I guess I'm actually straddling the fence between working mom and WAHM, I do work outside the home... but I take my daughter to work with me.

I own a children's consignment shop with my SIL. She and I take turns running the store, so we each work part time, but when I work... I take Maddie along. :) The joys of owning my own business.

I love having her there as she helps pass the time and keep me busy. She's pretty good while we're there most of the time, but every now and then... she's a terror and it's difficult to get any work done there. I guess the best part is that I don't really have a boss looking over me, so if something doesn't get done... I only have myself to blame... or my SIL, but don't tell her! :lol:

I feel like I have the best of both worlds since I opened this shop 3 months ago. Before that, I was an office manager and I paid my SIL to watch Maddie since she was a SAHM.

I guess we could use this thread as a get to know you thread. :wavey:

i'm straddling the fence between working mom and stark raving lunatic :crazy:

:wavey: i work full time as a web admin in the tech sector :sleepy:. i have a good schedule, 7:30-3:30 and i don't take a lunch. obviously my job isn't terribly demanding or else i wouldn't be on msg boards all the time :lol:.

tony goes to inhome daycare, which he loves. in fact he gives me crap when i go to pick him up and won't put his coat on! he wants to stay there. i'm just not as entertaining as the kids apparently.


you might want to have the thread title changed to 'working parent' since i know dennis is here :)

:wavey: Me :)

I work full time -- M-F 7-5, sometimes weekends/take stuff home, but I've tried to cut a lot of that out. Matthew was in daycare from 7.5 weeks until 17 months, but my husband was laid off 3/1 and has been watching Matthew since 9/6. He then works part time in the evenings/weekends (25-30 hours a week). When we have another he'll quit that job and stay home with both kids. Then I'll be the sole provider :help:

I work part-time as a Credit Analyst Monday, Tuesday and a half day Thursday. I get to have the best of both worlds because I get to be home with the boys at least a few days a week. I just started working part-time in September after holding a full-time job for 13 years.

Lora

I work M-F 7:30-2:30 as a Senior Accountant. While I don't *love* my job it's pretty mindless and I'm really only busy the first 10 days or so of each month. Quarter closes are more demanding but I still find time to play online. :lol:

Peyton attends a daycare center and loves it there. I'm pregnant with #2 right now and will most likely become a SAHM/Student after this baby. I plan to keep the kids in daycare part time and attend school to finish out my degree. I honestly don't think I could stay home full time but I really want to finish out my degree so this works for my DH and I.

you might want to have the thread title changed to 'working parent' since i know dennis is here :)

Thanks Kim :)

Joe totally loves daycare, although he doesn't have any problem leaving when we pick him up (usually). He's the oldest in his room now and they are going to move him up to the 2 year old room in January. The nice thing is they are working it so his best friend will move with him.

Frances just started last week. She's just like Joe was where she loves watching the other kids. Joe would hardly nap in the infant room (about a half hour a day) because he didn't want to miss anything and it's looking like Frances is the same way. The teachers say her favorite thing is playing the exersaucer so she can watch the bigger kids.

Dennis

Me, I'm a working mom. I work full-time at a local TV station. I work evenings and my husband works during the day. Liam goes to an in-home daycare in the afternoons. This has worked out really well for us, because Liam is equally close to both of us.

Count me in as a working mom! I am a paralegal....Abby stays with my MIL during the day and I love it! It really has been so wonderful for her to be there. I had issues with it as I was dealing with my PP hormones, but once those went away I realized that there really is no better place for her to be :)

I am an office manager and work from 7:30-4:30 and Jayden stays with (ex) MIL. He loves it there, but I have some issues with him not being around other kids.

I work 8-5 at a payroll company. DH works too so Bianca goes to a in-home center and Jordan attends Before and after school programs at the school. I would love to be SAHM, but that is not possible with our debt and new house we just built last year. Had to as we have 4 kids.... Oh well...

Working mom here too . . . well, I will be as of December 15th when my maternity leave is up. Maya will be in day care at six weeks. Unlike a few of you, I hate my job and I'm miserable about going back. But I carry the insurance for the family, so until DH finds a different job, I'll have to work. I've always been jealous of people who work because they actually enjoy their jobs and I really wish this was the case now more than ever. :(

Yay! There's a bunch of us.

Dennis - I tried to fix the title, but it only fixed within the thread. :( I'll see if I can get someone to fix it. I didn't mean to exclude anyone, I just wasn't thinking.

Heather, don't worry about it! I really wasn't offended at all.

Dennis

Working mom here! I've been back at work for 3 months now (was a SAHM before that) and although I don't "love" my job, I do enjoy being back at work (most days anyway).

Jack is in in-home daycare and he is THRIVING! He loves going but also doesn't have a problem leaving unless he's doing something at that moment (but it's rare). I went bakc to work mainly becuase we needed the $$ and also because I wanted Jack to be in some kind of pre-school program with other kids, it's worth every bad day I have a work.

I'm back at work from maternity leave, at least for the time being. They are doing massive layoffs tomorrow and possibly Mon. and Tues. If I do get laid off I'll be looking for something else. As Dennis mentioned, Joe and Frances really enjoy daycare!

