Seattle Mom Blogs

Before I left work to have my kid, I talked about the possibility of working from home with my Direct Supervisor. I didn’t just walk into his office one day and inform him of my post-child work schedule. Instead, I casually brought it up while he and I were discussing his own flexible schedule at his previous job. Right when he was telling me how much more work he had been able to produce at his home-office then at his office-office, I pounced. I started asking him questions about what his thoughts were on working from home. I asked him what our company’s policy was on their employees working from home (even though I already had read the P&P manual). I feigned interest in his story without actually telling him that was my plan after I popped my kid out.

As my due date fast approached I, again, breached the subject with my Supervisor. This time, I started the discussion by telling him what my plan was. I brought up the fact that I live close to the office and could thus, come in daily to pick up and drop off assignments. I used words like; cell phone, laptop, and home DSL. I discussed working lunches, with my child in tow, to discuss projects. I used words like “temporary” and “let’s try this for a while.” I spoke with confidence, even if I wasn’t that confident, and hoped that he would buy into my plan.

My plan was to work from home on Tuesdays and Thursday. I figured that would enable me to be in the office every other day. My Supervisor liked my plan. He felt confident it would work, and as a parent, he understood my desire to be at home with my newborn. We also both knew that this wasn’t anything permanent. I was okay with that, since I wasn’t even sure how well the plan would work. Heck, I’d never been a mom before. I wasn’t sure how much of my day would be filled with taking care of my child.

I asked my Supervisor who above him I needed to clear my flexible work schedule with. He told me not to worry about it. He said that it was up to him, since I was working exclusively on his project. Perfect.

My Supervisor announced the plans in our weekly project meeting and all seemed to be okay with the situation. One coworker even offered to walk any items up to my apartment on his lunch break on my working from home days. While I had been worried that my coworkers would be jealous of my option to work from home, they seemed supportive.

My first week back to work, after my measly maternity leave was up, was fine. Working from home every other day took some getting used to. Especially the prep work that I would have to do in the office the day before (compiling needed paperwork to take home, transferring files to my hard drive from the network, getting phone numbers I would need). But it worked. I was home with my baby two days a week, and still working enough hours to enable me to be Full-Time with my company.

While my foray into working from home status didn’t last forever, it was fun while it lasted. I think the reason it turned out so positively was the way I approached it prior to having my child. I think having a definite plan and one I was positive I could pull off, enabled my Supervisor to trust me and my proposal.

So tell me, do you have a flexible schedule in place with your company? If so, how were you able to successfully negotiate your schedule?

Isabel is a pseudonym for this Seattle-based blogger. She’s been working since the day she realized soda and lip gloss weren’t free. Isabel became a mom in 2006 and continues to work full time, outside the home, since diapers and mortgages aren’t free either. You can read far too much about her personal life at hola,isabel.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Double duty. One paycheck., email Isabel at holaisabel [at] gmail.com.

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I recently wrote a post about body image. I wrote it not to attract traffic, to say wonderful things about myself or to beg other people to say nice things about me. I said it because it’s something I literally think about every day of my life. I think about what the scale said that morning or how eating these crackers are going to make me feel later. It’s something I’ve been doing for a very long time, since puberty, and it’s a very large and sensitive topic.

A sensitive topic we’re going to get in to here.

A while back I confessed to having an eating disorder in college. Oh, who are we kidding? Most people had an eating disorder in college. Except they didn’t. None of my roommates felt about food the way I did. None of them counted calories or exercised to ease guilt. But we all struggled in our own way.

I’m sure we can all relate on some level.

There are a lot of wonderful resources on this topic: Women’s Health, Science Daily, even our very own Blogher. But the most resourceful avenue we have is each other. We can talk about it. We can laugh about it. We can look in the mirror and jiggle our muffin tops and beat the media. We can write letters. We can refuse products made for the sickly thin. We can take action.

But by far, the most important thing we can do is love ourselves for the next generation of little girls learning by watching us step on the scale. Maybe then, in another ten years, there will be a better message in the media as our children grow up surrounded by fitness and health.

This post also appears in Mrs. Flinger’s Fitness column on Blissfully Domestic. Contribute in our forums and be a part of a movement toward a healthier generation.

Playdate. Just saying the word outloud makes me want to hide under the sheets and never come out. That isn’t to say that I do not see the benefit of providing regular and stimulating activities for very young children involving their peers, but it is just that sometimes, I get a little “playdated out.”

