Working 9 to 5, What a Way to Make a Livin!

That song by Dolly Parton always makes me laugh.  She's just such a character. 

Last night, while Phil and I were eating after the kids were in bed, he was reading my blog post (did y'all know he's my biggest fan?) about the Working Mothers Link-up and said "But where are your answers to the questions?"  Duh.  I totally should have answered my own questions before I made you lovely ladies do it!  So here goes...

1) What do you do for work and why do you work?

I work full-time as the Business Manager at a Catholic high school.  After years of working as a tax accountant, I am loving this position a lot!  I am also the bookkeeper for my kid's elementary school, which is work I do from home, usually on the weekends.

I work because my husband is a Catholic high school teacher and we have a mortgage, 5 kids, student loans and we sort of like to eat every day.

2) Did your mother work?

Yes!  Sort of.  She was a nurse but stopped before she had kids.  Then she volunteered a lot with the church, and then she opened up a homemade ice cream shop on Cape Cod when I was 6 years old, and we had that shop for 20 years.  So my mom was able to stay at home for most of the school year, and then worked her little tail off in the warm weather.  All six of us kids worked there every spring and summer from the time we could scoop!  It was a great way to grow up, learning how to run a family business.  I used to help do the bookkeeping, which is how I got into accounting.  

3) Describe a typical work day.

Here's a funny recap of what a morning is like in our house.  

Normally we are all up, dressed, fed, and out the door by 6:50 am.  I drop the 4 school-age kids off at their Catholic elementary school, and Phil drops the baby off at his nanny's house.  Then we wave to each other at work and most days we get to eat lunch together {awww}.  

Phil leaves work around 2:45 on a good day and heads to the gym to workout, or to coach track for our kids, or to babysit our niece and nephew.  I can leave work at 3:30 and depending on Phil's schedule, I  either go to the gym, or pick up the kids and go home.  We can typically all eat dinner together, the kids get showers/baths and then have a 30 min. TV show before it's up to bed at 7:00.  Phil and I usually fall asleep around 9:30 to 10:00.  Although a lot of nights, I am passed out on the couch at 8:30.  #justkeepingitreal.

4) What's the best part about having a job?

The money :)

But I am lucky to actually like and be friends with a  lot of my coworkers, so that's really nice too!  And using my accounting degree and MBA makes me feel like it wasn't all a waste of time and money.

Plus I can go to morning Mass or morning prayers in a beautiful chapel right near my office.

5) What's your least favorite part?

It's not hard for me to work full-time while the kids are in school, but it has been really hard to work full-time while Alexander is so little.  I used to stay at home with John-Paul and Andrew, and then worked part-time while Eamon and Maggie were babies and toddlers.  I started full-time when Maggie went to preschool and found out I was pregnant with Xander right after I started full-time.  We were so stressed out about who was going to care for him, and nobody in my family could help, so it was difficult.  We finally found the most amazing woman ever who watches him and a 3 year old girl in her home.  She loves him like her own grandson, and spoils him rotten.  He calls her "Ba" and has never once not wanted to go to her.  Plus she is teaching him Portuguese too!

6) What would make your life easier?

A house cleaner!  Because we both work, and our kids play lots of sports, I feel like the weekends are all about errands, sports, and cleaning.  If someone would just come in to clean during the week, we could focus more on family time.  But if we could afford a housecleaner, then I probably would have to rethink the reasons I am working :)

7) How do your children handle their mom's career?

They only seem to mind that I go to work when they are on a school break or during the summer.  I have reduced hours during the summer, so it's not even that bad.  They are so used to me working that they think it is "normal" for a mom to go to work everyday.  And you know what?  It is very "normal".  Most of their friends moms work too.  I'm always impressed at families that can afford to live on one income.  It seems impossible in this area where the houses are so expensive.

8) Do you feel supported in what you do?

My husband absolutely supports me.  We are a total team package.  I help earn money for our family, and he helps take care of our family and home.  There's never an argument about who should clean the bathroom or do the dishes or cook the meals.  We just both pitch in and do it.  I do wish we had family around that was able to help us with the kids more. #welovedatenights

9) What are your future goals when it comes to work/motherhood?

I think I'll just stay here until I retire!  Maybe I can retire early and help raise my grandbabies, if I'm so lucky.  The hard decision is always if/when to try for more children because if I was at home, I would definitely have more babies, but working and daycare costs sort of change everything.  In any case, I know God will make it all work out.

10) What are some tips that help you balance it all?

Exercise is a big help with my mood and finding sanity.  

Blogging is my creative outlet that also serves as my social network, so that helps me feel fulfilled.

And, as MC Hammer sang, "You've got to pray just to make it today!"  God is first and foremost in our lives and He gives us the graces we need to get through anything.

Now you should go link-up with the more amazing working moms!