Welcome back to No Manual, a momcast where we're
just talking about the realities of motherhood,
the funny things, the less funny things, and
just to make moms feel less alone and realize
we all have kind of the same experiences and
the same frustrations and joys and all of that.
Yes. In today's episode, we're going to talk
about our experiences as being working from home
moms. So we both... work from home with our kids
with us neither of us have like in -home child
care to help us out or anything like that yep
so yeah we have like maybe some tips that we've
figured out along the way and I think just a
lot of yeah what our experience has been yeah
things we haven't figured out yet yeah yeah Yeah,
it's chaos. It is. Yeah. Well, before we get
started, do you want to start with your mom moment?
I would love to. It's actually a work from home
moment. So it was this last Monday. So start
of the work week, just already just chaos. And
my computer was like, so I had just recently
updated my computer. So that was like the new
update. I don't know. When I did that, I swear
like all of my apps just stopped working. So
specifically my Teams, which is like how I chat
with my coworkers, app just like said I needed
to redownload it. So I tried to do that, but
then it was like not working. And I just was
so frustrated because I needed to get work done.
My boss was calling me to try to get stuff done.
And at the same time, like Cruz was crying. Colt
was crying about something. I can't remember.
Maybe. needing a snack or something like that
and so I just like I started to cry because I
was like I don't know what to do right now I
like had so much to do I had so much on my plate
and I was like so frustrated that my computer
wasn't working frustrated that I couldn't like
help my kids in that moment um and sweet Colty
looks at me cause he could see I was crying and
he goes, sorry mama, sorry mama. And I'm like,
Oh buddy, it's okay. Like mama's not upset at
you. Like I'm just, it's just a hard day and
mama's allowed to cry too. And so it was just
chaos. That's like just kind of a little sneak
peek of work from home life for me. Yeah. And
that's, that's rough too. And like said this
age, they don't understand. Like I'm frustrated
at, The situation, not you. You know, like with
your husband, you can communicate that. Like,
hey, not mad at you in particular. All the things
are happening and I'm frustrated. But when you're
two, like your brain doesn't comprehend that
yet. Yeah. Yep. Exactly. Poor buddy. Well, my
mom moment is this week we went to the national
night out in our town, which is just like first
responders and different like. facilities i guess
throughout the town will like bring their trucks
in and have different displays so it's like there's
a police dog uh demonstration and the fire department
demonstrated what it was like uh we missed this
one but we heard them talk about it like how
they would take doors off of a car for a really
bad car wreck oh wow but then also you can like
get into a bunch of trucks so you can like get
into the fire truck you can get into a police
car and sit on the police motorcycle and see
you know the backhoe and yeah um stuff like that
uh so lloyd's favorite was the animal control
truck which was really funny of course um but
he also liked the ambulance and the second we
like put him in the ambulance he went straight
for the biohazard container did not care about
anything else There are other kids like playing
with stethoscopes. It's like bright red, right?
It is bright red. Yeah. And the EMT in there
is like, oh, buddy, like that's yucky. Hopefully
that's cleaned out. I'm sure it was cleaned out
because it was like an event for kids. But still,
like you don't want to be sticking your hand
in the biohazard container. No, for sure not.
And just that was the only thing he wanted to
play with. Yeah. The EMT was like, you can play
with pretty much anything else in here he wants.
Nope. He's like, red container. Red container.
Yes. Needles go in this. Yeah. Obviously. That's
what I want. Yeah. Do you think that's funny,
Cruz? Yeah, Cruz gets it. Yeah. That's what I
want too. Yeah. Well, okay. So let's just hop
right in. So work from home life for me is chaos.
I'm so grateful I get to do it. What does it
look like for you as far as working from home?
So, I mean, I've been back to work for about
a month now. And I was super lucky. And this
actually changed before I had kids. So I've worked
from home. since actually since before COVID.
My job was hybrid. COVID happened. We went fully
remote and then just never went back to hybrid.
And at one point in time, I was able to change
my hours from a traditional nine to five to seven
to three instead. And I did that because of Stuart's
job. He was getting up really early. And when
I was working nine to five, it was like he wanted
to go to bed early because he was. getting up
at 5 a .m. and I didn't and so it was like we
had no time together that we were like on the
same page so I was able to switch then and that's
worked out really well for me with the kids because
at least with Lloyd then Lloyd came along and
he was He, he sleeps fairly late for a little
kid. Like he sleeps till like seven 30. Nice.
Sometimes eight if I'm really lucky. Yeah. Um,
so that worked out where it's like, I would wake
up and get my day started and then he wakes up.
