Back to Work: Week 1 Summary

My first week back to work was definitely a roller coaster of emotions! I decided to write a little weekly summary to chronicle the good, bad and ugly of having two kids and working full time!! Here is the Week One low-down:

Emotions: Roller coaster is how I describe it. Surprisingly, my first day back was awesome. I really didn't even worry about the kids. Brookey came home excited and happy about seeing her friends again and Little Will--he was just his angel little self. The rest of the week was hit or miss. Will was even-Steven ( i swear, we should have just named him Steven) and came home happy, well rested and is still sleeping great. Brookey, on the other hand started come home exhausted and waaaay overtired most likely due to all the activity and excitement at school. I also found out her best friend at school doesn't nap, so of course Brookey didn't nap either! I don't even think she did daily "quiet time" like we did at home. So on Day 3, I wrote a note to her teacher asking her to PLEASE be sure that Brookey lays down for at least an hour during the day. Ever since then, she's been taking 2 hour naps at school and coming home a completely different girl! So nice. It's amazing what a little sleep will do.

Brooke's emotions have been a roller coaster this week too. She's my little drama queen!! The first day, she didn't even want to come home and raved about being at school. The next day (no nap), her teacher said she cried a little and said she missed me. She also told me she didn't like school and didn't want to go to preschool. On the third day, she was a lot happier, but she told me she still really missed me and when could she stay home with me again? Friday, she was super happy and told me she couldn't wait to go to preschool. Ahhh, I wouldn't expect anything less from this drama queen. I swear, GIRLS!! So much emotion!!! I pity the man who marries her.

Schedule: The kids were on a pretty good schedule this summer, especially Will. I expected a few days of adjustment for him as he got used to his surroundings. On Day 1, I called his school around midday and much to my surprise, he was eating and napping on his schedule with no crying!! I was shocked...and proud. I worked pretty hard to get him on his schedule and made sure I stuck with it this summer and it's definitely paying off and making HIS life and his teacher's life much easier! I think "angel" is the word she used to describe him. She said she had never seen a baby who didn't cry when going down for naps. Ah, if it could only stay this way into his 2's :-)

Work: I worked my a** off this week. Going back to work would be different if my job was just a desk job and not so emotionally attaching. My job is not just a teaching job, either. I work with the toughest kids...i also manage a team of aides, have mountains of paperwork to do AND have to teach. We're starting up a new special ed program at my school this year as well, so that's just added stress. However, the flip side is that everyday I pull off this feat of "balancing it all," I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.

Did I make the right decision to go back to work full time? Is this all going to work out? No clue. All I can do is take it one day at a time. Whether you stay home or work, there are good days and bad days. There are days when you feel, " Hey, I can totally handle this" and there are days you feel like jumping out the window. I think that is what all moms have in common, whether we choose to work or stay at home. Both jobs have amazing challenges, but also amazing satisfaction.