When my boys were little, before they started their formal educational training (elementary school), the playdate conundrum was easy to avoid because I had two kids so close in age. Yes, they attended preschool together and we did several “mommy and me” storytimes at our local library mixed in with tons of time logged in at the park. They ran and played and generally cavorted with their mates, who consisted of our neighbors, a few school friendsand my best friend’s son. They had enough playmates, outside of their sibling relationship, and I think I wasn’t too harassed by “playdate seekers” because other parents were probably afraid of my rowdy boy children.

Now that their sister is becoming quite the little social butterfly, the playdate problem is rearing it’s ugly head.

I do love the fact that my daughter makes friends easily and I do not want to discourage that trait in any way. But sometimes, it can be a pain for me. Sometimes I don’t want to have to make up an excuse as to why she can’t come out to play right this very minute because we are, simply, exhausted from our morning and taking a little break before the boys come home and all chaos breaks loose.

Sometimes, a birthday party invitation for every weekend is too much.I have to teach her that we can’t say “yes” every time we are asked to do something because we need to prioritize how we spend the free time that we do have.

But it is tricky, trying to figure all of this out. Yet another parenting curveball thrown my direction by my last baby that I never saw coming and have no idea how to deal with!

I find that as a parent of a younger child with older siblings, the rules have changed on me. I wish someone had given me a guidebook to take me through these new waters or at least a map so that I would not feel so lost! It is hard to feel like you are giving your youngest the same experiences that her brothers had when they were her age. I do have to remind myself constantly that it doesn’ t need to be exactly the same, that is a ridiculous expectation and I need to just make sure that I’m being as good a parent I know how to be for her.

When it comes to playdates, she does do less during the week than her brothers did. But she escorts them to their various activities with me in the evenings. Come to think of it, she isn’t the only younger sibling at taekwondo or baseball. In fact, there are quite a few, and what do they do while their older brothers are playing baseball? They run around playing with each other. . .

Kind of like a playdate, but less organized.

I guess I’m not doing half-bad on theplaydatescene after all. But could someone please tell that to the other mommies who are on their first kids and want to play every single minute?

Carrie is a stay-at-home mother of three and wife to one busy firefighter. You can read more of Carrie’s mothering meanderings at her personal blog, Third Time’s A Charm? Please send suggestions to carrieb[at]seattlemomblogs.com.

Can I get my own graphic for this one? Maybe a froggy at a computer working on his her bloggy…

And so the round up begins…

First of all we need to give a congrats and some big props to Nora Bee over at Whopping Cornbread– She defended her dissertation this week! Yay, Nora!

Also a big yay-a-roo for Chark, who is going to participate in the March of Dimes on Saturday and has raised nearly $3000! I do so love a good cause…

Anyone ever heard of the Fremont Troll? Kristin has. That thing is WILD!

Jenny on the spot, probably like most of us, had herself a little pantry moment, this week. Who hasn’t? Though, her pantry is way better than mine.

I just thought this was sweet. Linda made a tender little vid about her adopted daughter.

And I just have to give it up for Nicki, who turns a crummy situation into something humorous for everyone. Did you know you have to pay for toilet paper in Mexico? She didn’t.

So, that’s what I got for this week. Also, Kathryn says I should come up with a creative name for the blogging round up. Any ideas? I am not so creative with the verbage.

Thanks to all of you for your comments on my post last week! It is definitely a very deliberate choice to do without a car, and while I think that for many people, it’s an option that could work with some do-ablelifestyle changes, it’s not a choice that would work for everyone. So, that said,it’s great that several of you are working to reduce how much you use a car. Every little bit helps, and I’m excited to hear more about what people are doing to reduce their gas bill and help the planet!

And now, on to a new topic…

I had an experience on the bus this morning that was probably one of the more absurd and hilarious things I’ve encountered in my years of riding the bus.

I ride the 17 express to and from work, and I get on just a few stops after the beginning of the route, up on Sunset Hill. It’s usually a very quiet anduneventful ride. People listen to their iPods, or read, or stare off into the distance during the roughly 30-minute trip.

From my stop, we head down the hill toward the Locks and are supposed to make a left on Market Street.