So it's like, okay, wake up, catch up on emails,
whatever. And then he wakes up. Um, and that's
continued. So that I've been super thankful for.
And then. naps throughout the day yeah um so
right now he naps for pretty much the second
half of my work day not obviously not quite the
full thing yeah and that makes a huge difference
yeah you can crank some workout then yeah yeah
that's so nice yeah my so for me I do work hybrid
technically so I work from home two days a week
and then I I go into the office two days a week
and then on Sundays so I work at the church on
Sundays is So the kids go into kids ministry
and then I work the services. But for me, like
I, I do work nine to five and it really, so I'm
an administrative assistant. Technically there's
some other pieces to my job that, um, thankfully
everything is pretty much just online and emails.
really just I have to be online I have to be
available there's a lot of calendaring that I
have to do I have to be like available to my
boss like via phone in the work hours so um for
me like I'm so so I am so grateful that they've
given me the ability to do this I commend all
the moms the full -time working moms that do
go into the office but I am so grateful that
I get to have that time extra time at home with
my kids um yeah me too for sure and the downside
of that though is how chaotic it can be especially
now like as my toddler's getting older more just
like energetic and just he yeah he's like running
everywhere and so I think that creates another
layer to it yeah it's almost easier When they're
little. Yeah. Like I think we talked about this
probably off mic that it would almost be easier
to be a working mom with like a brand new baby.
Yes. Like obviously outside of the like recovery
from the logistical like where the baby's at
developmentally piece. Yeah. Not all the other
parts. That would be easier because they it's
like they sleep. You feed them. Yeah. You change
their diaper and then they go back to sleep.
Yep. Whereas the older they get and. where our
boys are at Colton Lloyd are at is a really tough
age too because they're not really old enough
that you can be like here's an activity yes you
know because then in another like I mean they're
boys so maybe never but uh theoretically in another
like two years or something like that then you
can start to be like hey here's an activity here's
legos and and build for hours and knock it down
and build it and knock it down for you know even
if it's just one hour yeah right yeah Whereas
right now their attention span, their brains
just aren't to the point where they have an attention
span to have an activity. Yeah. For Colty too,
it's like if I have an activity for him, he wants
me to do it with him. Right. And of course, like
I of course want to do it with him. Like, and
it makes me sad. It honestly makes me sad when
I'm like, I'm sorry, buddy. Like mommy has to
work right now. And like mommy has to get this
work stuff done. And it like, it makes him sad.
It makes me sad. Yeah. And then I'm like in my
head about like. oh man, like this sucks. Yeah.
Like what terrible trauma am I giving my child?
Yeah. You know, when he goes in his twenties,
what is he going to say in therapy? For sure.
Yeah. The thing of it too, is it's like, I'm
working on either on my phone or on my computer.
And then he's like, well, mommy's on. the phone
or computer so can i like i want to play with
your phone i want to watch tv i will say so i
have a old laptop that like it doesn't even hold
charge anymore yeah um and i've started giving
that to lloyd when you're working when i'm working
and we're like do you want lloyd's laptop I'm
like, yeah. That's a great idea. And so it like
doesn't even turn on. It doesn't work all the
time, but sometimes it helps because that's one
thing that has been really hard is he wants to
be using my computer. Yes. And I'm like, one
of these days you're accidentally going to like
send a message. Send something too early or.
Something like that. Or something crazy. Yeah.
And it's one thing if you send it to like my
little group chat with my coworkers who I'm pals
with. They'll think it's funny. It's another
thing if this is like something important. Yes.
Yeah. Which is for sure what's going to happen.
I feel that too. I have to put my computer up
on the, like the island in our kitchen. That's
what I have to do too. Because it's, then he
can't get to it. Otherwise it's like, if I'm
trying to sit on the couch with it or sit at
the kitchen table, even he climbs up and he goes,
Colty try, Colty try. And then he just like.
bangs his hands on it. And then I'm like, nobody,
no. Like as I'm mid email to my boss, you know,
like it's, it just, I feel like I can't win sometimes.
Yeah. It's rough for sure. Yeah. What are like,
so obviously like it's both, it's chaos for both
of us. What do you feel like are like some, some
huge positive sides of it? I mean, like you said,
I'm so thankful I get to like be with my kids
every day. Yeah. Um, I can't imagine not doing
that. Um, and anytime like we've talked about
it and getting childcare, I mean, one is like,
if we got childcare, my salary wouldn't even
matter anymore, but it like, it feels like my
heart is being ripped out. Even just like thinking
about not spending all day with them, even on
days like I was telling you before, before we
hit record yesterday was absolutely insane. So
many tears. But, like, I'm still so thankful
for it. We do have child care one day a week
right now, which is just my parents. Just a helpful
day to get caught up. And even just to, like,
reset my brain a little bit and be like, okay,
I can breathe. But, yeah, so I think, like, that's
a big one is just feeling so grateful that I
get to be around my kids and they get to be around
me instead of. like a stranger. Um, and I know
that that's the best option for other people
is like getting childcare, daycare, whatever.
