Almost Half Way

Maternity leave moves fast – in fact, it’s almost half done already.

The good news is that Leroy and I are finally finding a rhythm. So much so that I called Viv’s daycare today and said I’d be pulling her out of school on Fridays to stay home with us. I’ll tell you in a few weeks if this was a good or bad idea.

As far as the bigger life rhythm, it hasn’t happened yet. I have too many things I want or need to do during this slower time and as I tell my team, “we can do a lot of things poorly or a few things really really well.”

So I’m prioritizing. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

• Bonding with Leroy: Obviously play time, feeding, bring your own baby (BYOB) yoga, etc. is my #1 priority… Anything that gets me in his face so I can get those cute little baby smiles. We go everywhere and do everything together. It is good.
• Errand-Girl: My transmission blew so I’m without a car. It’s unfortunate, and likely stupidly expensive to fix. An annoyance for sure – especially as running errands is my jam. I even mastered Target’s Drive-Up. It. Is. Amazing. I haven’t become an Instacart-er yet, but I know this is next in my millennial journey for more life conveniences.
• Cooking: Bobby Flay (a.k.a. my boyfriend. It’s okay, Dave knows all about it…) recommended that I get the cookbook, Dining In, so I did and it got here yesterday. The whole premise of it is better foods that are convenient and easy to cook. Everything looks so delicious and I cannot wait to try a few new things in the next two months to broaden the go-to meals we do as a family. Cooking can be challenging with a newborn as once you start, it’s hard to be interrupted. We’ll see…
• Reading: I haven’t been doing nearly enough reading in the last year. I’m starting with:
  • Short articles that are relevant to work, mainly about the changing expectations of customers and digitization of the customer experience. I choose shorter essays here because it allows me to quickly get multiple opinions.
  • In My Words, by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love it because 1) It’s excerpts of writings she’s done in her lifetime. They read like short stories, so it’s a very good read if you are constantly being interrupted. and 2) It is so refreshing to hear how cordial our justices are with each other. Even though they disagree on many issues; they are truly friends and I love that. One of the best things I’ve learned from the book is in this quote. Can you imagine – one of the most conservative judges on the court had a direct hand in choosing one of the most liberal judges? And he did it out of respect for her and her work? It’s remarkably awesome.

“Among my favorite Scalia stories, when President Clinton was mulling over his first nomination to the Supreme Court, Justine Scalia was asked a question to this effect: “If you were stranded on a desert island with your new Court colleague, who would you prefer, Larry Tribe or Mario Cuomo?” Scalia answered quickly and distinctly: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” Within days, the president chose me.”

• Time with Viv. I adore Viv so much. We go swimming once a week together. And I’ve been better at pulling her out of school and keeping her home more, mainly to help her poop – but also because it’s awesome to spend time with her. What is this about pooping you ask? Viv potty trained in a day (she spoils us) EXCEPT stupid pooping. I have mommy friends that have gone through poop issues with their children, so I’ll save the details for those private conversations. But I did cry at the doc’s office twice now. I wish this problem on no one. 2-4 hrs a day is tied up with me helping Viv poop. In a diaper, in the potty, on the floor. Really, anywhere at this point is okay with me.  Send. Wine. In between pooping attempts, we make sure to have lots of laughs and tend to either work on our ABCs (her favorite) or puzzles (her second favorite). It is so glorious to have this time with her, too.
• House Stuff: I was getting overwhelmed with house stuff, so I toned it back. No more worrying about furniture, for example. We’ll likely have an unfurnished house for the first year as instead of going out and buying everything on Day 1, we’ll be waiting on deals. I do have to prioritize a few things, though, which are: 1) processing bills against our construction loan, 2) finding & hiring a landscaper, and 3) staying on top of the few changes we are going to want to make during the build. I try to keep house stuff to under two hours a week. For my health.
• Walking: At least once a day, I want to take a skyway walk. Normal stops are to the Children’s Museum with Viv, dropping Viv at daycare, or to my favorite coffee shop. All end up being about a mile round-trip which is perfect.
• Blogging will stay because I need to stay sharp on my writing… or as sharp as I’m able to get. 😉
• Taxes are next.

Nothing else will get done during my maternity leave, and this list is likely too long by a few. But hey, we are “in it” and we are surviving, dare I say starting to thrive? The days are getting longer/warmer, and the newborn phase is D-O-N-E. It is a good Thursday. Have a great weekend.