Monday, April 15, 2013

Is a Grown Man’s Feelings Similar to a Toddler???

I know that I had stated that this blog would not be for complaining but today is one of those days when I need to vent a bit…

Today I had an incident that I think is worth writing about. To reveal a little bit about myself, I work in Public Safety. If you have never met someone who is in Public Safety (i.e. police officer, fire fighter, sheriff, dispatcher, EMS and etc.) you probably know that there is a distinct personality that typically goes along with the job. People in this field tend to be rather direct and confrontational – this is a good thing. However, there is a line that my colleagues and I know should never be crossed…you never have a verbal confrontation with a colleague while others are present. Today that line was crossed.

This morning I was at the Law Enforcement Center taking care of a few things and I was confronted by an officer who apparently had an issue with the way I had been handling my position. This officer is neither above nor below me in the scheme of things. In fact, one of us is employed by the county and the other by a local city, thus we have no authority over each other at all. However, he felt that he needed to unload two years worth of frustrations in a manner of minutes. To top it off there were other people present as he was having his irrational freak-out. I am usually fairly good with confrontations, but today I was taken so off guard that I didn’t even know how to respond. After he yelled for a few minutes he appeared to feel better and then left. It was all rather strange – I was utterly flabbergasted!

A while later I returned to my office and decided to send him a quick email – I simply asked him to swing by my office today so we could chat…I was determined to use some of my social-psych magic on him to find out what was really bothering him.

As it turns out he had been feeling left out. He apparently thought that I hated him and I didn’t want to work with him because whenever I am at the Law Enforcement Center, I only talk to a few specific people and then leave. Really???? I didn’t realize we were back pre-school.

So I guess the moral of this story is that sometimes even adults will lash out irrationally when they need attention or feel left out.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

I'm Making My List and Checking it Off!

I'm not sure what kind of alternate universe I ended up in, but I was in "The Zone" when I got home from work yesterday.  I attribute part of it to the fact that my little boy only napped for 45 minutes at daycare yesterday and needed a good long nap when he got home, but more importantly I will attribute my entrance into "The Zone" to the list that I wrote while sitting at my desk throughout the day.

I have always been a list maker of sorts - I always have a "to-do" list on my desk for work related projects and will make "honey-do" lists for my hubby.  I remember making lists in college and prioritizing papers and assignments based on the amount of time I needed for them and when they were due, but in recent years I had gotten away from making lists for myself.  Yesterday I had the realization that I used to be much more organized and that it was time to make a list!

Throughout the day, I jotted down random tasks that I wanted to complete - they were in no particular order.  I just wrote things as they came to mind.  All you fellow Mommies know how it is after the baby comes - "Mommy Brain" takes over and you can't remember what you did 15 seconds ago let alone what you need to get done in the evening!  Anyways... as the evening progressed, I was able to get the majority of my list done.  I was able to balance the checkbook, pay bills, order some books online, cook, process, and freeze fruit for my little boy, put away laundry, clean out my closet and purged a pile of clothes to go to donate. By the time I went to bed last night I felt more accomplished than I had in a long time and I slept so good! 

So here is it is ladies... Tip #3 to Help Juggle Work and Kids: List Making Makes Life Easier!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Morning-Madness Marathon!

Do you remember when waking up in the morning was a some-what leisurely activity?  I look fondly upon the days when I could roll out of bed an hour or so before having to be at work and I could take my time in the shower, carefully put on my make-up, and actually enjoy a cup of coffee before rushing out the door.  Since our little man arrived, the morning routine has turned into a race. I refer to it as the "Morning-Madness Marathon".  Most mornings, my husband leaves for work around 6AM, so if I get out of bed on time there is a good possibility that I am well on my way to being ready for work by the time he leaves.  However...that does not happen too often! LOL!

The average morning for me is spent rushing through the shower, and constantly peeking out of the shower curtain and looking at the baby monitor to make sure that the baby isn't screaming.  All you Moms out there know exactly what I am talking about - no matter how quiet things are, whenever you are in the shower you hear those phantom cries.  To help myself cope with the "phantom cries" I always have the baby monitor in the bathroom.  I digress...  I always have the goal of being completely ready for work by the time the bambino wakes up.  Most mornings, I can get as far as my make-up and be about half-way finished with my hair before he starts his wake-up routine.  Luckily, he is at the point where he can hold his own bottle and feed himself, so I can lay him on his boppy pillow and he will go to town on his bottle.  This gives me about 10 more minutes to finish putting myself together.

By the time, the regular song and dance is finished I have just enough time to hit the button on the Keurig a couple of times to fill my travel mug and then I run out the door to get the little man to daycare in time for breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast - you may be wondering if I eat breakfast or not...  Since I didn't mention it, one would assume not, but here is another working mom survival tip. Tip #2 to Help Juggle Work and Kids:  Make breakfast easy!

Every other week or so I spend an hour during the weekend making breakfast for the next two weeks.  I will put together a huge batch of breakfast burritos, wrap them individually, and freeze them.  Then in the morning while I am running out the door, I can toss one in my purse and heat it up when I get to the office. Doing this saves me a whole heap of time and they are super yummy!

Here is the pinterest post that inspired me: