Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts

23 February 2011

Mommy's Dirty Little Secret

So...I've been living a lie for the past 8 months. I've been masquerading as a stay-at-home-mom, but in reality I've been working in a variety of ways: taking on freelance work, working on a political campaign, then taking on projects as a consultant. I just couldn't stop! Poor little Max (and Karol and Patrick) have not really had 100% of mommy since we moved to New York.

I realize now that I may have been exhibiting early signs of workaholism. But today I am turning over a new leaf! I've finished my last project (okay that's a little bit untrue but the other clients are so small/easy, it doesn't really count) and I'm excited to throw myself full-force into my new role as Executive Director of Maternal Affairs at the Plomin Household (still debating between "Maternal Affairs" and "Family Affairs," actually).

Maximilian and I have a full day planned for tomorrow: laundry, bath for Max, grocery shopping, reading, cooking dinner, swings, a trip to Carters or Target for a couple new outfits in the 9-12 month range, and maybe even a nap with Max!

So be expecting cleaner, healthier, happier Plomin children from this point forward.

27 January 2011

First Blog Post in a LONG Time

Oh my goodness. It's been forever since I last posted here. Oh well, I'm just going to pick up where we are. A quick re-cap:
  • Max was born July 29th
  • Karol started at Nazareth Nursery
  • I worked on a campaign for Congress
  • We went home for Thanksgiving, stayed in NYC for the rest of the holidays
  • Pat turned 2 AND started at Nazareth Nursery
  • I'm consulting a variety of intriguing clients, from home with Max
The world continues to turn. Matt's office, which was in midtown Manhattan, got moved to Jersey City. The commute is longer, and now we live in Manhattan (and pay Manhattan taxes/rent) for no apparent reason. Life is hilarious.

The kids' school is in Chelsea, so we'd like to move there, but to find someplace we can all fit into is next to impossible, unless we want to pay upwards of $5k/mo. Which just seems silly. Moving to Jersey City is an option, maybe. We could get more space for less money, but getting the kids to school would be a weird, twice a day commute that wouldn't make sense unless I was coming into Manhattan for work anyway. Of course, anything could happen in the next 18 months before our lease is up, so I'm in no rush to change things.

I don't really have much time to blog, obviously, between Max, a growing client list and the haul to pick up the kids from school every day - but I'm getting better at it.

We've all been sick for the past month or so (and really since Thanksgiving, off and on), and I've devised a sort of cleaning/chore schedule to go along with my new SAHM image - I've yet to actually complete my daily chores in a day, but I'm getting better.

That's the update for now. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of blogging again. Maybe if I can pull it off here, I can work on my other projects, JillianShaw.com and GOPCampaigner.com (still building that one). Say a prayer for me!

10 January 2010

NYC, I Give You Fair Warning

Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. Matt and I are officially taking the plunge and moving to the Big Apple, the Empire State. Yep, good ole NYC. I'm not talking about living in New Jersey or the boroughs either. We are moving to FRICKIN MANHATTAN. Or at the very least, Queens.



So, we're relocating from our posh Arlington apartment right next door to the greatest job I've ever had, down the street from the best child care provider you could ever hope to have for your kids, in a neighborhood just minutes away from Costco, Pentagon City Mall, the national monuments, historic Georgetown and my beloved cupcakes, to a place where we are going to be starting all over, the taxes are highest in the country, in an undoubtably much smaller apartment. I'm getting used to the idea.



Matt's job is going to be great for him. He'll be an Associate in Institutional Asset Management for Deutsche Bank. He loves the group he's working with; they're the same one he worked with over the summer. It's what he's always wanted to do and he's gonna go far, I just know it.


As for me, it's up in the air. There's a very good chance I'll go back to political consulting (2010 is shaping up to be excellent for real Republicans), and maybe start a new thing consulting small business. The job market is rich in NYC for ad/pr, so I could always do a 9-5 again, too. After the baby is born, that is.



What? A baby? Another baby? Didn't you just have one?


Yeah, I did. And we're going to have number three sometime mid-August, probably at the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center in the Village (thank God we still have a Manning!).

My belly right now.

My belly 8 months after Patrick. *sigh* C'est la vie.

Once we made the decision that we are indeed moving, all the other decisions had to be made. Luckily, my search for the perfect pre-school (for Karol only, for now) was a quick one. There's actually a Catholic Montessori (exactly what I wanted) right smack in the West Village that is quite affordable. We haven't visited or anything yet, but I did make a call. Hopefully we can run up there sometime in March to check the place out and get Karol enrolled. I've heard how awful New York private school admissions can be, but I think this school is an exception.



That decision led to the next one: Where to live? West Village is pretty 'up and coming' we've heard, and the subway right by the pre-school goes straight to Matt's office. It's also a little more neighborhood-ish than living in East Midtown where Matt will be working. There will be (a little) more access to shops, restaurants, and other necessary places. We're hoping to find something close to Washington Park.

Another option is Astoria (part of Queens). It's more affordable, and if we stay close to the subway line it'd be just as easy a commute as West Village for Matt, but a little further down the line for Karol's school.


It's way too early to know anything though.



The giant elephant problem with moving to NYC is that it's NOT a kid-friendly place to live. And it's not a parent-friendly place to live. Everything I see online about living in New York talks about the 'awesome night-life' and great places for grown ups to go by themselves. We don't HAVE a night-life. I'm lucky to get a day-life with 2 kids 2 and under. Oh wait, make that 3 under 3! I swear if I read another article or post about how great it is to be single and responsibility-free in New York I will scream.



Oh well. Maybe Matt will get a huge bonus and we'll be able to afford a babysitter once in a while. Until then, nose to the grindstone.