Day 37 - Motherhood Frenzy

In an early post, I wrote about "entrepreneurial frenzy". Today, I write of its parallel universe, "Motherhood Frenzy". Last Sunday's post I wrote about Nicholas coughing in the middle of the night, waking me up and giving me the opportunity to start the Platinum Bachelorette blog.

The next night, he woke up coughing again. This time, the coughing led to vomiting, all over his bedroom and the bathroom, at 1:30am. After calming him down, cleaning him up, changing his bed, doing the laundry, cleaning the carpet, bleaching the bathroom, etc. - for some strange reason - I could not go back to sleep! ;-)

And so, I finished my Pecha Kucha presentation and mailed it off at 3:30am, then went back to bed, to grab a few more hours of sleep before the sun poked its head out. Man, was I tired. (For those of you wondering, Rich was in California this week on a business trip. Normally, he'd be right there beside me, helping with the cleaning.) It was a rough week. Both kids sick, two birthday parties, client work to finish, house to keep clean, school volunteer time. And then, the snowstorm on Wednesday.

The weatherfolks (notorious for overpredicting) overpredicted, foretelling of white out conditions, 6-12 inches of snow, yada yada. Pecha Kucha was postponed until next Tuesday. School was cancelled. People all over the state hunkered down. Several friends of ours, knowing Rich was away, offered their help, if I needed it. I offered help to my aunt, who I knew who had to work in town, to stay with us if she didn't want to drive back to her home in the city. We all braced for the nor'easter.

We got about 5 inches of snow. Maybe.

Don't get me wrong, I was glad for the snow day. I've loved them ever since I was a kid. But instead of the peaceful days of lounging that I remember as a kid, it was a total frenzy.

I stacked the wood for the fire pit, pulled down the sleds, got the snowblower poised (excited for my first trial with it!), got the kids some movies, had a conference call in my slippers instead of a board meeting in the city, helped Jessie make chocolate chip cookies (filming segments for her dream cooking show on YouTube, of course), shoveled the snow off the deck, kept the kids from killing each other more than once, made chili in the crockpot, got the kids bundled for sledding, wiped the tears from Nick's face after Jessie hit him (in the face) with a snowball, made 2 snowmen and a snow cat, hung all our wet clothes to dry in the garage, pulled out some handmade Valentine's card material for Jess to work on, launched a client email campaign, cleaned the kitchen, folded laundry, played Littlest Pet Shop Monopoly, found batteries for the remote control R2D2 Nick got for his birthday, checked email, returned some phone calls, set the table, flooded the snowblower, called Rich for a phone consult on what I did wrong, cleared the driveway, greeted Aunt Judy, put out cheese and crackers, poured wine, enjoyed dinner, cleared off her car, said goodbye, gave the kids showers, cleaned the kitchen, and then ABSOLUTELY CRASHED!

Gone are the days of lounging around in pajamas on a snow day. I'd like to think this was an unusually busy day, but it was par for the course. And I have "only" two kids. How the HELL does the Octo-mom do it?! I have renewed respect for single mothers. I laugh and call myself "The High-Octane Mom".

When I tell people that I work from home, I am sure they picture a serene setting, where the children put puzzles together on the floor at my feet while I quietly work at the computer, writing my book. Maybe once or twice in the 8 years I've been doing this has that actually happened. No, my life is hectic, but I love it.

I thrive on chaos. I know that this lifestyle has caused a slight (severe?) attention deficit disorder. Or was that caused by my Blackberry? I fondly remember the days in my quiet corner office at my corporate job, when I could close the door and concentrate for an hour or two at a time. I know that someday, I will have that again. But for now, being a Mompreneur is my job.

My "maternity leave" has lasted eight years. I've started three companies, served on five boards, moved offices four times, moved to a new home once. More importantly, I've raised my daughter and son, been home to get them off the bus, helped out in their classrooms, and tucked them in at night. I've had LOTS of help from family and friends. I fall asleep on the couch every night (if I make it downstairs after getting the kids in bed). Frankly, I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my life, frenzy and all.

I am expecting Rich to walk in, red-eyed from his "red-eye" flight home any minute now. The house is by no means spotless, but I made an effort to tidy it up last night, because he appreciates that. There are fresh flowers on the kitchen island, and ingredients for his favorite meal in the fridge. I make an effort to please everyone. I glance over at the laundry basket that is once again full and needs folding. (Did I really do six loads this week?!)

Nah, I'd rather be blogging right now. The sun will be up soon, and like a duck that appears calm on above the water, I'll be kick, kick, kicking like crazy under the surface, to get it all done. (Thank you, Christine Carr, author of Mother Daze, for that reference.)

In case you think I'm applying for a saint-of-the-year award, please reconsider. I make sure I get plenty of "Me Time", too. In exactly 12 hours, I will be walking through the doors of "The Sweetheart Retreat" put on by my friends Kathy Black and Joanna Merriweather. For the 24 hours that follow, I will be immersed in the experience, gathering with a small group around a campfire, walking in the woods, drinking tea, meditating, RELAXING. Ahhhh... Good for the soul.

Because when I get back, it's school vacation, and the kids will want to play all their birthday games. There's a Valentine's Day cookie workshop, plans for more sledding and ice skating, the rescheduled Pecha Kucha presentation, Leading Women breakfast, another client email campaign, Jessie has a birthday sleepover on Friday, they both have basketball practice on Saturday, grocery shopping, more laundry, etc. And it don't stop. Nor would I want it to. Life is good.

But, don't you think "Motherhood Frenzy" is the perfect title to the life we mompreneurs lead?! It fits. If you know anyone, I am accepting applications for the position of "Michelle Logistics Manager". Please send resumes to Michelle@TheSassyLadies.com. ;-) Good luck!

Day 36 - Coughing up a new blog

This morning at 2am, I was awakened by the sound of my son's awful coughing. 'Tis the season. After he did not stop after several minutes, I got up to get a teaspoon of honey to coat his throat, stop the tickle and help him go back to sleep.

You guessed it. Mommy never went back to sleep. After trying for an hour, I got up to write. And started the new bachelorette party website. Yahoo! Feeling great about that. Read at your leisure - it's only two pages as of today.

I also did some more work on the Keynote presentation I am working on for Wednesday night's Pecha Kucha event. It will be the official public launch of "Fresh" and a bunch of friends are coming. I am soooo looking forward to this night. (My kids and I will stay healthy as oxes until at least Thursday!)

As it turns out, this particular night will have an international audience, because all the local chapters around the world are coming together Saturday to benefit Haiti. No pressure, but the world will be watching. This has got to be good!

Gotta run, I have to practice. I'll have 20 slides and 20 seconds each to pitch this to the Providence community. I'm sure it will be the quickest 6 minutes and 40 seconds ever!