Month: February 2013

As of today, I am officially one week into my new part-time schedule. This is going to take some adjustment time for sure. For now, I am working 3 hours in the office Monday through Friday, picking up the two younger kids, then working another 2.5-3 hours at home after that. It is a bit of an odd schedule, but works out the best as far as cutting day care costs down. This way, Evie is still able to go to preschool every day. She just comes home in the afternoon instead of staying and taking a nap at school.

The schedule, for me, feels a little chaotic. In time we will figure out a good routine, but for now it is a bit crazy. I leave work at 12:15, pick Evie up, pick Caleb up, then rush home to get Caleb down for a nap, scarf down my lunch, and get Evie settled in so that I can sit and work. The kids are doing pretty good with it, although Evie is pushing my buttons a bit. I think that will settle in time too, as she figures out what she will be able to get away with. The part I hate is that I have to wake Caleb up from his nap every day to go pick Zach up from school. It is so nice for Zach to be able to be home earlier and not have to go to the after school program though.

I’m finding that there are good and bad things about the new schedule. I LOVE being home in the afternoons. I love that I can throw in a load of laundry mid-day and not be waiting up at midnight for a load of diapers to dry for the next day. I love that I can take my laptop outside and work while the kids play on a sunny day. I love that our evenings don’t feel so rushed. I am also responsible for dinner prep now (it has been hubby’s job for the last several years) which is both good and bad. I’m not a fan of cooking, but I do like that I can introduce a better variety of meals now.

There are things I miss about being at work full-time too. Primarily, the paycheck! I miss having my lunch hour to run errands. I miss getting to actually eat my lunch without sharing. I miss lunches with my mom, especially when I didn’t get to take her our for her birthday this week. I miss zoning out in my office with my music cranked up in my headphones while I work.

I am learning a few things too. I have to really schedule and prepare for the work I am taking home every day. Some things are easier to do from home than others. Also, my kids eat A LOT. I was not prepared for the amount of snacking that they seem to think they need to do. Evie, in particular, is constantly wanting something to eat. I don’t know if it is just because she is home and it is available, or if the girl has been starving at school all this time. Zach also comes home wanting food immediately. I would pack them bigger lunches, but then they just tell me they don’t have time to eat it all. So, snacks it is. I apparently need to do some stocking up.

It feels a bit challenging as we adjust to this change, but I really think it will be good for our family in so many ways. It still feels really weird to me to be home during the day, but in a good way.

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