You gotta do what works for you. Yeah. Do you
ever find yourself like, like I was just thinking
of like the weird tension of like, I sometimes
get jealous of like my husband of like, Oh, you
get to go into the office every day and you,
I don't know, get to socialize and But then at
the same time, I'm like, I wouldn't trade this
for the world because I get to be with my kids
all day. The thing I'm weirdly most jealous about
is his drive home. And I think when I've tried
to explain it to Stuart, it's this thing of like,
okay. And he works really close to where we live.
So he has like, it might be 15 minutes if traffic
is really backed up. So he has a really short
drive home. But I was like, you have these few
minutes to just like. decompress from one thing
before jumping into another like you know even
if it was a good day it's gonna be crazy the
second you walk in but you have like these few
minutes to decompress from your day to your evening
where that doesn't exist for me so it's like
I get up Zeta's usually up with me when I get
up first thing in the morning so I like don't
even have two seconds myself then then I start
work then Lloyd gets up day's crazy He goes down
for a nap or they both go down for a nap, whatever.
I'm working while they're napping. Yeah. Then
they get up. I finish up work. Yeah. Then it's
on to dinner. Then it's on to bedtime. So like
there's no time to decompress. So I think the
thing that I'm generally most jealous of is that.
And then there's definitely some days when it's
like, I would like to have an adult to talk to.
That's not over slack. Yeah. Yes. No, I feel
that for sure. It's like, yeah, I'm jealous of
that. I guess the adult interaction and like,
I don't know. Like, I think this, like being
a mother is a sacrifice in general. Like you're
sacrificing potentially like a lot of like friendship
relationships and coworker relationships. And
I think sometimes, yeah, I'm like jealous of
like, Oh, you went out to lunch with coworkers
today. Oh, I. shoved it on crustables down my
throat when i pulled chicken nuggets yeah yeah
that's the other thing and this is just like
a random work from home complaint steward's job
gets bagels every friday and like I want a bagel.
Yeah, I want a bagel. I want someone to just
bring me Einsteins and give me breakfast. He's
like, I'll door dash it for you. Yeah, but I
have the same thing that I have every day for
breakfast because my brain can't comprehend coming
up with another meal. No, exactly. Yeah, I feel
like I can come up with all of these complaints
about working from home, but also the other side
of it is like, no, I'm... I'm genuinely so grateful.
And I don't think I could personally for myself,
I don't think I could do a full time like an
office job at this stage of life. Just like away
from your kids. Yeah, away from my kids. There's
so many milestones that I feel like I want to
be a part of and see and just, I don't know.
I feel like it's so crucial for me as a mother.
Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things that I've been
just thinking about a lot. and been super thankful
for is Zeta doesn't like to take a bottle um
and recently she's just started taking one much
better my parents had her today and she took
two full feeds from them which is like huge but
I've been back to work for over a month now and
this is the first time she's taken a full feed
from pretty much anyone wow so thinking about
that I'm like what would life have been like
if I had to go back to the office yeah Would
you have to quit your job? Would I have to quit
my job? I mean, I guess it depends on, like,
who your boss is and stuff like that and, like,
what your job is. And there's, you know, lots
of, you know, nuance, I guess, to it. But, yeah,
I just haven't had to worry about that. Like,
my most stressful is when my parents take her
and they have brought her back to me for every
time she hasn't eaten from them. I mean, they
live close enough that they can. Yeah. But still,
like, so that is stressful enough to know, like.
even just that like they're gonna take her and
they might have to like call me and be like hey
we're on our way back because she's not taking
a bottle but for the most part I don't have to
deal with it because she's with me all the time
right and so I just feed her and it's not a big
deal so yeah that's one of the things that I've
been super thankful for is this thing that's
already stressful because i want her to take
a bottle like i prefer breastfeeding on a like
regular basis but i would like her to take a
bottle for date nights and so i can you know
you're not stressed about yeah like oh i have
to get back within three hours right you know
we're not it's not like cinderella and the pumpkin
kind of thing which is what it feels like so
it's like i do want her to take a bottle And
like that whole thing has been stressful enough
without the work part. Yeah. So. So then the
work part on top of it. Is more stressful. And
just being able to work from home has been such
a blessing with that. Like, OK, I don't have
like this timeline that I have to figure this
out by. We're just figuring it out as we go.
