In the beginning...

I just found out that one of my good friends is expecting her first baby. I am so happy for her. There is something so amazing about the first pregnancy. It is all so new and exciting... I envy her the first time she hears her babies heart beat, the first time she sees her baby on a sonogram, the first time she feels the baby move.

When I really think about my pregnancies... they were horrible. I was one of the lucky folk who had "morning sickness" all day... it was fantastic. With Isobel, I couldn't wear shoes for the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy (thank goodness she was born at 37 weeks). I threw up at least once a day from the fifth week of my pregnancy until the day Eli was born. I won’t even begin to list all of the issues with Emmy... they were all miserable. After Emmy was born Jon told me that there was no way he could survive another one of my pregnancies, so we had to be done (isn't it funny how men can make the misery of pregnancy about them).

It was all worth it. I would be sick every day for the rest of my life if it was a requirement for having my children. In all reality I was only pregnant for a total of 28 months and I now have 3 amazing people in my life... and a new found respect for my mother.

Congratulations J! I love you!

The great parenting debate...

Today my two year old son told me that mommy's stay home and daddy's go to work. I never thought I would hear that from one of my children. I was raised by a strong, independent, working mother and I always assumed I would be the same. The thing is I am a working mother. I have a full time job with a Fortune 500 company. I go to work every morning… in my basement.

There are positives and negatives to working at home. Most importantly I get to spend more time with my kids, there is no commute, I eat all of my meals with my kids, and I can take 15 minutes here or there to do an art project or go for a walk. The down side, they spend more time in front of the TV then pediatricians recommend, I have absolutely no alone time and my son has developed a serious attachment to me that didn't exist before (I can't even go to the bathroom without him standing outside the door crying).

So... in the great debate of Stay at Home Moms vs. Working Moms, where does the Work at Home Mom fit in? Is it better to be home with your children, even if you can't give them all the attention they deserve or are they better off in a daycare center with a qualified and trained staff? As more and more companies embrace the concept of telecommuting, will there be a noticeable impact on our kids?

The pecking order?

My oldest daughter, Isobel, recently started gymnastics for the first time. She seems to have fun, but she is not very good (I think she could be better if she wasn't so afraid).

Last night, after spending some time on the vault, the girls in my daughters group walked out to get a drink of water. There was one little girl who "lined up" the group. Interestingly, she placed them in order of skill (my daughter being last in the line of five). Is it possible this is the beginning of the "pecking order"? Do kids consciously decide who will be considered "number one"? Is it possible that adults solidify these decisions by recognizing the skill level of kids in an activity? At the age of 5 or 6, do kids have the cognitive ability to comprehend what is occurring?

I was convinced this sort of behavior didn't start until middle school. Is kindergarten the new middle school?

Introduction

I am a work at home mom with three wonderful children. I have been working at home for seven months and the more time I spend at home the more isolated I become. Although my husband is fantastic, he refuses to listen to all of my random thoughts. Therefore, I have decided to impose upon you, the unsuspecting public (or at least the 2 or 3 people who may stumble upon this blog).

I will warn you... I babble (a lot) and when I say random, I mean random.

welcome into my mind...