Mary

I work part-time and my schedule is all over the place. I work 26hrs/week, sometimes it's days, sometimes nights, sometimes afternoons, but I love it this way. It gives me lots of time with Richard and time with grown-ups and to challenge my brain :).

I'm a part-timer, too. After I had Emma, I went back to work (investment banking), working 9-5ish on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. DH decided to leave his job when Emma was born, and stayed home with her for a year (he got a severence package, so he was PAID to stay home with her!!) Now he's working part-time too, and we've been fortunate in that both of our salaries are high enough that we can do this.

We use backup nannies to cover the times when we both need to be out of the house working. We're hoping to keep up the same kind of schedule when Little2 gets here. I really like the balance of career and SAHM!

Full time working mom here too. I am a marketing manager for a high tech company. DH is primarily a SAHD, but he works (hockey ref) nights/weekends and is in classes to be a firefighter. So there is a lot of juggling going on with us too...and we don't see eachother a lot as a result. Thankfully, my office is flexible with my hours in the office, so I can come in early then leave early on days when I have to retrieve the kids. Of course, it's just "have laptop will travel" and I'm often checking emails until the wee hours...

:wavey: Me! Me! I'm a working mom. I work 40 hrs a week as a bill collector and I love my job.

My baby girl loves daycare! I feel confident when I drop her off there. Some days I would love to be a SAHM, but there are days that I *need* adult interaction and I know that I would go looney at home all day.

Working mom here too. :wavey: I work full time as a Nursing Home Administrator, and Amelia stays with a friend our ours' who is a SAHM. It works out well, because we know her and trust her, and she's really wonderful with Amelia. I will say that if I could (financially) be a SAHM, I would in a heartbeat, but I make way too much money, not to mention DH has been out of work for a while (but he starts a new job tomorrow - YAY!)


I like my job well enough.. my only complaint is that it's VERY demanding, so sometimes it's hard for me to leave right at 5 PM, and sometimes I bring work home with me to do after Amelia goes to sleep.

Working mom here :wavey: I work 8-4:30pm as a Secretary in the Student Life dept at a University and I also have a lot of flexibility and free time - hence, me being on msg borads all the time ;) Even though I miss Aden during the day and wish I could spend more time with him, I also enjoy my job and interacting with other adults during the day. I will have to continue to work after Bayb #2 is born, but maybe after Baby #3, I will be able to stay at home full time?

I'm a full-time working mom, too (soon to be full-time working *single* mom :faint: ). I'm an attorney, and I work for an insurance company, helping our agents educate their clients on estate and business planning and tax issues. I'm not crazy about my job, but it pays the bills (most of the time :lol: ), and it does offer a decent bit of flexibility as far as taking time off if Julian has doctor's appointments and things like that. God knows I've got plenty of work to do, but somehow I always manage to find time to play online! :lol2: I couldn't stay home full-time even if we weren't separating - I'm the main breadwinner and carry the insurance and benefits for the family. *SIGH* Oh well!

Me too :wavey: . I am a Database Coordinator (read: resident computer geek!:read: ) for a government program that helps people on welfare back to work and I love my job so I wouldn't have it any other way. I work M-F 8:30 - to 4:30 with a lot of flexibility for appointments, vacation and sick days - only because I have been there for 6 1/2 years and my boss LOVES me! DH, Blaise, is home during the day and works at Office Depot in the eves. He also builds custom computers (mostly for gamers) during the day so we are always busy! My SIL does daycare occasionally when our schedules clash and she has 3 girls who love to "mother' Ryan so he likes it there!

Another working mom here! The ironic thing is I haven't actually worked since the end of May. I'm a teacher, but we moved late summer and all the jobs were filled by then. I've subbed some and I just got a job offer to begin teaching in a middle school in January. I feel fortunate that someone would even hire me now, seeing as how I'll be out for 6 weeks pretty soon after I begin work! My hours aren't bad- either 7:30-3:30 or 8:00-4:00 (not sure which yet) and, admittedly, I'm not one of those super dedicated teachers who works until 6:00 every night. When my day is up, I'm GONE!

I'm not sure how child care is going to work out yet. I think DH's cousin will keep Micah for a couple of weeks until after the baby is born. Then, when I go back to work (at 6 wks. PP. UGH!), my uncle will stay with us and keep the kids, hopefully, until I'm out for summer. Then, next year, I want to find an in-home situation for them. There are NO daycares in our small town where I would even consider leaving my children.

I don't really plan on teaching all that many more years. After next year, when we've paid off some of our financial obligations, I want to quit work and go back to get my Master's. Then, when the kids are all in school, I'll go back to work as a diagnostician in the school system. That way, I'm out of the classroom, but stil get the same great hours and paid holidays!

I'm a software test specialist. I like my job but not as much as I used to. I think a big part of that is that I simply don't want to go back. I'd be a SAHM in a heartbeat if we could afford it. I'm doing my best to make a bad situation work though. OUr best friend is unemployed so she'll be babysitting Nick. I won't put him in any of the daycare centers here. My goal is for us to paydown our debt so that I can stay home by the end of next year.