Yeah. Yeah. So that's been something I've been
super, super thankful for. Yeah. Being able to
work from home with. Yes. Yeah. Oh, gosh. Yeah.
I'm so grateful for that. I feel like. I mean,
we kind of chatted about it already with like
with the chaos that work from home mom life is.
It's like I think it's almost in my role. It
would be almost more chaotic to be in office.
And I know you're like your company is is has
been remote for a while. So that may not be.
No, but I feel the same. Just. Even thinking
about like figuring out a pumping schedule and
getting kids ready. Like this is actually. Go
to daycare. Yeah. This is a funny thing because
I just let Lloyd sleep pretty much as late as
he wants to, which some days is really nice when
it's like he's extra sleepy. So he sleeps till
like eight. Yeah. Great. I had an extra 45 minutes,
half hour to like get stuff done at work. Yeah.
Before you got up and are now hungry and all
of that. But when my parents pick him up, they
pick him up consistently at like 7 .45. And that's
always the day that I have to wake him up. Of
course. It's never the day that he is up at 6
.30. Yeah. It's always the day that I'm like,
if I wasn't waking him up, he'd sleep till like
8 or 8 .30 for sure. Of course. But then again,
just even thinking about that on a daily basis.
Yeah. I can't. Like having to. It would be so
much more chaotic to like. Yes. Have to get you
up and. Yeah. I would say like, so on, on Tuesdays,
I go into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Um, and on Tuesdays we. we take our kids over
to Mimi's house, which is, um, one of, uh, our
coworkers moms who is now Mimi. And she, uh,
takes care of the boys for me for like six hours
that I can go into the office. But those mornings
are always so hectic trying to get out of the
house and like packing everything that the boys
need for the day. Um, diapers, uh, bottles, um,
food for Colt. Um, Changes of clothes for both
boys. Like, blankets. Trying to make sure you
didn't forget anything. Yeah. Pacifiers. A bouncer
for Cruz. Like, just there's so many things.
Does Colt have, like, his item? Like, his, like,
blanket? No. Like, he has a bunch of blankets
that he really likes. But he doesn't have, like,
a stuffed animal or something like that. No.
Because Lloyd has one. Yeah. And so he won't
sleep without it. Yeah. So if you forget that.
So if we forget it. And I can't imagine trying
to do that every day. No. Or one week, my parents
forgot to put it back in the bag. And thankfully,
they, like, saw it pretty quick. And they were
already out running errands, so they brought
it by for us. Oh, good. But you're like, he wouldn't
have slept that night without it. For sure, one
of us would have had to drive to my parents'
house. And if it's something like daycare, you
can't do that, right? No. So I feel like, yeah,
I'm so grateful for the fact that I don't have
to pack my kids up and take them somewhere every
single day. And going back to the, I feel like
I'm just so grateful that I get to be around
my kids so much. I already am sad thinking about,
my kids growing up and like potentially going
to like school. And that makes, just makes me
sad in general to like be away from them for
seven hours. I have a friend who, she homeschools
her kids and I'm pretty sure that's half the
reason. And she's like, yeah. I just didn't want
to be away from them. She's like, I already thought
I would. But yeah, I feel that too where I'm
like, I don't want to be away from my kids. No,
no. When a lot of days I'm like, oh, if I could
just get a break for like, I just need like an
hour. But then they go down for a nap and you're
like, oh, I miss you. I miss you. I want to hang
out with you. Yeah. It's such a weird, I don't
even know what to call it, but just like a tension
of like. I want, I want a break. Like I need
a break because I need to get stuff done for
work. But also like, no, I don't, I don't want
a break from my kids. I don't. And I don't know
what that's called, but. Yeah, I feel that too.
And I think that's pretty. A pretty normal thing.
Like every mom I talk to. Like hormones or. I
don't know. Cause I think it is just like this.
And this isn't even specific to being. a working
work from home mom or a working mom it's just
like you love your kids so much and want to be
around them all the time but then realistically
like we do need a break from our kids sometimes
just to like take care of ourselves and breathe
outside of also getting work done yeah I am I
do find like the fact that my job is hybrid I
do find that I come back in especially on Tuesdays
when like the boys go to child care for six hours
I actually come home like almost refreshed in
a sense yeah like that's my kind of like break
oh even though it's not a break but like but
then even when we were talking a little earlier
about like oh you get to like be around adults
yeah and have adult conversations and i think
you work with some people you like yeah i'm pretty
sure you're friends you have friends at work
and um although it's like i'm still working right
but that can be really like refilling even i
have One of my coworkers, she very rudely doesn't
live in Colorado. That's mean. Rebecca, I'm calling
you out. But she asked me the other day to jump
on a call for something just for like five minutes
to figure something out. And even just talking
to her for a couple minutes was super refreshing.
