no doubt has having a baby introduced a whole other level of magnificent chaos, but as if that weren't enough, our own lives have endured some big changes as well. our little baby girl is four and a half months old. for the first three months, i got to spend every hour of every day with her, as the lovely state of california funded my time with her. thank you, maternity leave! the worst part about maternity leave? it ends. i truly believe that the transition of going back to working full time has been more challenging than becoming a first time mom. having a baby and not working was CAKE. having a baby and working--now THAT's been interesting.
my three months at home were probably easier than most stay-at-home mom's job, though. i knew i'd be going back to work, so i essentially "lived it up" by doing whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted. we still ate out (so i never cooked), we still had someone come clean our house (so i never had to), and we still shopped as if we had two incomes (which we did...), so i was never challenged to be creative with our money and life as a mom was so new that i never just got bored or tired of being with peyton. my biggest worry was probably going through the mail on a daily basis. but during this time, my daughter learned to love the mall and any restaurant that someone would ooo and ahh at her. that's my girl......
going back to work wasn't over the top tough--my morning's start a little earlier since we have to get the munchkin ready and take her to grandma's, and my evenings are now devoted to preparing for the next day, but being at the office is--dare i say it--fun. the challenge in the whole transition has been that overall feeling of not getting enough of my little peyton. i get 15-30 minutes with her in the morning, then another 2-3 hours at night, of which we find a nap somewhere in there. that, compared to my 24/7 best friend from months 0-3, has been a struggle. josh assures me that she knows who i am, and that i know her better than anyone in this world, and i'm glad he does, because there are days that i'm doubtful. so, my current focus is on finding creative ways to squeeze more time in with her. the occasional work-from-home afternoon or lunch-date with peyton and my mom seem to be helping, but this is one thing that's going to take some serious getting used to. so, i struggle, but i endure. i think this is where God wants our family to be right now. and i know my mom sure likes it!!
josh, on the other hand, has had his own transition to work through. of course, daddy-dom requires more from him than owning a dog did, and he's handled it with beauty and grace (not surprised one bit...) but he's changed jobs in the middle of all this. on june 30th he had his last day at his old job, and on july 1st he started his new one. can we say BLESSED?! in this economy, we really weren't sure if petyon would be experiencing a stay-at-home-daddy lifestyle or what... (not that josh would have minded getting all that time with the little one...) his new job is going really well. but a job change is just that--a CHANGE. and with change comes stretching, growing, and a little cramping. learning a new business and a new company is exciting, but keeps him on his toes. funny enough, though, we are right back where we started. his company is moving, and my company is managing their relocation. so, low and behold, just like we met the first time, josh and i are at one enterprise in aliso viejo flirting across the conference table as we meet with numerous execs and industry vendors. I'M LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT! you can ask josh how he feels... the same, I'M SURE OF IT... right, babe? it definitely is funny, though, to see how far we've come. this time we know our flirting will get us somewhere at the end of the day ;-) after all, he IS my favorite client! and i'll venture to say i'm his favorite project manager.
peyton has her own set of changes. going from hanging with mom all day to hanging with grandma all day has been a change, but she seems to love it! she's also been going to the church nursery on sundays, and will start to be with grandma lynette and grandpa don on monday nights, as she's all too distracting for bible study with her bubble blowing and noise making cuteness. josh and i are always running around town with her on the weekends, but on the weeknights, we do a pretty good job of staying home and keeping to somewhat of a routine. i like to think she has a good balance of activity, rest, excitement, and relaxation. i also like knowing she is comfortable with all sorts of people, although i'm starting to see hints of a momma's girl here and there (which i secretly relish in... but know will be tough to manage if it becomes a habit).
so, for now, we keep chugging along. we are enjoying the heck out of our family time, and work hard while we are away from each other. and we stay nimble, because it seems like "transition" is our middle name these days. josh, gigi, and peyton transition johnson.
from the heart,
gigi
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