working mama

Happy Monday! I haven’t been around much lately, but I didn’t want to let another week go by without a Working Mama! Here’s Amanda, a fellow FitFluential Ambassador to tell us her story. Take it away, Amanda!

Name: Amanda
Age: 26
Children: Emma Grace, 1 year
Occupation: Web Marketing Specialist (SEO/social media strategist/blogger); Personal Trainer
Full Time or Part Time: Full Time
Work Location: A mix of both home and office

Where to Find Amanda

Blog: Fit Pregnancy and Parenting
Facebook: Fit Pregnancy and Parenting
Twitter:  @fitparenting
Pinterest:  Fit Parenting

How do you find time for everything you need to do? What falls off your radar?

I think it’s simply a matter of priorities. I work out because I “want” to, but health and wellness is my passion. I also prioritize dates and vacations with my husband because I believe that it is of utmost importance to continue strengthening our relationship. We just got back from a 5 day trip to Vegas

Cleaning the house is something that was falling off my radar because I typically log an 80 hour work week. So, I recently hired a personal assistant to help clean and do some web marketing for my fitness business and blog 2 days per week. It’s a great situation. Now I have more time to do what I want to do — and to make more money from working

Describe your childcare arrangement.
My daughter is at my co-worker’s wife’s house 2 half days per week (8 hours total). Emma absolutely loves being there and gets a LOT of attention Soon however, my personal assistant will be watching Emma at the house when I go into the office for a few hours 2x per week. I work about 60 hours from home, and 20 hours at the office or gym, but my husband is home with Emma for 12 of those hours.

What does the word balance mean to you?
I think balance means something different to everyone! For me — balance is continuing to work and be a mom, but not feeling stretched thin or overwhelmed. I can maintain a much busier work schedule than most women, but it’s what works for me. Also, my husband has a very flexible job, so it helps a TON to have him co-parent. I could not “balance” things without him.

What is your best time saving tip?
Hire a cleaning lady Also, I like to wake up early to get thing accomplished. I never give myself an excuse to sleep in or be lazy.

What is your favorite go to meal to feed your family during the week?
My husband does all the cooking, but we have grilled chicken breast with veggies, fruit, and brown rice quite a bit

Would you like to take a nap?
Yes
No
I’m napping right now. It’s called multitasking.

What are your top two pros and cons of being a working mom?Pro:
I am able to keep my career momentum moving forward. We also have the financial ability to go on any vacations we want and to invest a lot of money for retirement (I plan to retire at age 34)
I am very fulfilled by working and making money, and I think it is healthy to be a part from my baby several hours per week. It makes me love her even more!
Cons:
Sometimes I wish I had more flexibility to go on vacation, or run to the park with my friends and their babies.
I have had to turn down fitness speaking opportunities because of my intense work schedule.

Did you pump at work? If so, what was your experience?
I did — I have my own office, so it worked out OK, but it was still a bit of a pain on occasion — especially if I had meetings back to back and could not get to my office on time.

Do you have any advice for a new mom who is about to go back to work?
Do what works for YOU! Every mom is different. Some struggle going back to work and feel guilty about leaving their child. If that is you — stay home! If you choose to go back — give 100% to your career and 100% to your child. Don’t do anything halfway.

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Thank you so much Amanda for participating in my Working Mamas series! Don’t forget to check out Amanda’s blog and show her some love!

Want your working mama story featured?

Visit the Working Mamas page!

Previously featured Working Mamas

Katie     Heather     Kelley     Hallie     Tamara   Tara   Sarah Monica Jen             Leticia     Maureen  Anna     Bethany

Like what you just read? Subscribe to my feed! Or you can stay in touch on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram! Or you can e-mail me—I’d love to hear from you!

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Happy Monday! It’s time for another round of Working Mamas…meet Bethany!

Name: Bethany
Age: 30
Children: Jacob (Jake) age 10 months
Occupation: Retail manager
Full Time or Part Time: Full Time
Work Location: I commute to an office

Where to Find Bethany

Blog: One Girl’s Taste on Life
Facebook: One Girl’s Taste on Life
Twitter: @Onegirlstaste
Pinterest: Bethany
Instagram: Badesjarlais

How do you find time for everything you need to do? What falls off your radar?
As a retail manager, I have to work many weekends and get lots of weekdays off. This gives me the unique opportunity to take Jake to daycare for a few hours and get my chores done. Then, after I’m done, I go pick him up.
I still don’t get to do everything on my list most days and more often than not some of the cleaning gets pushed to the wayside. I’m contemplating getting a cleaning lady for the nitty gritty stuff.

Describe your childcare arrangement.
Jake is in day care nearly full time. We have to pay for full time regardless. He spends about 80-100% of normal day care hours at the day care depending on my schedule. At night and on the weekends, my husband takes care of him. We never really rely on outside help.

