Mandi has returned to work and now it's time for me to change into my "mommy pants". Thus far, Mandi has been doing the bulk of the entertaining while Peanut is awake so I could continue working during these past 10 weeks or so. Thankfully, everything slows down around the holidays, so I was still able to get in plenty of family time. But now the holidays are over and things are going to start moving again. This year will definitely be the year of balance and adjustment!
Mandi's employers have allowed her to come back at part-time for the beginning of the year which I'm sure is going to be a big help. It will give me an opportunity to see how the "flow" of the day is going to go before I'm on the boat all alone and Mandi is standing on the shore. No, it's not going to be that bad since she works from home, but I will be responsible for making sure she's actually able to get her work done. I'm actually looking forward to coming up with unique ways to entertain Mckenna throughout the day if anyone wants to throw something out there. And in case your wondering, not unique for her sake, but for mine :) If I have to watch her play on her little mat or read her books for 8 hours a day, then someone is going to get hurt - and since hurting myself, Mandi or Mckenna is not an option, it will probably be a random stranger and we all know that nothing good can turn out of that.
I am however really looking forward to this time I get to spend with Mckenna. Since we know that Mandi has to work and someone has to watch the baby, I don't feel so guilty when I'm away from my computer. It's still not easy, but it definitely makes it easier. A lot of this is going to come down to me shifting my schedule a bit and re-prioritizing what the most important things to get done every day will be. I may have to look into getting to the gym at a different time. Or maybe eliminating a show or two from my normal line-up. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll have to get up an hour earlier than I normally do (GASP).
The bottom line is: Things are a-changin'; it will be up to me how much they change.