The Truth about Working from Home
As I emailed a fee agreement to a potential new client this morning, Lil C whined in her booster seat that she had cinnamon on her jammies, that she wanted more cereal (even though she still had a bowl full), and that she was "sirsty" having just downed her cup of milk. When I asked her if she could just wait one minute for Mommy to finish emailing something for work, she yelled "NO!" at the top of her lungs and continued to whine. For all I know, I may have sent an email that says, "Attached please find the fee agreement as requested. Now sit down and finish your cereal!" It’s entirely possible.
I started working from home as a recruiter when Big I was about two years old. It was challenging. Although I made my own hours, I was learning a new industry from scratch. The fact that the job was commission only made it even more challenging. After five months of busting my butt and begging Big I to please watch a movie so Mommy could call a candidate quick, I got my first placement and paycheck. I was hooked.
For a stay at home Mom, recruiting was great money. . . if you had the time and effort to put into it. With one child, it was challenging; with two it’s downright impossible sometimes. However, the money that can be made with only a placement or two a year is much better than if I had a part time job out of the house. So, I do it. I work on my laptop from home, frequently with the Disney Channel as my background music. Instead of coffee breaks, we have diaper changing breaks and time to pick Big I up from school breaks.
This week, Mr. BBM has been away on business and it has been rough. I used to be accustomed to him traveling all the time. Now big trips throw us for a major loop. Mr. BBM takes care of getting the girls their baths and into bed each night. That’s my work time. When he’s not here, work doesn’t happen. This week, I have four new job orders to fill and a potential new client to make happy as well. Instead I’ve been falling asleep in cribs and just trying to keep up with the colossal mess that little girls make faster than you can say "fairy princess."
In the past few years, I have negotiated fee agreements in my bathroom with a locked door, knowing that might be the only peaceful place in the whole house that wouldn’t erupt in a temper tantrum at some point. Sometimes, one or both of the girls would bang on the door of my hideout and I’d have to negotiate faster. I’ve placed candidates with cats and kids on my lap. When people talk about their office jobs and the "distractions" that happen during the day, I don’t have much sympathy. Truly, they have no idea. I highly doubt they have a cat doing his daily duty in a litter box beside the desk, or a girl fight to break up over a Barbie doll. All par for the course with me and my daily life.
Mr. BBM works from home two days a week so that I can go to PT without the girls (I have to take them with me today which should be great fun). Often, when I arrive home, his hair is sticking straight up in the hair from rubbing his hands through his hair in frustration that the girls: can’t get along, can’t be quiet, can’t stop screaming, won’t leave him make a phone call, won’t let him get anything done etc. He gets just a small taste of why my job is extremely part time.
No office job has a demanding two-year old asking you to find her Donald Duck. There are no interruptions for french braids, Dora yogurts, or knock down all out temper-tantrums. So for all those who think that working from home is a cake-walk, I’m here to tell you it’s quite the opposite.
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To Paint or Not to Paint
This morning our realtor suggested once again, that we paint the girls’ rooms. We poured our hearts and souls into those rooms and it kills me to even think about it. When he asked me what my objection was, I told him that paint is an easy fix for a new buyer, and that I don’t want to traumatize my girls. Moving is traumatic enough. He said he wants to help us remove every possible objection. Most people who are looking at our house are young professionals or older people looking for a house where they don’t have to mow the lawn. Neither of these demographics wants themed kids rooms (although no one has yet complained about the rooms).
I spent days choosing the exact colors I wanted to use. I hand made that ocean stencil, painstakingly added those little jumping dolphins, glued seashells onto the curtain rod and spent hours lounging on the floor as Mr. BBM used glaze paint to create clouds on the walls and vaulted ceilings. Some of them look like plain old clouds, but if you look closely you can see that some of them are shaped like seahorses, dolphins and starfish.
We painted this room when I was about seven months pregnant. It was a hot summer weekend and Mr. BBM and I spent the entire weekend working on it. When all was said and done, we added Big I’s baby furniture, bought bright-colored sea creatures to hang on the walls and put it all together.
Lil C loves her ocean room. She likes to pretend she’s Ariel in there. I realized today though, that it may be me who loves that room the most.
When we first moved in, it was a playroom/guest room. As 14 months of trying to have another baby went unanswered, it became this room that was supposed to be and just wasn’t. And then I took that pregnancy test and our Lil C and this ocean room became a reality.
Maybe painting it white is just the first step in letting go of this house that is our first real family home. Letting go of a place that gave you so many fabulous memories is really difficult to do. It may just be a gallon or two of paint, but it’s what that room represents that is the most difficult to just paint over. If we do decide to paint it, there will be tears and I’m betting that they’ll be mine.
An Unlikely Nap Locale
I know people who have spent an absolute fortune on baby cribs. Our crib is from IKEA and was purchased for $99. It’s pretty basic. You can adjust the height to two different levels. You can also make it into a junior bed by taking one of the sides completely off. Last week, I took the one side off of Lil C’s bed and she’s been sleeping like a "big girl" ever since. . . once she’s asleep that is.
IKEA has been the store of choice for much of our furniture. My living room is entirely IKEA, as is my bedroom and Lil C’s room. It’s affordable and functional; but visiting the store can be a bit frustrating. My parents once stood in line for hours waiting for a toy chest for Lil C’s room. We have already taken things home to find out that we were missing screws, special IKEA screws that only IKEA people manufacture and you therefore can not find them at Home Depot, requiring a repeat trip.
When all is said and done though, I must admit that my IKEA furniture can take some serious abuse. . .
Lil C insisted that I get in bed with her tonight to "cuddle for a minute," and I figured if only for a minute, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Tonight, I feel asleep in Lil C’s crib/junior bed with her. I woke up an hour and a half later.
Can’t find Mommy? I’ll be napping in the crib. It’s really quite comfortable.
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