America's Next Top Mom

I am watching America's Next Top Model for the first time in ages. It is television trash to the max and it's hitting the spot. It brings me back to my Queens days, when Erin and I watched it from some crusty old futon. The contestants' tears are a-flowin' (in between screams of delight) on this season's premier as they convince Tyra on their undying need to be ANTM. A lot has changed since then, but it's comforting to see Tyra is still crazier than a sh*thouse rat.

Edie gives the camera her best serious look

In other news, I'm working full-time, at a new job from home. As an urban planner! I love working from home.  It is a huge task to get the girls successfully out the door, so it's a relief that I don't need to pack my lunch or iron pants. Baby barf on my shoulder? No big deal. The morning routine is a two-hour ordeal, so by 9am I feel that I've already worked a half-day.

[sidenote: Dave just came into the room with a look of disgust at the tv. My glorious half-hour of trashy indulgence is over...]

To spend more time with my girls, I'm trying an experiment this week. My alarm goes off at 5am, and I sneak downstairs and put in an hour of work in my home office. If I get work out of the way early, I can shave an hour off at the end of the day and pick up my darlins' from daycare. I get the coffeemaker ready the night before, which, even though Dave used to do this in Seattle, seems revolutionary. Anything that increases efficiency is top priority in my book.

Edie teaches Emmeline a thing or two

My plan only works if the girls sleep till 6am. Ready for Shawna's Deep Thought of the Night? Even with the flexibility of working from home, balancing a full-time workload is tough. Each girl needs a lot of time, attention, and love, and the work needs a lot of time and attention. There is limited quantities of time and energy to go around. I've said before that we love our daycare: they provide top notch service, they treat the children with love and respect, and the teachers are truly dedicated to early childhood education (the wonderful teachers and daycare providers of the world have a special place in heaven). I trust the girls are in good hands, but I miss them a lot.

The conundrum is that we work to afford our lifestyle and childcare. We need childcare because we work. Even if my employer granted me a part-time work week, childcare is not prorated accordingly. So if I were to work four days a week, tuition wouldn't be 4/5ths of the price. It might be 92%. I'm sure there's a granny running a home daycare in East Bucktooth, CT with legit prorated costs, but I've found nothing within a reasonable distance. So full-time daycare and workweek it is, until I find the magic solution otherwise. I guess when our kids go to public school, we won't need to pay childcare and can ease up on the work schedule. Conundrum indeed.

Speaking of lack of time and energy, I should probably go to bed so I can spring up at 5am and let the roosters know it's time to rise.

Smoothie date in WH Center