So like it is just like a little bit of you're
talking to adults in general. But then also like
if you are working with people that you consider
friends. That is super refreshing and rejuvenating.
Yeah. Yeah. No matter what. Yeah. Oh, for sure.
I feel like I, yeah, I'm a better mom coming
home those days. And I'm like genuinely so excited
to see my kids. Yeah. And be with them. And it's
always nice to like. Be excited to see your kid.
It's like so exciting when I see them and they
see me and they're excited and I'm excited. And
like you're not getting irritated with them.
I think it's part of it. I think I already said
this on this episode. I know we were talking
about it a little bit ago. Yesterday was a rough
day at our house. And then today was the day
my parents took them, which I think worked out
really well. And yeah, so then when they got
home today, I was just like so excited. I was
like, I'm not irritated with you. So I'm, which
makes me happy. Yep. And that break was super,
was super good just because it like, it's almost
like you, your brain can catch up and be like,
oh yeah, I like these people. Yes. It's healthy.
I mean, if you're around someone 24 seven, no
matter who it is, you're going to get annoyed.
Right. Which is like, I have that tension in
my head of like. No, these are my kids. I shouldn't
get annoyed with them. No, I shouldn't get annoyed.
But they're humans and humans are annoying sometimes.
Yeah, and we all need a little bit of a breather
sometimes. Okay, I had a thought whenever you
were talking about like talking to your coworker
on the phone. How have you, because you probably
have to like be on Zoom meetings and stuff occasionally
or like how have you managed that? So, I mean,
I surprisingly, I don't have that many. That's
good. Sort of, yeah. I do, so I usually have
about three a week, which isn't too bad. If I
am in charge of scheduling them, I will schedule
them during nap time. During nap time, yep. And
then that was, since my parents are taking the
kids one day a week, that was one thing, when
they asked what day, I was like, I'm going to
try to. have you take them on days that I'm pretty
sure or know I'm gonna have meetings yeah so
I try to do it during nap time or during days
I know I have child care um and then I feel this
is something that I feel super super blessed
by um so my boss changed while I was out and
my first one -on -one with her coming back was
a bad timing so typically it will be on a day
that I have child care, but the first one, it
just happened to be on a day that I didn't. And
Lloyd was just like climbing all over me and
just wanted to be a part of things. And she told
me that she's like, hey, you're a mom. I get
it. And I'm just going to keep talking and act
like your kids aren't there. And if you need
to take a moment to like. deal with something
just let me know yeah so she's super understanding
which i'm really grateful for because i know
not everyone has no situation like that yeah
um and i know she doesn't have kids but other
people on the team have kids and she's like it's
just a reality of like the stage of life and
yeah you i mean it's not like all moms can not
work like right financially you got to do what
you got to do so yeah so i'm really grateful
that I have a super understanding boss. But for
the most part, like when it comes to Zoom meetings,
if it's in my control, I try to schedule it around
naps and stuff like that. Yeah, that's the same
for me. Thankfully, like with my role, I'm not
on Zoom meetings a ton. And like if it has to,
I'll schedule it for an in -person meeting on
Tuesday or Thursday. But the rare occasion I
have to hop on a Zoom or a Teams call. I usually
try to schedule it during nap time or I have
gone into it like, hey, my kid is like he's watching
a show right now. There's there's the potential
that he might interrupt us for a second. But
I'm going to do the best that I can. Yeah. Yeah.
And I think for the most part, people are understanding.
I mean, there's always the people who are a little
bit crazy, but you would hope so. And again,
this age is really tough because. You can't,
like, guarantee that they're just going to sit
and watch their show or whatever. No, no. And,
like, for Cole, it's like, yeah, he wants to
be a part and try everything. So, like, oh, here's,
like, a friendly voice on the Zoom call. Cool
to try. Cole FaceTimes family. Yes, family all
the time. And Lloyd, the same thing. We FaceTime
my sister once a week. So, like, they understand
what this is to an extent. So, like, obviously
they want to be involved because they're involved
in. Other times. So why would they not be involved
this time? Yeah. There was actually a phone call.
It was probably, like, two weeks ago. I was working,
and my boss called me. And he was, like, asking
me to do a couple things. And Colt was, like,
trying to grab the phone. And he was, like, talking.
He's, like, Colty, try it. Colt. No. And then
he was, like, Daddy, Daddy. He thought it was
his dad on the phone. And I, like, I was, like.
