Working moms...salute

Well, I guess it is about time to send a 'shout out' to all of my working mommy friends out there! It is tough stuff, no really....it is really tough. So, for all of the working moms in the world before me, with me, and after me...I salute you. And, naturally, I raise an extra flag for the working single moms...boy, I don't know how you do it. I think every new mom says at one point or another "I don't know how singles moms do it?". It seems like an impossible feat to accomplish...and to add 'work' into the mix...I have a complete appreciation for those ladies.

My mind keeps coming back to the phrase 'there are just not enough hours in the day'. Granted, my work life is not a typical 'corporate structure', but certainly awkward. There are mornings that I can wake up and get into my home office at 8am, and get to watch and observe Eli all day from inside the house. However, there are other days that I am up and out the door by 6 or 7am. Or, like today, will be flying out of town for an overnight stay. In fact, in the month of August I have two really big trips that will have me out of the house for 3 nights in a row, and another minor trip. So, I will be gone from Eli for a total of 9 days. :( I can say, that, they are to some cool places (San Diego, Vail Colorado, and Vegas)...so that is kinda cool.

So, it could be the fact that I am not on a strict work schedule everyday, but it is tough. I 'get off' work at 5pm, which can sometimes turn into 6 or 6:30....and then we try to start Eli's bedtime routine at 7, and have him in bed by 8. So, at best...I have 3 hours with him every day. Just makes me sad, thinking about it.

I think the toughest thing for me has been the mental aspect of it all. My job takes up a lot of mental rent in my brain, so when it is 'mommy time', I have turn of the electricity and put on the generator to switch gears. When 5:00 rolls around, I have to stop my day job and go to work at my night job....and be 100% focused on Eli during that time, so that I don't miss anything. Not to mention, 'being a wife' and having household chores to do. There is a list a mile long of "could be's" and "should be's", and it gets tough to find the time to make all of them a priority. Oh, and you can completely rule out 'working out' at this point. Not that I wouldn't love to do it, but I don't know when in the world I would be able to do that, where it wouldn't effect something else that is a priority during the day.

Sorry for the long and boring post, just had to get it off my chest.

In more exciting news: Eli is continuing to grow more and more everyday. He has been rolling over for a while, but has really got good at it now. He comfortably rolls on his belly, and will chill out there and play for awhile. He is also continuing to grow his vocabulary of constant sounds. Oh....and no sighting of 'this tooth' yet. It just remains to be visible on the surface of his gums. And I just had to throw in some new pictures of Eli...enjoy!

Here are some of Keith's great photoshop skills. My favorite part is the headband!

If you hadn't noticed, Keith likes dressing Eli is random things...this being no exception. At the point this picture was taken, it was a matter of adding as much stuff to him, as possible. And yes, those are 'baby legs' on just his legs...basically big leg warmers and rattle socks. I was pretty much in tears while I was snapping the picture.