What does the word balance mean to you?
Balance means trying to give 100% as often as I can keeping in mind that that’s not typically possible. I do what I can to make myself, my husband, and my son happy. I put my family first and try not to panic when something else (like chores) has to get pushed aside.

What is your best time saving tip?
Plan!! I made a spreadsheet for meals for the month of July (http://onegirlstasteonlife.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/pin-spiration/) and have stuck to it pretty closely. I prep as much as I can ahead of time and refer to the chart when I need to know what meal is next up for dinner. It’s helped a lot both in preparation and in grocery shopping. I buy less since I have a plan going into the store.

What is your favorite go to meal to feed your family during the week?
“Dad’s spaghetti.” It’s quick, easy, and cheap! I make a huge batch of the sauce and freeze it in 2 cup portions. Then I just have to thaw the sauce and cook some wheat linguine. Yum!
http://onegirlstasteonlife.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/dads-spaghetti/

Would you like to take a nap?
Yes
No
I’m napping right now. It’s called multitasking.

What are your top two pros and cons of being a working mom?Pros: earning extra money I can use to give my son a great life full of wonderful vacations and unique experiences, and interacting with adults on a daily basis
Cons: feeling like I’m missing out on my son’s milestones and feeling guilty if I spend any time by myself when I’m not at work

Did you pump at work? If so, what was your experience?
I did and I hated it. In my job, my days are go go go all day, every day. Finding time to say “OK, I need 20 minutes” was extremely inconvenient. I felt like I was putting work off onto others, which is unlike me. My company was extremely supportive though, which is very important.

Do you have any advice for a new mom who is about to go back to work?
Just take it day by day. It’s hard at first, but it does get easier. Take pictures with you and allow yourself to think about your little one often. If your childcare provider allows you to call or stop by, DO IT! It’s nice to get that little burst of baby love when you need it. My daycare has a couple webcams that have Internet access. For the first few weeks after I returned to work, I watched it regularly. Like I said, it gets better. You find your flow and then it becomes your new normal.

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Thank you so much Bethany for participating in my Working Mamas series! Don’t forget to check out Bethany’s blog and show her some love!

Want your working mama story featured?

Visit the Working Mamas page!

Previously featured Working Mamas

Katie     Heather     Kelley     Hallie     Tamara   Tara   Sarah
Monica Jen             Leticia     Maureen  Anna

Like what you just read? Subscribe to my feed! Or you can stay in touch on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram! Or you can e-mail me—I’d love to hear from you!

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Happy Monday! I’m enjoying a couple of days at home with Caroline and Jeromy thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  Since I’m writing this Sunday night, I may or may not have power when this posts in the morning. Either way, we’re stocked up and prepared to hunker down for the storm.  Hope you’re staying dry and safe if you’re on the East Coast!  Let’s meet our working mama of the week…Anna!

Name: Anna
Age: 32
Children: Lilly, age 2. Expecting baby # 2 in December
Occupation: Regional Physical Activity Coorindator
Full Time or Part Time: Full Time
Work Location: I commute to an office

Where to Find Anna

Blog: Piper’s Run
Facebook: Piper’s Run
Twitter: @Pipersrun
Pinterest: Piper’s Run

How do you find time for everything you need to do? What falls off your radar?
I look at what is a priority to get me and my family through the day. The dishes can wait, laundry can be put on at breakfast and it’s okay if your house is not 100% clean. I also try to fit in either a run or walk during my lunch hour as this gives me a little time to myself and I get active. Being active is important to me, as it makes me feel better and therefore I can be a better mom, wife etc.

Describe your childcare arrangement.
My daughter attends an in-home day care with 5 other children. We drop her off around 8am and pick her up just before 5pm. We are lucky that it’s only 2 minutes from our house and on our way to work.

What does the word balance mean to you?
The word balance means for me to have time to juggle it all and still come out on the other side standing up. I love my job, I love my daughter, I value my family time yet also I need a little time for myself.

What is your best time saving tip?
We cloth diaper our daughter, so preparing her diaper bag the night before saves me a lot of time in the morning. I also pick out what she will wear the night before and I try to do the same with my work outfits.

What is your favorite go to meal to feed your family during the week?
Having a vegan husband and a picky toddler makes meals challenging. Our favourite meal that everyone will eat is roasted veggies with ginger, a little chili sauce and herbs mixed with spaghetti and olive oil and sometimes a little tofu.

Would you like to take a nap?
Yes
No
I’m napping right now. It’s called multitasking.

What are your top two pros and cons of being a working mom?

Pro’s:
I love my job, therefore it doesn’t seem like work to me.
Time with my family is important and a priority over everything else.
Con’s –
I miss a lot of my daughter’s developments/new skills.
Exhaustion – and sometimes struggling to make it through the day.

Did you pump at work? If so, what was your experience?
I finished breast feeding my daughter at 10 months. I will be off work with baby #2 for a year – so we’ll see what happens then.