And I, like, I had to tell Carl. I was, like.
I'm sorry, hold on. And I was like, Colt, this
is mommy's boss. Like this is a work phone call
and we can call daddy after. And then he did
thankfully understand it. He wasn't super happy
about it. But I was like, those moments are so
hard because I'm like, I have the few times a
day where I have to take a phone call or whatever.
It's like, no. Like this is serious. Like I have
to be a good employee too. Yeah. And I think
that's a battle that I'm struggling with a little
bit with the work from home life is like, no,
I'm trying to be a really good mom and I'm also
trying to be a really good employee. Yeah. Well,
it's tough because ultimately you are replaceable
at work. For sure. Right. So you want to prioritize
being a mom, but then also. Like I need this
job. Right. At the same time. In order to be
a good mom, you also need to. keep this job yeah
so yeah I feel have you found any like pro tips
or things that have just like made life easier
as you're working from home honestly like you
kind of already already talked about it a little
bit so thankfully like most of my work is like
administrative work so I'm doing a lot of emails
I'm doing a lot of like scheduling and calendaring
and thankfully I can get a good chunk of work
done during nap time. And I found that like,
as long as I'm fully available and like ready
to get stuff done in the nine to five, I can
crank out a ton of work in those two hours that
I get during nap time. And I don't think I'm
like the best administrative assistant in the
world, but I think that I'm fast. Okay. And I
think that's, I mean, that's not really a tip,
but it's just like what's worked kind of for
me. But I also have found if I can, I set a setting
on my computer where I can annotate my emails
so I can talk my emails rather than typing them.
And that's been a setting that has helped me
because then I can get it done quicker, if that
makes sense. But now that Colt likes to talk
and stuff, he'll try to like. add some verbiage
in there too. So there's a nice like mama. Yeah.
And now Cruz is adding to the verbiage too. Yeah.
He's got a lot to say. Yeah. Yeah. But what about
you? I think, so a couple things that have helped
me is Lloyd likes books and books are really
quick most of the time. Yeah. So that can be
helpful to be like, he'll bring me a book and
we can read it. And that's like two minutes between
emails kind of thing. You're like, okay, let's
read that book. Yeah, and then he feels less
like I'm ignoring him. And I'm like, okay, go
pick another book. And then he'll take however
long picking another book. The thing that's tough
about that is then there are times when he's
like. Okay, Cruz. Yes, we hear you, buddy. Cruz
has all of his pro tips. It's funny because it's
like literally. 10 15 at night and he's just
ready right now yeah the book thing is hard i
think yeah it was yesterday the day before i
don't know one day he just i was like in the
middle of something like crazy for work and he
just kept coming up to me mama read it mama read
it i want to read it when i get a second yeah
yeah um so yeah books another one this is kind
of a This is specific to nursing, a Bluetooth
keyboard. Oh, that's smart. Because then you
don't have to have your laptop right there and
you can just have the keyboard and you can nurse
and type at the same time. That's actually so
smart. Okay, going off of that too. And if you
can get your company to pay for it, even better.
Okay, my tip kind of off of that is like having
all of my programs on my phone. And so I do a
lot of emails on my phone and like Teams and
stuff. Yeah. I definitely have – I can't do everything
from my phone, but I have Slack from my phone.
Yeah. So I can interact with like my team. Yeah.
That's so nice. That's like, like I hate because
my toddler, like he cannot separate like, oh,
is mom just scrolling on her phone or is she
working at this point? And so I try to explain
to him like, oh, mommy's working on an email
right now for work. I'll be done in a second.
So like that part is hard for me where I'm like,
he just thinks I'm just like on my phone and
just like not paying attention to him. So that's
the one downside of like working on my phone.
Which also like. that is one of the things that
i have a hard time with phones in general yeah
because it's like what it what it portrays i
guess no matter what you're doing it looks like
you're just scrolling instagram for sure it's
like you could be paying the bills right right
you could be paying the bills and yeah there's
so many things that i do on my phone like again
paying bills putting our grocery list together
clipping coupons for our grocery list yeah uh
yeah so many things like that that it's like
no this is a part of like keeping our family
together and going but it just looks like you're
just like not paying attention to your child
yeah yeah so that's rough yeah um another one
is just easy snacks and meals like we have the
exact same breakfast every single day nice what's
your go -to breakfast we do cheesy scrambled
eggs nice sausage and then the fruit is like
rotates yeah rotates just like depending on what
i bought that week that's actually very similar
to our breakfast but yeah just not having to
make that decision it's like okay i know this
is what we're gonna have it's all pretty easy
to make yeah you guys have a go -to lunch That
we kind of switch out a little bit. But what
I try to do is have like one or two for the week.