The driver this morning, however, was new. His problems began when he didn’t make the left onto Market Street, and was halfway through the intersection before he realized that he’d missed the turn. If he continued to go straight, he’d miss an entire bus stop of people who were standing there waiting, watching the sceneunfold.

So, he did what any logical person would do, andstarted to back up so that he could attempt tomake the turnturn.

His next problem was that we were in one of the big articulated buses (bendy buses, I liked to call them as a child) so backing up in a straight line wasn’t exactly a simple task.

But he began to back up, and despite having to contend with the rotation of theback half of the bus, it seemed like he’d be able to make the turn and we’d soon be on our way.

Well, his problems multiplied tenfold whenhe stopped backing up too soon. It was apparent as soon as he began to turn left that we weren’t going to make the turn.

Which left us stuck in the middle of the intersection, wedged across itin a vee shape and unable to move, with another bus waiting to turn right onto the street we were blocking and cars waiting to turn as well.

The driver of the other bus and the driver of our bus had a pow-wow in the middle of the street, trying to figure out what to do.

Meanwhile, it had been at least five minutes since we tried to back up and we were still sitting there, blocking traffic.

Finally, the driver just motioned to the people waiting at the stop nearby and had them get on while we were in the middle of the intersection. Then he was able to back up a wee bit more, just enough to get the room to turn back the other way so we could keep going straight, and we were able to get on our way.

I felt bad for the driver; clearly he didn’t know the route well. Then when he tried to correct It wasn’t a big deal to me — despite sitting there for quite a while, we still got downtown before 8 a.m. so I wasn’t late. More than anything, it was just a humorous situation, sitting there on the bus and looking out the window at the drivers trying to figure out how to manouever the bus so that we could actually move again without hitting any cars, trees, or buildings.

It made me realize two things: one, I amso glad I am not a bus driver, and two, a mundane morning commute on the bus can become quite an adventure when you least expect it.

Read more of Kathleen’s writingat http://shinelikestars.blogspot.com. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for “Carless in Seattle,” email kathleen(at)seattlemomblogs(dot)com.

Were in that part of the adoption process where were just waiting. All the paperwork, interviews and classes are done. Were approved now and just waiting for a kiddo or two.

When we were doing our paperwork and classes we tried to plow through it as quickly as we could. in the middle of it all which slowed us down, but we tried to plug away at it consistently. From the time we sent in our application to the time we got approved was about 5 months.

Now I know that doesnt sound very fast, but the amount of stuff we had to do was pretty monumental. (Later on Ill blog more specifically about all the things we had to do.) We were also limited by class availability and our social workers schedule. It took her 6-weeks just to write up our home study report! After reading the report I realized what a huge task that was. When I think about it all, its no wonder it took us 5 months.

But now that the flurry of forms and classes are done, all we can do is wait. Ive heard that this is the hardest part and I can see why. At least when we were going through the process of getting approved we felt some sense of control. We were actively pursuing our family, you know? Now its out of our hands and all we can do is wait.

Besides that, we have to deal with the not-knowing. Will they call us with a match tomorrow? Next week? 6-months from now? If we knew how long the wait would be it would be easier to deal with, but alas, only God knows when well be matched and hes not telling.

So we wait. We read adoption books. We read adoption blogs. We surf the photo listings. We watch the Supernanny every week and take notes (seriously!). We talk about the things were looking forward to and the things were worried about. We dream about what it will be like the good and the bad. We talk to our friends with kids to get tips and advice. We go to an adoption support group. We try our best to prepare any way that we can. We field inquiries from friends and family who ask, Have you heard anything yet?, and so far the answer remains not yet.

For all our good efforts, all we can really do is wonder and wait.

This entry also posted with the . Copyright 2008 Susan Metters. All rights reserved.
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In addition to being a writer and aspiring mom, Susan Metters also carries the distinguished title of Cancer Survivor Extraordinaire. Some of her secret ambitions include meeting Dr. Phil, hosting Saturday Night Live, and rising to the top as a rock star. You can read more about Susans life adventures by visiting her blog with the Seattle P.I., . If you have ideas, questions, rants, or ramblings feel free to email Susan at susan [at] seattlemomblogs [dot] com.

I drew random numbers for the Earth Day giveaway winners and here they are. If for any reason you are unable to fulfill your duties as a giveaway winner, please let me know and I’ll pass the winnings on to another lovely contestant. I’ll be needing your addresses to send you your stuff.

