Leppin Family News: Back to Work...I Will Survive!

10 weeks flew by... and on Monday I had to leave this sweet face behind for the first time when I headed back to work. In some ways it was easier than with Bel because I knew Lucy would be with my mom all 5 days (sooo lucky!!) Plus, I also knew that Bel would be with my mom part-time and at Goddard- and we're very comfortable with daycare now. BUT... in other ways it was a lot harder.

For one thing, I now really understand how fast this time with your little one goes-- and I don't want to miss any of it. Lucy is the sweetest, smiley little girl who LOVES being snuggled all day... and I am sad to have to miss that time with her.

But even more so-- getting out of the house in the morning and off to YaYa's, daycare, and school by 7:45 am is INSANITY! My morning usually starts around five am but somehow we are all running around and rushing like crazy to get showered, dressed, fed, packed and out of the house by seven. And it's not like we don't prep the night before (washing bottles, packing lunches, doing laundry, folding clothes, organizing backpacks and diaper bags, giving baths, laying out clothes...it never ends) But somehow our mornings are still chaos. I am HOPING this gets easier and we learn how to streamline things. It doesn't help that our toddler is NOT a morning person and we have to battle with her over breakfast, clothes, shoes, television etc...

Example: Her quote on Thursday morning "Mom today is NOT a pink day.. it is a PURPLE day!! I need my purple pants!!!" (Oh... you mean the dirty ones in the laundry?????! Great.)

Luckily for me, my sub was great when I was out and I have a really wonderful group of students this year. I was able to jump right into things the first day back and by the end of the week it was like I had never left the classroom.(Although I think my sub was much nicer than me-- poor kids-- their strict teacher is back :) My coworkers also help because they are are so understanding and supportive. My teaching partner has been making copies for me because I have ZERO time before or after school to do anything. Of course, during the day I have even less time to copy, plan or grade because I have to huddle in the middle school bathroom twice a day so that I can pump because I am trying to continue breastfeeding for a few more months. I'm not sure how long that is actually going to last--( I miss my lunch and planning period!!)-- but I am giving it the old college try.

Overall, it was actually a fairly successful week but I did have a big sobbing breakdown on my way to school on Thursday morning. It hit me that between work and sleep-- I will only see my babies a few hours a day-- and it was just so sad. I second guessed my decision to go back after just 10 weeks..and basically just had a heavy heart full of mommy guilt. I think the sleep deprivation and rocky morning didn't help much..Luckily, I have a caring husband who talked me through it. And, it helps to know that I have just 7 weeks left until summer break-- which I am looking at as another maternity leave. Lots of time just to spend with my girls.

I know that lots of moms work... and I still do love my job... but it is funny how things change after you have your own kids. I think I used to look down upon those teachers that got to school right before the bell every morning.. and then left right after school each day. They never carried home the huge stacks of books and papers to grade and lesson plan over the weekend like I did. But now I get it. They were parents. And they probably didn't lug that stuff home because they knew they would never have the time or energy to look at it anyway. And they probably left right away because they had to get to daycare or the sitter to pick up their kids. And they probably worked their butt off throughout the school day to make sure they got everything done because they didn't have the luxury of time to work on it over the weekends. Yep... I don't think I will be so judgey now :)

Well, I will leave you with a few more misc. cute pics of the girls I leave behind each day who make it all worth it.