decades, and now find themselves like fish out of water, trying to survive in this jobless “economic recovery.”

I watched the local news the other day and they dedicated an entire segment to how workers in the hardest hit areas – real estate, construction and banking - can re-invent themselves to accommodate the changing market.

The happy news anchor droned on about how easy and obvious it was for a banker to become a nurse. For some reason, that segment angered me because I thought that if they wanted to become a nurse they would have done so in the first place! It stinks that you’ve gone to school, pursued a career but now have to abandon it because there’s simply no work?

Personally, I lost my fat writing job after 12 years of dedicating myself to interviewing and writing about banking.  Like a lot of print news media outlets, even my well established company closed its doors leaving me to make changes.

Luckily, I found more work as a writer. I’m no nurse but I have to work considerably harder and learn about completely new topics, industries and writing techniques for the Internet but I am still drawing somewhat of a paycheck in my field.  My old comfort zone is completely gone and I feel like a fresh college graduate, a newbie if you will.

Although I find that I have more bad days than good, I’m realizing that this is how we grow and learn; as painful as it is.  If my situation hadn’t changed I wouldn’t have this blog or learn new ways to perform my craft.  It will take a long time before I get back in my comfort zone but maybe that’s one of life’s little gifts.

My son, who is now in a cast up to his hip for the next six to 12 weeks, was complaining about his situation and it dawned on me why getting knocked down a bit in childhood is a good thing.

I explained to him that the adversity he was experiencing was going to teach him how to jump into new environments and thrive instead of panic.  He’ll get smarter just trying to figure out how to finagle his way around a middle school of 2,500 students and how to get up a flight of stairs.  If we never had to deal with difficult or different situations we would not learn how to adapt and change.

Change hurts. It’s downright painful at times but no matter how old we are, we can learn from these tough situations and figure out how to adapt and thrive during challenging times.

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Broken!

Working at home has its advantages…flexibility, time with your family and, oh yeah, not having to take off from work when your son snaps his tibia bone from trying a skateboarding trick on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning my husband took my son and his friend to the skate park for a morning of shredding ramps.  10 minutes into their visit my son somehow missed a ramp and landed on his tibia bone-the one near your shin.  He heard a crack, his friend heard a crack so did everyone at the skate park.

Three hours in the ER and he was on Tylenol with Codeine and was fitted for a nice air cast that he could wear until we could have his leg set.  I planned on working Saturday but those plans went out the window.  Most of Saturday night was spent awake listening to him moan in agony. I had to resume the work meant for Saturday on Sunday.

By Monday I was really behind but managed to knock out a few more stories while waiting for him in the Orthopedist’s office before we were told he needed a cast to his hip for six weeks, followed by another cast to his knee for another six weeks.  So, we’re talking Christmas before this sucker comes off.

The whole time I kept thinking…what would I have done if I had to go to an office?  I would have had to finagle getting time off to run him here and there and maybe wouldn’t have been able to be with him the entire time.

Sure, working from home can be tough…it’s 11:23 PM and I’ve been working since 7AM; but I’ve been with him the entire day while I worked on and off.

So we’re lucky, we work from home moms.  We can have our career and family…we just need to work a little later and weekends!

Update:  Alex only made it to two classes and called me in pain.  I picked him up, poor guy.  The nice thing is that I could just zip out the door…no boss to ask, no leave slip to fill out.  We’re all lucky we have this freedom!

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In the Defense of Super Girl

<!– @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>Find yourself drowning the sea of “trying to do it all?”  You aren’t alone.  Many work at home moms are considerably stressed due to the work and home pressures that stay with them 24/7.  Many moms who work outside the home leave work at the office (in some cases), whereas if you work from home it’s always there…stalking you, taunting you.

You also have your family to care for which isn’t just a day job either.  This uncomfortable marriage of work and family can push even the most unshakable mom over the edge.  Other than wine and Prozac what’s a work at home mom to do?

You can take a few steps to keep the “crazies” at bay.  No matter how young your children, you can fit some or all of these steps into your daily routine to take the edge off and hopefully allow you to breathe a little easier.

• Exercise: I know….that’s what everyone says. But this is why you should exercise: it helps take off the baby weight and it gets the blood flowing throughout your body so the activity switch in your brain is switched in the “on” position. Exercise also helps you release aggression and aggravation. I can’t tell you how many times the burden of work and family has been released on a five mile run.

Even if you have little ones at home you can still work out on a daily basis.  Use a treadmill when they are taking a nap or use an exercise DVD.  Tae Bo and Jillian Michaels does a body good.

• Healthy food: Once again…duh, right? Here’s the thing; junk in, junk out. Don’t you feel mentally better when you’ve eaten a clean, fresh diet rather than sugar and processed foods? Many work at home moms are eating on the go so grab fresh carrot sticks and ranch dip or an apple instead of chips and salsa. Another great healthy snack is hot air popped popcorn topped with low calorie butter spray and a light dusting of salt.

• Write it down: I literally have to write down every single move I make throughout the day. When your day is packed with a variety of activities coming from both work and home it’s difficult to remember what comes next just from memory. Use a different colored pen for work activities versus home activities. Write down every task in your planner daily as you go so that you don’t forget.

• Sleep: Another obvious one but one of the best ways to tackle your day is after a good nights sleep. I tend to make many more mistakes at work and home when I haven’t had sleep. Try to put kids in bed early every night and go to sleep at the same time. My friends have a joke about my sleep pattern-no one can reach me after 9PM because they know I’m already unconscious.

Moms who are still up at night with their babies may be on sleep deprivation auto pilot but if you can catch a nap during one of your baby’s naptimes, your body and mind will thank you.

These are all basic ideas but when I skip doing any of these, my stress levels increase.  Please share what works for you!

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