working from home

Working from home has been such a blessing. I still feel so lucky to have been offered this opportunity. To be able to earn money for my family and at the same time be a full-time mom to my sweet boy. I've been feeling so grateful lately for my job and it made me start to wonder why more companies don't offer this to mothers who also want to care for their children? Is it because they can't trust them to actually work? Is it because there would just be too many people wanting to do it? Extra costs? Necessary face to face interactions that you can't get from home? 


I was away from Holden for only a few hours on Memorial Day. Allan took him to his parents because I was sick and needed some time to rest. By the time Holden came home, I was missing him so much. He was only gone for about 5 hours! Women who have to leave their children every day for 8+ hours, my heart breaks for them. This is not to say that I couldn't do it if I had to, I could, of course. I would just be among the women whose heart breaks every time they have to leave their child. 


Yes, working from home is difficult and busy. Yes, there are distractions. Yes, there are interruptions. Yes, there are days when I wonder if I'm spreading myself too thin. But the positives far outway the negatives. If you work from home, too, and want some tips on how to best manage your day, go here. I already do almost everything on the list woohoo! The thing I want to work on most is being able to say I can't do something because I have to work. It might help to carve out exact times of the day that I set aside to work...but I think that's nearly impossible with a 10 month old. Hmmm, I'll have to think on that. 


Being a stay at home mom is definitely not for everyone and there is nothing wrong with that. There are days that are better than others and sometimes it's much more stressful than working at the office but I'm just happy to be able to stay home with H every day!


-Little Wife Power House

what a cute distraction

Seriously...how am I supposed to get any work done with this face looking up at me pleading me to play with him?! 

I will never regret getting up from the computer to play with holden. Whether it be peek a boo or waiting at the other end of the tunnel holden is crawling through. Work will always be there at the end of the day after he goes to sleep. Babies are only small for such a short period of time and I'm not going to miss any of it! 


In other news, I can now be out in the sunlight and not be blinded! After developing an allergy to contacts about two years ago, not being able to wear sunglasses has been a pain. I finally bit the bullet and got my Ray Ban frames filled with prescription lenses. I'm lovin' it!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Hopefully recovering from the holiday hasn't been too terrible for you!


-Little Wife Power House

life as a stay at home/working mom

When I first agreed to working at home, I honestly thought it would be easy-peesy. No stress. Granted, I was first approached with the idea when Holden was a newborn and nursing for literally half the day. I sat around a lot. I watched a lot of TV. I thought, "I might as well be doing something productive while I sit here." I didn't actually start working from home until last week {Holden will be 3 months on the 13th}. I don't know if I would use the word hard to describe it. I can say that my stress level has gone up quite a bit. Allan works full time and schools full time so that leaves 95% of the housework up to me. On top of house work is actual work. On TOP of housework and work is Holden. I'm not complaining. I love my life. I really do enjoy being busy {I would much rather be busy than bored}. It's just a lot. I'm sure a lot of you wear just as many hats as I do and probably more. Kudos to you! Give yourself a big pat on the back because you're wonder woman.

Here is Holden helping mommy work:

{Please don't look too closely at me. I'm wearing zero make up. Who am I kidding? I hardly ever wear make up anymore...who has the time?}

Please leave any similar experiences you have had and things that help you deal with the stress :P. Don't say chocolate. 

-Little Wife Power House

today has been exhausting

Beware of reading this post. It will probably be full of whining and complaining but I have to vent somewhere! I figure it's okay since this is a substitute for my "journal." 

I started working again a few days ago. Luckily, the company I work for has been amazing and offered to let me work from home part time. What a blessing! I'm so thankful. Today I had to go into the office to get things set up and for them to explain exactly what is expected of me. I started my trek down to Dallas at 10:00 AM (we left on time - go us!). It took us about an hour to get down there (which made me realize how much I do NOT miss the commute!). I brought Holden with me today because I'm going to wait a little longer until I introduce the bottle to him. Wowowow...my boss was so understanding (and he doesn't even have kids!). I had to take breaks to change him...nurse him...soothe him...all the while worrying that my boss is going to fire me. It's so much easier working when I'm at home. I can nurse & work, work while he naps, work while he chills in his bouncer, etc. Since I was working from 10:00AM-4:00PM, Holden only got about a 30 minute nap and our nursing schedule was all over the place! All of those components do not equal a happy baby. Considering all of that though, he tolerated it very well. 

Lucky for me he slept most of the car ride home instead of screaming his head off :). Oh the little things...then at home Holden had an exploding diaper which he almost never has, he peed all over himself and me when I was changing his diaper (yuck, it even went in his mouth and all over his face. I have a hard time not laughing at that though...), and earlier at Pinkberry he spewed all over me. I've been spit up on, pooped on, and peed on. At least those are really the only things that could come out of his body. I hit the trifecta! Phew, today has tested my patience. And now my husband's laptop (which I guess is mine since he passed it down to me) has eaten the CD I need for work. 

You know what could cure my grumpiness? A HUGE BAR OF CHOCOLATE. But guess what - I can't have chocolate!! What else could I have...maybe I'll make a cake. I need some dessert with a bunch of calories to munch on or maybe an old fashioned cry session. Alright, I'm done. If you read this post, I'm sorry. My next post will be back to happy Jen, I promise. You know, I just thought of what will cheer me up. The fact that Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, and Bones are all on tonight.

I have to add at least some positive things in here so I'll list some current blessings in my life:

my sweet baby boy, Holden

my trooper of a husband, Allan

working from home (with benefits!!!)

conference this weekend!

the gospel
i had pinkberry today and got to see my friend, Heather!

the best family ever

a beautiful home

-Little Wife Power House