Method Baby products go to Jess from Precious Illusions.

Belli Skin Care goes to Daily Mish Mash.

gDiapers go to Carrie from Noziroh.

Kids’ Klutter Katchers go to Holly of Ramblings of a Seattle-Area Mom.

Copies of the book Gorgeously Green, as seen on Oprah today go to Stephanie from The Mommiverse, Jenny from Absolutely Bananas, Carrie from Third Times the Charm? and The Lady of Perpetual Chaos.

Congratulations everyone and thanks for playing!

Seattle Mom Blogs loves Method. We love their products, their packaging, their philosophy and the people that work for them. Theyre also very reasonably priced when compared with other green products.

Ive been using their cleaning supplies, laundry detergent and hand soap for quite a while now and was excited to find out that theyre coming out with a new line of child/baby care items. You can expect them to be safe, effective and beautiful.

Enter below to win the entire lineup of products (4 baby and 2 kid products) or go buy your own online or at Safeway, Target or Babies R Us. Theyre due out later this month.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. And, if you blog green with our sassy Earth Day banner and leave a link to your post, we’ll enter you twice.
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A representative from the Issaquah-based Belli skin care company contacted me a while ago, offering product samples for review on Seattle Mom Blogs. I love working with local companies and I was also drawn to Belli because their products are developed with pregnant mothers and babies in mind. Specifically they attempt to keep their ingredients high quality and safe, screening to avoid ingredients suspected to cause birth defects, harmful effects during breastfeeding and anything containing xenoestrogens, chemicals found in many beauty products that act like hormones and can damage reproductive health.

Im always looking for products that will be more natural and healthy for my children and me, especially when Im pregnant or nursing (which Im not currently but plan to be) so I was excited to give their line a try.

Several Seattle Mom Blogs members tried out their Pamper Me Talc-Free Baby Powder and Eye Brightening Cream. Heres what they had to say:

[Click here for the complete reviews.]

I used this [eye] cream once per day and not every day but I did make a point to try & remember to use it at night before going to bed and after a week of this kind of use I have to say it really worked. Crafty by Nature

I love, love, love this baby powder. The only danger I see is that I may end up eating my babies when theyre covered in it.

The eye cream felt great and it gave enough improvement to my raging dark eye bags this morning to make me not look like a zombie. Daring Young Mom

I’m really liking the under-eye cream… so far I haven’t noticed it making me look any less tired than usual, but I love the silky texture and the slight shimmer to help the dark circles not look quite so dark. It feels like a mini spa treatment for myself each time I use it.

The talc-free powder has become my after-shower powder and I love the scent and texture. I definitely plan on using it when our baby is born! Holly from Ramblings of a Seattle Area Mom

The Belli powder is a must have. It’s light, unlike other powders I’ve tried before and has a nice subtle fragrance to it which is so much better then other heavily perfumed powders. I’ve taken to sprinkling a little bit on myself after a shower and it is indeed divine. Worker Mommy from Because I must Blog

When applying the Belli baby powder to my child’s precious and alway-moist special parts, I instantly realized the Belli powder seemed to have a drier consistency then the “store brand” powders we’ve used in the past. It spread on his skin easier and seemed lighter and smoother. There was also no overwhelming smell, which makes me usually associate a product with ‘cheap perfumes’.

And yet, the best part about the Belli powder was the fact that the round package was small enough to fit into my Sweet Babboo’s hands. Each diaper change, when I begin to apply the powder he grabs the container from my hands and yells ‘Babboo do it’. And then, with legs spread eagle and straight up in the air, he begins to shake, rattle, and roll the powder on his tiny body.

It makes me laugh every time. Hola Isabel

Belli is not just wonderful for tired moms and stinky babies, its something I can foresee using years and years from now as well. I love the soothing eye cream for my tired eyes. After turning thirty, Ive noticed those bags under my eyes that remind me of someone I never was. The Belli eye product, although used only a short time, feels cool and refreshing in the morning…

I loved the opportunity to try these products and absolutely would put them in a gift package for new moms in the future. Its worth it. Mrs. Flinger

the Eye Brightening Cream, which should be a staple of any woman’s beauty regimen, whether she’s a new mother or not a mother at all. We ALL get tired eyes once in awhile, therefore, we ALL can reap the rewards of this awesome cream. After applying it under my eyes, which, by the way, were woken up at 2, 2:33, 3, and 4 a.m. due to various child “emergencies” the night before, I looked at my husband and said, “Do I look more awake?” And he said, “Yeah babe.” So, you know it was working. Either that or I’ve got one fabulously trained man on my hands. Either way, I don’t feel like I need to cover up my tired eyes with cheap sunglasses when I use this stuff and I look forward to incorporating it into my regular “beauty” routine which does not, at this time, even include washing my face before bed (did I just admit that?)! Carrie from Third Times a Charm?

