A day in the life of a Sci-Mom

My first post on this blog was a ‘day in the life’ post (you can read it here).  I re-read it recently (inspired by Kelly’s Show Us Your Life series), and so much has changed since May of 2011! Thus, I’ve decided to repeat it.

Yesterday was a pretty average day (for a more thorough accounting, see here):

Morning at home- wake, nurse Nemo, put dinner in the crock-pot, get Mabel washed up and dressed, get ready for work, kiss hubby and baby, gas up the car, drop Mabel at preschool, and head off to work.

Day at work- try to cure cancer, work on poster for upcoming national meeting, lunch meeting, rush home.

Evening at home- nurse baby, cook the rest of dinner, tag team baths for both kids with Mac, sing lullabies, say prayers, tuck in Mabel, nurse Nemo, tuck in Nemo, tuck Mabel in again, and again, and again until she’s finally asleep, take 5 min for myself (i.e. work on this post), go to bed.

My little family, Thanksgiving 2012

The abridged version of who I am- I’m happily married to Mac*, my husband of 4+ years; we’re raising our 3 year old daughter Mabel* and 9 month old son Nemo*; we live in the suburbs of NYC; now, after decades of schooling, I have my dream job at a biotech company doing cancer research.

I started this blog almost 2 years ago, and it’s been a lot of fun.  I started it because I love reading other people’s blogs, keeping up with their lives, trying their recipes, learning from their experiences, enjoying their photos and stories.  So, I thought I’d give it a whirl, with a science spin.

I’m blessed with a wonderful husband who juggles freelance work and being a stay at home dad (which has major perks and lets me work full time at the aforementioned dream job). I’m enamored of my preschooler who brings joy to everyone she encounters (which makes me jealous of the time I miss with her while at aforementioned dream job). I can’t get enough of my little guy and cherish the time I spend nursing him in the evenings after Mabel is in bed.  I’m enjoying married life, motherhood, and (for the most part) my research. I’m really looking forward to Spring which means many weekends at the family camp in the Catskills.

Online I love reading ‘mommy’ blogs and science blogs, I get worked up over the public misunderstanding of science, I shop for bargains, and I blog about the science side of motherhood (like cord blood banking, breast feeding, vaccinations, C-sections, VBACs, etc).

I suppose this is my take on the ‘mommy blog’- a ‘SciMom‘ blog- that I think captures all the aspects of my life– being a wife, a mother, and a scientist.

The reality of parenthood, taken 30 seconds after the first, Thanksgiving 2012

Whether it’s oncology, marriage, or parenting, I’m working on getting it all down to a science.

*Blog pseudonyms.  Mabel and Nemo were actually the nicknames we used for them when they were in utero.

(Kinda) Wordless Wednesday: Snowy Day

I’ve been enjoying our almost-daily sprinkling of snow.  It’s enough to dust the ground and the car, but doesn’t impede travel or require clearing.  I don’t remember weather like this in many years- with nearly constant snow on the ground.

Mabel has been enjoying it too (see below).

We were rushing to get in the car to go to school, but I really just could not help but stop and admire her making tracks in the snow.  It was definitely one of those scenes in the movie of your life when you imagine the camera capturing the poignant scene.

I stopped rushing her, and just watched her, nay, admired her.  She is a joyful child.  Pity I’m going to screw her up.*

*As my Nana always said- with every talk show sob story or criminal with a troubled childhood- “It’s always the mother’s fault.” See here for my hopes and aspirations as a mom distilled into a few sentenced.

It had to happen eventually.

Well, I knew it had to happen eventually.  I was lucky it took this long.

Mabel is quite independent as a toddler.  I don’t mean she can take care of herself.  I mean she doesn’t ever seem to care if her mom or dad are present.  In new situations, she pretty much runs off to immerse herself without a second glance at Mac and I.

Mabel in one of many photos Mac sends me to let me know what I'm missing while I'm at work.

While it occasionally hurts my feelings that I am forgotten like an old shoe, I’m really happy she is this way.  I’m a pretty outgoing person and while I’m not always at ease in every situation, I toughen up (per my father’s most readily dispensed advice: “Toughen up kid!”) and put on my game face.  I’m not sure how I would handle a timid, shy, or fearful child.

Friends would agree that I’m not always the most sympathetic person.  A friend was crying once, over something that didn’t warrant tears, and I actually said, “Stop crying, that’s stupid.”  I genuinely didn’t mean to make her feel worse, I just really thought it wasn’t worth her tears.

So, back to what had to happen eventually… usually Mabel doesn’t care if I go to work.  She doesn’t care if Mac and I leave her with her grandparents.  She doesn’t care if she’s in a room full of strangers and can’t find us (I don’t think she even bothers to look for us).  Generally, she’s happy to see us, but doesn’t need us around.

That means, most mornings, after we snuggle in bed for a while, I get up and she asks me if I’m getting ready for work, then goes off to her room to read books.  Later, if she isn’t mad about something, like her doll’s legs getting stuck in the doll stroller, she walks me to the door cheerfully.  I get a hug, a kiss, and a bless on my forehead, then a heartfelt, “Goin’ a work?  Bye Mommy!  See you later!”

This particular morning didn’t go as usual.  When it came time for me to get out of bed and get ready for work she didn’t like it.  She straight up said, “Don’t wanna get ready for work.  Wanna snuggle in a big bed!”  She was pretty adamant about it.  There were a few tears and some whining.  I didn’t have a choice.  I explained to her that while I had to go to work today, I had off the next 4 days and wouldn’t have to go to work.

Since she is who she is, she got over it rather quickly and went to play with her toys while I got ready for work.  However, she wouldn’t come downstairs when it was time for me to go.  She didn’t walk me to the door.  Mac and I called up to her, telling her I was leaving and asking for her to say goodbye.  No dice.  It wasn’t until I was out on the front porch that she finally realized I was really going and she came down to give me a kiss, a hug, and bless.  No tears and no fussing.

It was probably one of the hardest mornings- having her ask/tell me point blank that she didn’t want me to go to work.  I’m glad she mostly doesn’t care if I’m there.  I don’t think I could take tears and pleading every morning.