:wavey: Hey heather!
Another working mom here...My situation is a little different considering I work (or both me and DH) work for my dad at his insurance company. We are both agents and are out on the road most of the day. I do get to make my own appointments and can have a great day of 9-1 or 2-5 or whatever I want since my son was born last year.

he stays with my mom Tuesdays and Thursdays and my MIL has him Mon, Wedn and Fri mornings. I take 1/2 days on Fri now. I love having him with family...He does get interaction with babies at MIL's, DH's cousin has a 8 mo old who visits most days. :)
:flake:
Denise

I'm here too! :wavey:

I am a Tobacco Control Advocate for the province...I like my job well enough I suppose. It's great when you can actually see change happening and know that you are a part of the reason for it.

My Mom and Dad are my full time babysitters. They live up the road from us and just walk down every morning...its VERY convenient and I adore them all the more for doing it...

I'm a hard working mommy!!! I work as a paralegal 8:30-5:00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays. Jackson stays with MIL and FIL who are right down the street and he LOVES it there, plus Grandma and Grandpa get to spend some major quality time with their grandchild.

I enjoy my time out of the house and I enjoy my Wednesday (aka Jackson Day) and my weekends with my family. Ideally, I would like to work 3 days a week, but I don't think that's in the near future. I'm happy with our situation as it stands right now.

I'm a teacher. Mary is in daycare usually from 7:30 to 4:30 or 5:00 every week day but she gets two weeks at Christmas home with us, one week at Easter, and all summer!

I work part-time for a company that does compliance reporting for trucking companies. One week I work Tuesday and Wednesday and the next week I work Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I really love my hours. I get to spend most of my time with my boys yet I get out of the house for some adult interaction. The best part is since my DH works shift work, he watches the kids on his days off(the days I work). I just started working part-time the begining of December, before that I worked full-time.

Proud working mom here :wavey:

I'm a management consultant. I love my career. I work full time but with very flexible hours. I've got an incredible support system- my mom moved here to help me, I've got family nearby, my company is in the top 10 best places for working moms and everyone at work encourages work-life family balance so if I have to leave early, nobody questions me about it!

I'm about to be a working Mom as of Monday. I'm lucky because we have 1 year mat leave here in Canada, so Ethan is a year old.

I'm a teacher so my hours are pretty flexible, and vacations are bonus time with Ethan. My SIL will be his caregiver.

I'm very nervous about the upcoming week, but I was going a little stircrazy at home. Hopefully I find a good balance between work and home :)

:wavey: I'm a full time working mom as a Science Advisor for the Canadian department of the Environment. I love my job most days but its very busy and the travelling keeps us on our toes. Owen is in daycare (luckily in my office building) but we struggled last fall with 4 ear infections and numerous colds. DH and I are hoping that we're healthy for the next while as we have used up a good portion of our sick days.

Patti

I'm a proud working mom too! Love my job as Manager for Project Ops for a Pharmaceutical Marketing company. I love the people I work with (both in the office and my field staff) and that makes all the difference. I am fortunate to have a very flexible boss too!

Abby has been in daycare full time since she was 3 months old. She LOVES daycare! I sometimes bore her at home too (someone mentioned that was the case with their little one!) and she loves the interaction with the kids and the daycare staff. My ONLY gripe about working and daycare is the GERM FACTOR. I try not to be obsessive compulsive over it, but MAN my girl is CONSTANTLY sick. I keep saying how good it is for her immune system...but YIKES! This week she has been home the entire week and prob wont go back until Monday. That is the only tough part since we dont have backup for daycare. DH or I have to take off work...ugh.

I am a working mom too! I have a 11 month old daughter. I work full time (8-5) as a probation officer. My DD is at daycare full time. They love her their (home daycare) and she seems to really like it too. If I had a choice I think that I would be a stay at home though...or maybe only work part time.....

I'm a conservation program evaluation specialist for state government. My job is pretty decent -- interesting work, good working environment, great co-workers, great location. I work 7:30 to 4:00 and my son's daycare is one block away. He LOVES his daycare, and I do too! I'm not cut out to be a stay at home parent, which I truly believe has to be the hardest job in the world. I hated being home my 6 months of maternity leave. I was going batty. Going to work everyday makes me a better parent because I value the time I have with my son much more.

I am a working mom. I am a scientist for a major pharmaceutical company. I had thought I wanted to be a SAHM but I just don't think I am cut out for it. I decided to return to my job and continue working. I am happy with my decision. My kids go to a very highly regarded daycare. Kaylin loves it there. Nathan has the same teachers Kaylin did (hardly any turnover). So I am very grateful for that.

Count me in too. I also am a full time working mommy. 40+ hours a week not including a long commute in metro atlanta traffic. Jackson is in daycare and so far he likes it. It is hard for me sometimes not to be with him but I do enjoy a little "adult" socialization.

I'm a soon-to-be working mom. I'm going back to work in a few weeks (Nathaniel will be 6 weeks old when I return to work). I'm a physician (still doing residency so I work LONG hours). We just hired a live-out nanny and are also on the wait-list for day care (they have emergency day care also). I'm pretty stressed about going back to work although I do like my job (I wish my hours were shorter).

Amanda