Addressing the To Do list

Who knew that having one person not working outside the home would make life so much easier? I mean, I knew it would be a bit easier when I stopped working since we wouldn't have to juggle schedules as much but I had no idea that it would be a LOT easier.

Why is it so much easier? I have time available to attend to the important items that might not get addressed in our desired timeframe if we were both working, which helps keep my stress level down, and we even have time for more plain, old-fashioned, FUN.

Here is a snapshot of what I've been up:

• This week Emma's CI acted a little quirky and required 2 unexpected trips to see her audiologist as well as multiple phone conversations. This could have required a real juggling act if both of us were still working, but since I was home it didn't.
• We're in the process of doing some estate planning and will generation that is a bit trickier to execute when you have a special needs child. I had the time to research what needs to be done, check with a few parents in our similar situation to find out who the experts are, and even schedule our initial consultation.
• I can PLAY with the girls at night. I don't have to work after putting in a lot of hours working as "mom/therapist" during the day. It is so nice to relax and play with the girls and have more family time together.
• Enrolled Julia in swim classes for this session and attended the first lesson. She loves swim lessons and we were lucky to find the perfect date/time for our schedule!
• Researched and followed-up on alternative approaches I think Emma will benefit from. I've been trying to get to this for a couple of months now and, with the extra time available now, I've completed it in a week. The results? I have a phone apt. this week with a top researcher from the University of Delaware that wants to help facilitate a comprehensive evaluation on power mobility for Emma (this man is doing amazing things with infants/toddlers and robotics) and Emma has a craniosacral therapy appointment scheduled for next week.
• Put in some time researching the internet business I'm trying to start, registered the domain name and did some more research for the business plan. I have a LOT more work to do here and need to put more time into this as it is a high priority for me, but I know I'll have more time to devote to this next month when our babysitters are back from summer break.
• Reconnected with my contacts in Linked In (a professional networking site) and partially updated my profile. I still have to complete my updated resume and a few other items so that when I'm ready to jump back into the job market I have everything ready to go
• Found time to measure, assess and order an appropriate ramp for our minivan to load Emma's stroller. This will save a lot of wear and tear on my back from lifting her stroller in/out of the car. Her stroller is AMAZING, pushes like a dream and we love it (even if there are a couple of minor details we would change), but it is quite heavy to lift and I'm looking forward to getting the ramp.
• Emma's been using a communication board with her speech therapist that is the best of all the boards we've tried. I was able to contact the Delaware Assistive Technology Initiative (DATI) and found that they have the same communication board that we can borrow - they have reserved it aside for us and we are picking it up on Monday. We've borrowed items from DATI in the past and it is a great FREE resource for DE residents.

You'll notice that I didn't say I'm a stay at home mom. That's because our life does not lend itself to stay at home - I'm much more a mom on the go. I'm busier all day long *staying at home* than I was at work. I often don't get a chance to eat, drink or go to the bathroom when I want like I could at work, but I sure love the smiles, hugs and kisses that come with the territory.