Work It: a blog for Working Moms

Debt Proof Your Marriage By Mary Hunt

By Sara B.

It's summer and I love to enjoy a good book on the beach. Between work and motherhood, my reading time is limited, so I like to read self help type books.

I really enjoy a good personal finance book and “Debt Proof Your Marriage – How to Achieve Financial Harmony” By Mary Hunt is the latest addition to my collection. I liked this book it a lot and it brought up interesting points for anyone who may be in a serious relationship, engaged or married.

Hunt says that the number one conflict couples face is money issues. Debt, or any money issues, place a huge strain on relationships and Mary offers practical and simple advice to help.

Another point I really liked in Mary's book is that if you are trying to save money or pay down a debt, you have to "retrain your brain". She says don't look at frugality as something to be embarrassed about, instead view it as a success. It's something positive you are doing to reach your goals. I liked that idea! She offers advice on how to get the whole family on board.

Lastly, Mary covers some interesting material about how men and women think differently about money. I enjoyed this section very much.

I had never read a Mary Hunt book before, but I was impressed. I liked her writing style and I felt she offered practical, simple and good advice. Anyway, I would really recommend this book if you want some practical advice on how to get some harmony in your marriage when it comes to money.

Coffee Break: Procrastination one link at a time

Today's Link: Hot Coupon World

Why: I love a good bargain on groceries and household products! Hot Coupon World has message board where people share sales and coupon match ups for a ton of different stores. They also have printable coupons, rebates and other money saving deals. This site has quickly become a favorite of mine and has helped me save money on groceries!

To Travel Or Not To Travel?

By Sara B

We’ve got a team building event coming up at work that would require us to travel to another state since that is where the main office is. If I chose to go along with the rest of my teammates, I’d have to be apart from my daughter and husband for three days.

I’m a new mom and the thought of leaving my almost nine month old daughter is scary for me. She doesn’t even sleep through the night yet – well, that is a story for another time! Anyway, I discussed this upcoming travel with my manager and he felt that it would be OK if I chose not to attend. He said the team would understand and it was up to me. I really have a great manager and I appreciate his flexibility.

I do worry that by not attending this, it will make me look bad at work. On one hand I do feel like I have a valid excuse, I’m a new mom and I’m still nursing my daughter. This is only a team building event and not some important critical business activity.

On the other hand I realize that I am missing out on the face to face interaction with my teammates from another state who I haven’t seen in over a year. I worry that by not attending it will make me stand out and I won’t look like a team player.

I’m really torn. I know I could just travel and pump while away from my daughter. I worry about how I’d miss her. I’d feel bad leaving my husband and I know the baby would miss me and notice that I am not around. She is going through some major separation anxiety right now. I’m not quite sure what I am going to do, but I want to make a decision soon. That way my team can be informed on the situation.

Has anyone gone on a business trip for work while having an infant? How did it go?

LiceMD - Alternative to Pesticide Lice Treatments

By Sara B.

I've never had head lice, but both my mother and sister are early elementary school teachers. They've had their fair share of outbreaks in their classroom. They've never actually caught them, but they get itchy - it's a psychological thing. When their students have them, they worry!! It's not just my mom and sister's classrooms, there are about 6 million cases of head lice each year.

My daughter is only 8 months old, so we haven't had any experiences with this yet. When I was asked to check out LiceMD, I agreed because of my mom and sister's experience with outbreaks in their classrooms so often.

After learning more about LiceMD, I think the best part about it, is how safe it is! Other head lice treatments use pesticides to kill off the lice. In this day and age where we all try to eat healthy with organic foods and whatnot, you don't want to expose your child to pesticides in a head lice treatment. LiceMD uses Dimethicone which can be found in many conditioners. Because of that ingredient, it is easy to use on all hair types and glides easily through the hair when used. It is completely safe and pediatrician approved! As a parent to a baby with sensitive skin, I also appreciate how it is hypoallergenic and won't irritate skin.

From what my mom has told me, the other head lice treatment products give off a powerful odor. LiceMD is odorless. It also has an easy to follow 3 step process. The directions seem very clear and simple to understand.

I also thought that this product could be a time saver. The three step application process can be completed in just ten minutes.

I'm hoping we don't run into any outbreaks at our daughters school, but if we do, I'll pick up some LiceMD. As for my mom and sister, they now have a safer alternative to recommend to parents who experience this problem.

Five Months Ago

By Sara B.

Five months ago, I started my adventure as a working mom. My maternity leave ended and I had to face the reality of going back to work and sending my daughter to daycare. At the time I remember I faced a whole range of emotions – guilt, sadness and even momentarily thinking about quitting the job that I love.

When I sent my daughter off to daycare that first day, I cried. Actually, I cried the first few days. The funny thing about it all was that my daughter was perfectly fine with the situation. When we dropped her off at her school, she was happy and when we picked her up she was happy. The baby was fine, but I was the one who felt awful. My husband didn’t feel as bad as I did, so he couldn’t really relate to how I was feeling. He told me I had to give the situation a chance, so that is what I did.

I was pretty amazed that when a week had passed, I started feel better about this whole thing. I began to see that I could do this and it was going to work out for us! I would be able to be a mom and at the same time work at a job I love.

It’s hard to believe I struggled so much with our first week of daycare. Our little family is very into our routine now and we are really pleased with the care our daughter gets at our daycare. I don’t even think twice anymore about sending her off to school. She enjoys it and is well taken care of.

However, I do find myself clock watching. I just can’t wait till it’s time to leave work and go pick her up! I don’t think that feeling will ever change.

Trying to Be Organized

By Sara B.

This morning as I was getting my daughter dressed for daycare, I realized that she had outgrown her outfit. The pants were a little too short and the sleeves on the shirt had shrunk to about quarter length.

If you knew my daughter, you’d know she isn’t a fan of getting dressed. When faced with the choice of changing her again, I decided I’d let her wear the outfit anyway. Plus, I was already running late for work. She didn’t seem to mind the short sleeves and pant legs, so I sent her to daycare in it. Maybe she’ll start a new fashion trend for babies!

I told myself that I would organize her clothing and sort through to remove the outfits that no longer fit her. I plan to do that tonight.

This morning’s events got me thinking about all of the other organization lessons I’ve learned since I had my daughter. I can laugh about them now, but at the time I didn’t think they were so amusing.

A classic story is when I left work and drove all the way to the daycare, only to find I only had the car seat base in the car and not the infant seat. Since I had no way to bring my daughter home safely, I had to drive all the way back home to get the infant seat and then head back to the daycare.

I also had another organization lesson at the office. I tried to take a break at the office to go pump milk for my daughter, only to find that I had forgotten to bring the tubes for my pump! I had the bottles, the lids, the cooler, the ice packs, the pump – but no tubes! They were on the counter at home. I was pretty mad at myself that day since I had lugged the pump all the way into work and was missing one tiny critical part.

I find I’m just disorganized these days trying to balance family life and work. After all, I’m pretty new at it and have only been doing it for about five months now. Each day I see my baby daughter learning new things and I am right there with her learning too. I’m learning to balance it all, and I’m striving to be more organized.