So it's like this week we're going to have egg
salad or something like that. And then, you know,
there might be some like leftovers or chicken
nuggets thrown in or something. But again, so
that way it's just like I don't have to like
make that decision. Yeah. I was like, what are
we going to eat? Because you just need. Even
if I wasn't working, having those decisions made
ahead of time makes life so much easier. Yeah.
I do think like working from home, you're balancing
so many things. You're prepping lunches, breakfast,
like all these things. And I argue, I think work
from home. parents whether you're a mom or a
dad are actually better employees like if you're
doing your job successfully and well yeah like
you're actually a potentially a better employee
because you are managing so many so like being
a parent is a full -time job also you're working
a full -time job simultaneously yeah yeah so
i would argue that you're actually a better employee
than Yeah. And a lot of people might be controversial,
but. Yeah. I mean, I know for me, a lot of it
is like, I feel self -conscious isn't even the
right word, but I'm very aware of it of like,
I don't want to seem like I'm slacking because
of this. So the moments that I get to work really
hard, I'm going to. Yeah. Where like, honestly,
I feel like even before, like, not that I didn't
work hard. you know, before I had kids. But the
pressure of like that isn't there as much, you
know, where it's like, okay, it's expected that
I'm going to do my job. Like no one's expecting
that I'm distracted necessarily. Whereas if people
know you're at home with your kids. Whether they
think it or not, in my mind, they're like, oh,
is she really getting enough work done or whatever?
I guess she really even working. Right. Yes.
So I think I'm hyper aware of that. And I try
to take advantage of the time that I have to
get a bunch of stuff done. Yeah. I think I'm
hyper aware of how quickly I respond to things,
especially team's messages. I always try to respond
as quickly as I can. But when I'm working from
home, I'm like, okay, I'm trying to be hyper
aware of like, oh, I need to respond quickly.
Right. So it like portrays like, no, I am. I
am active. I'm working. I'm working and I'm like
managing the best that I can. Yeah. So, but it's
not, I mean, it's not easy. No. Not at all. Like
the most ideal situation I could have dreamed
up. like having to work i think the most ideal
situation would be maybe that i don't have to
work but like in this season of life like financially
that's what we have to do yeah but it's yeah
but it's just kind of the way it is right now
and it's the most ideal for the right now yeah
yeah yeah i would agree for us um again i'm super
thankful i get to be with my kids all day And
it is really hard. I texted you the other day.
I was like, I honestly can get less done when
the kids aren't around because it's just too
quiet. Yeah. Like the house is still and it's
like almost. You're like, oh, I'm in my thoughts
now. Yeah. Like, well, I haven't had time to
think to myself in so long. Yeah. It's too quiet.
It's almost uncomfortable. Yep. yeah you like
just learn to thrive in the chaos yeah you don't
even know when that when you learn to do that
you just no you just do it yeah yeah would you
say it was easier to hop back into work after
this maternity leave or the last maternity leave
like finding your rhythm I guess I don't know
because I feel like there were different challenges
yeah Right. So my last one, actually my first
couple of days back, there was like a conference
in Denver. So I actually was like leaving, which
I think was really good because I was able to
just like really be separate. Yeah. Like try
to get your mind set back. Yeah. And I like got
to see all my coworkers and stuff like that.
With just one kid and just one kid who's pretty
little, it's much easier, right? So it's like,
oh, your activity is like laying on your little
baby gym mat thing, you know, or like I'm going
to hand you a rattle and play with you, you know,
and it's a lot easier. And this time, of course,
the child is with two kids now. And Lloyd grew
up a lot since I left. You know, it's like that
18 months to two years is a huge age difference.
A lot of things happen in that time. Yeah. What
they're interested in, what they're doing, what
they're capable of, all of that. Yeah. So I think
this time, I guess, I guess I think this time
was harder mostly because now like. Lloyd's old
enough that he understands that I wasn't working
and now I am working. Or, like, at least that
he had more time with me than he does. He's like,
I don't get it. What happened? Whereas, like,
with the little, little ones, they don't really
register that. You know, I'm sure they register
to an extent, but they don't really register
that. Yeah, what about you? I would say, honestly,
I would say that hopping back into work after
just Colt was harder for me. Mostly because,
like, I just was, I like the whole work from
home thing was new. And then like figuring out
how to take care of a child at the same time
was like, it just, I think it was kind of like
probably totally internally pressure, like pressure
that I put on myself within it. And then like,
I, my role was slightly different too. And so
I was like doing a lot more like. zoom calls,
like meetings I had to be in. Um, and so that
was harder cause I was like hopping on team's
calls and like having Colton, the carrier. And
like, if he was fussy, I'm just like bouncing,
like muting myself, bouncing and like trying
to do. Yeah. And now like I'm not on nearly as
many calls, but I just feel like maybe I like
had found my rhythm over time. And now it's just
like the addition of another child rather than
like a child and like new work from home situation.
