I am a member of the working class

I can honestly say that being an at-home mom is by far the hardest job (if you have no help). I have been a college student, a grad student, a tutor, and most recently, a new business owner, and my time spent as a nanny are still some of my hardest hours of the day. Yes, grad school was mentally challenging and draining and running a business is certainly no walk in the park, but being a mommy is by far the most difficult job to do.

This realization is especially clear to me on the days when I am asked to take the kids to all of their activities. Now, personally, I will probably not have the money or the patience to drive my kids to and from after-school activities every single day of my life, however, I am a nanny in this situation and I have no choice. Today, I woke up at 7 AM after only falling asleep after doing all of my own business work at 2 AM. I was already exhausted and the day had just begun. I equate this to what it must be like to be up several times in a night with a child and still having to wake up bright and early the next morning. I drove to the house I work at, a sprawling 2 story cape cod style house outfitted with a pool, hot tub, outdoor patio with a t.v. and heating lamps, a guest house, and many other amenities I don't have time to go into now. I pull up in my Hyundai on timeish (usually I am early, today I was 3 min late) with my happy game face on. It is way too early for me...
I am greeted by an excitable 2 year old and the mom who looks a tad annoyed that I was sitting in my car for 5 minutes finishing a conversation with my business partner when I should have been in the house. I apologize for being 3 minutes late and she says she has to go. She has written a note for me and left all of the tools I need to get through the morning. I have two classes back to back--both in opposite directions of town, and both expecting me to be physically active. I have to get in the pool for a swim lesson and I have to jump around at a "mommy and me" music class (they should start calling it "nanny and me"). Not to mention, get gas for the car and coffee for myself (twice), and lift her in and out of the car, up and down out of the pool, around and around in the music circle... when my back is killing me from my most recent run in with a rear ending. This is not good. For the first time ever, I tell the music teacher "I just can't do it" remembering the words my physical therapist keeps telling me, "stop picking up the baby. you are negating all of the work we do in here every time you pick her up..." So, I sit out and let her run around  in the music circle. (At my second stop at my second coffee shop, I run into one of my business partners randomly and I do a little business talk for 15 minutes and then I rush into music).
I am officially "super nanny" I talk business and watch a two year old and buy coffee at the same time. 
The ONLY thing that is getting me through this whole crazy morning is the thought that at 1:00, I will be in the house with Kiley by myself and for maybe the 3rd time in the 3 years I have worked here, I will take a nap with her. We are both totally beat...
Next post--does nap time actually happen? Not when you are part of the working class...

Broke with Broken Electronics

I was watching The Middle yesterday and I realized that I live a lot like the Hecks do. I started watching because I loved P. Heaton in Everybody Loves Raymond, and it turned out to be a funny show and also the only show in my line up that isn't reality t.v. trash.

In this particular episode, the mom, Frankie, takes the kids to an electronic store where she speaks to the salesman about finding something to fix her t.v. She goes on to explain that is has a yellow blob on the screen, but only on certain channels, and it gets fuzzy at other times, but if she turns on the microwave it works, but the microwave only works if she points the hair dryer at it, and she goes on and on. She asks the salesman if he has anything to fix that problem and he tells her she just needs to buy a new t.v. This short clip reiterates to the viewers that the Hecks do not have any properly working electronics in their house.

This leads me to thinking about all of the temperamental electronics in my life. My first car couldn't drive past 70 and the ceiling material had to be re taped once a week, otherwise it would hang down and I couldn't see out the back window. Or, I could look to my current car where I have to put my foot on the brake in a specific way with a certain amount of pressure in order for the brakes not to squeak, or better yet, my blue tooth whose ear piece has broken, so I have to have my sun glasses on at all times to hold the blue tooth in place at just the right angle in my ear in order to use it. Or, I could refer to my computer that has to be plugged in at all times because the battery is dead. I also have my cell phone that has to be rebooted every morning if I want to use my head seat or do anything else for that matter. There is also my printer that only works if I keep feeding the paper tray one page at a time.


They say humans adjust to their surrounding and they adapt in order to survive, so I guess you could say that is what I am doing...

My Reality Realized While Watching Reality T.V.

My current reality was revealed to me tonight while I was watching "Psychic Kids." I was sitting on my couch with my roommate and since we had both suffered from a long day of dealing with annoying people all asking us to do something for them, we pigged out on pizza and wine and decided to vege out in front of the t.v. I love reality t.v. and my heart was set on some mindless Bravo Housewives shows, but I know my roommate hates them, so I settled for "Psychic Kids."

 (Chris Coffey from the show)

The episode was called "Demon House" and it recounted how this 13 year old girl who lived with her single mother in Fort Lauderdale fled their house one night because of a demonic presence and haven't gone back since. They now live in another house by the water and have a dock, and just let the other house sit. They are too afraid to go back in and retrieve their belongings, rent the house, or put it up for sale. And even while they were visiting the house in the dark and feeling like they were being "clawed" on the head while doors were opening and birds were randomly flying around (quite a creepy scene), I couldn't take my mind off the fact that this daughter and single mother had the money to own two houses in FL, both which looked really nice, and one was on the water!

The whole point of sitting down and watching t.v. is for me to shut my brain off and take my mind off of my endless money worries for an hour, but instead, this stupid show was making me more agitated!

So, I realized in that moment that I am officially hyper-focused on being broke and that I am seriously unbalanced if I can't even depend a superb show like "Psychic Kids" to take my mind off my bills..

Link to the video-- http://youtu.be/k-5ghmzJ-VI