Hibernate Blog

Ever tried to get things done, I am mean really getting things done, while working from home in the company of a breastfeeding infant, a 2 year old with a broken leg and a project loving three and a half year old?
No?
Really?
Well, if you haven’t occasion to run to the DMV at noon on the eve of a holiday weekend, this is the next best way to slowly lose it. I kid.

Last week I had several things I very much wanted (and needed) to get done in conjunction with the launch of the redesigned SaraBear website. I knew that I would need to be aggressive in my activity planning to keep the girls a) less aware of the unrelenting Adirondack humidity and b) relatively out of my hair in order to cross some things off of my list. I knew that my greatest chance of success lay in my successful choreography of a project that would put the big girls in plain sight of the littlest girl.

Successful projects when working from home, in my experience, tend to involve the weaving of said project into your work. Now, even though my girls can steer a mouse through iTunes and sing their abc’s, they have not yet mastered HTML, helping was out of the question. Parking them in front of the tv or computer, while occasionally effective, always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Taking my laptop outside fails as the glare from the sun is too intense and the dirt that Avery gets into and the water that Briar splashes in, put the baby and my computer in peril. Sigh.

Looking at my mountain of things that I take to and from the office each day I spied my research, magazines. A collage? No, that would mean 2 projects rather than 1. It needed to involve both girls and, quite honestly as much structure (read: less choices) as possible to allow more “project-doing” and less bickering. I grabbed a magazine and sought inspiration, it came in the form of water-colored sketches of women in Real Simple, a magazine that I love for its reassurance that everyone is really just trying to figure it out the “it” being managing work, family and organization.

I quickly snipped the heads off the illustrations as the wheels in my head turned, we’d make a garden.

No pipe cleaners…Cardboard from the discarded Huggies box could be stems.

No pots…The diaper caddy could house the garden.

No activity…once finished they could “water” the garden and “pick” the flowers.



I alternately wrapped green construction paper around strips of cardboard while oohing and ahhing over the faces the girls picked and drafted a press release for Eve Gumpel at WomenEntrepreneur.com. The nature of the project allowed for little fingers to assist with positioning and taping and for little sisters to watch while kicking and gurgling.



Now, I may not have found a way to change the world, but I did find a way to get three kids to pass an afternoon without screaming, crying or fighting, while I managed to get things done. All in all, for this working mom, it was a pretty perfect little world for a little while.


A job well done.

Another day, another working mom post. Really, it’s not that we want to dwell, or that we at SaraBear define ourselves as working moms, because we don’t. We aren’t, or if we are, than our husbands are certainly “working dads,” a point illustrated very effectively by the lovely Andi at Poot and Cubby. It’s just that as we march forward, whether it’s at SaraBear, or the grocery store, or in our day-to-day routine at home, there are immutable realities to parenting.

Some things you can do and some things you can’t. Without help.

Ah, help, a devilish mistress. How do you find help these days? How do you accept it, or harder still, how do you ask for it? Are you failing as a wife, mother, person, employee if you ask for help? Is it realistic to expect that at some point you can catch a break? Find a sitter? An unscheduled hour thanks to an unexpected nap? I can’t remember the last time I went to the bathroom by myself, let alone the store.

There is so much to do between feeding and playing, cleaning and organizing, talking and teaching. What do you delegate and what do you manage on your own? Or do you do it all on your own? As wonderful as it can be to bring the kids in to work, some days it just doesn’t work. Cranky toddlers clinging to your legs and stern accounts receivable clerks in your ear are a highly combustible combination, which is why, sometimes the little ones related to SaraBear are not here.

While we are working, heads down, fingers clacking on keyboards and phones pressed to ears they are off playing. They read stories and make art projects. They cuddle and giggle, nap and snack. They are entertained, challenged and nurtured by special people, extensions of ourselves, allowing us to manage all the parts of our lives, delegating a small portion of our responsibility as parents. Not an abdication of duty, rather the keeping of a promise. Loving our kids, with us or not.

Nancy, an open set of arms as the kids get off the bus and a whole lot of peace of mind several afternoons a week, thank you for all that you do!

Normally we might be doing a predictable post about the arrival of Friday and the start of a fun-filled weekend without work or worries, but today is simply one of those Fridays that we either weren’t ready for or are just unable to muster any excitement about. After a week of beautiful, spring-like weather the Adirondacks are shrouded in grey skies and misty air that isn’t quite rain, but is still too wet not to wear a coat. Rainy weather after so much spring is tough on the kids -
(and parents! We were hoping for a hike.)

We have an important shipment coming in soon, about which we are all incredibly excited. Something about a brilliant pink, reminiscent of hibiscus blossoms, adorned with whimsical hummingbirds just makes us feel like sandals and sun-dresses can’t be far off. Sigh, Fed Ex just alerted us to the fact that the package won’t arrive until Monday.

Add to that the on-again, off-again contractions hearkening the seemingly imminent, yet not-soon-enough arrival of one little girl and you have yourself an office full of people wishing Monday would just hurry up and get here and bring with it hummingbirds and little sisters.

Psst, that right there? That’s a belly button!