Yeah. I would say after just our first was born
was harder for me. That makes sense. But it's
still, I mean, there's hard about both situations.
Yeah. I mean, both are challenging for different
reasons. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's
kind of like a little bit, I guess, of our experiences
working from home and like the positives, the
negative, not even necessarily negative, but
just like the challenges of it. And I think like.
Like we said, we're so grateful for the season
we're in and wouldn't change it for the world.
But we would love to hear what your guys' experience
is, whether you're a full -time work -from -home
mom, maybe you're a stay -at -home mom and it's
a little bit different for you, or maybe you
go full -time into the office or whatever your
job is, but really just want to know kind of
what your experience is in working and what the...
positives and the challenges have been for you
yeah yeah but do you want to hop let's hop into
our wins of the week yeah so mine yesterday was
a horrible day like it was just one of those
things i don't know floyd didn't sleep well overnight
because the morning started rough like that's
a hard thing when like the day just starts rough
yeah it was like he was like kicking and hitting
and headbutting and things that he doesn't usually
do and then He unrolled an entire or most of
a roll of toilet paper. Oh, gosh. It was just
like all the things were rough. And then nap
time was terrible. And I was absolutely losing
it. And so my win is. that I married a wonderful,
wonderful man. And when he got home, he was like,
let's order dinner so you don't have to cook
and so we don't have to deal with dishes or anything
like that. So we did. And then he was like, just
take your book and go to a park and read for
an hour. So we have a park in our neighborhood
that has hammocks in it. Whoa, that's cool. It's
really cool. I've never seen this before. That's
so cool. But, yeah, they're super cool. So I
just like went across the street to that park
and took my book. Almost fell asleep. You're
like actually gone for like four hours. If I
fell asleep, Stuart probably would have been
calling me like, are you okay? Yeah, but it was
just super nice. And I think part of why this
is a win is like at no point was I super worried.
It was like he's a dad. He knows what he's doing.
And if it's terrible, he'll figure it out. You
trust him and his parenting. Yeah, you know,
exactly, where it's like, I trust him. It might
be rough for him, too, but he's a capable parent.
So, yeah, my win is, A, just being able to, like,
get a break after a rough day and, like, then
also coming back and being like, oh, yeah, I
do like being a mom. I just needed a breather.
And then being partnered with someone who, as,
like, a parenting partner. We can try to take
care of each other and who I trust. So that's
my win of the week. Aw, that's sweet. Okay, my
win. So at night, every night, we have a very
specific routine with Colty to go to bed. And
just recently, like every night, he really wants
both Michael and I to put him down, which then
means Cruz comes along too, usually. And just
recently, like, so we'll pray and then we'll
put him in the crib awake. And as we're walking
out, we'll go, we love you, buddy. Like sleep
so good. We'll see you in the morning. And just
recently he started going, love you, mommy. Love
you, daddy. And I'm like, love you, buddy. And
then I just want to like run back over and kiss
him and hug him. And, but it's just, oh my gosh,
I love it so much. And I, and I know like. I
totally like prompted him at the beginning to
like start. I'd be like, when mommy says love
you, buddy, you say love you, mommy. And so like
we, it's like learned that he says it back. anytime
we're like, Lloyd, can you say I love you? He
just goes silent. He won't say anything. He's
like, I could, but I'm not going to. He'll repeat
everything else I say. You gotta work for it,
mom. Yeah, but when we're like, can you say,
I love you? Like, I love you, mom. I love you,
baby sister. I love you. Nope. Nope. Just totally
bad. So even if it's learned, that's super cute.
Yeah, yeah. So I just, every night when we...
When we put him to bed and love you, buddy. Love
you, mommy. Love you, daddy. That's so sweet.
My heart melts. Yeah, it's so sweet. Well, thanks
for tuning in to this week's No Manual Momcast.
Like we mentioned, we'd love to hear kind of
your working experience, whether you work from
home or in the office. Just the positives or
the challenges that you've come across. Any pro
tips. We'll still take them. Any pro tips. We're
still figuring it out. Yes. Yes, we are. Weekly
is just, it's always different every week. Mm
-hmm. Yep. But anyways, reach out to us on social
media. Follow us at nomanualmomcast. But we would
love to hear what you guys liked from this week's
episode. But we will see you next week. See you
next week. Thank you.