Do you have any advice for a new mom who is about to go back to work?
You may feel like you lead a double life; mom and employee. It will balance out over time. Just because you are not staying at home with your children doesn’t make you a bad mother.

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Thank you so much Anna for participating in my Working Mamas series! Don’t forget to check out Anna’s blog and show her some love!

Want your working mama story featured?

Visit the Working Mamas page!

Previously featured Working Mamas

Katie
Heather
Kelley
Hallie
Tamara
Tara
Sarah
Monica
Jen
Leticia
Maureen

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Happy Monday! I’m excited to introduce you to today’s working mama of the week because she is a friend of mine!  Maureen’s daughter is a year and a half older than Caroline and I turned to her blog when it came time to start introducing solids to Caroline.  She also helped me to remember how to sew and brought us a delicious bean chili right after Caroline was born.  Take it away, Maureen!

Name: Maureen
Age: 33
Children: Serafina, 2
Occupation: High School Dean and History Teacher
Full Time or Part Time: Full Time
Work Location: I commute to an office

Where to Find Maureen

Blog: The Vegetarian Salmon
Facebook: The Vegetarian Salmon
Pinterest: The Vegetarian Salmon

How do you find time for everything you need to do? What falls off your radar?
To be honest, during the school year I keep things simple. My job requires 60-70 hours a week, and some of this has to occur at home. For this reason, we turn down many social commitments and keep life simple. Goals are small, so that we can spend time as a family. We are never too ambitious with our schedule, and find that everyone is a happier when we live that way.
It can be embarrassing, but the top two things that fall off my radar are thank you notes and deep cleaning the house. I feel awful about both, but it is really hard to explain how exhausting teaching can be. I turn into a zombie in the evenings. I just remind myself that nobody is perfect.

Describe your childcare arrangement.
Serafina attends a very nice daycare downtown, near my school. We have felt really comfortable with the school since the moment we left her there. Serafina started going at 6 months and has just thrived. The daycare turns into a preschool, where she is getting a curriculum, including music and gym classes. I really credit the school with helping her develop into an independent leaner.

What does the word balance mean to you?
Understanding that life is more than checking things off your list. Life is about the time you spend with loved ones. Sometimes, especially when I have a student in crisis, it is very hard for me to strike a balance between work and home. However, I make sure that I make it up to my family by structuring quiet time with Serafina and my husband.

What is your best time saving tip?
We pack our bags at night, don’t tolerate debate in the morning, and eat our breakfast in the car. I have to be out the door by 7:00 am, but we try to give her as much sleep as possible, so we have to get Serafina ready in ten minutes. We can’t afford a tantrum in the morning. When she gets fussy, I tickle her or distract her. If I can get her to laugh, she will get moving.

What is your favorite go to meal to feed your family during the week?
Lately, we have been eating Zucchini, Cannellini Beans, Orzo, Lemon Juice, and Olive Oil, which can be found on my blog. Serafina also loves dipping a variety of veggies in hummus.

Would you like to take a nap?
Yes
No
I’m napping right now. It’s called multitasking.

What are your top two pros and cons of being a working mom?
The top pro for me? I stay sane. I am absolutely passionate about my job. I love my students, my subject, my position, and my school. It is an exhausting job, but I leave that school everyday feeling like I contributed to helping students see the world differently. I was born to teach. That doesn’t mean everyday is perfect, but it is worth it. I also think my job has helped me understand how the brain develops, which greatly informs my parenting. Much of my patience with her has to do with understanding where she is and what she is capable of doing. I also think it helps me cherish the time I do have with her.
I don’t really experience many cons. Every woman in my family has worked for generations, staying at home wasn’t an option. I think this has influenced the way I see the world, and helps me focus on the benefits. If you had to push me on it, It would be that my job comes home, which can be difficult to juggle.

Did you pump at work? If so, what was your experience?
I was not able to nurse, so this ended up being a benefit. Pumping is extraordinarily challenging for teachers. My school does not have a place for a teacher to do it, unless I stole an administrator’s office, plus there are days where I teach every period and have meetings during lunch. I barely manage to go to the bathroom, and definitely don’t eat. I have no idea how one would pump.

Do you have any advice for a new mom who is about to go back to work?
An expert in child education, whose name escapes me, once said “Think back to your favorite childhood memory. Were your parents there?” Much of child development happens when we are not around, and that is a GOOD thing. Babies and children need to learn when parents can’t swoop in and fix things for them (and research shows that parents do that a bit too much). They need to learn to negotiate the world from pretty early on. When you are able to let go control of your child, they can really blossom.

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Thank you so much Maureen for participating in my Working Mamas series! Don’t forget to check out Maureen’s blog—she shares fantastic vegetarian and vegan recipes—and show her some love!

Want your working mama story featured?

Visit the Working Mamas page!

Previously featured Working Mamas

Katie
Heather
Kelley
Hallie
Tamara
Tara
Sarah
Monica
Jen
Leticia

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