As for the eye cream- it went on easily and felt nice. I think it helped me look slightly more human, but it would be a big order for any cream to make up for the exhaustion of the last few weeks! I enjoyed using the eye cream and plan to continue to do so. Carrie from Growing a Baby in Seattle

I really liked the eye puffy cream. It felt light, natural and silky and I thought it made me look refreshed. Eve from Good Enough

In honor of Earth Day, Belli is offering our readers a Complexion Protection Kit. Heres what they say about it:

Belli Acne Clearing Facial Wash

– An exfoliating wash; rich in powerful acne-ridding ingredients that leaves skin clear and refined, without over-drying. The safest acne solution for pregnancy, Belli Acne Clearing Facial Wash uses hydroxyacid to lift away dirt, oil and bacteria, promoting clean and blemish-free skin. Antioxidant power from Green Tea, offers protection from free radicals in the air.

Anti-Chloasma Facial Sunscreen SPF 25

– A combination sunscreen and facial hydrator that leaves you feeling comfortable and protected throughout the day. Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide guard against UVA rays, UVB rays, and chloasma– dark brown splotchy areas on the face. This product is lightly tinted to blend in with all skin types. It is oil free, and may be worn alone or underneath makeup.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. And, if you blog green with our sassy Earth Day banner and leave a link to your post, we’ll enter you twice.

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When I waspregnant with CJ, I obsessed over many things. How manyteeny-tiny washcloths to buy.Whether to go with the expensive but highly fashionable crib or the cheap but just as functional one. Whether CJ wouldturn out to be a GIRLeven afterthe ultrasound ledus to believe otherwise… and if so, what would we do with all the little blue onesies! And, of course, diapers. What to do about diapers.

As much as I despised the idea of filling my waste basket with petroleum-based nastiness, I also couldn’t bear the thought of rinsing and scrubbing and reusing poopy cloths. I decided to go with a diaper service, but the baby came, all hell broke loose, and I just never got around to it.

It was the beginning of many failures.

Next time I am going to give gDiapers a try. They’re free of elemental chlorine, perfumes, plastics, inks and dyes,and latex. Plus they’re much better for the environment because they’re biodegradable. And, honestly, they’re not that much more expensive than huggies. So many of our readers are sohappy with their gDiapers, and I love, love, lovethe idea of a diaper that you can flush. Seriously, it makes me weak at the knees.

Having not used the gDiapers myself, I did a bit of research to see what other local moms are saying about them. Here’s what I found;

Our solution has been to use these flushable, biodegradable diapers called gDiapers. While our fragile, ancient plumbing can’t handle flushing the size Large anymore, we can throw them in the trash knowing they’ll biodegrade. That’s a good feeling. ~Janna, from

So, what’s the final word on gdiapers? We love them. It’s been a few weeks and we’re used to using them. We feel good about it every time we flush them down the toilet. And Baboo loves his new “potty diapers”. ~Isabel, from New To Us and Hola Isabel

While I was still pregnant, I stumbled across a product called gDiapers. gDiapers are basically a cloth/ disposable hybrid diaper. The outside cover (which is super cute mind you!) is cloth, it then has a waterproof liner that holds a flushable (or compostable!!) insert. Mindi and I agreed to try them and I am IN LOVE. ~Lynn, from Family Style Love

But, be warned, almost every review that I’ve read cautioned that these diapers will clog toilets if not flushed correctly. Don’t say I didn’t tell you!

Today one lucky readers will win agDiaper starter kit, which includes 2 “little g” pants in gender-neutral colors, 10 plastic-free, flushable refills, a swishstick and a H.U.G (handy users guide).

To enter, leave a comment on this post. And, if you blog green with our sassy Earth Day banner and leave a link to your post, we’ll enter you twice.

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